Cool, crisp and refreshing, the common-or-garden cucumber works brilliantly in an enormous vary of recipes from salads and dips, to pickles and cocktails. Rising your individual is simpler than you assume, particularly after we’ve gathered among the greatest impartial articles, Instagram posts and YouTube movies that will help you succeed.
Should you’ve been impressed, browse our glorious choice of cucumber seeds or give your self an edge by ordering top quality cucumber crops which might be already up and raring to go.
Contents:
Greatest knowledgeable recommendation on sowing cucumber seeds
“I like rising cucumbers from seed, as a result of it’s so thrilling whenever you see the primary signal of the brand new cucumber plant,” enthuses the green-fingered gardener behind Vegetable Rising. Cucumber seeds germinate shortly and it’s thought that planting the seed on its aspect will increase germination charges and prevents rotting. Learn this complete cucumber rising information for extra secrets and techniques to success.
Rising cucumbers from seed is a good way to get kids all for rising meals, says Carol Bartlett at The Sunday Gardener. She sows two seeds per pot and retains them at round 18°C whereas they germinate. For quicker, extra dependable germination, her high tip is to put them in a propagator or cowl them “with a poly bag mounted in place with an elastic band or string”. Simply you should definitely take them out as soon as they’ve sprouted or your seedlings may go delicate! Learn Carol’s full article for extra recommendation.
Resolve the place you wish to develop your cucumbers before you purchase your seeds, says Richard Suggett in The Veg Grower Podcast. Some varieties are greatest grown in a greenhouse, whereas others can stand up to cooler outside temperatures. Richard sows his cucumber seeds in propagators in April, however says you may direct sow exterior from late Could or early June. Take heed to his glorious podcast for sensible recommendation and his favorite selection suggestions.
Jayne at @allotmentcooks sowed her cucumber seeds “manner too early” and stored the seedlings in an unheated greenhouse the place, by late April, “they’re not any larger than they’d have been had I sowed them at a extra accountable time.” The ethical of the story is that the early fowl doesn’t all the time get a head begin! Observe Jayne on Insta to see what occurred to her cukes.
Greatest knowledgeable recommendation on rising cucumbers in a greenhouse
Cucumbers thrive in a greenhouse and also you solely want a few crops to offer a gradual provide of fruits, says Carol over at her YouTube channel. Go to The Sunday Gardener to see how simply two cucumber crops can produce such excessive yields. Wish to know extra about greenhouse cucumber rising? Watch her video to study why her crops are doing so nicely…
Greenhouse cucumbers want loads of house to develop, says Sarah of Lets Develop Prepare dinner. She recommends planting your seedlings round 45cm aside, or only one per pot. Should you plant immediately into develop baggage, restrict your self to 2 cucumber crops per bag. She additionally correctly retains the humidity excessive by misting contained in the greenhouse – in any case, “cucumbers are 96% water.”
Cucumbers are vines that want supporting as they develop. Affected person Gardener, Daniel, is a fan of rising them up taut items of string suspended from his greenhouse body. “This technique is extremely straightforward because the cucumber plant actually clings on tight,” he explains. Learn his full article for extra tips about easy methods to assist and prepare greenhouse cucumbers.
In case your greenhouse cucumbers don’t develop very massive, poor pollination might be the issue suggests Trev at Backyard Physician. He recommends luring extra pollinators inside “by rising crops…equivalent to black-eyed Susans, basil, dill and sunflowers”. Cautious watering, acceptable diet and watching out for pests are additionally essential to the success of greenhouse cucumbers – all lined in Trev’s glorious article.
Greatest knowledgeable recommendation on rising cucumbers exterior
If you wish to develop your cucumbers exterior, it’s essential to decide on an out of doors selection like ‘F1 Burpless Tasty Inexperienced’, says the knowledgeable horticultural group at Suttons. Out of doors cucumber seeds may be direct sown exterior from late Could, however be prepared to guard them with a cloche or fleece ought to the temperature all of the sudden drop. Need an earlier harvest? Get your outside seedlings began below cowl in April after which plant out in Could as an alternative. It’s simply certainly one of many tricks to be discovered within the Suttons information to rising cucumbers.
Indoor and outside cucumbers are totally different, as Ben of GrowVeg explains in his video on easy methods to sow, develop and harvest cucumbers. Additionally referred to as ridge cucumbers, outside varieties are “usually spiny or tough to the contact”. You may prepare your outside cucumber crops up a body or trellis, or when you have loads of house, simply allow them to “sprawl over the soil floor”. Watch Ben’s informative video to discover ways to make a DIY cucumber body to assist your crops.
Out of doors cucumbers want “a sunny place that’s sheltered from wind”, explains Georgina Starmer at Let’s Develop Wild. In contrast to indoor varieties, male flowers ought to be left on outside cucumber crops as some varieties want them so as to be pollinated, she says. Have you learnt why folks take away the male flowers on indoor varieties? Learn Georgina’s full article to seek out out!
Greatest cucumber varieties to develop within the UK
There’s an astonishing variety of cucumber varieties to select from, and John Harrison of Allotment & Gardens has kindly taken the time to explain his favourites. Zingy cucamelons, which seem like tiny watermelons, are excessive on his listing for a number of causes: “They’re ignored by pests, immune to drought & completely blissful to develop outside within the UK, given a sheltered sunny web site.”
Suburban gardener Greg Holton was shocked by the dimensions of his cucamelon vine: “It’s tiny!” He creatively makes use of this mini-climber to weave in and round his pepper crops and he can’t wait to get pleasure from cucamelons in his backyard salads. Greg’s enthusiasm for rising fruit and veg is clear. Observe him at @greggrowsuk for inspiration!
Karen from @welliesandwaffles grows some very uncommon cucumber varieties in her house backyard. She describes her ‘Crystal Apple’ and ‘Crystal Lemon’ cucumbers as “crisp, stuffed with flavour, prolific growers and naturally enjoyable.” Hers are grown in a polytunnel, however they’ll additionally just do high-quality exterior. Observe her account to see some actually spectacular homegrown fruit and veg!
Though calling himself an ‘novice vegetable grower’, @craig_grows_veg has produced some very healthy-looking ‘Burpless Tasty Inexperienced’ cucumbers. Craig wholeheartedly recommends this selection as a result of “it’s straightforward to digest, has no bitterness, and is packed stuffed with nutritional vitamins.” What’s extra, it grows nicely outside within the UK, produces fruits into the autumn, and simply occurs to be his son’s favorite!
Cornwall-based gardener Sam Corfield grows a number of kinds of cucumber however the earliest to bear fruit is ‘Merlin’. As you may see from his publish, ‘Merlin’ cucumbers are small however completely shaped. Sam’s enjoyable Insta account is stuffed with vibrant colors and scrumptious crops – give him a comply with @the_hairy_horticulturist.
Gardening blogger Chris from @VeggiePlot shares a good looking instance of his first homegrown gherkin – an ‘F1 Associate’. Studying his evocative description, it’s straightforward to know why he’s so pleased with it: “The internal physique is of the palest apple inexperienced with a delicate seeded centre that’s cool and crunchy on the chew.” Go to his Instagram account for the entire story – and when you’re there, why not try his recipe for ‘fridge pickles’?
Whether or not grown exterior or in a greenhouse, there’s no denying that homegrown cucumbers style so significantly better than shop-bought. Plus, rising your individual means you may select varieties that you just’d by no means see within the grocery store. Share your cucumber progress with us on Instagram utilizing the hashtag #mysuttonsjourney
Picture: Cucumber Seeds – ‘F1 Child’ from Suttons
