Here are a couple of different garden things I have found online:
Cucumbers, like tomatoes, are on every gardeners planting list.
Perhaps it is because they taste great together in salads, or maybe because you envision a jar of homemade pickles in your future.
Unfortunately, there are some things that could stand in the way – between you and your best cucumber harvest ever.
With a little gardening know-how and know-why, you can overcome the following cucumber growing challenges this season:
tough cucumber skins
bitter cucumbers
yellow cucumbers
damage by insects
vines not growing
fruit not forming
pollination problems
and transplant shock
Though the challenges may be many, there are several tips and tricks to obtain consistent and abundant yields.
Become aware of them before sowing your first seeds and a beautiful, green cucumber harvest is yours for the taking.
1. Choose A Variety That’s Right For You
This isn’t so much of a planting tip as it is plain old garden sense.
In order to enjoy your cucumbers, you are going to have to choose the cucumbers you wish to eat.
Is it slicing cucumbers you want, such as English or European cucumbers?
Are you searching for something more exotic, such as lemon cucumbers, Persian or Japanese (Kyuri) cucumbers?
Socrates, Kirby, Korean, Watermelon Gherkins, Amiga – if you aren’t sure what cucumbers you need in your garden, grab some seed catalogs and plan some quiet time with the plant guides.
Your choice of cucumber variety might also be informed by how you wish to preserve your abundant harvest. Keep this in mind as you pick the right variety for your garden.
2. Knowing and Sowing Cucumber Seeds
One other important growing condition to keep in mind, is that cucumbers require a warm season, with sufficient sunlight. Not too much sun, nor too little.
Cukes are also susceptible to frost and light freezing. In addition, they will not tolerate foggy, damp summers.
So, now you know what growing conditions cucumbers prefer: not too hot, not too cold, not too wet and not too sunny.
Does it sound like the weather that appears in the height of your summer garden?
If not, it may lead you to ask yourself, how do they grow fabulously green and crisp cucumbers to sell in the supermarkets? Well, with that question you are probably getting into trade secrets, such as top fertilizing methods and F1 hybrids.
More important than that, however, is that cucumbers grow best in a greenhouse where you can more easily modify the elements. Light intensity, wind, irrigation and so on.
But that doesn’t mean cucumbers can’t grow well outside, either.
If you have a greenhouse, sow cucumber seeds both indoors and out. Carry out your own trials and see what grows best for you.
To grow a cucumber from seed, you have two choices:
direct sowing – it’s as easy as pushing the seed in the soil. No worries about caring for the seedlings or transplanting them later on.
starting seeds indoors – this option is a little more time consuming, though it is absolutely perfect for those gardeners with shorter growing seasons.
Cucumber seeds should be sown outdoors a week, or two, after your last frost. The soil must be warm enough for germination to occur.
To start them indoors, plan to sow your seeds 4-6 weeks before your average last frost date.
Cucumbers germinate fairly quickly in about a week. They are especially fast when heated up by the sun, or an indoor heat mat. This feature makes them fun to grow, you can almost watch them emerge from the soil. So, get the kids involved in growing cucumbers too, it’s fun and educational.
3. Moving Transplants
You can automatically skip this step if you’ve decided to direct sow your cucumber seeds.
However, if your seeds were sown in pots, then this transplanting tip is for you.
The biggest mistake you can possibly make when transplanting cucumbers is to move them too quickly into the garden.
Cukes can’t take the cold, or potential frost.
Before moving your seedlings into the garden, be sure to harden off your plants first.
This involves exposing your plants to the elements for an increasing amount of time each day. Start with an hour per day, then move your plants back inside. Gradually increase the time your plants are outside until they are ready to be moved outside permanently.
As you remove the seedlings from their pots, be sure to handle them gently, as cucumbers prefer not to have their roots disturbed.
With a small trowel, dig a hole, slightly larger than the rot ball (or peat pot if you’ve chosen the easiest growing method). Place the roots into the ground, being sure to give your cucumbers plenty of space – about 12″ apart in a row, with 24″ between rows. Don’t forget for a moment that cucumbers like to sprawl.
After tamping down the soil, make sure to water the seedlings deeply. From then on, once or twice a week watering should be sufficient.
Too much rain, however, is quite another challenge with mildew and fungus.
Related reading to make the most efficient use of your garden space: 12 DIY Cucumber Trellis and Support Ideas
4. Companion Planting With Cucumbers
When growing your cucumbers out in the garden, you are going to need some allies. Friends that will help protect against bugs and bacteria.
These “friends” can come in the form of plants, should you be willing to implement a companion planting strategy for your best ever cucumber harvest.
You can take some time to read the long version of cucumber companion planting, or take my word for it and observe the quick list of cucumber beneficial companions below:
beans
beets
celery
corn
dill
lettuce
marigolds
nasturtiums
peas
radishes
sunflowers
It’s also good to know a few herbs and veggies not to plant with your cucumbers:
aromatics: basil, sage and peppermint
melons
potatoes
When all is said and done, you are either into companion planting or not. For some gardeners it works a treat, for others it feels like too much time and effort. The good thing is, you can grow cucumbers either way.
How many cucumbers you can grow, is also up to your soil, fertilizer and irrigation methods.
5. Soil Quality + Fertilization + Mulching
What kind of soil do cucumbers prefer to grow in? A loose, sandy loam is their top pick.
But you have to remember that their roots grow deep. Their single tap root can extend three to four feet below the soil, with numerous branching roots around the two foot zone. So, underground, they take up plenty of space.
Right now, your brain might be hard at work, trying to figure out if cucumbers can grow in your rocky or clay soil.
The short answer is yes, you certainly can. Cucumbers may even surprise you with heavier yields in clay soils, though they’ll produce an earlier crop in sandy soils (where the ground heats up faster).
PH-wise, cucumbers are best planted in soil with a pH between 5.5 to 7.0. If you are unsure of your soil pH, get a soil test done. You can find out a lot about your garden this way.
The right way to fertilize your cucumbers:
Now, that we’ve established that cucumbers can thrive in all sorts of soils, the three things they can’t live without are water, compost and well-rotted manure.
But when should they be fertilized?
It’s not enough to toss some manure at them and leave them alone.
There are three times in the growing season to give cucumbers the nutrients they need.
at the time of planting
when you begin mulching (that’s a hidden tip for your best ever cucumber harvest!)
at set intervals as the plants develop
Every gardener has heard about the wonders of compost. Follow by example here and take the advice of gardeners all over the world, add a rich handful of compost to each planting hole. Yes, you can even add worm castings. If you have both worm castings and compost, toss in a little of both. Your cucumbers will thank you later. Mulching is the best kept secret. If you’ve direct sown your seeds, the best time to mulch them is when they’ve developed a few leaves. The mulch not only acts as an excellent weed barrier, it also helps to regulate the soil temperature. Add another handful of compost and worm castings before you lay down that straw, hay, or grass clippings though, and your cucumbers will love you even more. Transplants can be mulched as you put them in the soil. Don’t forget the compost. Fertilizing cucumbers throughout the growing season. Cucumbers are heavy feeders like corn, eggplant, peppers, squash and tomatoes. Those are many of the plants you love, right? Well, if you want to see many of them on your dinner table, you’ve got to take good care of them first. The key to fertilizing your cucumbers is to keep the applications light and regular. Use too much fertilizer and you’ll get a lot of leaves and few blossoms – which means little to no fruit. The trick is in finding the right amount of fertilizer and the best solution. This may take some trial and error on your part. Check out our article on homemade fertilizers for more information : 10 Liquid Fertilizer Teas Made From Weeds and Plants Use a light dose of a liquid fertilizer every two weeks for your best cucumber harvest. Keep in mind, that once the plants begin producing blossoms, you can back off on the fertilizer completely. From then on, it is simply regular watering that is necessary. 6. No Flowers = Pollination Problems As previously mentioned, you need to find the correct amount and right type of fertilizer that is best for your cucumbers. This will ensure you have enough blossoms to become fruit. What you need to know about blossoms, is that male flowers appear first, followed by female flowers. So, not all flowers will become a cucumber. A male flower is easily identified as it has no tiny cucumber emerging behind it. A female cucumber flower has a small fruit forming. If you find that your cucumber plants have a lot of blossoms, but they aren’t being pollinated, it’s likely that you have a lack of pollinators in your garden. You can, of course, pollinate cucumbers by hand if there are not enough pollinators around. The process is very similar to hand pollinating squash. Outside of this mechanical work, be sure to plan your garden in such a way as to attract as many pollinators as possible. It’s mainly honeybees and bumblebees who are pollinating cucumbers, so be sure to cater to them. You can attract more pollinators to your garden by planting flowers and herbs. Another thing you can do, is provide a source of water, even in the form of a shallow bird bath. 7. Harvesting Cucumbers The Right Way Now you know how to grow a great bushel of green cucumbers. The next step is to harvest them while they are perfectly ripe. How do you know when cucumbers are ripe for the picking? For starters, days to harvest should be listed on the back of your seed package. If you’ve already tossed that info out, don’t worry, it’s just an estimate. Most varieties of cucumbers are ready for eating 50-70 days after germination. Depending on how many cucumber plants you have growing in your garden, you may be able to harvest them every other day. Or even every day, if you are an over-achiever with a larger garden. Cukes must be picked when they are totally green, before they show any signs of yellowing (an indicator that they are past their sweetest prime). It’s also useful to remember what kind of cucumbers you planted. In general they should reach the appropriate size and length before picking. Pickling cucumbers at 2-6″. Slicing cucumbers at 6″. Be sure to cut them off the plant with kitchen shears or pruners. Never pull them as the vine is sensitive and other fruits may still be growing on it. The best time of day to harvest cucumbers? Morning is best. You’ll want to harvest your fresh cucumbers when the vines are cool and the fruits full of water. As you harvest the cucumbers for lunch, be sure to remove any rotten or stunted fruits, so they do not put additional strain on the plant. Outside of that, harvest your cukes as often as needed, gathering them gently in a basket, just as you would a soft, ripe fruit. 8. Storing Cucumbers For Extended Enjoyment Fresh cucumbers are a fantastic garden treat, right along with all the tomatoes you can fill in a bucket. Unfortunately they don’t last very long off the vine. We’ve compiled a list of 10 non-pickle ways to preserve cucumbers + 5 killer pickles for you to salivate over, to get started. However, if you don’t have quite the garden to go into full preservation mode, you can still get good use out of your fridge to keep them fresh for longer. To keep your cucumbers as crisp as possible, without turning into a yucky mush, store them in the fridge. Unwaxed cucumbers, the kind you’ll be harvesting from your garden, are best eaten within 3 days. Store-bought cucumbers are often waxed and can be stored for up to a week, uncut, in your crisper drawer. You’ll also want to make sure they are completely dry and free of dirt. If you choose to wash them, be sure to dry them off before wrapping them in a clean dishtowel. You can also wrap them in a clean paper towel before setting them in the fridge. This helps to prevent sogginess and preserve freshness. I heard someone asking about storing cucumbers in plastic bags… Stored loosely in a plastic bag, cucumbers last about 4-5 days. In a zip-lock bag, you don’t want to wait more than a week to consume them. However, when cukes are tightly wrapped in plastic, they can last up to 10 days. To extend your cucumber harvest, choose the method that works best for you. It comes down to this: even though cucumbers have a myriad of pests and diseases, there are plenty of wonderful reasons to grow them, even for the love of flavor alone. So long as you take measures to keep your soil healthy and give your growing cucumbers adequate water and nutrition, providing extra care if and when necessary, you are guaranteed to have healthy, productive vines. We wish you a happy cucumber harvest and happy pickling season too, should your crop be beyond your wildest dreams. ---------------
Learning how to grow carrots can be a challenge for any gardener. Growing this classic root vegetable seems simple, but without careful cultivation, you’ll end up with little harvest to show for your efforts.
I’ve had my own carrot challenges. When I homesteaded in West Virginia, the thick clay garden soil prevented plant roots from penetrating as deeply as they needed to. I only managed to grow squat, stunted carrots, though they still packed in flavor.
If your homegrown carrots often wind up looking like this, then you need to keep reading.
My growing conditions reversed when I moved to Michigan. This time, the sandy soil led to drainage issues that made garden irrigation challenging to master. Early in the season, I slacked on watering my burgeoning carrot crop over a span of sweltering days. That one misstep was enough to shrivel the final harvest down to tough, tasteless roots.
By growing on both ends of the spectrum, I’ve finally learned what really works for a homegrown carrot crop.
Here’s what you need to know to bypass my failures and bring in beautiful carrots the first time around.
12 Popular Carrot Varieties to Grow
My first tip for growing carrots is to choose a variety that makes sense for your garden conditions. Contrary to what the grocery store shows, carrots come in a range of shapes and colors.
Here are some popular varieties to consider with different attributes.
Bolero: Sweet and crunchy, bolero carrots are bright orange and grow to a slightly tapered 7 to 8 inches. Market gardeners love them because they keep well and are resistant to most pests and blight.
Danvers: This classic heirloom is considered mid-sized, and it produces rich flavor and dark orange flesh. It’s more tolerant of poor soil than other carrot varieties and does well in heavy clay.
Lunar White: This vigorous producer offers a mild taste and bright white flesh.
Little Finger: Peaking at around four inches long, this tiny heirloom is perfect for container gardening.
Oxheart: Though each stubby carrot reaches up to a pound each, this variety is sweet, mild, and excellent for winter storage.
Nantes: These small carrots are known for their blunt ends and crunchy, sugar-sweet taste. They reach maturity fast, making them ideal for shorter growing seasons.
Paris Market Carrot: You’re forgiven for confusing this carrot variety for a radish. Short and squat in stature, it has a high tolerance for rocky, shallow soil.
Solar Yellow: This pale yellow heirloom reaches about eight inches and has a light, sweet taste.
Purple Dragon: This jewel-toned carrot is sure to attract attention in a summer salad. It boasts a bright yellow center covered by a deep purple skin.
Purple dragon carrots boast a bright yellow center and a stunning purple outer skin.
Imperator: Popular with commercial growers, this is the carrot variety you’re most likely to see at the grocery store. It’s known for fast growth and a high sugar content.
Manpukuji: This super-long Japanese variety tastes sweetest when harvested after the fall frost. In the right soil, it reaches over two feet!
Black Nebula: Dark purple and full of antioxidants, this carrot retains its color after cooking and makes for a beautiful juice.
Seed Tape, Pellets or Regular Carrot Seeds?
Carrot seeds are notorious for being tiny and tricky to plant. If you’d rather not painstakingly place each seed in your garden bed (only to thin half of them out later), then it’s worth considering planting seed tape or pelleted seeds instead.
Seed tape comes as a strip of biodegradable paper with pre-spaced seeds embedded on top. Cover it with soil, and you’ve planted your carrot crop.
Pelleted seeds, in contrast, are covered in an organic material that makes them easier to handle, so you can space them evenly. They are a popular choice with market gardeners who need to grow at scale.
Both methods make planting and weeding easier. The biggest downsides are that you will tend to pay more per plant than if you purchased straight seeds, and you’ll have a more limited choice in varieties.
How to Grow Carrots in the Garden
Seeds selected, it’s time to start planting. I’ll go through the specifics below.
When to Plant Carrots
In most growing regions, it’s possible to plant carrots in both the spring and late summer for two separate harvests.
One common carrot mistake is sowing the seeds too early. They are notoriously slow to germinate and won’t sprout at all if soil temperatures are too low. Wait at least three to five weeks before the last frost date, and consider warming the soil ahead of time with large dark tarps that concentrate the sun’s heat.
Most carrot varieties take two to four months to mature. You can ensure a long harvest season by staggering plantings every two weeks until early summer.
Plan to plant your fall crop around ten weeks before the first frost date in the fall.
How to Prep Garden Soil for Carrots
Like all root vegetables, carrots thrive in sandy loam soil with good drainage that gets at least eight hours of direct sunlight daily.
Any compaction or obstruction, such as rocks or roots, makes it hard for the carrot roots to push through and will stunt their growth or lead to deformities. You can amend your growing space with compost to improve its texture beforehand.
Carrots love potassium, so consider adding some wood ash to your garden bed in your growing space is lacking. Refrain from adding too much nitrogen-heavy fertilizer, as it may cause the carrots to fork and grow side roots.
You can prep your carrot bed by tilling down at least twelve inches and removing any stones or clumps that could impact root growth. If compaction is going to be a problem, consider planting in raised beds so you can fully control the soil quality.
How to Sow Carrot Seeds
Carrots don’t like transplanting, so you should always plan to direct seed them.
Plant the seeds 1/8 inch deep, approximately one inch apart, in rows spaced fifteen inches from each other. Don’t worry if the seeds clump together—you will thin them later. Lightly rake over the seeds to cover them and pat down gently so the seeds make contact with the soil.
If you use pelleted seeds or seed tape, make sure you follow any specific planting instructions from the seller.
Here’s the tricky part – carrots need continuous moisture until they germinate so that their hard seed coating will soften for the emerging sprout. You’ll need to keep the upper inch of soil moist for up to three weeks, or until you see the sprouts.
Watch out for the soil forming a hard crust, which creates a barrier for the emerging seeds. Consider covering the bed with a row cover to help it retain moisture or invest in a soaker hose or drip irrigation for consistent watering.
Some gardeners like to sow radish seeds between their carrot rows as a “nurse crop” to help keep track of where the carrots are before they sprout. Radishes grow quickly and will be harvested and eaten long before your carrots are ready.
You can remove any row cover once you see the first carrot sprouts coming up. Weeds can quickly overcome these delicate plants, so you will need to be diligent in keeping the carrot rows clear without disturbing their fragile root systems.
I’ve found stirrup hoes work well for my garden plots, though organic farms often use flame weeders to scorch weeds between rows before they get established.
Once the seedlings are an inch tall, thin them to 2-3 inch spacing. You can top-dress them with a low-nitrogen, high potassium and phosphate fertilizer six weeks after sowing. A 5-10-10 formula will promote root growth rather than foliage.
Carrots don’t like hot soil, so consider mulching the bed once the days heat up. This also helps maintain better soil moisture. I’ve had success adding a light sprinkling of dried grass clippings to freshly weeded rows.
Sadly, your watering woes won’t go away once the carrots sprout. You’ll still need to keep the soil moist but not soggy throughout the growing season. Otherwise, you risk harvesting short carrots with thin, woody roots.
Plan to water at least one inch of water per week early in the growing season, then increasing that to two inches as the season progresses.
Common Carrot Pest and Disease Problems
Carrots rarely experience disease problems, but once they do, they are challenging to eradicate. Stave off problems by keeping the soil moist but not soggy, removing any dead plant material, and planting carrots in a new location each year.
Insects also tend to leave carrots alone, though you may have problems with rust flies or weevils. Use row covers to protect young plants if an infestation becomes concerning.
How to Harvest Carrots
You can harvest carrots at any point in their growing cycle, though it’s generally best to wait until they are at least as thick as a finger. Dig them up small if you want them tender in the summer, or wait until the first frost for extra sweetness for your fall crop.
For easier harvesting, use a digging fork to loosen the soil before pulling them up by the foliage. You can stagger the harvest by leaving some carrots in the ground until you want to eat them. After the first fall frost, cover your remaining carrot tops with an 18-inch layer of leaves to preserve them for future harvest.
As carrots are biennial, any that you leave in the ground will flower and produce seeds the following year. Collect these seed clusters once they turn brown and allow them to dry for a week indoors. You can crush the clusters to extract the seeds, saving the largest in a cool, dark place for planting next season.
Note: If you have cold winters, it’s best to dig up your seed carrots, store them as you would for eating, and replant them in the early spring.
Storing Carrots for Future Use
Carrots are a hardy crop that will store for months in the right conditions. Upon harvesting, twist off all up ½ inch of the greenery and wash them thoroughly. Let them air-dry before sealing them in airtight bags in your fridge. Skip this step, and they’ll go limp within hours.
You can also store carrots packed in bins of moist sand or dry sawdust. Keep them around 32-40 degrees Fahrenheit and away from fruits like apples and pears, as they produce ethylene gas that can turn the carrots brown.
How to Grow Carrots in Containers
With a little planning, it’s possible to grow great carrots in containers. It’s an excellent option for anyone with limited space or challenging soil conditions.
Make sure you choose a deep pot (at least 12-inches) and fill it with quality potting soil. Sprinkle a light layer of a shallow variety of seeds on top, such as Little Finger or Paris Market. Make sure you stay on top of watering, and your carrots will be ready to harvest within a few months.
You can pull them out individually or tip out the pot to get them all at once.
Make This the Year of Growing Carrots Successfully
Learning how to grow carrots at home is well worth your time and effort. Learn from my mistakes and follow these tips, and you’ll likely succeed in bringing in a beautiful carrot crop from the garden this summer. And whatever you do, make sure you eat those carrot tops!
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