Cucumbers make delicious addition to garden

Nothing tastes quite as scrumptiously fresh as a lightly salted cucumber plucked straight from the vine. Grown atop small earthen mounds in the largest family vegetable garden or directly seeded into a tidy balcony window box, cucumber vines yield produce throughout the mid- and late summer months. Eaten fresh or pickled, these are among the easiest and most rewarding garden vegetables to grow.

Botanically speaking, cucumbers are members of the Cucurbit family, along with squashes and pumpkins. These vines will proliferate in full sun or partial shade, and prefer a well-drained, fertile soil with a pH of 5.5 to 6.8. Gardeners who are trying to conserve space often seed cucumbers with taller, fast-growing plants, such as corn. These plants can effectively coexist and may dramatically improve the overall yield per square foot of garden space for the ambitious gardener who measures success in terms of productivity.

To prepare a garden soil for these vigorous vines, start by tilling or cultivating the soil to a depth of 8 inches. Spread compost or composted manure over the garden area to a depth of 1 or 2 inches and work it into the top few inches of soil. This application and cultivation will provide a hearty source of nutrients within the root zone of the cucumber plants.

Gardeners often sow Cucurbits in a hill arrangement. This adapted raised bed technique tends to provide a greater degree of water drainage. Hills should measure 2 feet in diameter and should be spaced approximately 2 to 3 feet apart.

For cucumber vines grown in containers, amend or prepare a planting medium with approximately 20 percent compost by volume. For home-formulated mediums, mix together 1 part compost, 3 parts peat and 1 part perlite or vermiculite. To amend a prepared medium such as those purchased in bags or bales at nurseries or farm and garden supply stores, amend 4 parts prepared medium with 1 part compost or composted manure. These formulations will provide an adequate nutrient supply and sufficient stability for root growth, and will allow water to drain through the container while retaining an ample level of irrigation for plant growth.

Like many garden vegetables, cucumbers can be direct seeded in most parts of Maine in late May, when the soil temperature has reached at least 60 degrees and after all danger of frost has passed. Seeds should be sown at a depth of a half-inch or so, covered over with soil, pressed firmly and irrigated. For hill plantings in the garden, sow four to six seeds per hill. For containerized plantings, sow two to three seeds per square foot and prepare to keep a keen eye on the irrigation needs of your container garden as the vines grow and flourish.

Creamy white seeds will germinate in just a few days under warm conditions and will grow with astounding speed as the warm days of summer settle in.

Cucumber vines may be trellised, thus conserving space in the garden. A simple trellis may be constructed by placing stakes four to six feet apart and mounding soil between the stakes for a long, linear “hill.” Wire or sturdy string can be strung between the stakes, providing structural support for growing vines. Alternatively, chicken wire may be hung between the stakes, but one must be watchful that developing cucumbers do not take shape between the holes in the wire and become “strangled” as they grow.

One glance through your favorite seed catalog will reveal a diverse range of cucumber varieties. Some are bred for pickling, others for eating fresh. Gynoecious cultivars, those bearing only female flowers, tend to be more productive, providing higher overall yields over the course of a growing season. However, they tend to bear the major portion of their seasonal yield all at once.

Diana George Chapin is the NEWS garden columnist. Send horticulture questions to Gardening Questions, 512 North Ridge Road, Montville 04941 or e-mail dianagc@midcoast.com. Selected questions will be answered in future columns. Include name, address and telephone number.