How to Grow Cucumbers in a Garden

Cucumbers are a relatively easy vegetable to grow, even if you are a beginner at gardening. Whether you're growing them to make pickles, to add to a salad or to eat as a natural, low-cal snack, here are a few tips on getting them to grow their best.

Instructions

1. Start your seeds. If starting your cucumbers indoors, you can plant them in peat pots three to four weeks before the end of the frost period, with one to two seeds per square inch. If you want to plant your seeds directly into the garden, be sure to wait until all danger of frost is gone (optimal soil temperature for cucumber seeds is 65 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit). Seeds should be planted 1/2 to 1 inch deep, 6 inches apart, with at least 4 to 6 inches between rows.

2. Give your plants space. If you have started your plants inside and they have germinated, you can put them in your garden as soon as the danger of frost is over (as with planting seeds, cucumbers will grow best if the soil is at least 65 degrees). If you have planted your seeds directly in the garden, they will need to be thinned after they germinate. Your cucumber plants should be spaced or transplanted to one plant per 6 inches in a row, and the rows should be 4 to 6 inches apart.

3. Give your cucumbers optimal growing conditions. Until the plants flower, fertilize the soil with a product high in nitrogen. After the flowers bloom, switch to a balanced fertilizer and use it regularly. Cucumbers also grow well in moist soil, and they will grow faster if the ground is kept well watered.

4. Harvest your crop. Your cucumbers will be ready for picking after about two months. A cucumber is best if it is picked when it is completely green and firm. Try to pick your cucumbers before they begin to turn yellow and before they get too big. If you wait too long to pick them, they may have a bitter flavor.