How to Grow Japanese Cucumbers
The unique appearance and taste of these spiky vegetables make Japanese cucumbers interesting plants to grow for food. Defining features of Japanese cucumbers include spiky flesh and long, curving fruit. Japanese cucumbers are best planted from June to September; they grow to a large size and can produce many cucumbers when picked regularly. The best reason to grow these exotic cucumbers is the crisp, fresh taste they lend to salads and stir-fry dishes. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Plant Japanese cucumber seeds 1/2-inch deep in the soil and cover the seeds lightly with soil. Dig the holes with a garden trowel or by hand. If you are planting cucumbers in rows, plant them 2 or 3 inches apart.
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Lightly water the seeds after planting, and moisten the soil every two days until the plants sprout from the soil. Once sprouted, water the base of the plant until the soil is drenched. Japanese cucumber plants prefer soil that is quick to drain excess water. Watering the leaves promotes disease in cucumber plants, so be sure to water the soil at the base of the plant. If cucumbers grow to an unusually small size or are bitter tasting, the plant isn't getting enough water.
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Apply fertilizers with a high level of nitrogen to the Japanese cucumber's soil until the plant blooms. Apply a fertilizer that contains more equalized components after flower growth is evident and again one month later. Lime also will promote cucumber growth. Follow the fertilizer's label instructions for application specifics.
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Harvest cucumbers as they develop to encourage the growth of more cucumbers. Dark colored, slim Japanese cucumbers are known to taste the best.
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Tips & Warnings
Common problems for cucumber plants include cucumber beetles, bacterial infection and aphids.
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