Growing Cucumber

cucumis sativis : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

Jan F M A M J J A S O N Dec
S S           S S S S S
T T T           T T T T
P P             P P P P

(Best months for growing Cucumber in Australia - sub-tropical regions)

  • S = Plant undercover in seed trays
  • T = Plant out (transplant) seedlings
  • P = Sow seed
  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 35°C. (Show °F/in)
  • Space plants: 40 - 60 cm apart
  • Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Cut fruit off with scissors or sharp knife.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Nasturtiums, Beans, Celery, Lettuce, Sweet Corn, Cabbages, Sunflowers, Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potato, Tomatoes

Your comments and tips

18 Dec 19, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
In my experience, the tomatoes grow well but the cucumbers struggle .
19 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Tomatoes have a deep and wide root zone and would probably pinch most of the water and nutrients in the soil. Tomatoes need a lot of water and fert, cues far less. That is why I never recommend planting things too close to each other, give them the required area they need.
16 Dec 19, Barabara (Australia - temperate climate)
Why do my cucumbers die and drop off when they are about 1 cm long please? They are neither under nor over watered. I dug cow manure into the bed 6 weeks before planting and have not fertilised further. The plants are very healthy and have many flowers and baby cucumbers on them.
17 Dec 19, anon (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
You need bees to pollinate the female flowers, looks like you don't have any in your area. You can do it by hand, google it. Try planting some bee attracting flowers/shrubs in your yard to bring the bees to your place next time. From my experience only a small % of female flowers end up pollinated and grow into full size fruit.
19 Dec 19, Barbara (Australia - temperate climate)
Thank you. I do have plenty of bees. It is my understanding that if the cucumbers have formed then the pollination has occurred. Am I wrong? I do have plenty of 1 cm cucumbers on the bushes.
20 Dec 19, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If you look at the flowers, the male has no little cue behind the actual flower, whereas the female has the little cue then the flower in the front. I had 8 apple cues in recently and they produced hundreds of flowers if not thousands. Only picked about 100 cues from it all together. If you can check the cues about 7-10 am to see if the bees are working. I read it takes about 10-12 visits by bees to pollinate a pumpkin flower. Cues could be similar. Hope you have some cues growing by now.
28 Nov 19, Judy Chisholm (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Why do my cucumber plants have some yellow leaves. I have given them general Fertilizer and also Worm team. Do I need to do anything more as I may have planted them a bit early. Also how do I tell the difference between a female and male flower.
02 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
If you put a lot of N on, the leaves would be dark green. If too little N then the leaves would be light green yellow. If too much N then it would burn and kill the plant. Worm tea is only a soil enhancer, gets the bugs etc going. It could be a deficiency of some trace elements in the soil.
04 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
If your soil is sandy and you do a lot of watering, then you would leach out the nutrients. Have to apply more fert.
29 Nov 19, anon (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Depends how old the plants are, if 8-10+ weeks then leaves yellowing off would only be natural.
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