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How long does it take to grow a cucumber


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How Long do Cucumbers Take to Grow? [Cucumber Growing Stages]

When planting from seeds, it takes 50-70 days before a cucumber plant produces fruit that is ready for picking. Germination of the seeds takes 3-10 days and after flowering, the cucumber is ripe in about 10 days.

Understanding the cucumber plant stages will help you better understand its growth timeline, when is the best month for planting cucumbers and when they will be ready for picking. The exact number of days may differ on the growing conditions but they offer a good outline.

This guide will take you through the different stages of a cucumber plant and how you can help it grow healthier and faster.

Cucumber Life Cycle Timeline

This is a breakdown of the different cucumber growing stages.

Stage 1: Seeding

Day 0-3: Seed is planted in soil and starts to grow roots.

Stage 2: Germination

Day 3-6: Roots form and the first growths appear above the soil surface.

Stage 3: Vining

Day 6-10: Leaves start to grow in addition to the plant growing vertically.

Stage 4: Growth & Flowering

Day 10-40: Cucumber plant continues to grow and flowering starts.

Stage 5: Fruit Production

Day 40-70: Cucumbers start to grow near the flowers.

Stage 6: Harvest

Day 70+: Cucumbers are ready for picking.

Grow Your Yard Fact

In temperatures from 80℉ and above, you can expect to see germination within 3 days. If you’re in a cooler climate, a tad colder than 65℉, you’ll likely see germination in the 8-10 day range.

How Do You Speed Up Cucumber Growth?

The above timeline offers a general idea of how many days it takes to grow cucumbers. The exact cucumber growing season will depend on the environment it is in.

You can try to speed up the cucumber growth timeline by providing the cucumber with its ideal growing conditions. The following tips may also help your harvest when the weather is not cooperating.

  1. Cover the Soil with Black Plastic

When growing cucumbers outdoors, you cannot control the soil temperature as much. If you live in an area where temperatures might still drop in the spring and summer, it is a good idea to add a soil cover.

Simply covering the soil with black plastic can already help to maintain a soil temperature above 60°F. The black color absorbs the sun’s heat and retains moisture.

  1. Place Above Soil Heating Pads

When growing cucumbers indoors, you can better control the soil temperature with a heating pad. These are simple heating elements that you can buy in gardening stores.

Just place the cucumber plant container on top the heating pad. The warmth will radiate through the materials and act as insulation.

  1. Cover Young Cucumber Plants

Seedlings and young plants are the most sensitive. It doesn’t hurt to provide them with a little extra protection for small insects.

You can find permeable covers and netting for outdoor growing plants. These will still allow rainwater and sunlight while still making it difficult for pests to get to them.

  1. Tie Young Cucumber Plants to a Trellis

Cucumbers can grow horizontally but it is better for them to grow vertically around a trellis or wood beam. This not only looks beautiful in your garden but also makes them more difficult to reach for insects in the soil.

Growing vertically also helps them to get more sunlight. Use rope ties to keep the plants upright and they will start to vine around the vertical structure.

  1. Monitor the Water

These are water-loving plants so it is important to make sure that they get enough rainwater when grown outdoors. Keep a rainwater gauge nearby and check whether it reaches at least 1 inch per week.

If your area is going through a dry spell, you may have to water the plants. Check that the top 2 inches of soil stay moist at all times.

How Long Do Cucumber Plants Produce Fruit?

Cucumber plants only produce fruit once. After the cucumber growing season the plant will die off. This means that you would have to plant new seeds every year to grow fresh cucumbers.

After the flowering stage, it takes about 10 days for cucumber to grow. These need to be picked sooner than later or else the taste will turn bitter.

Since there is such a short window of time between the cucumber plant producing fruit and the harvest, many growers choose to sow the seeds in stages. For example, they might leave 2 weeks before starting a second row of cucumber plants.

DON’T MISS: Looking to grow other vegetables? Click here to hear from 60 gardening bloggers on their favorite vegetables to grow!

Cucumber growing season

The cucumber growing season runs from late spring until the end of summer. This is relatively short time from seed to harvest, especially compared to other green vegetables and fruit.

Late April or early May is the best time to start cucumber seeds. They can be planted a little earlier if the seeds are started indoors.

Start harvesting the cucumbers when they are between 10-22 inches long, depending on the specific cucumber variety. Another clue is that the color should be a medium green, rather than a dark green – they will color darker after picking.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Month Do You Plant Cucumbers?

Cucumbers can be planted at the end of April or start of May if you want to grow them outdoors. You can start cucumber seeds indoors around 4-6 weeks before the last frost.

How Long Does It Take a Cucumber to Grow After Flowering?

The cucumber fruits start growing around 10 days after the first flowers appear. They are ready for picking after another 10 days. Don’t wait too long to harvest cucumbers because when left on the vine for too long they can become bitter in flavor.

What Are the Stages of a Cucumber Plant?

Cucumber plants start as seeds, grow into seedlings and then grow until they enter the flowering stage. Soon after flowering, the cucumber fruit will appear and after the harvesting season is over the cucumber plant will begin to die off.

Summary

The period from planting seeds to harvesting cucumbers takes between 50-70 days. How long it takes for your cucumbers to grow will depend on how favorable the climate and the kind of cucumbers you are growing.

You should be able to bring in fresh cucumbers after about 2 months so this is a short growing season.

cultivation, planting, care in the open field

Cucumbers are a very early ripening crop, early varieties give a harvest in 40 days after germination. However, even the later ones begin to bear fruit early - after 60 days. However, few people manage to get maximum yields - cucumbers quickly get sick and dry out. Often this is due to improper care. Therefore, it is important to provide this culture with the most comfortable conditions.

Growing cucumbers

To get a good harvest of cucumbers, they need to provide two main conditions: good light and heat (1). Therefore, they should be planted in the sunniest area - there they will receive the maximum amount of light and heat.

Almost any soil is suitable for cucumbers, with a reaction close to neutral or slightly acidic. But they grow best in fertile areas with light soils rich in organic matter. If the land on the site is too dense, it is useful to add humus or compost to it before sowing cucumbers, and then dig it up.

Planting cucumbers

In the middle lane, cucumber seeds are sown directly into open ground - usually after May 25th. Before sowing, it is useful to soak them for 12 hours in water at room temperature (18 - 20 ° C) (2). And then they need to be wrapped in a damp cloth and sent to the refrigerator for 2 days - hardening the seeds will later help the plants to better tolerate cold snaps.

Before sowing, the seeds can be germinated in a damp cloth in a warm place - this way they will sprout faster.

But note: soaking can only be applied to seeds that have not been treated with anything. And recently, cucumber seeds are often sold brightly colored, a sign that they are coated with a protective compound against disease. These seeds are best sown dry. The maximum that can be done is to germinate. All other "water procedures" are contraindicated for them - the protective layer will be washed off.

And one more thing: it is best to sow old seeds that have lain for at least 3-4 years - they are the most prolific. Fresh seeds produce a lot of barren flowers.

Seeds of cucumbers are sown in holes 2-3 pcs. to a depth of 1 - 2 cm. If in the future the cucumbers are tied to the trellis, then the distance between the holes should be 25 cm. If it is supposed to grow them in spreading, then the sowing scheme is as follows:

  • in a row - 30 cm.

    • When the seedlings have their first true leaf, they should be thinned out to leave only one of the strongest shoots in each hole.

    Care of cucumbers in the open field

    Cucumbers are very prolific, they have a great yield potential, especially in modern hybrids. But in order for them to be able to express themselves to the fullest, they must be watered frequently and plentifully and fed in a timely manner.

    Watering

    The frequency of watering depends on the stage of development of the cucumber. The scheme is as follows:

    Irrigation rate - 2 - 2.5 liters per 1 sq. m.

    Photo: pixabay.com

    And there are 3 more watering rules that are important to follow:

    Top-dressings

    It happens that they spill it well, with warm water, but the ovaries still fall off. The reason is the lack of fertilizers. It even happens that humus was introduced under the cucumbers, they were fed with nitrogen for good growth, but the ovaries still fall off. This is because nitrogen alone is not enough for them - they need good nutrition. And in order to provide them with all the elements, plants need to be fed 4 times over the summer:

    Cucumber Harvesting

    Cucumbers set very quickly and in large quantities, so they need to be harvested often - 2 - 3 times a week, and even better - every other day (4).

    - Do not let the cucumbers outgrow on the bushes - advises agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova . - Overripe fruits take away a lot of nutrients from the plant, but they are of little use - they are no longer very good for conservation and are not suitable for salads, because they are too rough. The rule is this: the more often you harvest, the faster new greens are tied.

    Rules for storing cucumbers

    Cucumbers do not last long fresh - they can lie in the refrigerator for up to 20 days, provided that the temperature there is about 0 °C. But since it is usually in the region of 4 - 6 ° C, they lie much less. But there are 2 ways to help extend their life.

    In bags. Fold the cucumbers in tight plastic bags, squeeze them to remove air as much as possible and tie them up - in this form, at a temperature of about 10 ° C, the fruits can be stored for up to 30 days, and sometimes longer.

    Photo: pixabay.com

    In egg white. Pick cucumbers with long stalks, wash and dry. Lightly beat the egg white and spread it over the fruit in an even layer. Then hang them by the stalks in a cool and dry place - so they can stay fresh for several months: the dried egg white forms a dense crust that protects the cucumbers from wilting and spoilage.

    – And to prolong the fruiting season, I definitely sow Chinese cucumbers, because they give a harvest almost until the very cold weather, – Svetlana Mikhailova shares her experience. “They are the tastiest, thin-skinned, perfect for fresh salads. And the rest are good mainly for salting.

    Popular questions and answers

    We talked about growing cucumbers with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

    Which cucumber varieties are suitable for outdoor cultivation?

    Absolutely any varieties and hybrids can be grown in open ground, both bee-pollinated and paretnocarpic. But it will always not be superfluous to check with the State Register of Breeding Achievements (it is on the Internet) - it says in which regions they are regionalized. If you choose cucumbers specifically for your area, this will guarantee a good harvest.

    Which varieties of cucumbers are suitable for greenhouses?

    Only parthencarpic varieties can be grown in greenhouses - they set fruit without pollination. Bee pollinators will not work - without insects they will not produce a crop.

    After which crops is it better to plant cucumbers?

    The best predecessors for cucumbers are onions, cabbage, tomatoes, peppers and peas. But after pumpkin crops (watermelons, melons, pumpkins, zucchini and squash), they should not be planted.

    What is the best way to grow cucumbers: spread or on supports?

    Growing cucumbers on supports requires extra work, but this method is better - the less contact the plants have with the soil, the less they get sick. In addition, with this method, cucumbers will take up less space and it will be much more convenient to collect fruits.

    Sources

    1. Pantielev Ya. Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 - 383 p.
    2. Fisenko A.N., Serpukhovitina K.A., Stolyarov A.I. Garden. Handbook // Rostov-on-Don, Rostov University Press, 1994 - 416 p.
    3. Group of authors ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 - 208 p.
    4. Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO "Orakul", OOO Lazurak, IPKA "Publicity", 1994 - 415 p.

    Cultivation of cucumbers in open field and greenhouse, seeds and seedlings

    Cucumber belongs to the gourd family. Its homeland is considered to be the tropical and subtropical regions of India. Turkey, the Crimea, Azerbaijan, and the Volga region are considered to be the main centers of the formation of modern varieties of cucumber. For 500 years BC. The Greeks, and then the Romans, were engaged in the cultivation of cucumbers. Since the cucumber is thermophilic and afraid of frost, it settled in Europe only at the end of the Middle Ages.

    In Russia, this culture has spread since the 16th century. Currently, cucumbers have gained popularity in almost all countries of the world, not a single family can do without them. A variety of varieties adapted to different growing conditions almost everywhere allows you to get fresh cucumbers throughout the year. In the Non-Chernozem zone of Russia, cucumbers are grown in open ground in summer, in protected ground in spring, autumn and winter, and also at home - in an apartment, on a balcony, on a window, on a windowsill.

    Description and general cultivation requirements

    Cucumber is an annual herbaceous plant of the gourd family with liana-like, creeping stems from 20 cm to 2 m long and bushy forms. The stem is creeping, in the presence of supports - clinging to them with antennae, ribbed, covered with stiff hairs, weakly or strongly branched. Shoots emerge from the main stem. In some hybrids, the development of lateral shoots is limited to only one, and the branch ends with the formation of fruits. The leaves are petiolate, with varying degrees of corrugated edges, pentagonal-rounded and oval, with a smooth or wrinkled surface, pubescent both above and below (but there are forms without pubescence). In the axils of the leaves, antennae, rudiments of lateral shoots, female or male flowers are formed.

    The root system is a rod-shaped main root with lateral branches, concentrated in the surface layer of the soil (20-40 cm) and diverges within a radius of up to 1.5 m. With increased humidity, the formation of additional roots is possible.

    Cucumber is a cross-pollinating plant. Even bisexual flowers prefer insect-borne pollen from another plant or flower. Cases of self-pollination are very rare. According to the degree of ripeness, cucumber varieties are divided into early-ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening. Early-ripening fruits begin to bear fruit on the 30-50th day after germination, mid-ripening - on 50-60, late-ripening - more than 60 days later. The cucumber fruit has three, sometimes four seed chambers, in cross section it is often oval-triangular or rounded. Zelentsy are spherical, ovoid, spindle-shaped, cylindrical, elliptical, sickle-shaped. In many varieties, especially for protected ground, the fruits have an elongated base - the neck. The surface of greens is small-tuberculate, large-tuberous, smooth glossy and smooth rough, pubescent with white or black spines. Fruits with black pubescence and large tubercles have the best pickling qualities; they can also be used for canning. White-thorned, small-tubercular fruits are best used fresh. The color of Zelentsy is from milky white to dark green, monophonic or with a pattern in the form of stripes, spots, dots. The taste qualities of fruits depend not only on the chemical composition, but also on the consistency of the pulp, on the thickness of the peel, on the content of bitterness in the fruits and on their aroma. Seeds - biologically ripe fruits are much larger than greens, have a characteristic color for the variety, sometimes with a characteristic pattern. Each of them contains on average from 50 to 400 seeds. Seeds ripen 55-65 days after fertilization of flowers. Seeds in the middle part of the fruit ripen earlier and have an increased weight, the offspring from such seeds are more productive. Seeds are usually flat, smooth, oblong (more elongated in long-fruited varieties), white or light cream in color, 5-17 mm long. Weight of 1000 seeds 16-35 g.

    Temperature and humidity requirements

    Since the homeland of the cucumber is the humid tropics, the plant requires a lot of heat and moisture. Its development takes place at a temperature of + 15 ° C, at lower temperatures the plant does not bear fruit. The optimum temperature for seed germination is +18..+25°C, the most favorable temperature for plant growth and development is +20..+25°C. Plants suffer more from prolonged cold and dampness than from prolonged drought. Night cold snaps in summer and early autumn drastically shorten the growing season, and even small frosts generally destroy plants. With sharp fluctuations in temperature, the roots of plants die first. They are especially sensitive to the temperature regime during flowering and fruiting: at night temperatures below + 16 ° C, the growth of ovaries stops. Cucumber is the most moisture-loving plant of all vegetable crops; it makes high demands not only on soil moisture, but also on air humidity. For good fruiting, regular watering is necessary; with a lack of moisture, the plants stop growing and form a large number of male flowers. At the same time, excessive moisture leads to the death of root hairs. Abundant and rare watering is more beneficial than frequent, especially on heavy soils. Cucumber is a short day plant, its highest productivity is at 9-12-hour day, however, there are varieties with a neutral reaction to the length of the day. Especially important is the shortened day in the first 20-25 days after germination. In some southern varieties, with a long day, the vegetative mass of plants develops excessively to the detriment of the formation of fruits. Cucumber is less demanding on light than other vegetable crops, but varieties for open ground need good lighting, especially young plants.

    Soil preparation for cucumbers

    Plants need neutral (pH 6.4-7.0), structural, highly fertile soils, well cultivated. Soils with a close groundwater level are not suitable for cucumber. Plants are responsive to loosening, even with a slight lack of oxygen in the soil, the growth of the root system is delayed, and with a significant (anaerobic conditions), most of the roots die off. Under cucumbers, areas are allocated that are well lit and warmed up, reliably protected from winds, especially from cold ones. If there is no reliable protection from the winds, then it is created by sowing tall plants that form a backstage (vegetable beans, sunflowers). Cucumber gives high yields on fertile, fairly light soils (sandy, loamy). Heavy, cold, acidic, waterlogged soils are unsuitable for it. The most favorable reaction of the soil solution is pH 6. 4-7.5. On acidic soils, liming is best done under the previous crop for digging the soil (0.4-0.9kg/m2 of lime). In autumn, the area for cucumbers is dug up to a depth of 20-25 cm. In the spring, 6 kg of manure or compost and 40-90 g of nitrophoska or 15-18 g of ammonium nitrate, 20-30 g of superphosphate, 15-18 g of potassium chloride are added for digging per m2. Accommodation. The best cucumber predecessors are crops that release the soil early: early white or cauliflower, early potatoes, legumes (except beans), let's say a tomato. Root crops, especially beets, are less favorable. It is not recommended to sow cucumber after cucumber and other pumpkin crops, as this leads to the accumulation of specific phytopathogens in the soil. A cucumber can be returned to the same place only after 2-3 years. Cucumber grows on any soil, but prefers permeable soils containing 3-4% humus. Light loamy or sandy loamy soils with a high nutrient content are also suitable. Watertight, heavy loamy soils require prior improvement. In the more northern regions, it is better to allocate plots for cucumber on the southern slope with deep groundwater.

    Seed treatment

    Seeds 3-4 years old are most suitable for sowing. One-year seeds before sowing are heated at 60°C for 2-3 hours. Seeds are selected by specific gravity. To do this, they are dipped in a 3-5% solution of table salt (30-50 g / l of water) and, as soon as they settle to the bottom, the solution is drained, the seeds are washed with running water and dried.

    A number of diseases are transmitted with seeds, so they are disinfected by soaking in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate (10 g / l of water) for 20 minutes, followed by rinsing in running water. To accelerate the emergence of seedlings, the seeds are soaked, placed in gauze bags for 12 hours in water (+28 ° C). Soaking seeds in an aqueous solution of trace elements is effective: 5 g of baking soda, 0.1 g of potassium permanganate, 1 g of ammonium molybdate, 0.2-0.3 g of boric acid, 0. 02-0.05 g of copper sulphate are dissolved in 1 liter of water, heated up to +40... +45°С. Seeds are immersed in a warm solution for 12 hours. To get friendly shoots, the seeds are germinated. Soaked seeds are scattered in a thin layer (6-8 cm) in a warm place on sawdust covered with gauze or filter paper, then they are covered with another layer of gauze and lightly covered with wet sawdust.

    Sowing cucumber seeds

    Cucumber is a very heat-loving plant that needs a lot of light, moisture and heat. Sowing time depends on the weather. It is necessary that frosts pass, the soil warms up to + 12 ... + 13 ° С at a depth of 8-10 cm, and the air temperature reaches + 15 ... + 20 ° С (usually this happens in the III decade of May - the first decade of June). Mixed sowing of dry, wet and germinated seeds is often used. During the return of cold weather, early shoots from germinated and wetted seeds die, while later shoots from dry ones remain. Cucumber is sown in freshly cultivated soil, avoiding a break between tillage and sowing. The soil during sowing should be moist, if dry - watered. On light dry soils, sow on a flat surface in a band or row method with a row spacing of 90-100 cm. In low, damp areas - on ridges. In order for the soil on the ridges to warm up better, it is better to direct them from east to west. The ridges are made 90 cm wide, and the paths between them are 30-40 cm. Sowing is carried out in grooves 6-8 cm deep. When sowing on the ridges, a cord is pulled in the middle of the ridge and two grooves are drawn at a distance of 20-25 cm from it. Seeds are sown every 5-6 cm in a row (seeding rate 1 g/m2), they are planted to a depth of 1-1.5 cm with moist soil or humus mixed in half with the soil.

    Cultivation of seedlings of cucumbers

    When growing cucumbers in seedlings, higher and earlier crops are harvested. Seeds are usually sown 35-40 days before planting seedlings. For open ground, seedlings are grown in greenhouses, under temporary film structures or at home on the window. Seeds are sown at the end of April in peat pots.

    To fill the pots, various nutrient mixtures are used, the main components of which are peat, humus and sod, or garden soil. If the peat is acidic, it is lime beforehand. Mixtures of the following composition have proven themselves well: lowland peat - 5-7 parts and humus - 3 parts; humus - 1 part, turf or garden land - 2 parts; peat - 5 parts, humus - 1 part, sawdust - 1 part. For 10 kg of the mixture, add 5-6 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium chloride, 20-25 g of double superphosphate and 20-30 g of lime. Before sowing seeds, it is recommended to water the mixture in pots with a solution of micronutrient fertilizers. This is especially necessary when lime is introduced into the nutrient mixture, which hinders the access of trace elements to plants. The solution is prepared in an enamel bowl: for 10 liters of water, take 0.8 g of copper sulfate and magnesium, 0.08 g of zinc sulfate and manganese, 0.15 g of boric acid. This amount of solution is enough for 3 m2. 2 seeds are planted in each pot to a depth of 0.5-1 cm, watered, covered with foil and left at a temperature of 20...25°C. Shoots appear, as a rule, on the 3-6th day. In the first 3-5 days after their appearance, the temperature is reduced to 12...16°C.

    At high temperatures and high humidity, seedlings grow faster, but produce large leaves and a weak root system. It takes root worse, therefore, in sunny weather, the temperature in the room where the seedlings are grown should be no higher than +18 ... 20 ° C, at night + 12.. 75%. 5-6 days before planting in the ground, seedlings are hardened off: shelters are removed, rooms are ventilated, watering is reduced. Seedlings should be squat, stocky, with short internodes, have dark green leaves and a well-developed root system.

    Before planting seedlings, holes are made in the garden and a liter of water warmed in the sun is poured into each. Seedlings are planted in the ground flush with the top edge of the pot. After planting and in the first days, the plants are regularly watered.

    Cucumber care

    After sowing the seeds in the ground, the rows are mulched with peat, sawdust, and humus. This protects the crops from crusting, raises the temperature of the soil at a depth of 5-10 cm by 2-5°C, prevents the evaporation of moisture and stifles weeds. To protect seedlings from frost and accelerate their appearance, the groove is made deeper (10-12 cm) so that after sowing they are covered with glass or film. A well-known way to protect plants from frost is late evening watering, as well as smoking. If the crops are not mulched, then a dense crust forms on heavy and medium soils, which prevents the access of air to germinating seeds, making it difficult for them to grow. Therefore, the soil should be loosened to a shallow depth. In the phase of cotyledon leaves, the crops are weeded and thinned out. When thinning, seedlings are not pulled out, but cut off so as not to damage the remaining plants. After 2-3 days, the soil is loosened to a depth of 10-15 cm. The second thinning is carried out a week after the first, leaving 10-15 cm between plants in a row. In the future, the aisles are systematically loosened. Cucumber responds well to watering. It should be watered only with warm water (+20 .. + 25 ° С), it is better in the afternoon, but no later than 18-19h, and on cold nights - in the morning. In the phase of 4-5 true leaves, light hilling is carried out not above the cotyledon leaves.

    Feeding is of great importance for cucumbers. On poor soils they are carried out 3-4 times, on well-filled soils 1-2 times. Young plants are fed with a weak solution of organic or mineral fertilizers. From organic ones, mullein diluted with water (1:5), chicken manure (1:10 or 1:15), or ash (2 cups per 10 liters of water) are used. From mineral fertilizers for the first feeding per 10 liters of water, take: 16-24 g of ammonium sulfate, 15-20 g of potassium chloride and 10-20 g of superphosphate or 20-40 g of nitrophoska.

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