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Plant with cucumber


13 Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers

By

Colleen Vanderlinden

Colleen Vanderlinden

Colleen Vanderlinden is an organic gardening expert and author of the book "Edible Gardening for the Midwest." She has grown fruits and vegetables for over 12 years and professionally written for 15-plus years. To help move the organic gardening movement forward, she started an organic gardening website, "In the Garden Online," in 2003 and launched the Mouse & Trowel Awards in 2007 to recognize gardening bloggers.

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Updated on 09/10/22

Reviewed by

Julie Thompson-Adolf

Reviewed by Julie Thompson-Adolf

Julie Thompson-Adolf is a master gardener and author. She has 13+ years of experience with year-round organic gardening; seed starting and saving; growing heirloom plants, perennials, and annuals; and sustainable and urban farming.

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The Spruce / K. Dave 

In This Article

Cucumbers are exuberant plants with vines that can sprawl over a lot of space—the healthier the plant, the more space they seem to take up. But, there are several other garden plants that fare well alongside these vivacious vines and make great companion plants for cucumbers. The best companion plants help deter pests and do not compete with cucumbers for water or nutrients.

Learn which garden plants make the best cucumber companions, and which ones should be kept at a distance.

How Do You Grow Crunchy, Delicious Cucumbers?

What Is Companion Planting?

Companion planting is the practice of planting different species together based on their ability to enhance one another's growth, offer some form of pest protection, or other advantages.

Sometimes this is a matter of choosing plants with different growth habits that do not compete with one another for space, or it can mean choosing companions that have different nutrient needs in order to make efficient use of soil. Ideally, companion plants help ward off destructive insects, making garden pest management easier.

Some companion planting simply involves common sense—making sure that taller plants don't provide too much shade to low-growing plants, for instance. Strategic companion planting is especially important in small gardens or wherever careful space planning is needed. 

Companion Plants Repel Garden Pests and Attract Beneficial Insects

Benefits of Companion Planting

Seasoned gardeners swear by companion planting because it increases the health and productivity of crops like cucumbers. Benefits of companion planting for cucumbers and other plants include:

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Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers

A variety of vegetables, flowers, and herbs make excellent companions for cucumbers.

How to Grow and Care for Oregano

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Worst Companion Plants for Cucumbers

Just as some plants are good companions together, there are also those that should not be allowed to reside side-by-side. 

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Cucumber companion planting: what to grow with cucumbers

(Image credit: Future)

Once you understand about cucumber companion planting, you’ll see how growing the right veg, fruit, herbs and flowers alongside your cucumbers can encourage the biggest and tastiest homegrown harvest.

Cucumber companion planting will ensure you get the best crop possible from your homegrown cucumber plants. Companion planting is such a simple way of helping your cucumbers to combat pests, as well as provide important nutrients to the soil in which they are growing.

An important part of learning how to grow cucumbers is what others crops you should plant with these popular salad vegetables. Homegrown cucumbers are without doubt the tastiest, and can make the world of difference to the flavor of a salad or sandwich.

Companion planting cucumbers is the simple process of growing them next to different herbs, flowers or vegetables that are known to benefit them as they grow. 

Cucumber companion planting

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Whether you choose to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, or a warm, sheltered spot outdoors, companion planting cucumbers will help as part of your vegetable garden ideas.

You may decide to grow the cucumbers in an unheated greenhouse as you're planning a greenhouse, or outdoors, but at the same time plan what you will be companion planting them with.  

Most cucumbers will be ready to harvest within a couple of months, so you will quickly see the fruits of your planning and forward thinking. Companion planting is still important even if you are growing cucumbers vertically, or as part of your vegetable garden container ideas.

(Image credit: Denis Winkler / EyeEm / Getty Images)

What is good to plant with cucumbers?

There are many different crops, herbs, salads and flowers that are good to plant with cucumbers. By growing a community of mutually beneficial plants you can make the most of companion planting and this is especially useful for small vegetable garden ideas as you want to be able to make the most of any crop grown. 

Cucumber companion planting can also help to create a sustainable garden that requires less human intervention to manage pests and improve soil nutrients. planting, and if used alongside crop rotation can help with healthy harvest, year after year. 

Benefits of cucumber companion planting include deterring pests that would otherwise attack the young cucumber plants, improving soil nutrients available to the vegetable plant, or helping to increase harvests.  

Rob Smith, Horti Expert at Dobies recommends companion planting as 'a great way to deter hungry insects from feasting on your crops, while being totally natural and organic.

'It's better for the environment, too, by allowing mother nature to keep the balance in your garden. By planning and gardening smart as part of your kitchen garden ideas you can grow a community of mutually beneficial plants so your crops can thrive, and it avoids the use of harmful pesticides,' Rob adds.

Cucumber companion planting, which can include plants for pollinators, can also entice essential pollinators, such as bees and butterflies, to the vegetable plants. It can also create a better growing environment as part of you permaculture gardening – be this providing essential shade during the hottest months, acting as ground cover to keep in moisture, or breaking up the soil.

Cucumber companion planting – with vegetables

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

Cucumber companion planting with different vegetables can have a range of benefits

PEAS and BEANS 'are helpful, due to their root systems. They add nitrogen to the soil, which the cucumbers in turn will benefit from,' says Rob Smith. 

CARROTS, PARSNIPS, RADISHES and ONIONS are good choices for cucumber companion planting as they do not encroach on each other's territory. The root vegetables primarily grow beneath the soil, whereas cucumbers send down one larger tap root and also a few shallow roots that don't extend far. This means the roots of the cucumber will not interfere with those of the companions, and vice versa.

There are similarly good companions for many other crops you may grow, such as choices for onion companion planting or zucchini companion plants.

Growing CORN can act a support for smaller varieties of cucumbers to grow up, making the most efficient use of space as a vegetable garden trellis idea. The cucumbers will also luxuriate in the shade provided by the taller plants, believes Chris Smith of Pennard Plants . Corn further adds beneficial nitrogen to the soil.

Some of these good companions are also among the easiest vegetables to grow – even more reason to include them in your crop plans.

Cucumber companion planting – with herbs 

(Image credit: National Trust Images / Stephen Robson)

Herbs also play their part when it comes to cucumber companion planting.

If you plant OREGANO as part of your herb garden ideas, this deters insects with its essential oils that act as a repellant for many insects.

'DILL acts by attracting predatory insects – such as wasps – which will help rid your plot of those unwanted pests,' says Rob Smith of Dobies.

Dill also attracts beneficial pollinators, which help to pollinate cucumber plants – and you can never have enough pollinators in an organic garden or as part of your wildlife garden ideas.

CHIVES are an excellent choice of aromatic herb for cucumber companion planting as the oniony aroma deters the cucumber beetle that will feast off the leaves, flowers and fruit of your salad vegetable.

Cucumber companion planting – with flowers 

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

There are many flowers that not only look beautiful planted among your crops, but are also excellent for cucumber companion planting.

Grow MARIGOLDS to repel a wide variety of pests, including aphids – a common pest on cucumber leaves.

Another popular and pretty choice for cucumber companion planting are NASTURTIUM, which attract aphids. While this may seem counterintuitive, ‘they are often used as a sacrificial plant so aphids and and black fly attack them but stay away from your vegetables,' says Emma O’Neill of Garden Organic . Using them as trap plants for pest control can be highly efficient.

If you're growing SUNFLOWERS, the tall stalks both provide supports for the cucumber vines to grow up, and also help shade the plants in the hot summer sun.

What can you not plant near cucumbers?

Plants you should not plant near cucumbers include some aromatic herbs, such as SAGE and MINT, which have a very strong scent and flavor and may affect the flavor of your cucumbers.

POTATOES are not advisable for cucumber companion planting as they will compete heavily with cucumbers for water and nutrients, which will have a detrimental impact on the harvest. Cucumbers also encourage potato blight, so equally are not good potato companion plants, so the two should be kept far apart from each other.

It is considered a good idea not to companion plant cucumbers next to PUMPKINS or other SQUASH as the gourds attract similar insect enemies. Planting too many close together will be like offering up a buffet style banquet to these pests.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Can tomatoes and cucumbers be planted by each other?

Cucumbers and tomatoes can be planted by each other as they share similar growing habits and therefore you can grow tomatoes by cucumbers. 

Greg Volente from Greenhouse Today explains that: 'Cucumbers and tomatoes are two vigorous growers in a spring garden. They’re both vining plants and share similar basic needs. When planted together, it’s easy to address their requirements and help them thrive until they are ready to be harvested.'

How close can you plant tomatoes and cucumbers?

When planting cucumbers and tomatoes together, you must ensure there is enough room between them. Not doing this will mean the plants will compete for light, room and nutrients. 

'Space individual plants 18 to 24 inches apart in rows that are spaced between 3 to 4 feet apart. The recommended plant spacing varies with the specific variety that you are growing. Bush varieties can typically be planted closer together than vining cultivars,' explains Volente.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Do peppers grow well with cucumbers?

Peppers and cucumbers can grow well together. The two plants enjoy similar growing conditions and as cucumber is a vining plant and pepper a bush plant, they shouldn’t compete for space. 

Once you know how to grow bell peppers, try growing your cucumbers vertically up a trellis and place the peppers in front. This way, the plants won’t need to compete and should be able to coexist peacefully together. 

Rachel is senior content editor, and writes and commissions gardening content for homesandgardens.com, Homes & Gardens magazine, and its sister titles Period Living Magazine and Country Homes & Interiors. She has written for lifestyle magazines for many years, with a particular focus on gardening, historic houses and arts and crafts, but started out her journalism career in BBC radio, where she enjoyed reporting on and writing programme scripts for all manner of stories. Rachel then moved into regional lifestyle magazines, where the topics she wrote about, and people she interviewed, were as varied and eclectic as they were on radio. Always harboring a passion for homes and gardens, she jumped at the opportunity to work on The English Home and The English Garden magazines for a number of years, before joining the Period Living team, then the wider Homes & Gardens team, specializing in gardens.

photos of varieties, video, conditions and features of growing seedlings of cucumbers at home and in a greenhouse

The cucumber plant is considered to be very thermophilic, moisture-loving, requiring fertile soil, protection from drafts and good lighting. When growing cucumbers, pollination by bees is of great importance.

What are the roots, stems and flowers of cucumbers (with photo)

There are about 50 fruit, leaf, root, onion and other crops in the assortment of vegetable crops in protected ground.

Cucumber is one of the favorite and popular vegetables. Everyone likes its aroma, crispy flesh, delicate taste.

Cucumber contains many alkaline compounds that neutralize acidity. Cucumbers are very good for improving the functioning of the stomach, kidneys, liver, heart, and cholesterol excretion. Easily digestible iodine in cucumber normalizes the functioning of the thyroid gland. Regular consumption of fresh greens reduces the formation of carbohydrates and fats in the body. Arrange cucumber fasting days - and become slimmer. Sensation: cucumbers contain silver. Eat more cucumbers and your value will increase!

Cucumber native to the tropical regions of India; it is a gentle warm and moisture-loving plant.

Seeds begin to germinate at 12-13 ℃, however, under these conditions, seedlings appear very slowly and rarely. The optimum temperature for seed germination is 25–30 ℃, then they germinate 4–6 days after sowing. For normal growth, a temperature of 25–27 ℃ is required. At temperatures below 15 ℃, the development of plants is delayed, at 8–10 ℃ they get sick, and at 3–4 ℃ they die after 3–4 days. Cucumber does not tolerate frost. Young seedlings (in the cotyledon phase) are most sensitive to cold. In the phase of one or two true leaves, when intensive photosynthesis begins in plants, their resistance to cold increases significantly. The optimum temperature for flowering and fertilization of flowers is 18–21 ℃. The best temperature during the fruiting period is 30-32℃ during the day and 20-22℃ at night.

When growing cucumbers of all varieties, they need high soil and air humidity (85–95%), combined with high temperature (like a bath atmosphere). This is due to the weak development of the root system, its low suction power, large evaporative surface of plants, high water content of tissues and transpiration intensity. With insufficient soil moisture and low relative humidity, plants grow poorly, develop slowly, the first, most valuable ovaries fall off, few fruits are formed, they do not reach normal size, their taste is low. Lowering the temperature and humidity of the air contributes to the appearance of bitterness in the fruits. Cucumber suffers from changes in day and night temperatures, drafts, watering with cold water. It is enough to pour cold water once, so that diseases appear in 10-15 days.

One of the features of growing cucumbers is to provide these plants with enough light.

Cucumber is demanding on soil fertility and structure, unstable to its salinity, very sensitive to high concentration of soil solution and soil acidity (optimal pH - 6.2-6.8).

As you can see in the photo, the root of the cucumber is taproot, penetrates the soil shallowly, has numerous branches:

Knowing what kind of root the cucumber has, it is important to provide good conditions for its development and to loosen the soil around the plants very carefully; it is best to do injections with a pitchfork.

What is the stem of a cucumber and what is the intensity of its branching? The length of the stem, depending on the variety and culture, varies from 30 to 500 cm or more. Greenhouse hybrids have a strongly growing whip. They vary greatly in their tendency to branch. There are hybrids in which branching begins after pinching the apical bud. In others, branching begins after the fruit is harvested from the main lash. In the presence of self-regulation of branching, less time is spent pinching side shoots. The rarest are hybrids with short internodes, which practically do not require pinching.

The intensity of branching has not only a genetic basis, but also depends on external conditions. Shading, low temperatures, lack of water contribute to a decrease in branching.

Look at the photo - cucumber flowers are single, usually dioecious:

Male and female flowers are located on one plant. Usually, male flowers are collected in inflorescences of 5–7 pieces, the first ones appear in the lower nodes of the lash, and the female ones are located singly, less often 2–3 in the leaf axil, appear later.

The manifestation of sex is a varietal trait, but it may also depend on external conditions. A decrease in temperature, carbon monoxide, a decrease in the length of the day to 12 hours contribute to the acceleration of the formation of female flowers and an increase in their number.

Hybrids with a female or predominantly female type of flowering are now being created, in this regard, there is no need to use techniques that increase the number of female flowers. Along with this, there are varieties with a male type of flowering used as pollinating plants. Cucumber is a cross-pollinated plant. At the same time, hybrids with parthenocarpic fruit formation are very popular in greenhouse vegetable growing. They do not require pollination. It is valuable that the formation of the crop does not depend on pollinating insects, which are not always willing to visit the greenhouse. When pollinated, such hybrids produce seeds, but at the same time, marketability is lost in most long-fruited varieties, since greens acquire a deformed club-shaped shape.

Hybrids differ in the manifestation of parthenocarpy, which largely depends on the growing conditions. Strengthening parthenocarpy contribute to a relatively short day, high light, high CO2, optimal nutrition. There are partially parthenocarpic hybrids that show this ability only in favorable conditions.

Parthenocarpic hybrids are: short-fruited (greenery length up to 20 cm), relatively short-fruited (greenery length - 20-22 cm) and long-fruited - 25-30 cm or more. The surface is smooth and bumpy. The highest early yields in winter greenhouses provide smooth, long-fruited cucumbers. A somewhat unusual appearance does not detract from the high taste.

Growing seedlings of cucumbers from seeds

Cucumber seeds for growing seedlings are sown 25–40 days before planting. The earlier the date of planting seedlings, the greater the age. Before sowing, to activate enzymatic activity, calibrated and pickled seeds are soaked for 12–16 hours at a temperature of 20 ℃ in a solution of fertilizers (10 g of superphosphate and potassium nitrate, 0.2 g of sulfate salts of manganese, zinc and copper per 1 liter of water). To accelerate the emergence of seedlings, seeds are germinated. They are sown directly in pots measuring 10 × 10 cm to a depth of 1–1.5 cm.

Cucumber seedlings are grown with moderate water supply and relative air humidity of 70–80%. The optimum soil temperature during the period from sowing to emergence is 26-28 ℃, in the rest of the period - 23-24 ℃. On sunny days, the air temperature should be 24-26 ℃, on cloudy days - 20-22 ℃, at night - 18-20 ℃. When growing seedlings for unheated greenhouses, it is advisable to reduce the night temperature by 1–2 ℃ and harden seedlings. To do this, the temperature is reduced within 4 days after their appearance to 20–22 ℃ during the day and to 15–16 ℃ at night.

To prevent diseases of olive blotch, anthracnose, bacteriosis, seedlings are sprayed 1-2 times with 1% Bordeaux liquid or 0.3% copper oxychloride.

Only complete, healthy plants are planted. Seedlings of pollinating varieties (Phoenix, Nezhinsky can be used as a pollinating variety) are 5–7 days older than the seedlings of the main hybrid. This is necessary in order to guarantee the appearance of male flowers by the time the female flowers bloom.

Here you can see a photo of growing cucumbers from seeds:

Preparing a spring greenhouse for growing cucumbers

In spring greenhouses, cucumbers are grown on soil with the addition of organic and mineral fertilizers. To prepare a greenhouse for cucumbers in autumn, 25–30 kg of manure, 45–60 g of superphosphate, 20–30 g of potassium sulfate per 1 m² are applied to the soil. After that, the soil is dug up. In the spring, before loosening, add 25–35 g per 1 m² of ammonium nitrate.

Annually improve the water-physical properties of the soil by introducing loosening materials (straw cutting, sawdust, peat) up to 25% of the volume. When straw and sawdust are introduced in the spring, additional nitrogen fertilizers are added to compensate for the nitrogen absorbed by the rapidly developing microflora, at the rate of 30 g of saltpeter per 1 kg of sawdust, straw.

Seedlings of short-fruited cucumber hybrids are planted in spring greenhouses when the soil at a depth of 10 cm at 8 o'clock in the morning warms up to 14 ℃. In heated spring greenhouses, this happens in the first or second half of March, depending on the heating power. In unheated greenhouses in the steppe zone, cucumber is usually planted in mid-April, in the forest-steppe zone and Polissya - in the third decade of April. These dates coincide with the transition of the average daily air temperature through 10 ℃. Seedlings of hybrids with an elongated fruit shape should not be planted in soil temperatures below 10 ℃. In cold soil, it forms a weak root system, small leaves are affected by diseases. Inexperienced vegetable growers go to the other extreme, being late with planting dates, planting in greenhouses in May at the same time as planting in open ground. This leads to the loss of early harvest. Remember that greenhouses are expensive structures and you need to pay for them first of all with an early harvest.

The greenhouse is covered with foil 10–15 days before planting and heated in advance, if possible, in order to establish the required air and soil temperature.

In greenhouses it is very important to ensure the productive work of the bees. Poor pollination leads to a sharp decrease in plant productivity, increased growth of lateral shoots, which increases labor costs for the formation of a bush. 5-7 days before flowering, one hive is installed per 1000 m². When growing parthenocarpic hybrids, the presence of bees in greenhouses is not allowed, since they reduce the quality of products by pollination - fruits with seed heads are formed. Therefore, it is impossible to grow parthenocarpic and bee-pollinated varieties in the same greenhouse, with the exception of a number of hybrids from the Manul company - F1 Matryoshka, F1 Maryina Roshcha, F1 Ant, etc., in which pollination does not impair product quality.

Technology of growing cucumbers in winter greenhouses

It is possible to grow cucumbers in winter greenhouses equipped with air and soil heating.

To get a good harvest, you need to follow the correct technology for growing cucumbers in winter greenhouses, success is ensured by:

Scheme of planting cucumbers in a greenhouse (with video)

In March-April, planting cucumbers in a greenhouse is carried out according to the scheme: 90–100 × 25–30 or 120 × 25 cm, i. e. 3.3–4.4 plants per 1 m². The feeding area is determined by the growing period and varietal characteristics. The earlier seedlings are planted, the fewer plants are placed per 1 m². The more branched the plants (F1 Souvenir, F1 Galit, F1 Xana, F1 Slobozhansky, F1 Buyan, F1 Matryoshka, F1 Maryina Roshcha, F1 Chistye Prudy, etc.), the fewer plants are planted per 1 m².

Increased planting density in plants with moderate or limited branching (F1 Ant, F1 Grasshopper, F1 Kozyrnaya Karta, etc.). When planting cucumbers in a greenhouse, only the pot is covered with soil, without deepening the stem. The root neck is not covered with earth, which reduces the possibility of plant diseases with root rot. In the case of planting overgrown seedlings, it is buried to the hypocotyl knee. For good survival of seedlings, especially overgrown ones, it is necessary to create high air humidity in the greenhouse, close to 100%. There should be fog in the greenhouse, which is achieved by refreshing watering.

If, when planting overgrown seedlings, especially in cold soil, the growth of the assimilation surface is delayed and a large number of ovaries are formed, they are immediately cut off. Creating conditions for the rapid growth of the assimilation surface is of great importance for obtaining a high yield of greens.

Beginning vegetable growers, wanting to get the first cucumber, often violate this rule, which greatly slows down the subsequent growth and productivity of plants. The fact is that overgrown seedlings, which have fallen into unfavorable conditions, tend to throw all their forces into the production of offspring to the detriment of the harmonious growth of leaves. 2–3 days after planting, the plants must be tied to the trellis to a height of 1.8–2 m. To improve the use of light, the plants are tied to the left and right wires one after the other.

Watch a video of cucumber planting in a greenhouse to better understand the process:

Air and soil temperature when growing cucumbers

– 21–23 ℃. It has been established that the level of night temperatures determines the nature of the formation of the assimilation apparatus. For hybrids in which an early harvest is formed on the main stem, the night temperature is maintained at 16–18 ℃ before fruiting, during the fruiting period - 19-20℃. At a temperature of 12–15 ℃, fruiting is delayed and the formation of side shoots is enhanced.

Fruiting of cucumbers goes in waves: first from the main stem, then, after a break, from side shoots. To reduce the duration of this unproductive period, when the growth of above-ground organs stops due to the death of the root system, it is necessary to reduce the night temperature to 15–16 ℃, which, along with other methods (fertilizing, loosening), contributes to the regeneration of the root system and the formation of lateral shoots. The best way to loosen cucumbers is to prick the soil with a pitchfork.

Soil temperature for cucumbers should be at least 17 ℃, optimal - 25 ℃. For cucumber, soil temperature is a more important factor in increasing productivity than air temperature. So, in our experiments, an increase in soil temperature by 1 ℃ (within the range from 16 to 19 ℃) is accompanied by an increase in the early harvest by 0.7 kg/m², and an increase in the average daily air temperature by 1 ℃ (within the range from 15 to 20 ℃) ​​- by 0.3 kg/m². These experiments show that if you equip a greenhouse with heating, then you must first heat the soil for cucumbers, and it is best to combine soil and air heating.

Particular attention should be paid to the ventilation of greenhouses in order to avoid significant temperature fluctuations and drafts. This is a preventive measure to protect plants from diseases and pests. Ventilation openings open in the morning as early as possible. Top ventilation is considered the best.

Cultivation and care of cucumbers in a greenhouse: maintenance of air humidity

5 %. In areas with low relative humidity, this is achieved by a combination of forced ventilation with air humidification or refreshing irrigation, which is also an effective means of combating overheating - the main reason for the decline in cucumber productivity in the southern regions.

When growing and caring for cucumbers, in order to enhance the growth of stems, leaves and greens, humidification of the air in the greenhouse by irrigation at a rate of 1.5–2 l/m² is widely used. It is carried out between the main waterings, spraying the paths, the soil surface. After that, the facilities are closed for 1-2 hours.

When the relative humidity of the air decreases, the development of the spider mite is accelerated. However, when ascochitosis, anthracnose, olive blotch and white rot appear, the relative humidity of the air should be reduced to 70% to prevent the spread of diseases.

Feeding cucumbers and how often to water vegetables in a greenhouse

Many beginner growers are interested in how often to water cucumbers in a greenhouse in order to get a good harvest. The irrigation regime for cucumber, a highly demanding crop in terms of water regime and soil aeration, is differentiated depending on lighting conditions. The irrigation rate in March - April is 4-6 liters, in May-June - 12-15 liters per 1 m² every other day or daily. Water the cucumber should only be warm (20-25 ℃) water. Watering with cold water and waterlogging lead to the development of root rot, a sharp decrease in plant productivity.

Cucumber is fed depending on the period of growth, the availability of nutrients in the soil and plants. Many gardeners prefer to feed cucumbers in the greenhouse with organic substances: a solution of mullein diluted 1:4–8 or bird droppings 1:10–12. Sometimes organic fertilizers alternate with mineral ones. Plants are fed immediately after harvesting, so that the absorbed minerals, especially nitrogen, have time to turn into organic compounds and do not cause the accumulation of nitrates.

Technology of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse: formation of a bush

One of the important points in the technology of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse is the formation of a bush. The meaning of this is to ensure maximum yield by redistributing the products of photosynthesis between the organs of the plant, optimizing the illumination regime and the volume of the greenhouse.

For faster growth of the main stem and formation of a powerful assimilation apparatus at the lower 4 nodes, female flowers and lateral lashes are removed, best in their infancy. In the next 1–2 nodes of the main stem, the ovaries are left, but the side lashes are removed. In the next nodes of the lower tier, the side shoots are pinched by 1-2 leaves, at the nodes of the middle tier - by 2 leaves, the top - by 2-3 leaves. The top of the plant is carefully wrapped around the trellis wire. If the greenhouse is low, then pinch the main stem shortly - above the 3rd-5th leaf.

In higher greenhouses, the top of the main lash is carefully wrapped around the trellis, lowered down and pinched at a height of 100 cm from the soil surface. This method is most often used for bee-pollinated cucumber plants. To ensure a longer fruiting period, and also in some cases for parthenocarpic hybrids, cucumber lashes are pinched over the 3rd–5th leaf above the trellis wire. When growing cucumbers, to form a bush from the upper nodes, one side shoot is lowered down, which is pinched after 50 cm, leaving the continuation shoot up to a height of 100 cm from the ground level. On the horizontal section of the main stem, all shoots are removed to create better illumination.

The video of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse shows all the stages of the technological process:

Characteristics of varieties and hybrids of cucumbers with photos and descriptions

Before choosing a variety of cucumbers, read the photo and description of their characteristic features.

If it is indicated that the variety is parthenocarpic female type of flowering, it is necessary to plant a pollinator variety to it, otherwise it will bloom profusely, but you will get few fruits. In addition, parthenocarpic varieties are usually grown in greenhouses or film shelters. If they are pollinated by bees, they can produce twisted fruits. So refrain from growing such varieties outdoors unless there is a corresponding indication that they are suitable for this.

Parthenocarpic: Adam, Amazon, Anyuta, April, Aelita, White Angel, Break, Cornflower, Vicenta, Voyage, Danila, Delpina, Dynamite, Emelya, Zozulya, Courage, Meadow, Makar, Marta, Navruz, Nastenka, Sail, Pasadena, Pasamonte, Picnic, Pyzhik, Romance, Russian style, Sapphire, Svyatoslav, Sentyabrsky, Stella, Juventa, Julian, etc.

The golden rule to remember here is that any outdoor cucumber grows well in greenhouses, but not all greenhouse cucumbers are adapted to open ground. In open beds, hybrids are grown that are adapted to the drying effect of the wind and low air humidity. In addition, Zelentsy, in the event of their pollination, should not lose their marketable qualities. These requirements are met by such hybrids of the universal type of cultivation as parthenocarpic F1 Anyuta, F1 Buyan, F1 Ant, F1 Matryoshka, F1 Grasshopper, F1 Kozyrnaya Karta, F1 Junior Lieutenant, F1 Three Tankers, parthenocarpic F1 Saltan, etc.

The duration of fruiting is associated with such a feature as branching (ie, the intensity of the growth of lateral shoots). In some cases, preference is given to strongly branching hybrids, in others - to weakly branching ones. Cucumbers with different types of branching complement each other, not exclude each other.

All summer cucumbers can be divided into 3 groups according to the nature of branching:

1. Good branching means the growth of side shoots from almost every node of the main stem ; lateral shoots are long, requiring pinching in greenhouses. Many modern hybrids with good branching are characterized by a valuable feature - self-regulation of branching, when a high crop load on the main stem does not allow lateral shoots to form quickly (F1 Buyan, F1 Anyuta, F1 Boy with a finger, F1 Matryoshka, F1 Farmer, F1 Lord, F1 Maryina Roshcha , F1 Chistye Prudy, etc. ). When most of the crop is harvested from the main stem, the side shoots will begin to grow faster. This is especially important if you come to the garden plot on weekends - such plants do not have time to overgrow too much during the working week.

2. Hybrids with moderate lateral branching may have many but are short with short internodes. F1 Ant, F1 Grasshopper, F1 Kozyrnayakarta, F1 Mazay, etc. combine limited shoot growth with a fairly long fruiting period.

3. Cucumbers with weak branching of lateral shoots do not produce very many on the main stem, these shoots are shortened (i.e. determinate, with very short internodes), quickly stopping their growth. These are cucumbers of the "bouquet" type - F1 Amur, F1 Bouquet, F1 Regina-Plus.

The intensity of branching is regulated genetically, but also depends on external conditions. When shading, low temperature, drought, side shoots grow weaker, and in warm sunny weather with good watering - stronger.

Low-branching hybrids are ideal for when you need to get the maximum yield in a short time (3-4 weeks). Early yield in weakly branching cucumbers is increased due to a denser planting (in protected ground up to 5–6 plants/m2 instead of the usual 2.5–3 plants/m2). For harvesting within one month, hybrids with moderate (limited) branching are also well suited.

After the first, main, fruiting wave on the main stem, the second wave of fruiting occurs on the lateral shoots. Therefore, if you want to harvest greens for a longer time, you need to grow early-ripening hybrids with more active branching. If the fruiting period lasts from 3–4 weeks to 1.5–2 months, opt for hybrids of the F1 variety type Ant, F1 Grasshopper, F1 Kozyrnaya Karta, etc.

. without pinching the main stem and side shoots), so growing side shoots are the key to long-term fruiting.

For pickling (and the best pickles, as you know, are obtained at late harvests in August, because it is at this time that high sugar content accumulates in greens), hybrids with moderate and good branching are suitable, they will provide you with a high yield late summer - early autumn.

Cucumbers with bunch arrangement of ovaries in knots are very popular. Such hybrids have high productivity, versatility of cultivation and excellent qualities of greens. This group includes a large number of hybrids (F1 Buyan, F1 Saltan, F1 Anyuta, F1 True Friends, F1 Ant, F1 Maryina Roshcha, F1 Junior Lieutenant, F1 Three Tankers, F1 Okhotny Ryad and many others).

Among the bee-pollinated cucumbers, the female-type flowering forms (F1 Farmer, F1 Lord, F1 True Friends) are more productive compared to mixed-type forms. But for high-quality pollination, 10% of the pollinator must be sown to them or grown next to a hybrid or cucumber variety that forms a large number of male flowers (barren flowers).

What else do we pay attention to? On the pubescence, or prickly, fruit. It is thick or almost absent, next to large spikes there may be small ones. And they differ in color: white, brown, black.

White thorn cucumbers - lettuce type, they are not suitable for pickling. By the way, it is these vegetables, regardless of the season, that come to our shelves from greenhouses. Even on smooth long fruits, you can see rare white spikes.

Black or brown thorns are a sign of a pickled or universal cucumber. Their fruits are good to eat fresh, pickle and pickle. The only drawback is that they overripe much faster than the white-thorn ones, turn yellow and become rough. In Russia, cucumbers with a tuberous surface are loved, considering them to be “real”. Europeans, on the contrary, prefer smooth ones. And those cucumbers that have “pimples” are called cucumbers in a “Russian shirt”.

These photos of cucumbers show plants of various varieties:

Growing cucumbers at home on the windowsill

Cucumbers in winter are an absolutely everyday occurrence. Many housewives in recent years do not even bother with canning - why, when there is everything and for every taste, even fresh, even salty-marinated. But a fresh cucumber right from under the leaf will surprise many! Yes, not some kind of “waxed” with unknown preservatives and “pumped up” with unidentified chemistry! And familiar to you from his earliest cucumber childhood, grown up before your eyes and fed by means known to you. Any parthenocarpic varieties are suitable for growing cucumbers on the windowsill, but bee-pollinated ones can also be used, do not forget to do this very pollination in time.

The process, in principle, is not “oh, how complicated” - any fan of indoor plants can handle it - and more fastidious plants are grown. The temperature regime (+21…+24 °C during the day and +18…+19 °C at night) is almost maintained in the apartments. Unless you have to slightly push the permanent "residents" of home window sills, as the cucumber loves light and space.

These are the main difficulties that those who wish to grow cucumbers indoors will face.

In the months with the shortest day (November and December) it is better not to grow cucumbers. You will have to illuminate them for almost 15 hours a day.

But since the end of January, when the day slowly comes and the sun appears in the sky more often, it is already possible. But additional illumination of 3-5 hours a day, especially on cloudy days, still organize. It is better to choose special fitolamps (they will be useful for ordinary houseplants), but you can get by with simple fluorescent ones. You need to place "guests from the garden" on the southern or eastern windowsill - there the sun is present as long as possible.

The second difficulty when growing cucumbers at home is the level of humidity. Central heating batteries dry up the air like in the desert. For cucumbers, this is detrimental. But other moisture-loving indoor plants are grown at home! Trays with wet pebbles, a damp cloth for radiators, air humidifiers - all these measures will increase the humidity of the air not only around the cucumbers, but also in the room as a whole, which will not hurt you.

When placing cucumbers on windowsills, be sure to protect the roots from hypothermia. Especially dangerous is a decrease in temperature in combination with stagnation of moisture - the roots quickly rot and die. Therefore, if you have a cold window sill, place some heat-insulating material under the container (a piece of board, or something polymeric, for example, isolon). And be sure to pour a good drainage layer into the container (you can use broken bricks, fragments of ceramic pots, expanded clay).

Another inconvenience is that for normal growth and development, cucumbers require rather large containers, at least 6–8 liters of soil per plant. But if you want, this is not a problem.

So, at the end of January - beginning of February, you can open the "cottage season".

Prepare seeds before planting. It is enough to disinfect them in a dark purple solution of potassium permanganate for about 20 minutes, rinse in clean water, and then soak for about 3 hours in a nutrient solution, for example, ash (1 tablespoon of wood ash is diluted with a glass of water).

After that, we sow the seedlings - everything is as usual: pour a nutrient soil mixture into small pots with a retractable bottom and put 2-3 seeds. You can immediately sow in large containers, but then for a month you will have to admire the almost empty "bucket of earth" on the window.

When the plants grow a little, leave one, the strongest, pinch the rest at the very root (do not pull out!). When two true leaves appear, we transplant, as in a garden bed, with the whole clod of earth. In this case, a large plastic or ceramic pot (volume up to 10 l), a box, or a double film bag can act as a bed. In any case, there must be holes in the bottom to remove excess moisture into the pan. The soil mixture can be prepared from peat, humus, garden soil and sand (4:4:2:1) or soddy soil, humus and sand (4:5:1), sand can be replaced with sawdust. If you do not want to deal with top dressing later, you can initially prepare a more nutritious soil mixture. For example, garden soil, sand, fine sawdust, dried leaf litter, commercial seedling mix (2:1:1:1:1) with about 1 cup wood ash, 1 cup crushed chalk or eggshell, and 1/2 cup bird droppings or 2 cups of dry manure. All components grind
tea, mix well, and after laying out in containers, they are poured with a purple solution of potassium permanganate.

In the early stages, to improve lighting, you can make a small reflective screen - stick a piece of foil in a semicircle around the perimeter of the pot so that sunlight collects in the center.

At the stage of 5–6 true leaves, you need to make something like a trellis - stick a peg (up to 1 m high) into the center of the pot and tie a growing shoot (you can tie it to the upper edge of the window). Cucumbers on the windowsill will have to be formed - lateral shoots are pinched over 2-3 leaves, the main stem - upon reaching the top of the window.

Watering - daily, preferably in the morning, always with warm (+2 * 7 . .. + 29 ° C) well-settled water. The more sun there is, the more abundantly you need to water, just do not arrange a “swamp”.

Top dressing is best carried out depending on the "well-being" of your cucumbers. If the plant has a thin and pale stem, the leaves are small, and the fruits do not want to be tied, then the nutrition is insufficient. You can use both complex mineral fertilizers and liquid organic fertilizers (for example, Bucephalus, Radogor and others), which are convenient because they are odorless. On average, it should be fed starting from the age of 1.5 months of seedlings, and then about once a month.

Zelentsy cut off about a week old. The more often the fruits are removed, the more they are formed. Sick and clumsy, too, should be removed. One normally developing plant can give you up to 25-30 delicious and fragrant cucumbers.


Crazy Cucumbers | Science and life

Ekballium. The whole plant is completely covered with light, stiff hairs, which makes it appear gray.

Exploding cyclantera fruits look like a thick comma.

The fruits of Echinocystis are like small tennis balls dotted with thorns.

Rarely found in Russia pumpkin plant - cyclantera.

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Everyone knows that cucumbers are cucumbers: green, pimply, crunchy. But what are mad cucumbers and why did they get mad?

Initially, the mad cucumber was called the southern perennial plant ekballium, found in the semi-deserts of the Mediterranean and Western Asia. It has cucumber leaves, pale yellow flowers and ovoid green fruits up to 5 cm in size.

Ekballium is a peculiar plant. The most interesting thing happens with the mad cucumber when the fruit ripens. The pulp of a ripe fruit turns into a sticky liquid with black seeds floating in it. At the slightest shock, the stalk flies out of the fruit like a cork from a bottle. Following the “cork”, mucus escapes from the shell of the fetus under pressure. Together with the seeds, it enters the soil, and the shell itself, like a rocket, flies up to a distance of two meters from the bush. If there are several ripe fruits, the push of the first "rocket" causes the launch of the next one, and so on, and they scatter in all directions. The impact force of the fetal shell is such that, being "under fire", you can get quite real bruises and even a "lantern" under the eye.

Crazy cucumber is a poisonous plant, the eaten fruit can even cause fatal poisoning.

In Russia, the echinocystis imported several decades ago from America began to be called a mad cucumber (translated from Latin - hedgehog bladder, or prickly bladder). This creeper, which until recently was grown as a great rarity, managed to run wild and in many places turned into an enemy of other plants. In the southern regions, dense thickets of Echinocystis can be seen in ravines and along river banks. It wraps around trees and shrubs, covers the ground with a thick carpet, preventing other plants from growing, except perhaps nettles. Echinocystis whips reach a length of 5-6m, so if you want to grow it on a balcony, be prepared for the fact that you will get only bare stems, and fragrant flowers will sway on the floor above.

Numerous small male flowers of Echinocystis are collected in dense fragrant panicles, and rare female flowers are almost invisible, they have thorns “from childhood” and hang one at a time. The fruits most of all look like small hedgehogs or tennis balls dotted with thorns. In ripe fruits, two holes open at the tip, and large dark seeds spill out from there. The fruits sway in the wind and scatter the seeds far around. Echinocystis seeds tolerate our winters well and after wintering they sprout much earlier and more amicably than those planted in spring.

Echinocystis is a close relative not so much of the cucumber as of the loofah, a plant from the gourd family. In both, the fetal skeleton is formed by thick woven fibers. You have probably seen such a loofah washcloth or even wash it with it. In Echinocystis, after the pulp has dried from the fetus, a tiny washcloth also remains.

The pumpkin plant cyclantera, which is rarely found in our country, can also be attributed to mad cucumbers. It grows mainly in Southeast Asia and India. More often than others, there are two types of this plant, both with inconspicuous flowers, but with very beautiful densely dissected leaves.

The first type - exploding cyclantera - gives spiky shiny fruitlets, similar to a thick comma or a cucumber that did not have enough watering: the pedicel has a thick, and at the other end - a tapering nose. The fruit explodes, but quite harmlessly. It cracks lengthwise and literally turns inside out, exposing white flesh and dark seeds that look like pieces of bark. It is hard to believe that anything can grow from them at all.

Another species, the leg cyclantera, is officially considered a South Asian vegetable. Its fruits are completely smooth and shiny, hanging on fairly long legs (hence the name). They ripen late, almost at the end of September. At home, cyclantera is stewed, fried, boiled or eaten raw. It tastes the same as an ordinary cucumber, but the peel is harsh, and the fruits are small.

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