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What can i grow with cucumbers


13 Best Cucumber Companion Plants

Cucumbers are exuberant plants with vines that can sprawl over a lot of space—the healthier the plant, the more room they seem to take up. But, if you do not want your cucumbers to overgrow in a spot or choke out the competition, give the cucumber vines a trellis to grow up, giving you more space for other nearby plants.

Several garden plants fare well alongside these vigorous vines and make great companion plants for cucumbers. You'll find it's usually easiest to grow plants with similar care instructions, such as light, soil, water, and sun requirements. Some similar growing companions may include plants like tomatoes, zucchini, or squash. However, one thing to be careful of with similar-growing plants like cucumbers and tomatoes is they can sometimes fall prone to the same diseases, like mosaic virus or blight, which can spread easily if they're near each other.

The best companion plants help deter pests and do not compete with cucumbers for water or nutrients. The worst neighbors do just the opposite.

Best Cucumber Companion Plants

Special note about tomatoes and other cucurbits: Tomatoes and other cucurbits (cucumbers, zucchini, pumpkin) grow in the same conditions, complementing each other. They also attract similar pollinators to increase your plant's harvest. The reason these plants are not on the list as "best" companions is they are susceptible to some of the same diseases as cucumbers. If one plant gets infected, it's possible to wipe out your entire crop.

Learn more details about the garden plants that make the best cucumber companions and discover why you should not grow potatoes, sage, mint, and melon with cucumbers.

How to Grow 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 Planting to Control the Insects in Your Garden

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:

The Spruce / K. Dave

Best Companion Plants for Cucumbers

Various vegetables, flowers, and herbs make excellent companions for cucumbers.

How to Grow and Care for Oregano

The Spruce / K. Dave  

Worst Companion Plants for Cucumbers

What plants should you not plant near cucumbers and why?

The Spruce / K. Dave 

Cucumber companion planting: what to grow with cucumbers

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(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.

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 diseases. 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 need to be thinned out, leaving 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 be a guarantee of 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.

    How to grow cucumbers in an apartment / Tips for beginner gardeners - an article from the "How to equip a kitchen" section on Food.ru

    The main thing that seedlings and adult plants need is a lot of light. Therefore, if there is no opportunity or desire to engage in the installation of heating lamps, it is worth starting to grow cucumbers in late winter or early spring, when daylight hours begin to increase.

    Here are some tips for those who decide to grow cucumbers in their apartment in winter.

    Choose the right variety for growing cucumbers

    Not all varieties are suitable for growing at home. Carefully study the assortment of cucumbers in the store and pay attention to the following varieties of seeds:

    Prepare a place for growing cucumbers at home.

    Plant pots or containers should not be placed on the floor, even if it is warm. Place polyurethane foam (the “foam” used by hikers on hikes) or polystyrene foam under them. This is necessary for additional warming of the roots.

    Reflectors should be attached to the walls - ordinary food foil will do.

    Be sure to check for cracks in the window frames: if it's windy, be sure to plug them in and seal them up. Drafts are bad for growing vegetables.

    Tip

    Set up a mini greenhouse on your window or balcony so you always have fresh vegetables for salads or a quick pickle in the winter. It seems that the process of growing takes too much effort and time, but after a minimum experience, you will find that everything is quite simple. To get an uninterrupted harvest, it makes sense to plant seeds in several shifts, say, with an interval of one and a half months.

    Choose the right soil

    Planting the seeds in loose fertile soil is essential for a decent harvest. It must pass air well.

    Suitable substrate for cucurbits or ready-made potting soil. If you prepare the soil mixture yourself, do not forget to disinfect it with special preparations.

    Choose a container for planting

    You can choose large pots for ordinary flowers or wide long containers made of plastic (they are lighter in weight), wood, ceramic or metal. It is important to choose them so that there are not too many plants in one container, otherwise they will not be able to grow normally and actively and gain the mass necessary for fruiting.

    The structure of the cucumber root is such that it grows in breadth under the surface of the earth, so there must be a large distance around each seedling.

    Appropriately estimate the size of the home garden: it is not worth placing containers in two or three rows. The average volume of soil for one seedling is about five liters: that is, only two can be planted on a box about 70 cm long.

    Tip

    You can grow cucumbers in plastic bags. It is necessary to make holes on top for watering, and on the bottom for drainage, and put the bag on a tray so that excess water flows into it. With this method, you need to sow cucumbers in a closed, almost hermetically sealed bag, remember about the holes on top. When the plant rises to the level of the top layer, make neat cuts and let them out, and leave the roots under the film for warmth.

    Don't forget the drainage holes

    These are essential for the natural removal of excess fluid. Naturally, in this case, you need to take care of the pallet, which is placed under the containers. Otherwise, dirty water will spill onto the floor. In a humid and warm environment, mold and insects can start in it, and this is bad for both cucumbers and people living in the house.

    Pour a drainage layer on the bottom of the container: expanded clay, shards of pottery, and on top - earth for ⅔ of the volume, so that later you can add it as the plants grow.

    Observe the room temperature.

    Optimal - +20… 25 ℃. At this temperature, cucumbers grow quickly. If it gets hotter, the harvest may not be as good as we would like. If it is cooler, then plant growth slows down.

    The critical air temperature for a home cucumber farm is +17℃. If yours is even colder, then there is no point in the whole idea.

    It is very important that there is no sharp temperature difference, including day and night.

    Install special phytolamps

    Cucumbers need up to 16 hours of daylight to grow normally. In winter, in our latitudes, this is, of course, unrealistic, so lamps will be required. They should be located in close proximity to the plants, but no further than 15 cm, and illuminate them evenly. That is, you need to come up with a way to place several lamps at regular intervals both vertically and horizontally.

    Special fitolamps are suitable for this - look for them in gardening stores or in large building supermarkets, or ordinary LEDs - it is better to take full spectrum lamps. You only need to turn them on at night or on very cloudy days. The rest of the time, let the plants live under natural sunlight.

    Dive (thin out) the seedlings or plant immediately

    There are two ways to plant the seedlings:

    1. Immediately into the soil firmly enough to then thin out the seedlings to the desired optimal number.

    2. Alternatively, grow seedlings in small cups or cassettes first. Usually transplanting or picking is carried out when the first true leaves appear.

    Form a bush in time and tie plants

    Common varieties of cucumbers should be pinched (trimmed) along the main stem. This is done at a height of 6-7 leaves: this is how the bush begins to branch and grow in breadth, it will become lush.

    Parthenocarpic varieties cannot be pinched like this, they are allowed to grow to the ceiling: the ovaries are located on their main stem.

    Mustache should be trimmed immediately. They draw a lot of liquid and nutrients, so it is worth tying the plants by hand. To do this, provide a plate under the ceiling, to which you attach the threads.

    Properly care for cucumbers on the window

    Experienced gardeners can do everything exactly the same as in a full-fledged greenhouse or open field.

    Novice farmers should take into account our recommendations: