How to Grow Cucumbers in Garden Beds or Containers

Cucumbers are one of the most popular, carefree, and easiest vegetables to grow in your garden. They can be grown in garden beds, containers, or grow bags and thrive on sunny balconies and decks. The summer garden – and your salad plate – simply isn’t complete without delicious cucumbers fresh off the vine.

Did you know that cucumbers are actually fruits?

Even though we call a cucumber a vegetable, botanically speaking, it’s a fruit. A fruit is the mature ovary of a plant, developing after the flower is fertilized and containing the seeds of the plant. Cucumbers are just like cantaloupes, tomatoes, squash, peppers, apples, pears, and eggplants (all are technically fruit).

A vegetable is the edible portion of the plant itself, such as leaves (lettuce and kale), stems (celery and rhubarb), roots (carrots and beets), tubers (potatoes and yams), bulbs (onions and garlic), and flowers (broccoli and cauliflower). Seeds such as beans and peas are also considered vegetables (but technically are legumes).

Types of Cucumbers

Cucumbers are of 2 kinds:

• pickling for making pickles and canning
• slicing for fresh eating

Both can be grown as vining types or bush types.

• Vine-type cucumbers have large leaves and vigorous vines that can be left to ramble through the garden or trained up and across trellises, cages, or fences.
• Bush-type cucumbers form a sturdy, compact plant that’s easier to contain and preferred for small gardens and container growing.

Growing cucumbers in containers

Vining cucumbers are big plants that need to spread, so if you’re growing one of these types, choose a large container so the plant has plenty of room. If the container is too small, root growth will be restricted by mid-summer and the plant may become more susceptible to disease due to stress, with a drop off in yield. Each plant requires at least 2.5 gallons of soil, so plant a max of 2 cucumbers in a 5-gallon pot. You can use a tomato cage fitted to the container as a trellis.

For best results, choose a bush-type cucumber (which might also be referred to as “compact”). Bush varieties offer good disease resistance and produce high-quality fruit in much less space. Bush cucumbers have less space between leaves, branch quicker, and set fruit earlier and closer to the base of the plant. Some bush varieties will even produce yields comparable to standard-sized vines.

If you live in a cool climate, place the containers in a south-facing area if possible. This orientation gives them maximum sunlight all day and keeps them warmest if things cool off. In areas with high heat – regularly over 90 (F) – avoid black plastic containers and give them shade in the late afternoon to save them from the hottest part of the day. Containers subject to high heat should be elevated at least four inches off the ground, especially on concrete and brick surfaces.

For container growing, do not use garden soil, whether bagged or native. This is too dense and won’t provide enough air for the roots and may become waterlogged. Only use high-quality potting soil, which is looser, allowing for root growth and air and water circulation. And remember that your container must have holes in the bottom to allow water to drain. The types of containers without holes are generally meant to hold less decorative, functional containers with holes. The preferred type of container for cucumbers is one with 4 holes on the edges of the container, not one central hole.

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How to plant cucumbers

In the garden, cucumbers require a generous amount of organic material in the soil – it must drain well and never be waterlogged. If your garden is heavy clay soil, improve it with 2-3 inches of compost before planting cucumbers. After the plants germinate, add 2-3 inches of compost around the root zone to feed the plants all season.

How and when to sow cucumber seeds

• When the soil has warmed to at least 65 degrees (generally, when air temps are between 70 during the day and 50 at night), sow seeds every 5 inches and plant about 1″ deep.
• Keep the soil damp but not soaked until seedlings appear.
• Seeds will germinate in 3-10 days, depending on soil temperature.
• When seedlings are 5″ tall, thin them to stand 12″ apart.
• If the cucumber is a bush variety, you can space plants 12-18″ apart.

Cucumber seeds will not germinate in cold soil, so there is no use trying to sow seeds early. For an early planting, start seeds indoors 2-4 weeks before last frost. They grow quickly so don’t start them any earlier or they’ll quickly outgrow the starter pot.

Set out transplants no earlier than 2 weeks after the last frost in your area. Cucumbers are a tropical plant and are extremely sensitive to cold temperatures. A late cold snap in spring may kill them.

Like melons, cucumbers can also be planted in “hills”. Create mounds about 6-8″ high and 5 feet apart. Plant 2-3 seeds in each mound. When plants reach 4 inches in height, thin to one plant per mound. 

Keep cucumbers damp but never waterlogged

After the plants emerge, water deeply at least once a week, keeping the soil damp but not drenched. Don’t allow the roots to dry out, as fruit production will quickly slow, flower development will slow or terminate, and leaves will curl to conserve moisture.

Trellising cucumbers and mulching

If you’ve chosen a vining variety and have lots of space, you can let the plant ramble through your garden. If space is limited, or to make harvesting easier and reduce the possibility of disease, grow the cucumber on a trellis. Trellises are the superior way to grow cukes as the improved air circulation and access to direct sunlight vastly improves fruit yield.

Use a mulch such as straw, bark, or wood chips around cucumbers to suppress weeds, insulate the soil, and preserve moisture. If the vines are left to sprawl in the garden, fruit should be positioned on top of the mulch to keep it dry and away from pests and disease.

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When to harvest cucumbers

Cucumbers can be harvested as soon as the fruit reached mature length, which depends on the variety you’ve planted. Early harvests, about 1 week early, is the best time to harvest, as the fruits are their sweetest and fewer seeds have developed. Late harvests turn the fruit soft and bitter.

Cucumbers are ready for harvest roughly 45-70 days from planting, depending on the variety 9check your plant tag or seed packet). Harvest cucumbers by cutting the stem 1/4″ above the fruit (do not tear it from the stem or the entire plant may come with it). Frequent picking of cucumbers is essential – waiting until cukes are the maximum size reduces the quality of the fruit and makes the plant less productive.

Because of their high water content, cucumbers will only store for about 1 week in the refrigerator, so eat them fresh, in salads, or stir fry recipes. Some varieties are specifically developed for canning and pickling to be enjoyed all winter long.

Cucumber growing tips

• When the cucumber seedling has developed 7 leaves, pinch out the growing tip. This encourages side shoots that grow laterally. These can be left to trail over the ground or trained up a trellis.
• Cucumbers need 6-8 hours of direct sunlight to thrive. Early day sunlight is ideal to dry the plant’s foliage quickly after rainy nights.
• Cucumbers like warm but not hot temperatures.
• Cucumbers like a liberal amount of water, but never wet feet.
• Water cucumbers around the roots, and not the leaves, to avoid fungal diseases. Providing consistent moisture improves the flavor. Inconsistent moisture can result in bitter fruit.
• If left to grow on the ground, place mulch like cardboard or straw under the fruit to protect from it from pests and disease.
• Squash bugs and cucumber beetles are frequent pests – monitor and trap them with yellow sticky traps to avoid using chemical insecticides.
• Cucumbers like slightly acidic soil with a pH of 6.0-6.5.
• Keep the soil around cucumber seedlings free of weeds, but be careful not to disturb the roots that grow close to the soil. When plants are mature, the leaves will shade out most weeds. An organic mulch or straw keeps down weeds and insulates the soil.
• Cucumbers mature in 45-70 days depending on the variety (check your plant tag or seed packet)
• Practice crop rotation and do not plant cucumbers where you planted them in the last 2 years – they are very susceptible to disease.
• Cucumber seeds can be planted 2-3 weeks apart for a steady supply of fruit all season.

Wisconsin Vegetable Gardener has a good video on growing cucumbers on a trellis or in a homemade container.

Sources: Texas A&M Agrilife Extension; University of Minnesota Extension; University of Georgia Extension; Michigan State University Extension.

We garden in Pennsylvania, United States, zone 6B. Much of the info we share is based on gardening in our temperate area. But many of the flowers, vegetables, and fruit we write about can be grown in soil other than ours (clay) and significantly different weather conditions and elevations. You might need to choose specific varieties for your region, modify your garden, add soil amendments, or adjust the soil pH to match our results. Please check your local university extension website for specifics for your area.