Growing Cucumber

cucumis sativis : Cucurbitaceae / the gourd family

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

(Best months for growing Cucumber in New Zealand - cool/mountain regions)

  • P = Sow seed

October: After risk of frost

  • Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed. Best planted at soil temperatures between 61°F and 95°F. (Show °C/cm)
  • Space plants: 16 - 24 inches apart
  • Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Cut fruit off with scissors or sharp knife.
  • Compatible with (can grow beside): Nasturtiums, Beans, Celery, Lettuce, Sweet Corn, Cabbages, Sunflowers, Coriander, Fennel, Dill, Sunflowers
  • Avoid growing close to: Potato, Tomatoes

Your comments and tips

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18 Dec 19, Natalie (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
First time planting and i put tomato next to it. What can i expect?
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19 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - temperate climate)
I have just read on several websites that tomatoes and cucumbers are compatible. Don't grow near potatoes. I recently had tomatoes in one bed and cues in the next bed, beds 1.2m apart, beds 4.8m L x 2.5m W. Cues need space to spread out so don't plant close to other crops. Also consider if the tall plants will shade out the lower growing crop.
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18 Dec 19, Liz (New Zealand - temperate climate)
In my experience, the tomatoes grow well but the cucumbers struggle .
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19 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Tomatoes have a deep and wide root zone and would probably pinch most of the water and nutrients in the soil. Tomatoes need a lot of water and fert, cues far less. That is why I never recommend planting things too close to each other, give them the required area they need.
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16 Dec 19, Barabara (Australia - temperate climate)
Why do my cucumbers die and drop off when they are about 1 cm long please? They are neither under nor over watered. I dug cow manure into the bed 6 weeks before planting and have not fertilised further. The plants are very healthy and have many flowers and baby cucumbers on them.
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17 Dec 19, anon (Australia - cool/mountain climate)
You need bees to pollinate the female flowers, looks like you don't have any in your area. You can do it by hand, google it. Try planting some bee attracting flowers/shrubs in your yard to bring the bees to your place next time. From my experience only a small % of female flowers end up pollinated and grow into full size fruit.
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19 Dec 19, Barbara (Australia - temperate climate)
Thank you. I do have plenty of bees. It is my understanding that if the cucumbers have formed then the pollination has occurred. Am I wrong? I do have plenty of 1 cm cucumbers on the bushes.
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20 Dec 19, Anon (Australia - sub-tropical climate)
If you look at the flowers, the male has no little cue behind the actual flower, whereas the female has the little cue then the flower in the front. I had 8 apple cues in recently and they produced hundreds of flowers if not thousands. Only picked about 100 cues from it all together. If you can check the cues about 7-10 am to see if the bees are working. I read it takes about 10-12 visits by bees to pollinate a pumpkin flower. Cues could be similar. Hope you have some cues growing by now.
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28 Nov 19, Judy Chisholm (New Zealand - temperate climate)
Why do my cucumber plants have some yellow leaves. I have given them general Fertilizer and also Worm team. Do I need to do anything more as I may have planted them a bit early. Also how do I tell the difference between a female and male flower.
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02 Dec 19, Anon (New Zealand - sub-tropical climate)
If you put a lot of N on, the leaves would be dark green. If too little N then the leaves would be light green yellow. If too much N then it would burn and kill the plant. Worm tea is only a soil enhancer, gets the bugs etc going. It could be a deficiency of some trace elements in the soil.
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Showing 101 - 110 of 497 comments
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Have you had a lot of humidity (higher than usual) lately ? If so, your plants may be having a hard time transpiring. Transpiration is the process of releasing moisture (like sweating and evaporation rolled into one). Plants suck up water through their roots and move the water up through their stems and into their leaves, where they release the water (transpiration). Only about 5-10% of the water they intake is used for growth - the rest is released into the environment. The movement of water facilitates the movement of nutrients. So if the movement of water is SLOWED due to really high humidity (and this mostly happens in greenhouses when they are not properly ventilated) plants start to show signs of nutrient deficiencies of all kinds (maybe blossom end rot in tomatoes despite having plenty of bio-available calcium in the soil). That is to say; you could have a lot of misleading signs like: blossom end rot, or nitrogen deficiency (honestly I'm not sure which nutrients need the most water to be moved).....but the take away is the signs could be really confusing, and appear totally illogical. This only happens in high humidity situations; again like an improperly vented greenhouse, or if somehow you have managed to trap the humidity in your space...... this is a long shot.....but I lived on the Gold Coast (Broad Beach area) 30+ years ago...... and I still remember how humid it could get... especially further North. Clearly, some plants are better at moving the water in high humidity situations....tomatoes tend to have difficulty in very high humidity. Ensuring proper air flow may be helpful.

- Celeste Archer

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This planting guide is a general reference intended for home gardeners. We recommend that you take into account your local conditions in making planting decisions. GardenGrow is not a farming or commercial advisory service. For specific advice, please contact your local plant suppliers, gardening groups, or agricultural department. The information on this site is presented in good faith, but we take no responsibility as to the accuracy of the information provided.
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