How to Grow

From seed

Choose a sunny spot in the garden, fertilize soil.

Sow 4-5 seeds into mounds of moist soil spaced 40cm apart, and water well.

As seedlings grow, thin seedlings and leave only the two strongest.

Mulch around the base of the plant with organic mulch.

Feed weekly.

To save space, train cucumber vines to grow in fences or trellis.

Tie young stems to a wire support.

Eventually, the cucumber tendrils will cling to the wire.

From seedling

Plant when seedling is 7cm high or more.

Plant in fertile soil and follow 'how to grow from plant' instructions.

In a pot

From seed: Cucumbers grow best in the garden, but can still grow well in pots.

Grow them on a trellis up a wall.

Choose a pot at least 40cm wide.

Position in full sun, and protected from strong winds.

Full pot with potting mix.

Sow 4-5 seeds, cover lightly and water well.

As seedlings grow, thin seedlings and leave only the two strongest.

Feed weekly.

To save space, train cucumber vines to grow in fences or trellis.

Tie young stems to a wire support.

Eventually, the cucumber tendrils will cling to the wire.

Ready to harvest

Once cucumber plants begin producing fruit, check your garden daily for ripe cucumbers.

You can pick cucumbers early for making pickles or you can wait a while for larger slicing cucumbers.

If weather and plant health allow, the fruits can be left on the vine in the garden while they continue to mature and soften.

Otherwise, the fruits can be picked and held in a container until the fruits begin to soften.

Mature cucumbers will pull easily from the vine when ripe.

Collect seed

You only need to plant 1 cucumber plant in order to harvest viable seeds.

To maintain a variety over time, save seeds from between 5-10 plants.

If you’re saving seeds for genetic preservation of a rare variety, save seeds from 25 plants.

Cut cucumbers in half lengthwise to extract the seeds.

Scoop out seeds and any surrounding pulp from the seed cavity.

Place this mixture of seeds and pulp into a small bucket or jar with some water.

The mixture needs to undergo fermentation for 1-3 days to remove the pulp from the seeds.

The fermenting mixture should be held in an open container at temperatures between 70-80 degrees F.

When fermentation is complete, decant the seeds by adding more water to the container and stirring the mixture - the pulp and lightweight seeds will float to the top and can be poured off, leaving only viable seeds which will have settled at the bottom of the container.

Once the seeds have been rinsed clean, set the seeds out to dry on coffee filters or old window screens until they can be cleanly snapped in half.

Store cucumber seeds in a cool, dark, and dry place in an airtight container to keep out moisture and humidity.

When stored under these conditions, cucumber seeds will remain viable for 5 years.