Two or three cucumber plants in a garden will provide a steady supply of fresh cucumbers over the summer months. The smaller varieties of cucumber (Muncher and La Diva 1, for example) produce better than the larger varieties. Both sizes however do grow well in city gardens with restricted exposure to sunshine.
The plants are started from seed in March and the seedlings kept indoors for their first month. Cucumbers grow well in containers or planted out in soil. The young plants are a favourite of slugs and snails so need to be protected until the lower leaves become hardened and no longer palatable.
Cucumber plants when fully grown can reach over 2 metres in length and when in fruit are quite heavy plants requiring additional support. Planting beside a solid upright and then supported with string works well. They can also be grown hanging against walls.
A healthy cucumber plant is quite compact and bushy. The roots require to be reasonably loose around the soil block and not wrapped tight. This can be a problem with store bought plants. They can be easily loosened with fingers before planting.
The plant root ball requires to be firmly planted into the soil with soil packed in tightly around it, then well watered. The plant is then tied of with string to encourage it to climb. The plant will then rest for a few days before it starts to climb.
Cucumber do well in the city. They do not require full sun and will grow easily in containers on balconies with the plant trained up a wall. A good plant will produce cucumbers every two weeks and will continue well into the fall. Their flowers are a favourite of the bees.
