Cucumber

How to propagate cucumber

The squash and melon family wants warm soil and hates cold, wet feet, so wait until the ground is reliably warm and sow the big seeds an inch deep right in the garden. They sprawl, so give them room or a trellis. They're insect-pollinated and cross wildly within a species — keep that in mind if you ever want to save seed that comes true.

Growing cucumber in Texas

Give it full sun and rich, well-drained soil. Match the spot to the plant and most of the battle is already won.

Time your planting to our long warm season and watch the frost dates at both ends; the live weather tool on this site is built for exactly that.

Keep moisture even, especially while it's young — deep, less-frequent soaks build better roots than a daily sprinkle.

Harvesting

Figure on roughly 50–70 before you're harvesting. Harvest at peak and keep harvesting — most vegetables produce harder the more you pick, and one left to over-mature tells the plant its job is done. The part you're after: fruit.

Making more for free

Every seed we sell is open-pollinated, which means you can save your own from the best plants and it'll grow true next year. Let a few of your strongest plants finish and go to seed, dry it fully, and store it cool and dark. That's the whole point of heirlooms — buy once, grow forever.