Beginner Seasoned
Pick your zone and the dates re-calibrate.
The Guide Crops Vol. 003

English Cucumber

in Zone 9, this week

English cucumbers are the long, smooth, seedless cucumbers usually sold wrapped in plastic, and they are grown mostly in a greenhouse, a high tunnel, or up a trellis in a warm spot. The special thing about them is that they make cucumbers all by themselves, without needing bees, and the fruit has no seeds, a thin skin you do not peel, and a mild taste that is easy on the stomach. Because they do not need pollinating, you actually want to keep bees away: if a bee pollinates one, the cucumber comes out seedy, crooked, and bitter. Grow them up a string or trellis as a single stem, give them warmth, sun, steady water, and regular feeding, and they will crop heavily for a long time. English cucumber is the long, thin-skinned, seedless form of Cucumis sativus grown mainly under cover, in a greenhouse or high tunnel or trellised outdoors in warm regions. Its defining trait is genetic: these types are parthenocarpic, so they set fruit without any pollination, and most are gynoecious, carrying nearly all female flowers for a heavy, early crop. Because the fruit forms without fertilization it is seedless, mild, and burpless, with a tender skin that needs no peeling, and it sizes up to roughly 12 to 14 inches on the standard Dutch or English type (the Beit Alpha and mini types run shorter, about 5 to 8 inches). The catch is that pollination is unwelcome: if bees carry pollen to a parthenocarpic plant, the fruit turns seedy, misshapen, and bitter, so growers exclude pollinators and isolate these plants from ordinary cucumbers. Plants are trained up a string or trellis as a single stem with the side shoots removed, and they want warmth, full light, steady moisture, and regular feeding over a long, productive season.

English Cucumber mature plant
Fig. 01 · English Cucumber, mature Zone 9
Mature in
55-65d
from transplant
Sunlight
Full sun
6-10 hrs daily
Water
Moderate
1 inch / week
Spacing
9 to 12 in
between plants
Soil pH
6-6.8
slightly acidic
Today · in your zone

What's happening right now

October 21 · Zone 9 · Stage 01 · Germination

Off-season for english cucumber in zone 9.

Seasoned
Microclimate · Zone 9a vs 9b

Your zone, at a finer grain

Zone 9 averages a last frost around March 1. Within Zone 9, the colder half (9a, winters down to 20°F) runs about a week later. The warmer half (9b, winters down to 25°F) runs about a week earlier. The plant app picks your subzone from your ZIP.

SubzoneLast springFirst fallGrowing daysWinter minFruits reliably
9aMar 8Nov 24~26120-25°FYes · two seasons
9bFeb 28Nov 30~27525-30°FYes · two seasons

Averages from 8 weather stations per subzone, drawn from NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals. Your actual frost date can vary by up to two weeks based on elevation, proximity to water, and local topography.

Source: NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals Methodology
Your climate region in Zone 9
The season at a glance

Planting calendar

In Zone 9, english cucumber can be planted March through July. Start indoors Feb 15 - Mar 15. Harvest runs May through November.

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
plant
too cold
indoors
plant
plant
plant
plant
plant
too late
too late
too late
too early
too cold
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
harvest
indoors
plant out
harvest
Seasoned
Stagger your sowings

Succession planting

English cucumbers crop for a long time on a single stem, but plants slow down and can get mildew, so start a second planting while the first is still producing to keep a steady supply. Under cover the season is long, so you can stagger plantings from spring into fall.A single-stem English cucumber cordon crops for a long stretch, but plants eventually tire or succumb to mildew, so a staggered succession keeps a protected house or tunnel in steady supply. Under cover the season is long, spring through fall, so a second planting started while the first is in full production takes over cleanly as the first fades. Space and expense argue for a few well-tended plants in succession rather than many at once.

Every 3 weeks · sow a short new rowUp to 12 sowings a season
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
sow
harvest
keep sowing
continuous harvest
The season, mapped

Seed to garden

English cucumber seed is seedless and expensive, so most growers start it indoors in warm conditions, about 80 to 85°F, and move the young plants to their final spot after three or four weeks, rather than sowing seed straight into the ground. Plant one seed per pot about half an inch deep. Keep these plants away from ordinary cucumbers so bees cannot bring pollen over.Because greenhouse and high-tunnel English cucumbers are grown from expensive seedless, gynoecious seed, they are usually started in cells, blocks, or peat pots at a warm 80 to 85°F and transplanted, rather than direct-sown. Sow one seed per cell about half an inch deep and set plants out three to four weeks later, once the soil under cover is reliably warm (at least 60°F). Direct sowing works too where soil is warm enough, but transplanting protects the costly seed and gains weeks in the season. Isolate parthenocarpic plants from ordinary cucumbers from the start so no stray pollen reaches them.

  1. 01
    Sow indoors →
    Feb 15 - Mar 15
    Start about 3 weeks before your last frost
  2. 02
    Transplant out →
    Mar 15 - Jul 1
    After hardening off
  3. 03
    First harvest
    From May 10
    55-65 days from transplant
Start method
Both
Soil temp
70-90°F
Hardening off
7-10 days
If you started plants indoors, give them a little more light and air each day over about a week before moving them to their final spot. Be gentle with the roots when you plant, since cucumbers do not like their roots disturbed. Peat pots or blocks you can plant whole help a lot.
From seed to fruit

The growing journey

Stage 01 · Germination
01
Germination
Days 3-10 · current stage
In warm conditions, seeds sprout in under a week. Two seed leaves push up first. If the medium is cold, seeds rot instead of sprouting.Seeds sprout in about 3 to 7 days in warm conditions; the optimum germinating temperature is about 84°F, eased to around 77°F once seedlings emerge. Cold medium below about 50 to 60°F rots seed rather than sprouting it.
Plant one seed per pot about half an inch deep and keep it warm, around 80 to 85°F. Keep the medium damp until it sprouts. The seed is pricey, so sow it in pots rather than scattering it.Sow one seed per cell or pot about half an inch deep in warm medium, ideally 80 to 85°F. Keep evenly moist, not soggy. Because the seedless seed is expensive, start in cells or blocks rather than sowing extra to thin.
FROM PLANT · Start the seed warm, around 80 to 85°F, one seed per pot. English cucumber seed is expensive and seedless, so do not scatter it in cold ground.Start the pricey seedless seed warm. The optimum germinating temperature is about 84°F; sow one seed per cell and keep the medium 80 to 85°F, not the cold ground that rots open-field cucumber seed.
02
Seedling
Days 10-21
After the first two rounded leaves, true leaves appear and the plant grows quickly. Watch for tiny mites, aphids, or whiteflies on young plants under cover.Cotyledons followed by the first true leaves; growth is fast once warm. Under cover, watch for the protected-culture pests, spider mites, aphids, and whiteflies, which colonize young plants in the sheltered warmth.
Set up a trellis or string for the plant to climb now. Water regularly, keep weeds down, and check the undersides of leaves for pests. Keep these plants away from ordinary cucumbers.Set up the trellis or support string now and plan single-stem training. Keep evenly watered and free of weeds, scout leaf undersides for mites and whiteflies, and keep the plants isolated from ordinary cucumbers so no pollen reaches them.
FROM PLANT · Under cover, look for tiny mites, aphids, and white flies under the leaves, and keep these plants away from ordinary cucumbers.Under cover the pests change: watch for spider mites, aphids, and whitefly on leaf undersides rather than beetles, and keep the young plants isolated from ordinary cucumbers so no pollen can reach them later.
03
Established and climbing
Days 21-35
The plant grows fast and climbs its support, sending out side shoots from where the leaves meet the stem. This is when you train it to a single stem and start feeding it regularly.Rapid growth and a lengthening main stem that climbs the string or trellis, throwing side shoots (suckers) from the leaf axils. This is the window to train to a single stem, remove the laterals, and begin steady feeding before heavy fruiting.
Guide the main stem up its support and remove the side shoots so it grows as a single stem. Pinch off the flowers on the bottom few leaves so the plant gets established first. Start feeding regularly and keep the water steady. Keep checking for pests.Train the main stem up the string or trellis and pin or twist it as it grows, remove the side shoots (suckers) to hold a single stem, and strip the flowers off the lowest few nodes so the plant builds before it fruits. Begin regular feeding high in nitrogen and potassium, and keep moisture even. Keep scouting for mites, aphids, and whitefly.
FROM PLANT · Grow English cucumbers as a single stem up a string or trellis, pinching off the side shoots. It keeps the plant tidy, healthier, and easier to pick.Train to a single stem: run the main leader up a string or trellis and pinch out every side shoot (sucker) from the leaf axils. A single, well-lit cordon fruits heavily, stays open against mildew, and is far easier to manage than a sprawl.
FROM PLANT · Pinch off the flowers on the bottom few leaves early and feed regularly. Letting the plant get established first gives you a stronger, longer-producing cucumber.Strip the flowers off the lowest few nodes and feed steadily once climbing. Building leaf and root before heavy fruiting, on a regular nitrogen-and-potassium feed, gives a stronger, longer-cropping plant.
04
Flowering
Days 32-48
Yellow flowers open, almost all of them female with a tiny cucumber behind the bloom. These plants make cucumbers on their own, without bees, so you should see little cucumbers start to grow right away.Yellow female flowers open at nearly every node, each with a tiny cucumber behind the bloom, because these gynoecious types are almost all female. The plants set fruit by parthenocarpy without any pollination, so you should see young fruit sizing up on their own, not waiting on bees.
Keep bees away from these plants. Under cover, screen the vents and doors; outdoors, keep bee-attracting flowers away. If a bee pollinates the flowers, the cucumbers turn seedy and bitter. Keep watering and feeding steadily.Keep pollinators OFF these plants: under cover, screen vents and doorways to exclude bees, and outdoors keep bee-drawing flowers away. Pollination makes the fruit seedy, misshapen, and bitter. Remove flowers on the lowest nodes early, keep moisture even, and keep feeding.
FROM PLANT · Keep bees away from English cucumbers. They make seedless cucumbers by themselves, and a pollinated one turns seedy and bitter. Screen out bees under cover and keep bee flowers away.Keep pollinators off. These parthenocarpic types set seedless fruit on their own, and pollination is what ruins it: a bee-visited flower gives a seedy, misshapen, bitter cucumber. Screen bees out under cover and keep bee-drawing flowers away outdoors.
FROM PLANT · Do not hand-pollinate English cucumbers, they do not need it. If little cucumbers are growing on their own, the plant is fine. Poor fruit usually means heat, dryness, or hunger, not a bee problem.No hand-pollinating here, unlike ordinary cucumbers. If young fruit is sizing up on its own at nearly every node, the plant is doing exactly what a gynoecious parthenocarpic type should; poor set is about temperature, water, or feeding, not pollination.
05
Harvest
Days 55-65
Shiny, firm cucumbers reaching full size, about 12 to 14 inches for the long types or 5 to 8 inches for the short ones. They grow fast, so they are ready sooner than you expect.Glossy, firm fruit reaching full length for the type, about 12 to 14 inches for the long Dutch and English types or 5 to 8 inches for Beit Alpha and mini types, sizing up fast (often within about 10 to 11 days of set) and noticeably bigger day to day at peak.
Check every day or two and cut the cucumbers while firm and glossy, using scissors or a knife rather than pulling. Picking often keeps more coming, and you do not need to peel them.Pick every 1 to 2 days, cutting or clipping the stem so the thin skin and brittle vine are not torn. Harvest at full length for tenderness and to keep the plant producing; remove any overheld fruit, which shuts down new set. No peeling is needed.
FROM PLANT · Cut English cucumbers at full size while firm and glossy, using scissors so you do not tear the thin skin. Check every day or two, they grow fast, and you do not need to peel them.Pick at full length and pick often. The long types are ready at about 12 to 14 inches, Beit Alpha types at 5 to 8 inches, sizing up within about 10 to 11 days of set. Cut the stem with scissors so the thin skin and brittle vine are not torn, and skip peeling.
FROM PLANT · Do not leave big cucumbers on the plant, it makes them stop producing. Pick off any you missed to keep more coming.Do not let a fruit overhold. A cucumber left on past size slows or stops new set, so clear any you missed. Frequent picking on a single-stem cordon keeps the plant filling new fruit down the stem.
06
End of season
Days 75-110
The plant slows down and the leaves may get powdery, spotted, or moldy in damp air. Outdoors, frost kills it; under cover, you pull it when it stops producing.Declining production, spreading powdery or downy mildew, gray mold or gummy stem blight in humid conditions, or, on outdoor plantings, sudden wilting. Outdoors the first frost kills the plant; under cover the crop is pulled when it tires or a successor takes over.
Pull out finished plants and clear them away, and use fresh growing medium for the next crop under cover. Starting a second planting earlier keeps cucumbers coming after the first one is done.Pull and remove spent vines rather than tilling or leaving them, to cut overwintering disease sites, and renew or sterilize substrate before the next crop. A staggered succession keeps harvest going as the first planting fades to mildew.
FROM PLANT · At the end, pull up old vines and clear them away, and use fresh growing medium for the next crop under cover. It cuts down on disease next time.Pull spent vines and remove them rather than leaving them under the plants, and renew or sterilize substrate before the next crop under cover. Clean beds and fresh medium mean less gummy stem blight, gray mold, and mildew carrying into the next planting.
Beginner
Know your soil

Your soil

Identify yours

Not sure what soil you have? Grab a small handful of damp soil from your garden bed and squeeze it. If it crumbles apart easily, it's sandy. If it holds together but breaks when you poke it, it's loam (what most vegetables want). If it stays in a hard, slippery ball, it's clay.

What this crop wants

Give English cucumbers rich, well-drained soil with lots of compost mixed in, or grow them in large pots or grow-bags of good potting mix, which is common since they are often grown under cover. Either way they have shallow roots and like steady moisture but hate sitting in water, so make sure it drains well. Grow them up a string or trellis so the long cucumbers hang straight, and if your soil is heavy or wet, use raised beds or containers instead.

If your soil doesn't match

You have sandy soil

Mix 2-3 inches of compost into the top 6 inches of your bed before planting. Compost holds moisture (which sandy soil drains too fast) and adds the nutrients sandy soil tends to lack. Repeat each season. Compost breaks down over time.

You have clay soil

Mix 2-3 inches of compost AND a few inches of coarse sand or perlite into the top 6 inches of your bed. The compost feeds the plants; the sand breaks up the clay so air and water can move through. Don't add sand without compost. It can compact like concrete.

Containers and raised beds

If amending your soil sounds like too much work, or if your soil is heavy clay, full of rocks, or contaminated, build over it. A raised bed at least 12 inches deep filled with a 50/50 mix of compost and sandy loam gives you ideal growing soil with no battles. A 5-gallon container with quality potting mix does the same for one plant at a time. Both bypass your native soil entirely.

Learn more about your soil
The specs

Care guide

The numbers that matter, at a glance.

Sunlight
Full sun · 6-10 hrs/day
Water
moderate
Spacing
9 to 12 inches
Soil
loam
Days to maturity
55-65 days from transplant
Soil pH
6 to 6.8
Container OK?
Yes · 5+ gal pot
Germination temp
70-90°F
In a pot

Yes, 5 gallons and up

English cucumbers are a great container crop, and better than ordinary cucumbers for a pot or balcony, because the parthenocarpic types set fruit without any bees. Pick a compact or Beit Alpha type, give it a big pot, at least 5 gallons and 12 inches deep, and add a trellis or string for the single stem to climb. Put it in full sun or bright light, keep it well watered (pots dry out fast), and feed it regularly. Water the soil, not the leaves, to help avoid mildew.English cucumbers suit containers particularly well, precisely because the parthenocarpic, gynoecious types fruit without pollinators, which makes a screened balcony, patio, or sunroom a natural fit. Choose a compact or Beit Alpha type such as Socrates, Picolino, or Katrina over the long sprawling kinds, and give it a real pot: at least 5 gallons and 12 inches deep, larger is better, with a trellis or string so the single stem climbs and the fruit hangs straight. Give it full sun or bright light, water at the base daily in heat (a small soil volume dries fast), and feed regularly, since containers deplete quickly over a long, productive season. The container figures here follow general container-vegetable guidance; cucumber-specific container numbers are modeled.

Pot size
5 gallons and up; 10 gallons is comfortable
Drainage
Drainage holes are a must. Skip the gravel layer. If you use a saucer, empty it after watering. English cucumbers will not tolerate sitting in standing water, which invites root and stem rot.
Watering
Pots dry out much faster than garden beds. In warm weather a potted English cucumber may need water every day, sometimes twice. Check daily and water until it drains from the bottom.Containers and bags dry far faster than beds, and an English cucumber in a pot can need water once or even twice a day in heat under cover. Check daily by feeling the top inch of medium, and water until it runs from the drainage holes; even moisture keeps the long fruit filling straight.
Depth and shape
At least 12 inches deep. A container English cucumber needs a deep, sturdy pot, at least 12 inches deep and 5 gallons or more, with a trellis or string so the single stem climbs rather than sprawls. Vertical training keeps the long fruit straight and the foliage open against mildew. Choose compact, Beit Alpha, or mini parthenocarpic types for pots rather than the long sprawling greenhouse cordons.
Self-watering pot
Yes. A self-watering container suits a potted English cucumber well, smoothing the moisture swings that pinch and curl fruit. Keep the reservoir topped up in heat, water from below to keep foliage dry against mildew, and use a large enough planter that the roots are never waterlogged.
Mix
Use a rich, free-draining peat- or coir-based potting mix, not garden soil, which compacts and drains poorly in a container. Blend in about a third compost plus a slow-release balanced fertilizer at planting. Because frequent watering flushes nutrients, plan to feed a container cucumber more regularly than one in the ground.
Feeding
Feed container English cucumbers more often than in-ground ones, since steady watering leaches nutrients from a small volume. After the slow-release charge at planting, add a balanced-to-fruiting liquid feed weekly to every two weeks, keeping nitrogen and potassium up through the long fruiting run.
One to try

SocratesA Beit Alpha type, parthenocarpic and gynoecious, with thin-skinned 7 to 8 inch fruit and good flavor; noted for setting well in cooler conditions, roughly 50 to 82°F, which makes it a strong early choice under cover.

4 more compact types

KatrinaAn early, productive Beit Alpha type, parthenocarpic and gynoecious, with smooth 5 to 7 inch thin-skinned fruit; a good compact choice for tunnels and containers.

DivaAn award-winning parthenocarpic American slicer that sets seedless fruit without pollination; tender, bitter-free, thin-skinned, and burpless. Excellent under cover or in containers.

PicolinoA parthenocarpic mini or cocktail type with small 4 to 5 inch fruit, mild and productive; a favorite for containers and snacking under cover.

Iznik

Pot safety

Ask what your balcony or roof can carry

A balcony or roof can only hold so much weight. Before you set heavy pots there, ask a building architect what it can safely carry.Illinois Extension's guidance is to consult a building architect about weight limits before placing heavy pots on a balcony or rooftop garden. It gives no weight figure.

Never grow food in a container with anything toxic in it

Many kinds of containers can be used. Whatever you choose, keep anything toxic out of it, especially if you are growing food.Colorado State accepts nearly any container material but warns against using a container that holds toxic materials, especially for edible plants. Illinois adds that a vegetable container should be free of chemicals toxic to plants or people, and urges caution with treated lumber when growing food. If you cannot account for what a repurposed container once held, that alone is a reason to keep food out of it.

Secure hanging containers well

Fasten hanging baskets and window or rail boxes securely. Think about what is below them too, since they can drip on people or things underneath.Illinois Extension asks growers to secure hanging containers well and to think through the safety issues of hanging them. Placement matters too, since a hanging container can drip onto people or belongings below.

Soil chemistry

Soil pH for english cucumber

Preferred
6 to 6.8
Tolerated
5.5 to 7

English cucumbers like soil that is slightly acidic to neutral, about pH 6.0 to 6.8, and most garden soil is already close. If you grow them in pots or a hydroponic setup, the feed water is kept a touch more acidic, around 5.5 to 6.0. A cheap soil test tells you where you stand before planting.English cucumber shares the pH needs of any Cucumis sativus, doing best in slightly acidic to near-neutral soil, about pH 6.0 to 6.8, and tolerating a wider band of roughly 5.5 to 7.0. Under soilless or hydroponic culture the picture shifts to the nutrient solution rather than the soil: greenhouse guidance targets a solution pH around 5.5 to 6.0, a little lower than the in-ground optimum. Test garden soil before planting and adjust only on the test's advice; in bags or pots, follow the feed program's pH.

Verified · 3 sources View
Steady hand on the hose

Watering

When & how much
Frequency
Keep English cucumbers evenly watered, about 1 inch of water a week and more when it is hot. Water deeply rather than a little every day. They are bred to be mild so they rarely turn bitter, but steady water still gives you straight, full cucumbers.Aim for even, steady moisture, roughly 1 inch of water per week and more in heat or in fast-draining substrate, delivered deeply rather than in light daily sprinkles. English cucumbers are bred to be mild and are far less prone to the classic stress-bitterness of open-field slicers, but steady water still drives straight, well-filled fruit and keeps the plant cropping.
Amount
About 1 inch of water a week is a good target in the ground, more while the plant is fruiting heavily, and plants in pots under cover may need water every day. Cucumbers are mostly water, so do not let them dry out or the fruit comes out pinched and curled.Around 1 inch per week is the working range in the ground, leaning higher during heavy fruiting and in hot spells; container and bag plants under cover often need water daily. Cucumbers are over 95 percent water and shallow-rooted, so they show drought stress fast as wilting, poor fruit fill, and curled or pinched fruit, even though the seedless types resist the bitterness that stresses open-field cucumbers.
Method
Water the soil, not the leaves, with a soaker hose or watering can at the base. Dry leaves matter a lot under cover, where damp air already brings on mildew and mold. Mulch keeps the soil evenly moist, and venting keeps the air from staying too humid.Water at the base with drip or a soaker hose, keeping the foliage as dry as possible, which matters even more under cover where the humid, still air already favors powdery and downy mildew, gray mold, and gummy stem blight. Mulch or a covered substrate holds moisture even, and venting keeps humidity and leaf wetness down.
Signs of trouble
Too much water
If lower leaves yellow, the plant wilts even though the soil is wet, or the base gets soft and mushy, it is getting too much water or the pot is not draining.Yellowing lower leaves, wilting even when the medium is wet, and soft, rotting stems at the base point to overwatering or poor drainage. Saturated substrate invites root and stem rot, especially in containers and bags without free drainage.
Too little water
Some midday wilting in hot weather is normal and passes by evening. Leaves that stay wilted mean the plant is too dry, and drought while fruit is forming gives pinched, curled, poorly filled cucumbers.Midday wilting that recovers overnight is normal in heat, but leaves that stay limp and dull signal real drought. In fruit, drought shows as pinched, curled, or poorly filled cucumbers rather than the sharp bitterness seen in open-field types, which the seedless varieties largely avoid.
Feeding rhythm

Feeding

Frequency
At planting, then feed steadily through the season
Type
balanced at planting, then regular feeding high in nitrogen and potassium
When to start
Work into the bed before planting, then begin regular feeding as the vines climb and keep it up through fruiting

English cucumbers grow fast and crop for a long time, so they are hungrier than an ordinary garden cucumber. Mix a balanced fertilizer or compost into the soil before planting, then feed regularly through the season with a fertilizer that has plenty of nitrogen and potassium. Do not overdo nitrogen by itself once the cucumbers are forming, or you get lots of leaf and less fruit. Plants in pots need feeding more often, since watering washes the food out.Unlike a quick open-field slicer, a greenhouse English cucumber is a strong, steady feeder because it grows fast and crops heavily over a long season. Nitrogen and potassium are needed in the greatest amounts, so work a balanced fertilizer or several inches of compost into the bed at planting and then feed regularly, easing up on nitrogen alone once heavy fruiting begins so the plant fills fruit rather than running to leaf. Container and bag-grown plants need feeding more often still, since frequent watering flushes nutrients. Pair feeding with even moisture, because nutrients only help a plant that is not also stressed.

N · P · K = 10-10-10

Use a balanced fertilizer with equal numbers, like 10-10-10, at planting, then feed regularly through the season with something that has good nitrogen and potassium. Do not use a high-nitrogen lawn fertilizer.A balanced ratio such as 10-10-10 worked in at planting, followed by regular soluble feeding, suits English cucumbers, which need nitrogen and potassium in the greatest amounts over a long fruiting season. Avoid loading nitrogen alone, which pushes foliage at the expense of fruit and invites aphids and mildew.

Try balanced 10-10-10 or compost at planting, then a regular soluble feed with nitrogen and potassium
Who grows well together

Companion planting

For English cucumbers the usual companion advice is flipped. Ordinary cucumbers like flowers nearby to bring in bees, but English cucumbers make seedless fruit and you do not want bees on them, because a pollinated fruit turns seedy, crooked, and bitter. So keep bee-attracting flowers away, and under cover keep bees out altogether. The one rule that really matters is to keep them away from ordinary cucumbers, squash, melons, and pumpkins, both to stop cross-pollination and because they all share the same pests and diseases. Companion planting works differently for English cucumbers than for ordinary slicers, because these parthenocarpic types are grown for seedless fruit and pollination ruins that fruit. The usual advice to plant bee-drawing flowers like borage near cucumbers is exactly wrong here: any pollen a bee carries onto a parthenocarpic plant makes the fruit seedy, misshapen, and bitter, so growers keep pollinator-magnet flowers away and, under cover, screen bees out entirely. The firmest rule is isolation: keep English cucumbers well away from ordinary seeded cucumbers and other cucurbits, both to stop cross-pollination and because the whole family shares the same pest and disease complex. Where plants are grown outdoors and open rather than screened, the traditional beetle-and-aphid deterrents still have a place, and beans left in the rotation feed the moderately hungry vines, but most of these pairings are traditional or mechanistic rather than trial-proven and are labeled accordingly.

Other
Beans
Beans pull nitrogen from the air into the soil, which the hungry cucumber likes, and they do not share its pests. A good, traditional neighbor for outdoor plantings.Pole or bush beans fix nitrogen that benefits the steadily feeding cucumber and share none of the cucurbit pests, which makes them a sound neighbor in an outdoor rotation. The nitrogen benefit largely reaches the soil after the beans break down, so treat it as season-long soil-building rather than an instant feed. Well-grounded
Radish
Radishes are sometimes planted among outdoor cucumbers to lure pest beetles away. They grow fast and are pulled early. A low-risk traditional pairing that matters mainly if you are not growing under cover.A traditional trap and deterrent interplant for cucumber beetles where English cucumbers are grown outdoors and open rather than under screening. Radishes are quick, cheap, and pulled before they compete, but the beetle-reduction effect is traditional rather than trial-isolated, and it matters little under insect exclusion. Traditional
Nasturtium
Nasturtiums can lure beetles and aphids away from outdoor cucumbers. An easy, edible-flowered neighbor, useful mainly when you are not growing under cover.Often planted near outdoor cucurbits as a trap for cucumber beetles and aphids. The trap-cropping principle is documented, but the specific effect is not formally isolated, and under screened culture pests are excluded anyway, so treat it as a modest aid for open plantings. Well-grounded
Keep apart from
Other cucurbits and seeded cucumbers Keep English cucumbers away from ordinary cucumbers, squash, melons, and pumpkins. Bees can carry pollen from those plants onto your English cucumbers and ruin the seedless fruit, making it seedy and bitter, and the whole family shares the same pests and diseases.Ordinary seeded cucumbers and other cucurbits (squash, melon, pumpkin) are the firmest thing to keep away from an English cucumber, for two reasons. First, their flowers are a pollen source: bees moving pollen from a seeded cucumber onto a parthenocarpic plant produce seedy, distorted, bitter fruit, which is why these types must be isolated. Second, the whole family shares cucumber's pest and disease complex, including powdery and downy mildew, so grouping them concentrates that pressure. Separate them widely and rotate. Well-grounded
Bee-attracting flowers Do not plant flowers that attract bees, like borage, next to English cucumbers. Bringing bees to the plant is the opposite of what you want here, because a pollinated English cucumber turns seedy and bitter. Keep the bee flowers for crops that need pollinating.Bee-attracting flowers such as borage, and any strong insectary planting, are counterproductive next to parthenocarpic English cucumbers grown for seedless fruit. The more bees you draw to the plant, the more likely pollen lands on the female flowers and turns the fruit seedy, misshapen, and bitter. Save the pollinator plantings for crops that need them and keep them away from these cucumbers, or screen the cucumbers off. Well-grounded
Provenance tagged inline · see methodology for the labeling system Key
Harvest signals

When to pick

Pick English cucumbers while they are firm and glossy. The long ones are usually picked at about 12 to 14 inches and the short Beit Alpha types at about 5 to 8 inches. Cut or clip the stem instead of pulling, because the skin and vine are tender. They grow fast, ready in a couple of weeks once they set, so check every day or two. The thin skin does not need peeling, and picking often keeps more cucumbers coming.Harvest English cucumbers young and often, while the skin is glossy and firm. Pick the long Dutch or English types at about 12 to 14 inches (the USDA fresh-market minimum is 11 inches) and the shorter Beit Alpha and mini types at about 5 to 8 inches, cutting or clipping the stem rather than pulling, since the thin-skinned fruit and brittle vine bruise easily. Fruit sizes up fast, often reaching pickable size within about 10 to 11 days of set, so check every 1 to 2 days at peak. The thin, tender skin needs no peeling. Pick promptly, because an overheld fruit stops the plant setting new ones and the crop keeps best when cut young.

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Yield

What to expect

One English cucumber plant, grown up a single stem, produces a lot over a long season, often 15 to 25 or more cucumbers. A couple of plants are plenty for a household, and growing them straight up saves space.A well-grown single-stem English cucumber yields heavily over a long protected season, commonly 15 to 25 or more fruit per plant on the productive Dutch and Beit Alpha types, well above a quick open-field slicer. A couple of plants keep a household supplied; the vertical, single-stem habit makes the most of limited tunnel or greenhouse space.

At its peak, an English cucumber plant makes fruit fast, ready within a couple of weeks of setting. Pick every day or two, since picking often keeps more cucumbers coming.At peak in warm conditions the plant sets fruit at nearly every node and cucumbers size up within about 10 to 11 days, so picking every 1 to 2 days is essential. Frequent harvest keeps the cordon setting new fruit; an overheld cucumber signals it to slow down. English cucumbers are rewarding to grow. The two things that catch people out are letting bees pollinate them (which makes them seedy and bitter) and letting mildew or mites build up in the still air under cover. Keep bees off, keep the air moving, and grow them up a single stem.English cucumbers are productive and rewarding, and the two first-year surprises are different from open-field cucumbers: forgetting to exclude pollinators (which gives seedy, bitter fruit) and letting mildew or mites build in the still, humid air under cover. Screen bees off, keep the air moving, and train to a single stem.

What changes yield
Pollinator exclusion: keeping bees off parthenocarpic types is what keeps fruit seedless, straight, and mild; pollination gives seedy, misshapen, bitter fruit.Single-stem training and pruning: a well-trained, deleafed cordon fruits heavily and stays open against disease; a sprawl yields less and mildews.Even moisture and steady feeding: consistent water and a regular nitrogen-and-potassium feed drive full-length fruit over a long season.Temperature: growth and set are best around 80 to 85°F; above about 90°F set fails and below about 65°F growth and yield slow.Disease and pest pressure under cover: powdery and downy mildew, gummy stem blight, gray mold, and spider mites and whiteflies commonly limit the crop if humidity and airflow are not managed.
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Pick your variety

Recommended varieties

Pick an English cucumber for the size you want. Long Dutch types like Tyria make the familiar 12 to 14 inch wrapped cucumbers, while shorter Beit Alpha types like Socrates, Katrina, and Picolino, or the slicer Diva, are easier in a tunnel or a pot. The important thing is that these modern types make seedless cucumbers all by themselves, without bees, which is why they are so good under cover and in containers. If mildew is a problem where you live, choose a resistant variety like Tyria.Choose an English cucumber by size and setting. The long Dutch or English greenhouse types like Tyria give the familiar 12 to 14 inch wrapped fruit, while the Beit Alpha and mini types such as Socrates, Katrina, and Picolino give shorter 5 to 8 inch fruit that suit tunnels and containers, and Diva is a fine parthenocarpic American slicer. The trait that matters most is that these modern types are parthenocarpic and gynoecious, setting heavy, seedless, mild fruit without pollination, which is exactly why they excel under cover and in containers where bees are excluded. Lead with mildew-tolerant varieties like Tyria where disease pressure is high, and treat the old Telegraph-type heirlooms as a flavor choice that needs its male flowers removed rather than a reliable seedless performer.

Tyria
The classic long Dutch or English greenhouse type: dark green, lightly ribbed fruit up to about 14 inches, all-female (gynoecious) and parthenocarpic, so it sets seedless fruit without pollination. Mildly sweet, and a widely grown Dutch greenhouse standard.
Socrates
A Beit Alpha type, parthenocarpic and gynoecious, with thin-skinned 7 to 8 inch fruit and good flavor; noted for setting well in cooler conditions, roughly 50 to 82°F, which makes it a strong early choice under cover.
Corinto
A parthenocarpic slicer bred for the greenhouse and high tunnel, with strong, disease-tolerant vines and reliable, high-quality fruit. A dependable modern all-female type.
Katrina
An early, productive Beit Alpha type, parthenocarpic and gynoecious, with smooth 5 to 7 inch thin-skinned fruit; a good compact choice for tunnels and containers.
Diva
An award-winning parthenocarpic American slicer that sets seedless fruit without pollination; tender, bitter-free, thin-skinned, and burpless. Excellent under cover or in containers.
Picolino
A parthenocarpic mini or cocktail type with small 4 to 5 inch fruit, mild and productive; a favorite for containers and snacking under cover.
Telegraph Improved
The old-fashioned long English glasshouse heirloom, prized for very long, smooth, mild fruit. Unlike the modern all-female hybrids it is not reliably parthenocarpic, so its male flowers are traditionally removed to keep fruit from turning seedy and bitter; grow the parthenocarpic hybrids for easier, more reliable seedless fruit.
Off the vine

Storing your harvest

Room temp
English cucumbers do not keep long at room temperature, just a day or two, and their thin skin dries out fast, which is why stores wrap them. Use them soon or put them in the fridge, but not the coldest part.English cucumbers are thin-skinned and even more perishable than ordinary cucumbers off the vine. At room temperature they soften and lose moisture within a day or two, which is why they are usually sold shrink-wrapped. Use them quickly or refrigerate, keeping in mind they are chilling-sensitive and dislike a very cold fridge.
Fridge
Keep English cucumbers in the fridge for about a week, in the warmer crisper drawer rather than the coldest spot, and leave them wrapped or bagged so the thin skin does not dry out. Too-cold storage causes soft, pitted spots. Keep them away from apples and tomatoes, which make them go bad faster.Stored in the warmest part of the refrigerator, ideally around 45 to 50°F at high humidity, English cucumbers keep about a week, a little less than tougher-skinned types. Wrapping or a loose bag holds moisture in the thin skin. They are chilling-sensitive below about 50°F, where prolonged cold causes pitting and water-soaked spots, so store neither too cold nor too dry. Keep them away from apples, tomatoes, and other ethylene producers, which hasten yellowing.
Freezer
English cucumbers do not freeze well, since they are mostly water and turn mushy. They are best eaten fresh rather than stored, and they are not the type you pickle.English cucumbers do not freeze well for fresh use, turning limp and watery because of their high water content. There is little point pickling the thin-skinned seedless types the way you would a firm pickling cucumber; they are best eaten fresh and soon.
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When something goes wrong

Common problems

The cucumbers were seedy, crooked, and bitterCucumbers came out seedy, crooked, and bitter
01 of 04
What happened Bees pollinated your English cucumbers. These types are meant to make seedless fruit on their own, but if a bee pollinates them, the cucumbers come out seedy, crooked, and bitter.A parthenocarpic English cucumber was pollinated. When bees carry pollen to these all-female types, the fruit forms seeds, distorts in shape, and turns bitter, the exact opposite of the smooth, seedless, mild fruit they set on their own. This is the signature problem of growing seedless types without excluding pollinators. Next season Keep bees off next time: screen them out under cover, keep bee flowers away, and grow English cucumbers away from ordinary cucumbers. They do not need pollinating at all.Exclude pollinators: screen vents and doorways under cover, keep bee-drawing flowers away, and isolate these plants from ordinary seeded cucumbers so no pollen reaches them. The plants set fruit without any help.
Leaves got speckled and dry under coverLeaves stippled and bronzed, plant declined fast under cover
02 of 04
What happened Spider mites built up in the warm, dry, still air under cover and sucked the juice from the leaves, leaving them speckled, bronzed, and dry. They breed very fast and are easy to miss.Two-spotted spider mites, the signature protected-culture pest, built up in the warm, dry, still air and fed on the leaf cells, stippling and bronzing the foliage until it dried and dropped. Mites multiply explosively under cover and are easy to miss until damage is advanced. Next season Keep the plants well watered, do not let the air get too hot and stale, check under the leaves early, and use predatory mites under cover instead of broad insecticides.Keep plants well watered, manage humidity and airflow, scout leaf undersides early, release predatory mites where mites have a history, and avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that wipe out the mites' natural enemies.
Leaves got white and powdery and the plant died backLeaves turned white and powdery, then the plant faded early
03 of 04
What happened Powdery mildew, a white coating on the leaves, spread in the warm, humid, still air under cover until the leaves died and the plant stopped early.Powdery mildew, the most common cucumber disease under cover, defoliated the plant ahead of schedule. The white fungal coating spread across the leaves in the warm, humid, still air until they browned and died, cutting the productive season short. Downy mildew and gray mold do similar damage where humidity is high. Next season Pick a resistant variety like Tyria, grow up a single stem for airflow, vent to keep the air moving, water at the base, and treat early spots.Choose tolerant varieties like Tyria, train to a single stem for airflow, vent to manage humidity, water at the base, and treat at the first spots. Airflow and humidity control are the heart of it under cover.
The stems cracked and oozed a gummy sapStems developed dark, gummy, sunken cankers
04 of 04
What happened Gummy stem blight, a fungus, made dark sunken cracks on the stems that oozed a gummy sap, and it can kill the vine. It likes damp air and spreads through pruning cuts.Gummy stem blight infected the vine, producing dark, sunken, gum-oozing cankers on the stems that can girdle and collapse a plant, with black rot on the fruit. It is a persistent greenhouse and tunnel disease favored by high humidity and spread through pruning wounds. Next season Start with clean seed, keep the air from staying damp under cover, clean your tools, prune when plants are dry, and use fresh growing medium for the next crop.Use clean seed and resistant varieties, keep humidity down with venting, disinfect pruning tools, prune only dry plants, remove debris, and start with fresh or sterilized substrate under cover.
The usual suspects

Pests & diseases

Pests
Two-spotted spider mites
P · 01
Symptoms Tiny specks and a dusty, stippled look on the leaves, sometimes with fine webbing underneath, spreading fast in warm, dry, still air. The leaves can dry out and die quickly. Mites are the most common pest under cover.Fine pale yellow and reddish-brown stippling on the upper leaf surface, with faint webbing on the undersides, developing fast in the warm, dry, still air under cover. Leaves bronze, dry, and drop, and a heavy infestation can strip and kill a plant. Mites are the signature protected-culture cucumber pest. Cause Spider mites are tiny relatives of spiders that suck the juice from leaf cells. They love the warm, dry, still air inside a greenhouse or tunnel and breed very fast.Two-spotted spider mites feed on the contents of individual leaf cells and multiply explosively in hot, dry, dusty conditions, exactly the environment of a warm greenhouse or high tunnel. They are not insects, so many insecticides do not touch them, and they build unseen on leaf undersides. Organic treatment Spray the undersides of the leaves with a strong jet of water and treat with insecticidal soap, repeating in about five days. Keeping the air a little more humid and the plants well watered helps a lot, and predatory mites work well under cover.Raise humidity and hose the leaf undersides with a strong spray of water, and treat with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil twice about five days apart with thorough underside coverage. Predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis) are the standard and effective biological control under cover; conserve them and avoid broad-spectrum sprays that wipe them out. Prevention Keep cucumbers well watered, since dry, dusty plants attract mites, and do not let the air get too hot and stale under cover. Check the undersides of the leaves in warm weather and avoid broad insecticides that kill helpful bugs.Keep plants well watered and avoid drought and dust stress, since mites flare on dry plants. Manage humidity and airflow under cover, scout leaf undersides in warm weather, release predatory mites early where mite history is bad, and avoid broad-spectrum insecticides that kill the mites' natural enemies.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Even watering

    Keep the soil steadily moist instead of letting cucumbers swing between soaked and thirsty. Mites take off on dry, dusty plants, and under cover the air is already dry and still enough to help them.Steady soil moisture removes the drought and dust stress this pest flares on, which is the cheapest thing available before any scouting starts. Under cover the surrounding air pushes the other way, so irrigation discipline carries more weight on a protected crop than on an open field.

  2. Water spray

    Turn a strong jet of water up under the foliage, where the mites and their fine webbing sit. Letting the air stay a little more humid works with it, since dry, still air is what they thrive in.Hosing the lower leaf surfaces knocks colonies loose and takes the dust down with them, and raising humidity pushes against the same conditions. Work it into the routine through warm, dry spells rather than waiting for the leaves to bronze.

  3. Beneficial predators

    Helpful bugs already in the planting feed on spider mites, so keep broad insecticides, sprays that kill a wide range of insects at once, off the crop. Because mites are relatives of spiders rather than insects, a lot of that spraying goes straight past them anyway while costing you the helpers.Conserving the natural enemies present is the base of mite control here, and broad-spectrum material is the usual way it gets lost. Mites are arachnids, so many insecticides do not act on them, which makes a broad spray a poor trade twice over.

  4. Buying and releasing natural enemies

    Predatory mites, mites bought to hunt other mites, are the usual control in a greenhouse or tunnel and do the job well there. Where your structure has a bad mite history, bring them in early rather than waiting for stippled leaves.Phytoseiulus persimilis is the standard and effective biological control under cover. Release early where mite history is bad, and keep broad-spectrum material off afterward or the release is spent for nothing.

  5. Insecticidal soap

    Insecticidal soap, a soap-based spray that kills on contact, does nothing where it does not land, so work the nozzle up under the foliage. Go over the plants a second time about five days later.Coverage of the lower leaf surfaces is the whole job with a contact material, and the second pass around five days on belongs to the treatment rather than being optional. It also wets soft-bodied beneficials, so square it against any predatory mites you have put in.

  6. Horticultural oil

    Horticultural oil is the other choice at this point, used the same way: undersides coated, then repeated about five days on. Read its cautions about heat and dry, stressed plants before you mix any.Oil is the alternative contact material on the same twice-over schedule, with the same demand for underside coverage. Its heat and water-stress limits sit awkwardly on a crop grown in a warm structure, so time it for the milder part of the day.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Aphids
P · 02
Symptoms Tiny soft insects gather on the undersides of leaves and on new growth, making leaves curl and yellow, often with a sticky film. They can also spread viruses to your cucumbers.Colonies of small soft-bodied insects, often melon aphids, cluster on leaf undersides and growing tips, curling and yellowing leaves, with sticky honeydew and sooty mold following. Under cover they build quickly on lush, well-fed growth, and melon aphids transmit cucumber mosaic and other viruses. Cause Aphids are small insects that suck the plant's juices and multiply fast, especially on soft, over-fed growth and in the warmth under cover. The sticky honeydew they leave grows black mold.Melon and other aphids suck sap and reproduce rapidly in warm weather, building up fast on stressed or over-fertilized plants and in the sheltered warmth under cover. The honeydew they excrete fosters sooty mold, and several aphid species spread cucumber mosaic virus. Organic treatment Blast them off with a strong spray of water and treat the undersides of the leaves with insecticidal soap, repeating every few days. Ladybugs and other helpful insects eat aphids, so welcome them, especially under cover.Knock colonies off with a strong jet of water and spray insecticidal soap or horticultural oil with thorough underside coverage, repeating every few days. Under cover, conserve or release ladybugs, lacewings, and parasitic wasps, the standard biological controls. Reflective mulch deters aphids from young outdoor plants. Prevention Do not over-fertilize with nitrogen, check the undersides of leaves regularly, and let helpful insects do their work instead of spraying everything.Avoid excess nitrogen, which drives the soft growth aphids favor, scout leaf undersides and growing tips regularly, and support natural enemies rather than spraying broadly, since aphids are prime virus vectors on a mosaic-susceptible crop.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Balanced nitrogen feeding

    Hold back on the nitrogen feed. Rich feeding pushes out soft, lush shoots, and that is the growth aphid numbers climb on quickest, especially in the sheltered warmth under cover.Restraint on nitrogen denies melon aphid the succulent growth it colonizes, and it counts for more on a crop this open to mosaic virus, since fewer colonies means fewer probing vectors. It is a feeding habit held through the crop, not a response to a colony you have found.

  2. Reflective mulch

    Reflective mulch is a silver or foil sheet laid down over the bed, and it puts arriving aphids off small plants outdoors. Get it in place early, while the plants are low.Foil or reflective mulch deters colonizing aphids on young outdoor plantings, which is where this crop's guidance places it rather than under cover. It acts on the vector before it settles, which matters on a mosaic-susceptible crop.

  3. Water spray

    A hard jet from the hose will strip the colonies away, so aim it at the undersides and the soft growing tips where they gather. Pick a time of day that leaves the canopy enough hours to dry.A forceful pass dislodges colonies from shoot tips and lower leaf surfaces and costs nothing on a sturdy vine. Keep it to the early part of the day, since a canopy left damp under cover feeds other trouble.

  4. Beneficial predators

    Ladybugs, lacewings and small parasitic wasps, wasps whose young develop inside aphids, feed on them and often bring a colony down without help. Make room for them and leave the broad sprays alone, since those clear the helpers out along with the pest.Conserving lady beetles, lacewings and parasitoids is the first call under cover as much as outdoors, and blanket spraying is what removes that pressure. On a crop where aphids move virus, continuous predator pressure is worth more than a single knockdown.

  5. Buying and releasing natural enemies

    Those same helpers can be bought and released into a greenhouse or tunnel, which is where they are the standard control. Release onto colonies you have actually found rather than ahead of them.Released lady beetles, lacewings and parasitic wasps are the standard biological control under cover, and an enclosed space is where a purchase is best justified because they stay with the crop. Confirm the infestation first and hold broad-spectrum material off afterward.

  6. Insecticidal soap

    Where colonies keep growing, insecticidal soap is a soap-based spray that kills what it touches. Get the nozzle up under the foliage and go over the plants again every few days, because anything the spray misses carries on.Soap earns its place only with thorough coverage of the lower leaf surfaces on a few-day repeat, and it wets soft-bodied beneficials, so confine it to the patches carrying colonies. Reach for it when conservation and the water pass have stopped keeping up.

  7. Horticultural oil

    Horticultural oil is the other spray here and goes on the same way, undersides covered and repeated every few days. Read its heat and bee cautions before choosing it.Oil is the alternative contact material at the same point, with the same coverage demand and repeat interval. On an open planting in flower its bee precaution is the binding constraint, so plan the timing around that.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Whiteflies
P · 03
Symptoms Tiny white flies scatter up in a little cloud when you brush the plant, and their young feed under the leaves, turning them yellow and sticky. They thrive in the warmth of a greenhouse or tunnel.Clouds of tiny white flies lift from the plant when disturbed, and their nymphs feed on leaf undersides, yellowing and weakening leaves and coating them in honeydew and sooty mold. Whiteflies are a classic protected-culture pest that builds in the sheltered warmth of a greenhouse or tunnel and can transmit viruses. Cause Whiteflies are small sap-sucking insects whose numbers explode in the warm, protected air of a greenhouse or tunnel, where nothing knocks them back.Greenhouse and other whiteflies feed with piercing-sucking mouthparts on leaf undersides and reproduce continuously in warm, sheltered conditions, so populations can build fast under cover without the weather checks they face outdoors. Organic treatment Hang yellow sticky traps to catch the adults and treat the undersides of the leaves with insecticidal soap, repeating often. Under cover, the tiny helper wasp Encarsia formosa controls them well.Use yellow sticky traps to monitor and reduce adults, spray insecticidal soap or horticultural oil to leaf undersides repeatedly, and release the parasitic wasp Encarsia formosa, the standard biological control for whitefly under cover. Remove heavily infested lower leaves. Prevention Check new plants before bringing them under cover, keep yellow sticky traps up to catch the first ones, and do not over-feed with nitrogen. Catching them early is the key.Screen vents and doorways, inspect new transplants before bringing them in, keep sticky traps up to catch the first arrivals, and avoid the lush over-fed growth whiteflies favor. Early detection is everything under cover.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Balanced nitrogen feeding

    Keep the nitrogen feed moderate. Whiteflies do best on the soft, lush growth heavy feeding produces, and under the warmth of a greenhouse or tunnel that growth comes on quickly.Feeding restraint denies whitefly the over-fed growth it favors, and under cover there is no run of bad weather to knock the population back for you. Hold it as a habit through the crop rather than reacting to a trap count.

  2. Garden sanitation

    Strip the lower leaves that are heavily loaded with whitefly young and carry them out of the structure rather than dropping them under the plants.Taking off the worst-infested lower foliage removes a share of the immature stages in one pass and is worth doing before any spray program starts. Move the trimmings right out, since adults left on them can simply return to the canopy.

  3. Yellow sticky traps

    Set yellow sticky traps, cards with a glue coating, up among the plants. They catch adults, and more usefully they tell you the first arrivals are in while there is still time to act.Traps do double duty here, monitoring and some reduction in adults, and early detection is what the whole program under cover turns on. Keep them up from the start of the crop rather than hanging them once a cloud lifts off the foliage.

  4. Buying and releasing natural enemies

    Encarsia formosa is a tiny helper wasp that attacks whitefly young, and under cover it is the standard control and works well. Release it onto an infestation you have found rather than in advance.Encarsia formosa is the named biological control for whitefly in a greenhouse or tunnel, and an enclosed structure is where a purchased release is best justified. Keep broad-spectrum material off the crop afterward so it survives to work.

  5. Insecticidal soap

    Insecticidal soap, a soap-based spray, kills what it wets, so aim it up under the leaves where the young feed and repeat often. The adults mostly fly off ahead of the spray.Soap acts by contact on nymphs held on the lower leaf surfaces, so underside coverage and frequent repeats are the whole of it, while winged adults evade the pass. It also wets soft-bodied beneficials, so reconcile it with any release you are running.

  6. Horticultural oil

    Horticultural oil is the other option, worked onto the leaf undersides the same way and repeated. Check its cautions about heat, dry plants and open flowers before you mix it.Oil is the alternative contact material with the same underside demand and repeat schedule, and it carries the same conflict with a released parasitoid. Its heat and water-stress limits apply in a warm structure as much as outdoors.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Cucumber beetles
P · 04
Symptoms Small yellow beetles with stripes or spots chew the leaves and flowers of outdoor plants, and worse, they spread a wilt disease that kills cucumber vines. Growing under insect screening keeps them out.Small yellow beetles, striped or spotted, chew leaves, flowers, and fruit on outdoor or open-sided plantings. Their real threat is bacterial wilt, which they transmit and to which cucumber is highly susceptible, so beetle feeding on young plants can be followed by sudden vine collapse. Under full insect exclusion this pest, and the wilt it carries, is largely kept out. Cause Cucumber beetles feed on the plants and carry the germ that causes bacterial wilt. They mostly bother outdoor cucumbers; the same screening used to keep bees off English cucumbers also keeps beetles out.Striped and spotted cucumber beetles feed on cucurbits and carry the bacterium that causes bacterial wilt, infecting plants as they feed. They are chiefly a problem for outdoor or vented plantings; the insect exclusion many growers use to keep pollinators off parthenocarpic types also keeps beetles and the wilt they vector out. Organic treatment Outdoors, cover or screen young plants, pick the beetles off in the morning when they are slow, and use yellow sticky traps. Keeping them down is the best way to avoid the wilt they spread. Under cover you rarely see them.On open plantings, protect young plants with row cover or screening, hand-pick beetles in the cool morning, and use yellow sticky traps to monitor. Since there is no cure for the wilt they spread, keeping beetle numbers down early is the only real control; under full exclusion little action is needed. Prevention Screening the plants keeps beetles out and keeps bees off your seedless cucumbers at the same time. Outdoors, cover young plants, keep the area weeded, and do not plant where squash-family crops grew last year.Exclude beetles with screening or row cover, which doubles as the pollinator exclusion parthenocarpic types want, keep young plants vigorous, clear weeds and debris, and rotate away from where cucurbits grew. Aim any control at early-season colonizers that vector wilt.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Crop rotation

    Site the planting off ground that grew squash-family crops last season. That cuts how many beetles find the plants while they are small, which is the stretch when the wilt they carry does its damage.Rotating out of cucurbit ground lowers early colonizing pressure, and the early colonizers are the group worth aiming at because they introduce the wilt. It belongs with weed and debris clearing as prevention for an outdoor or vented planting.

  2. Garden sanitation

    Stay on top of the weeds around the patch and haul old crop debris off. It removes the shelter beetles use, and it is worth keeping up through the season.Clearing weeds and residue around the planting is named with rotation as standing prevention. It lowers pressure without substituting for keeping beetles off young plants.

  3. Floating row cover

    Cover or screen young plants with a light fabric or fine mesh to keep beetles out. On seedless English types this does two jobs at once, because the same screening keeps bees off, which is what these varieties want.Exclusion is the strongest move available here, and on a parthenocarpic type, one that sets fruit without pollination, the screening doubles as the pollinator exclusion the crop already calls for. Under full exclusion the beetle and the wilt it vectors are largely kept out, so little else is needed.

  4. Handpicking

    Go over outdoor plants first thing in the morning and collect the beetles by hand while the cool still has them slow. On a small planting that often holds them.Hand-collection while adults are sluggish at first light suits an open planting and is worth concentrating early in the season, when the beetles present are the wilt vectors. It has little to offer under full exclusion, where you rarely meet the pest.

  5. Yellow sticky traps

    A yellow sticky trap is a glue-coated card you stand beside the crop, and it tells you beetles are around while taking a few out of circulation. Since the wilt they carry cannot be cured, that early warning is worth a great deal.Traps serve mainly as monitoring on outdoor and vented plantings, with some reduction in adult numbers. With no cure for the wilt available, holding beetle numbers down early is the practical route to avoiding the disease.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Diseases
Powdery mildew
D · 01
Symptoms A white, powdery coating spreads over the leaves until they turn yellow and brown and die, and the plant fades early. It is the most common problem for cucumbers grown under cover.White, powdery patches spread over the upper and lower leaf surfaces and stems until leaves yellow, brown, and die back early. It is the most common disease of cucumbers under cover, where crowding, shade, and still humid air favor it, and early defoliation cuts the crop short and exposes fruit to sunscald. Cause A fungus that spreads in warm, humid air, especially where plants are crowded and the air does not move, which is common under cover. It does not need wet leaves to take hold. Some English varieties resist it better than others.Powdery mildew fungi thrive between about 50 and 90°F in humid air, and unlike most leaf diseases they do not need leaf wetness to infect, so they flourish in the warm, humid, still conditions of a greenhouse or tunnel. Crowded single-stem plantings with poor airflow worsen it. Organic treatment Treat early, at the first white spots, with a labeled fungicide like sulfur or horticultural oil, and remove badly affected leaves. Open vents to move the air and lower humidity. Once it covers the plant it is hard to stop.Treat at the first spots with a labeled fungicide such as sulfur, potassium bicarbonate, neem, or horticultural oil, covering both leaf surfaces, and remove the worst leaves. Improve airflow and lower humidity under cover with venting. Once it is widespread, control is mostly damage limitation. Prevention Pick resistant varieties like Tyria, give plants room and good airflow, vent under cover to keep the air moving, and water at the base. Start checking early and act at the first white spots.Choose tolerant varieties, keep plants well spaced and single-stemmed for airflow, vent to manage humidity, give full light, and avoid excess nitrogen. Scout from early in the crop and treat at the first sign, since prevention beats rescue.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Resistant varieties

    Choose a variety with some resistance, such as Tyria, when you order seed. Some English cucumbers stand up to this far better than others, and it costs nothing extra to pick one that does.Tolerant cultivars are the highest-leverage decision available and are taken at seed-buying time, for the disease this crop meets most often under cover. Resistance varies across the English types, so check the specific variety rather than the class.

  2. Airflow and spacing

    Give plants room and train them up a single stem so air moves through the planting, and keep them in good light. Crowding, shade and still air are what this fungus likes best.Spacing and single-stem training are layout decisions set at planting, since a dense canopy with little air movement is what worsens it, and full light belongs in the same call. Venting to hold humidity down is the other half and is managed through the crop.

  3. Balanced nitrogen feeding

    Ease off the nitrogen feed. Heavy feeding pushes soft growth this disease takes to, and it thickens the canopy at the same time.Avoiding excess nitrogen is listed with spacing and light as prevention; the mechanism is the soft, dense growth that also holds humid air inside the canopy.

  4. Water at the base

    Direct your watering down at soil level and keep it off the foliage. Worth knowing, though: this fungus can get going without wet leaves, so treat that as a sound habit here rather than as the thing that stops it.Base watering is a standing habit on this crop, but unlike most leaf diseases this one infects in humid air without free water on the leaf, so it carries less weight against powdery mildew than elsewhere. Venting for humidity is the input that acts on it directly.

  5. Garden sanitation

    Strip out the leaves carrying the heaviest coating as soon as you spot them. Once the white bloom is over the whole plant you are limiting damage rather than curing anything.Stripping the heaviest-infected leaves lowers what is on hand to spread from, though once it is general across the canopy the work becomes damage limitation. Early defoliation is what cuts the crop short and leaves fruit exposed to sunscald, which is the loss being managed.

  6. Sulfur

    Go in at the very first white specks with a labeled fungicide, sulfur among them, and cover both faces of every leaf you treat. Leave it until the coating is widespread and it gets much harder to stop. Read the product's cautions about heat and dry plants before you mix any.Applied at the first symptom with coverage on both faces of the leaf, sulfur has a narrow window that repays the effort, and scouting from early in the crop is what keeps that window open. Its own cautions bind here: it sits poorly with oil sprays, and it can set back predatory mites released under cover unless they are a sulfur-tolerant strain.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Downy mildew
D · 02
Symptoms Yellow patches show on top of the leaves, often boxed in by the veins, with fuzzy gray growth underneath in damp air. The spots brown and spread until the leaves die. Cucumbers catch it easily.Angular yellow blotches bounded by the leaf veins appear on the upper surface, with a grayish or purplish fuzzy growth beneath in humid weather. Spots brown and run together, and severe infection rapidly defoliates the vines. Of the foliage diseases that hit cucumbers and their relatives, this is the one that costs growers the most, and the high humidity under cover can drive it hard. Cause A mold-like disease that spreads in wet, humid conditions and needs wet leaves to infect. It can move through a planting very quickly, and cucumbers are especially prone to it.A fungus-like water mold (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) that spreads on wind-borne spores and needs leaf wetness and humidity to infect, so it flares in wet, humid spells and wherever foliage stays wet, including a poorly vented tunnel. It moves fast once established. Organic treatment Open up the planting and vent so leaves dry faster, remove the worst leaves, and use a labeled fungicide when damp weather sets in. Do not water over the leaves.Improve airflow, vent to let foliage dry, remove badly affected leaves, and apply a labeled fungicide such as copper when conditions favor the disease, covering leaf undersides. Water at the soil line, never overhead, so leaves stay dry. Prevention Give plants room so air moves, water at the base, keep the air from staying damp under cover, and watch closely in humid weather. Choose resistant varieties if downy mildew is common where you live.Space and single-stem for airflow, water at the soil line, keep humidity down under cover, choose resistant varieties where available, and avoid working among wet vines. Scout closely in humid weather.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Resistant varieties

    Where downy mildew turns up most years, look for a resistant variety as you choose seed. They are not offered for every type, so check before you order.Resistant cultivars are worth seeking where they exist, and the availability qualifier is real rather than a formality. Cucumbers take this readily, so the seed decision is the leverage you hold before humid weather arrives.

  2. Airflow and spacing

    Space plants and train them to a single stem so air moves through and leaves dry sooner. Under cover, open the vents, because damp, still air is what this one needs.Spacing and single-stem training shorten the wet periods on the foliage, and leaf wetness is what infection requires. High humidity under cover can drive it hard, so venting belongs in the same decision as the layout.

  3. Water at the base

    Keep the irrigation under the canopy rather than over it. Damp foliage is what lets this one get going, so watering from over the top hands it the condition it wants.Irrigating at the soil line removes the one source of leaf wetness fully under your control. It works with venting rather than instead of it, since humid air under cover can keep foliage damp on its own.

  4. Staying out of wet foliage

    Stay out of the rows while the vines are wet, and do your picking and leaf work once the foliage has dried. This one is about when you go in, not what you put on.Timing your handling to dry foliage is named in prevention here, and it still applies after rain, dew or a humid night under cover, which no watering choice reaches. It slows spread rather than halting an infection already running.

  5. Garden sanitation

    Remove the worst-blotched leaves as you find them. It cuts down what is sitting in the planting, though this disease also arrives on the wind, so do not expect removal alone to hold it.Pulling heavily infected leaves lowers the local source, but the spores travel on wind from outside the planting, so removal contributes rather than controls. It moves fast once established, which is why the preventive work is worth more than in-season tidying.

  6. Copper fungicide

    Once the weather turns damp and humid, a labeled copper fungicide is worth reaching for, and the spray has to get up under the leaves where the fuzzy growth sits. Time it to that turn in the weather instead of to the first spots you notice, and read its cautions about waterways and about building up in soil.Copper is protective, so it goes on as conditions turn favorable rather than once lesions are running, with the undersides covered because that is where the fungus sporulates. This crop's guidance names copper and stops there, so nothing heavier is offered for it on this crop.

The bottom rungs are products with label rules: timing, pollinators, and days to wait before harvest. Before you spray →

Gummy stem blight
D · 03
Symptoms Tan spots on the leaves and, worse, dark sunken cracks on the stems that ooze a gummy sap and can kill the vine. The cucumbers can rot black at the ends. It is a common problem for cucumbers grown under cover.Water-soaked to tan leaf spots and, more seriously, dark, sunken, gummy cankers on the stems that ooze an amber gum and can girdle and collapse a vine. Fruit can develop black rot. It is a persistent, damaging disease of greenhouse and tunnel cucumbers favored by high humidity, and it survives on residue and seed. Cause A fungus that attacks in warm, damp air and gets in through cuts and wounds, so it can spread as you prune. It survives on old plant debris and infected seed.A fungus (Didymella bryoniae, also called black rot) that infects in warm, humid conditions and enters through wounds and pruning cuts, so single-stem training under cover can spread it if tools and hands carry it between plants. It persists on crop debris and can be seedborne. Organic treatment Cut out and throw away infected parts, vent to lower the humidity, and do not water over the leaves. Clean your pruning tools between plants and prune when the plants are dry.Remove and destroy infected stems, leaves, and fruit, lower humidity with venting, and avoid overhead watering. Disinfect pruning tools between plants and prune in dry conditions so cuts heal fast. Apply a labeled fungicide preventatively where the disease has a history. Prevention Start with clean seed, keep the air from staying damp under cover, water at the base, keep your tools clean, and clean up old plants. Move cucumbers to a fresh spot each year.Use clean seed and resistant varieties, keep humidity down under cover, water at the soil line, disinfect tools, remove debris, and rotate cucurbits. Prune only dry plants so cuts do not stay open to infection.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Clean planting stock

    Begin with clean seed. This one can ride in on infected seed, so what you sow decides whether you bring it into the house at all.The pathogen can be seedborne, so clean seed shuts a route that none of the in-season steps can reach. Skip it and everything later works against a source planted with the crop.

  2. Resistant varieties

    Choose a variety with resistance when you place that same seed order.Variety resistance is named alongside clean seed as the pair set before planting, and it is the leverage you hold against a disease with a habit of persisting where cucumbers are grown under cover.

  3. Crop rotation

    Move cucumbers to a fresh spot and keep squash-family crops out of the old one. The fungus lives on in the debris left behind.Rotating cucurbits out of the bed outlasts survival on crop residue, the carryover route that remains once seed is clean. It pairs with residue removal rather than replacing it, since the fungus persists in what is left behind.

  4. Water at the base

    Run the water in at the root zone and keep the leaves out of it. Warm, damp air is what this fungus wants, and watering from above adds to it.Base irrigation keeps you from adding to the humidity this disease works in, and it is named with venting as the moisture half of the program. Overhead water on a crop already held in humid air is the input most easily removed.

  5. Staying out of wet foliage

    Prune and handle the plants only when they are dry. The fungus gets in through cuts and wounds, and cuts made in damp conditions stay open to it longer.Pruning dry is specified here because the pathogen enters through wounds and pruning cuts, and cuts made in dry conditions heal faster. It is a decision about when you work, and it holds after a humid night as much as after irrigation.

  6. Garden sanitation

    Cut out infected leaves and fruit whenever you spot them, and pull the old plants once the crop finishes. Do not leave the trimmings lying under the plants.In-season removal of affected leaves and fruit plus destruction of residue at the end addresses both current spread and survival between crops. Get the material out of the structure rather than leaving it on the floor.

  7. Pruning out infections

    Where a stem shows a dark, sunken, gummy patch, cut it back past the damage into sound tissue and destroy what comes off. Clean your hands and pruning tools between plants, since single-stem training means the same blade touches every plant in the row.Cankered stem tissue is cut back beyond the visible margin and destroyed, and disinfecting tools between plants is what keeps single-stem training from carrying the fungus down the row on hands and blades. Do the work on dry plants so cuts are not left open in humid air.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Gray mold
D · 04
Symptoms A fuzzy gray mold on flowers, fruit, and dying leaves, often starting where a flower or wound is, then rotting the cucumber. It shows up in cool, damp, still air under cover.A fuzzy gray-brown mold on flowers, fruit, and dying tissue, often starting at the blossom end of a fruit or on a wounded or pruned surface, then rotting it and spreading in cool, humid, still air. It is a common protected-culture disease wherever humidity is high and airflow is poor. Cause A mold (Botrytis) that starts on dead flowers, wounds, and dying leaves, then spreads to the fruit in cool, damp, still air, the kind of air a closed-up greenhouse or tunnel gets.The fungus Botrytis cinerea, which colonizes dead and dying tissue, spent flowers, and pruning wounds, then spreads to healthy fruit in cool, humid, poorly vented conditions, exactly what a closed greenhouse or tunnel can become. Organic treatment Take off dead flowers, dying leaves, and any moldy fruit, open vents to lower the humidity and move the air, and do not water over the leaves. Clean up trimmings instead of leaving them lying around.Remove spent flowers, dying leaves, and infected fruit promptly, vent to lower humidity and keep air moving, and avoid overhead watering. Prune and pick in dry conditions, and dispose of trimmings rather than leaving them under the plants. Prevention Keep the air moving and not too damp under cover, and keep the planting clean of dead leaves and flowers. Give plants room, water at the base, and clear away what you prune off.Manage humidity and airflow above all, since gray mold is a high-humidity disease, and keep the planting clean of dead tissue. Space and single-stem for airflow, water at the base, and remove trimmings after pruning.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Airflow and spacing

    Give plants room and train them up a single stem so air keeps moving through the planting. This mold works in cool, damp, still air, which is what a closed-up greenhouse or tunnel turns into.Humidity and air movement are the controlling factors on this one, and spacing plus single-stem training is where that is set at planting. Venting to keep the air moving is the running half of the same job.

  2. Water at the base

    Keep the watering down at soil level and off the plants themselves. Wet flowers, leaves and fruit are where this mold gets started.Base irrigation keeps the surfaces the fungus colonizes from staying wet, and on a crop held in a humid structure that is one of the few moisture inputs you fully control.

  3. Staying out of wet foliage

    Prune and pick when the plants are dry. Fresh cuts and picking scars made in damp conditions are exactly what this mold moves into.Handling in dry conditions matters because the fungus colonizes wounds and cut surfaces, so the timing of pruning and harvest is itself a control. It applies after a humid night as much as after irrigation.

  4. Garden sanitation

    Take off spent flowers, dying leaves and any moldy fruit as you go, and carry the trimmings away instead of leaving them under the plants. This mold starts on dead and dying tissue before it moves to good fruit.The fungus colonizes dead and dying tissue, spent flowers and pruning wounds first, so removing that material is the core in-season action rather than a tidying job. Trimmings left on the floor are still a source, so take them out of the structure.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

Cucumber mosaic virus
D · 05
Symptoms Leaves turn mottled light and dark green, get puckered and distorted, and the plant is stunted, with warty, misshapen cucumbers. Aphids spread it, and there is no cure once a plant has it.Mottled light and dark green, puckered, and distorted leaves, stunted growth, and warty, misshapen, mottled fruit. The virus is spread by aphids, so it tends to follow aphid buildups, and there is no cure once a plant is infected. It is one of several mosaic viruses that affect cucumbers. Cause A virus spread by aphids as they feed, and carried on some weeds. Since aphids move it around, keeping aphids down and pulling infected plants is the way to manage it. The virus itself cannot be cured.Cucumber mosaic virus, transmitted by aphids as they probe and feed and also carried on some weeds and infected plants. Because aphids move it, controlling aphids and removing infected plants promptly is the practical defense; the virus itself cannot be treated. Organic treatment There is no cure, so pull and destroy infected plants right away. Keep aphids under control and weeds down, and wash your hands and tools after touching a sick plant.There is no cure; remove and destroy infected plants promptly to cut the source. Manage aphids, control nearby weeds that harbor the virus, and disinfect hands and tools after handling suspect plants. Prevention Grow resistant varieties if you can, keep aphids and weeds down, and pull out any plant with mottled, distorted leaves before it spreads to the others.Choose resistant varieties where available, manage aphids from early in the crop, control weeds around the planting, and rogue out infected plants at the first clear symptoms to protect the rest.
The control ladder

The ladder troubleshoots from the gentlest solution to the strongest. Start with the gentlest option and only move on when and if it doesn't work.

  1. Resistant varieties

    Grow a resistant variety where one is sold for the type you want. Nothing cures a plant once it is infected, so the seed you choose is the strongest move you get.Resistant cultivars where available are the one preventive lever aimed at the virus itself, since nothing treats an infected plant. The availability qualifier is real, so check what is offered for the type you intend to grow.

  2. Reflective mulch

    Reflective mulch is a silver or foil sheet laid over the soil, and it puts aphids off small outdoor plants. Since aphids are what move this virus, keeping them from settling on young plants is the point of it.Foil or reflective mulch deters colonizing aphids on young outdoor plantings, and aphid deterrence is the practical route to the virus because the vector is what you can act on. Put it in place before any colony has settled, which means early, on a small crop.

  3. Garden sanitation

    Pull out any plant with mottled, puckered leaves and destroy it, and keep the weeds down around the planting, since some of them carry the virus. Wash your hands and tools after handling a suspect plant.Rogue infected plants at the first clear symptoms and destroy them, since the plant is a source and cannot be recovered. Clearing nearby weeds that harbor the virus and cleaning hands and tools after handling suspect plants belong with it as the rest of the practical program.

No spray for this one. Prevention is the control.

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Seasoned
Where to plant next year

Crop rotation

Try not to grow cucumbers or their relatives in the same spot more than once every 3 years or so, and clean up old vines at the end of the season. Under cover, use fresh growing medium between crops if disease has been a problem. Also keep English cucumbers away from ordinary cucumbers so bees cannot cross-pollinate them.Rotate cucurbits on a 3 year cycle, longer where gummy stem blight or downy mildew has been a problem, since both persist on residue. The point is to break the buildup of mildews, soilborne and seedborne disease, and, outdoors, cucumber beetle and the wilt it vectors. Clear spent vines at season's end rather than tilling them in, and under cover renew or sterilize substrate between crops, which removes overwintering disease sites and makes rotation more effective. Keep English cucumbers isolated from ordinary cucumbers in space as well as in rotation, so bees cannot cross-pollinate the seedless fruit.

Family
Cucurbitaceae
Years between
3 years
in the same bed
Avoid following
Do not plant English cucumbers where you grew squash, melons, pumpkins, or other cucumbers in the last few years. They get the same pests and diseases, which build up in the soil. Under cover, use fresh or cleaned growing medium if disease has been an issue.Avoid planting English cucumbers where another cucurbit grew in the last few years, including squash, melon, pumpkin, and other cucumbers. They share powdery and downy mildew, gummy stem blight, cucumber mosaic virus, and, on open plantings, cucumber beetle and the bacterial wilt it spreads, all of which build up in soil and on debris. Under cover, also start each crop in clean or fresh substrate where root rots and gummy stem blight have been a problem.
Plant after
Legumes such as beans and peas, leafy greens, or alliums like onions and garlic make good preceding crops, since they do not share the cucurbit pest and disease complex, and a legume leaves nitrogen behind for the steadily feeding cucumber.
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In the app · pre-launch

When plant taps you on the shoulder

The plant app sends a timely reminder at every critical moment of your english cucumber season. The wording adjusts to whichever you pick: beginner or seasoned. Here are three you'll see in Zone 9.

p
plant
Time to watch for pests under cover Start scouting for mites, aphids, and whitefly
Your young English cucumbers are up. Check the undersides of the leaves for tiny mites, aphids, and white flies, which build up fast under cover, and treat them early. Your English cucumber seedlings are up, which is when spider mites, aphids, and whiteflies colonize plants in the sheltered warmth under cover. Scout leaf undersides daily and act early, before they build.
p
plant
Train and feed your cucumber now Train to a single stem and start feeding
Your English cucumber is climbing its support. Remove the side shoots so it grows as a single stem, pinch off the lowest flowers, and start feeding it regularly. Your English cucumber is climbing. Train the main stem up its support, remove the side shoots to hold a single stem, strip flowers off the lowest nodes, and begin regular feeding high in nitrogen and potassium.
p
plant
Check for ready cucumbers Check your cucumbers, they size up fast
Your English cucumbers are making fruit. Check every day or two and cut them at full size while firm and glossy, they grow fast. Your English cucumbers are fruiting. At peak they reach full length within about 10 to 11 days of set, so check every 1 to 2 days and cut at full size. Frequent picking keeps the plant producing.
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Methodology & sources

Every date, temperature, spacing, and recommendation on this page is sourced from university cooperative extension publications, peer-reviewed agricultural research, NOAA climate data, and direct extension calendars. Where claims are softer (traditional gardening wisdom not formally documented), we say so.

Research-backed Documented in cooperative extension publications or peer-reviewed research
Well-grounded A known agronomic principle, but not formally tested for this specific pair
Traditional Time-tested gardening wisdom, limited formal research support
Last reviewed
July 2, 2026
Data version
crops_data_final · v1.0 · schema 2.9
Sources cited on this page
16 publications
Verified entries
Companion-planting claims tagged inline · zone dates verified against 5+ extensions
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  • University of Minnesota Extension umn_ext
  • University of Maryland Extension umd_ext
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension cornell_ext
  • Iowa State University Extension iastate_ext
  • Michigan State University Extension msu_ext
  • NC State Extension ncsu_ext
  • Penn State Extension psu_ext
  • U. of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Extension uiuc_ext
  • UC Davis Postharvest Center ucd_postharvest
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension tamu_agrilife
  • Virginia Cooperative Extension 426-331 vce_426_331
  • Piedmont Master Gardeners piedmont_mg
  • UGA Vegetable Garden Calendar uga_calendar
  • Clemson Home & Garden Information Center clemson_hgic
  • UC IPM Statewide IPM Program uc_ipm
  • NOAA 1991-2020 Climate Normals noaa_normals

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Vol. 003 · English Cucumber · plant.lifestyle