Video: How to Grow Cucumbers • From Seed to Harvest

Today I'm planting 'Corinto' cucumbers. This is a slicer that's early, productive, and disease resistant.

Sowing Cucumbers

There are two main ways to grow cucumbers. You can direct-seed in your garden beds, or you can give them a head start indoors.

When it comes to planting inside, timing is very important. You only want to plant your cucumber seeds inside 3–4 weeks before your last expected frost date. Plant the seeds just ½ inch deep.

Direct-seed once the soil has warmed to 70 degrees Fahrenheit (or 21 degrees Celsius). And when you do plant the seeds, plant them about 6 inches apart, ½ inch deep, and eventually thin them to 1 foot apart.

Finally, if you're transplanting seedlings, place them about a foot apart and be sure to water well.

Growing Cucumbers

Now that the heat of summer has arrived, my cucumber plants are really taking off. The most important point to remember when growing cucumbers is that they're thirsty. I make sure to water my plants deeply, twice a week if there has been no rain. I water at the soil level, not the leaves, because that can spread diseases.

I mulch my plants with straw, to hold soil moisture.

I also fertilize my cucumber plants every 2–3 weeks with a liquid organic food.

Cucumber beetles are a major pest of cucumber plants. To prevent their damage, practice crop rotation, use a lightweight insect barrier or row cover when you first plant your seedlings, and remove it once the plants flower, to allow good pollination. And if you see any adults, hand pick them.

Watch out for diseases like wilt and powdery mildew. Good spacing and growing resistant varieties is the best way to help prevent cucumber diseases.

Succession Plant

In July, I plant a second crop of cucumber seeds, so that we can enjoy a high-quality harvest of cucumbers well into autumn.

Harvesting Cucumbers

It's a great day to be harvesting cucumbers, and I'm filling my basket with so many awesome varieties, like 'Corinto.'

'Corinto' is a slicing cucumber that grows 7–8 inches long and has deep green skin.

If you're not sure when your cucumbers are ready to harvest, check your seed pack. You want to pick them when they're about the size and color stated on your seed pack.

You'll notice that fruits ripen at different times on the vine, so check daily once the plants begin to bear fruits. This is a perfect size pickling cucumber, but this guy — oops — got away from me, and it's a little over-mature now. It'll still be fine for slicing, but over-mature cucumbers can slow the production of new flowers and fruits, so harvest often.

Here are the two pickling cucumbers I just harvested. The big one is over-mature, and over-mature cucumbers tend to be bitter and have larger seeds.

Don't tug or twist cucumber fruits from the vine. Use sharp pruners to clip them.

Happy Gardening!

Learn more about 'Corinto', an organic, Easy-Choice Johnny's-Exclusive Cucumber…