Don't Make This BIG MISTAKE Planting Cucumbers, Melons And Squash!

In this video, I share the most common mistake gardeners make when growing cucumbers, melons and squash plants. These plants are part of the cucurbit family. They are vigorous growing vegetables and are intolerant of cool temperatures. Whatever you do, don't make this big mistake planting cucumbers, melons and squash!

Timing is the most important thing when growing cucurbits like cucumbers, zucchini, squashes, pumpkins, gourds, watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew and other melons. Mistiming your plants can lead to failure. If you follow the growing advice in this video, you will be much more likely to succeed when planting cucurbits.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 The #1 Mistake Gardeners Make
1:33 How Warm Weather Crops Differ
3:56 Don't Start Cucumbers With Tomatoes!
5:45 Cucurbits Hate Cool Temperatures!
6:58 Planting Schedule
9:37 Exceptions To The Rule
11:32 Adventures With Dale

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If you have any questions about how to grow cucumbers, squash, melons and other cucurbits, want to know about the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, are looking for more gardening tips and tricks and garden hacks, have questions about vegetable gardening and organic gardening in general, or want to share some DIY and "how to" garden tips and gardening hacks of your own, please ask in the Comments below!

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ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
34.1°N Latitude
Zone 8B

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© The Millennial Gardener

#gardening #garden #gardeningtips #vegetablegardening #seedstarting

[TheMillennialGardener]

If you enjoyed this video, please "Like" and share it to help increase its reach! Thanks for watching 😀TIMESTAMPS here:
0:00 The #1 Mistake Gardeners Make
1:33 How Warm Weather Crops Differ
3:56 Don't Start Cucumbers With Tomatoes!
5:45 Cucurbits Hate Cool Temperatures!
6:58 Planting Schedule
9:37 Exceptions To The Rule
11:32 Adventures With Dale

[jasonkable]

I've found cucumbers can be an in ground sow and don't have to be started by seed indoors. I live in PA, zone 7a, and my cukes that get planted in ground in May outperform the ones started from seed and transplanted every single year. This year cukes are not even on the seedling list.

[brendabrenda]

I’m in zone 5, Ontario, Canada. I gave up prestarting cucumbers, squashes and melons a long time ago. They never did well. I wait until June 1 and plant them directly in my garden. Despite my short growing season, they always do well this way.

[ArtistCreek]

9b here. We start everything early.
Never throw out seedlings! Just plant them! Whether they be nestled among your front yard flowers, thrown in a container or just pick a spot in your yard. It doesn't need to be perfect. The gial is to grow food not have an ig perfect looking garden.
I think it depends on your philosophy. I am a random gardener. Sure, i have some dedicated beds, but i have a LOT of mystery plants growing in random places in my yard. It's fine. I could easily obsess over plant placement but...nah. if it grows it grows.

[jaytoney]

My tomato and pepper seedlings are well under way. I just finished potting up my tomato seedlings, and am working on the peppers. Tomorrow is seed sowing day for radishes, carrots, beetroot, kohlrabi, peppermint, snow peas, shelling peas, and lettuce. March 1st is when I sow seed starts for cucumbers, squash, cucumbers, and watermelon. I have garlic in the ground, onion transplants, giant red mustard, Southern Curley Mustard, and Fordhook Swiss Chard growing. Potatoes are chitting and go into the ground the first week of March. About the fifteenth of March, I'll sow most of my herb seeds. I'll finish the garden in April by sowing the last of my herbs, pole beans, adding a mushroom bed, and planting transplants.

[kittyfruitloop]

Awesome! This is my second spring with my 10ft by 14ft greenhouse made with reclaimed sun porch windows we got free. It turned out looking good! I am determined to grow cucumbers and an early girl tomato in containers in there so we'll see how this goes. Everything else will go outside in the garden after our last frost date. I hope to get a better heat system in there but one chick brooder heat lamp is keeping my sensitives warm enough on cold nights. (NW GA here. I did bring my citrus in when it got in the teens back in January.) A greenhouse is a game changer! It's also a real haven!

[suzieq]

I get the best germination using a damp paper towel in a baggie under my kitchen sink. Typically 3 days for tomatoes, 4-5 days for peppers. Once germinated, I put them in the growing medium. I live in zone 5b where we can't plant tomatoes and peppers outside until after Memorial Day. It is typical to have a frost in mid to late May.

[diananazaroff]

I love how you do this. You read my mind, then create a video answering the questions I've been thinking about.
Thank you, lol!

[kittyskid]

I watched this on ROKU youtube as a guest. I have made this mistake before and had to cover, protect my tomatoes. Now, I just wait. I am getting my soil ready. As far as cukes, I just direct so them. They come up so fast. Your work on this channel is phenomenal.

[Marcosne]

Good thing I love in Phoenix Arizona. I can pretty much grow anything year round either on the raised bed or in the sun room.

[kimconroy]

I live in the Colorado Mountains and I start all my squash, and cucumber indoors around the first week of May in hopes that temps are ok to put them out in June. I have not had issues transplanting.

[SensusFidelium]

Thank you for this. Was about to literally do what you warned about.

[rickwashek]

Good information, I stated a lot of things to early last year. I had a jungle in my garage. Only lost a couple plants but they were all out of control by the time I got them planted

[itwillgroweventually]

Great video as always. I live in zone 9B in California and I can usually get away starting most all my seeds at the same time. Especially this year it hasn't been very cold I managed to keep two pepper plants alive and they're still producing I didn't even have to overwinter them.

[YenniHope]

Thanks for the video! I think it is a great advice to not to start your seedlings too early, but here in up in the north planning for 2-3 weeks after the last frost date would not give us enough time to get the yield. So in crappy springs like this current one it is such a night mare to plan when to start what and how to fit them anywhere and keep them alive until the frosts are gone (last frost date is 10th of June).

[ChivoXL]

Zone 6 Central WA high desert, I usually start my super-hot peppers around the first week of January to include the sugar rush varieties that also take months for the peppers to ripen as well. Then I usually start tomatoes and sweet/bell peppers late February. Everything else I just start from seed mid-May, and they all usually do just fine by the end of the season in late September early October. Except this year the intrusive thoughts won, and I planted my tomatoes mid-January lol oh well lots of topping, up potting, and a greenhouse makes it okay just a bit more complicated than usual for me. On the plus side I do give extras to friends and family, so they too have a head start on the season.

[fishingpinky]

This was so helpful. I just lost about 18 cucurbits (6 varieties) by doing exactley what you warned against. I was hearbroken but will now try your method. They all started out great on the heat mats but once I started putting them outside and the nights were cold they all slowly died.

[thenotoriousfig]

the Best gardening channel on Youtube!

[die-hardhexican]

That was the perfect way to express the proper seed starting. I agree, starting seeds to early is always disappointing unless you have greenhouse or hoop frame to grow them on.

[matthawkins]

I knew there was a reason I subscribed to your channel, great video.