Cucumber Growing Masterclass: The Secret to Perfect Cucumbers

Growing your own crunchy, crispy cucumbers is one of the juiciest joys of summer. With a little know-how these tasty cukes can give you a bumper crop and come in an array of surprising colours and textures, bound to impress all your friends at your party. Enjoy them in salads, in your water and in your cocktails of course! Cucumbers also store incredibly well as pickles to last you all winter too!
But... there are a few pitfalls to watch out for. In this week's episode Ben reveals his secrets to growing perfect cucumbers, and lots of them!

Cucumbers are of course squash family plants, so for more on avoiding squash problems, check out these videos next:
Why Aren't My Squashes Fruiting? Boost pollination of squash, zucchini/courgettes & pumpkins 🐝

How to Avoid Common Squash Problems

And enjoy a no-obligation, completely free trial of the Garden Planner here:

[joanies]

Love growing cucumbers. I was never really into pickles until I started growing cucumbers. Now I make kosher dill spears, sweet and sour sandwich pickles, and relish. Nothing like home grown and home made!

[mikki]

I adore this man, his knowledge and enthusiasm is contagious! I love my cucumbers and the advice is stellar, thank you.

[mrs.robinson]

Brilliant video from one of Youtube's best gardening channels. Thanks Ben for sharing your in depth knowledge.

[andrewsparrow]

Also just to add by following groveg I've been very successful and improving my tactics on growing this year.... This summer is going to the busiest and yet the most rewarding. All thanks to you Ben 😊

[michlardot]

My cucumber soup
1 big cucumber with skin in slices, 1 smal handfull of cut up leek put under water with chicken stock let it cook for 10 a 15 min
At Salt and peper if needed at 3 table spoons of cut up dille and about 150 ml of creem
Let it simmer for 5 min, mixe the soup
At slices of smoked samon before serving
Enjoy😊

[artistlovepeace]

GrowVeg is sharing all good and honest advice.

[annettebrdsgaard]

The next generation: Did you know, you can make cuttings. Just take a sideshoot or the topcut and put in water. It will pruduce roots in a couple of weeks and be ready to plant out. I live i Denmark. I do this in the beginning of July🌱

[babyroot]

I just recently subscribed to the Growveg Garden Planner. What an amazing tool to help us in our garden. Ive a lot to learn navigating it, but I really enjoy it and I look forward to using it for years to come!
Edit to add: your humor wasn't wasted on me. "What does your milk bring to the yard?" 😂 too funny.

[TuttleScott]

Cucumbers is one of those plants I've never had problems growing. I just throw the seeds at the ground and soon I've got them coming out my ears. Kind of like squash or zucchini. I am going to try growing them up a trellis this year cause I always end up with 2 foot long monster cucumbers hidden under leaves.

[Brick-Morpork]

My Party Time cucumbers have been in sunken bed in the unheated tunnel for about 1.5 weeks now and they have grown at least 10x bigger than when I planted them out. Off to a great start!

[SoulsJourney]

I always get such a kick out of your videos. The cucumbers on the eyes was great 😁 Just waiting for it to warm up here in Oregon before starting my cukes.

[matthewhodgson]

Perfect timing, planting mine tomorrow.

[kida]

For a bitter cucumber you can cut the vine end and rub it on the cut surface. A foamy white substance will be pulled to the edges of the rubbing area, and that is the bitter compound. Keep rubbing until the foam stops forming. Wash it all off and your cucumber will no longer be bitter.

[ljgerken]

Cucumbers are also called "burpless" or "self-fertile" here in the USA. I prefer a seedless cucumber but many burpless will have seeds if left to grow on longer. If I pick them smaller, I get fewer seeds. I pickled many cucumbers last year and hope to do so this year. I'm going to try growing one plant on my back deck in a 10 gallon grow bag and let it sprawl along the deck and hang down over the edge so I can keep it off the ground and don't need a trellis. I put insect netting tied around the main stem at the soil level to keep vine borers out.

[jackiek]

Cucumbers are my favourite vegie to grow in the summer! Nothing like a home grown cucumber! 😍🥒💚

[kijihigh]

I just grew cucumbers and they are so sweet. I have never tasted them so delicious. Always they have had a bland taste or bitter and sometimes hard to chew. Now they are moist, soft and sweet with a very nice crunch. Delicious. I am so happy. My first crop

[slashieboy]

I love this veggie guy so many great tips while watching good content, keep it up my friend big ups from Sweden

[yooperlooper]

Your videos are always informative and easy to understand. This is a keeper since I like to grow cucs on my deck in pots.

[soltersortna]

I planned on starting my gardening today but sprained my ankle. Thanks for giving me some more knowledge so I’ll be better prepared for my unplanned late start in a week or two!

[vanhorntm]

My favorite variety is Wautoma. It was developed by the USDA and is burpless, bitter free, and resistant to a wide variety of diseases, including powdery mildew, which is my biggest problem. I grow in a climate with hot summers, and they continue produce even when temperatures get into the upper 90's Fahrenheit. You can pick small for gherkins, or let grow a little longer for snacking size or pickles. They're wonderfully prolific, and I like that I can save the seeds from year to year. I like the flavor so much I don't bother growing slicing types anymore and just plant enough for pickles and eating fresh. My bees love the blossoms and are always visiting them as soon as they open.