Everything you wanted to know about cucumbers but were afraid to ask. We dig into the history of the cucumber, it's botanical curiosities and why you should start succession planting them.

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Show Notes and Terms:

Cucumbers / Cucumis sativus

• Part of the plant you eat: The fruit. Officially, the cucumber is classified as a pepo, which a type of berry.

• Days to maturity: 45-65

• How to plant: Sow seeds indoors as transplants 2-3 weeks before planting out. Wait until the temperatures are 65°-70° before planting out. Cucumbers can be direct sown when soil temperatures reach 70°. Plants should be spaced 12-18” apart. If you’re direct sowing, place seeds every 6” and thin once seedlings germinate.

• Ideal germination temp: 70°

• Hardiness: Hard frost will kill cucumber plants

• Cucumber growth habit: Cucumbers varieties come in both bush and trailing growth habits.

• Fertilization needs: Fertilize at planting and every 2-3 weeks with a liquid fertilizer.

• Main categories of cucumbers:

  • Slicing

  • Pickling

  • Burpless

• Also mentioned in this episode:

  • Linnaean taxonomy

  • Parthenocarpic plants

String trellising cucumbers:

In addition to a new season of the podcast, we also have a new book coming out soon called “Grow More Food.” It’s a revised version of our earlier book “High-Yield Vegetable Gardening” but with over 200 new photos, updated illustrations and loads of new information, it’s available for preorder now everywhere you buy books online.

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Have a topic you’d like to see us dig into on the podcast? Send us an email at eb@seattleurbanfarmco.com

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Have a topic you'd like see us dig in to? Send us a note at eb@seattleurbanfarmco.com

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