Even though I love Greek salads, I’ve ruined a few by adding cucumbers with tough skins and big, chewy seeds. Fortunately, making a tender Greek salad instead — with fresh, homegrown cucumbers — is simple. Now, I just include a few English long cucumbers in my garden each year.
Even though I love Greek salads, I’ve ruined a few by adding cucumbers with tough skins and big, chewy seeds.
Fortunately, making a tender Greek salad instead — with fresh, homegrown cucumbers — is simple. Now, I just include a few English long cucumbers in my garden each year.
Although English long cucumbers do well in pots outside, they are not commonly grown in gardens because many gardeners still believe the myth that these thin-skinned, seedless cucumbers can only be grown in a warm greenhouse. Advertisement 2Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
Growing English Cucumbers at Home: A Complete Guide
English cucumbers, with their long, slender shape and mild, refreshing flavor, are a favorite summer vegetable for salads, sandwiches and snacking. Though most grocery store English cucumbers are grown in commercial greenhouses, it is possible to grow these seedless cucumber varieties in your own backyard with some effort and care.
In this comprehensive guide, we will cover everything you need to know about successfully cultivating English cucumbers at home, from understanding what makes them unique, choosing the right varieties, tips for planting, caring throughout the season, and harvesting an abundant crop of tasty cukes.
What Are English Cucumbers?
English cucumbers go by many names – European cucumbers, hothouse cucumbers, and seedless or burpless cucumbers. Unlike standard cucumbers, they are nearly seedless, with very small, soft seeds. They are also longer and slimmer than regular cucumbers, typically growing 8 to 12 inches long.
The skin on English cucumbers is thinner and does not require peeling. It has a milder flavor than American slicing cucumbers making English cucumbers ideal for eating raw in salads or on sandwiches.
While most commercially grown English cucumbers come from indoor greenhouses, it is possible to grow them outdoors in a home garden with proper care and attention.
Choosing the Right English Cucumber Varieties
When selecting English cucumber varieties for your garden, look for words like burpless, European, or American hybrids on the seed packets. Good options include:
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Corinto – Early maturing mini cucumber, 4-6 inches long
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Sweet Success – Burpless, tender skin, 8-10 inches
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Double Yield – High-yielding, 10-12 inch cukes
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Sweet Slice – Burpless, thin-skinned, 11-12 inches long
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English Long Telegraph – Classic English cucumber, 12-18 inches
For best results, choose disease-resistant, gynoecious varieties, which produce mostly female flowers for higher yields. Avoid polyembryonic seeds, which can produce bitter fruits.
Starting Seeds Indoors
One key to successfully growing English cucumbers is to get a head start on the growing season by starting seeds indoors. Here are some tips:
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Start seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before your last frost date.
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Plant seeds 1⁄2 inch deep in seed starting mix. Maintain temperatures of 70-90°F for germination.
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Once sprouted, move to a sunny spot and keep soil consistently moist.
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Harden off seedlings slowly over 7-10 days before transplanting outdoors.
Growing Conditions for English Cucumbers
English cucumbers require some specific care to thrive. Here are the growing conditions they need:
Sunlight: English cucumbers require full sun – at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day.
Soil: They prefer rich, well-draining soil with a pH between 6.0-7.0. Incorporate compost or aged manure before planting.
Water: Consistent moisture is key. Water at the base of plants and avoid wetting the leaves.
Temperature: Optimal growing temperature is 60-75°F. Use floating row covers to extend the season.
Support: Trellises, cages or stakes are needed to support long vines and grow straight cucumbers.
Fertilizer: Use a balanced vegetable fertilizer when planting and again once vines start to run.
Pollination: English cucumbers produce mostly female flowers, so pollinating insects are still needed. Attract bees and other pollinators to your garden.
Plant Spacing and Care
Proper planting techniques and attentive care while growing will allow your English cucumbers to thrive:
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Sow seeds or set transplants 18-24 inches apart in rows 4-6 feet apart.
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Use cloches, cold frames or row covers early in the season to protect plants.
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Install trellises or cages for vines to climb up when plants are young.
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Weed and mulch around plants to retain moisture and reduce competition.
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Monitor for pests like cucumber beetles and diseases. Remove damaged leaves/plants immediately.
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Pick cucumbers regularly to encourage more production.
Maximizing Your Harvest
Getting a vigorous, prolonged harvest from English cucumber vines takes some effort:
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Pick cucumbers as soon as they reach desired size, usually 6-8 inches long. This encourages more fruit production.
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Harvest every 2-3 days during peak season. Cut cukes rather than pulling to avoid damaging vines.
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Succession plant another crop of seedlings in midsummer to ensure cucumbers till fall.
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Remove any diseased or damaged fruits immediately to prevent spreading.
Storing the Harvest
Proper storage keeps harvested English cucumbers fresh longer:
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Store freshly picked cucumbers unwashed in plastic bags in the refrigerator crisper drawer.
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Keep for 5-7 days max. Avoid storing below 50°F as chilling injury can occur.
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Wash just before eating. Unused portions can be wrapped again in plastic and refrigerated.
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Consider pickling excess cucumbers to preserve a bumper crop.
Tips for Growing Success
Follow these tips to increase your chances of successfully growing English cucumbers:
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Start seeds indoors to get a head start on the season. Harden off before transplanting.
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Ensure plants get full sun and consistent moisture. Mulch and irrigate when needed.
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Give vines proper support and train them upward early on.
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Attract pollinators to your garden to improve fruit set.
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Monitor closely for pests and diseases. Act swiftly if issues are found.
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Harvest frequently and completely to maximize yields.
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Store freshly picked cucumbers properly to maximize shelf life.
With the right efforts, any home gardener can enjoy growing sweet, crunchy English cucumbers. Follow these tips for the best chances of success with this delicious summer vegetable.
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But they do grow well outside, as long as the weather is nice, and by late July, you almost always have a great crop.
HISTORY
Cucumbers are native to both the Old and New Worlds. They are in the same family as squash, pumpkins, and melons, which is called cucurbitacea.
English long cucumbers are the result of a lot of breeding work to get rid of the bad traits that many cucumber varieties have, like tough skin, tough seeds, and often bitter fruit.
From a reproductive perspective, cucumbers have interesting sex lives. There are different types of plants that have separate male and female flowers on the same plant. Other types make a mix of plants that are either all male or all female. English long cucumbers don’t have sex lives at all. They are parthenocarpic, which means they make fruit without any pollination, so the fruit has no seeds. In an English long cucumber fruit, you might see what look like the beginnings of seeds. These are actually the seeds that would have formed if the seeds had been pollinated.
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Most people would agree that the best thing about English long cucumbers is that they don’t have seeds. But having a nice, thin skin that doesn’t require peeling is a close second.
I also like how the broad, dark green leaves and vine-like growth look. English long cucumbers look great on a trellis even when they don’t have any fruit on them.
Another great feature of English long cucumbers is their lack of bitterness. Cucurbitacins are naturally bitter chemicals that are found in some cucumbers. English long cucumbers, on the other hand, rarely have even a trace of these chemicals.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: EASY
Growing English long cucumbers isn’t harder than growing any other kind of cucumber, but they do need a strong, tall trellis. They can spread out on the ground without any help, but if you leave the long fruit out, it will rot faster and curl up like a snake.
Training the cucumber to climb up a trellis is simple. I just weave the new leaves through the structure and that works just fine. Tying the main stem to the trellis with soft ties also works well. In either case, you need to train and support the cucumbers every few days because they grow quickly. Advertisement 4Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Article content.
We grow thousands of English long cucumbers in the greenhouse. In 12 weeks, we can expect to pick about 20 to 25 30-centimeter-long fruits from each plant. In my garden, I have four plants that start producing right now and keep doing so for about eight weeks. Each plant makes about a dozen big fruits.
Believe me, there are times in August when jumbo Greek salads are my entire meal!
English long cucumbers are rarely attacked by insect or disease pests, but they are heavy feeders. At least once a week, I use Nature’s Source fertilizer, and I always mix Sea Soil (composted fish waste and pine bark) with my potting soil to give it a little extra nutrition.
HOW PERFECT IS IT?
At this point in the year, I always start my Greek salad by picking a tomato, an onion, and an English Long cucumber from the garden. Then I go to the kitchen, chop the vegetables, add black olives, oil, and feta cheese, and eat. It is one of the simplest things to make and loaded with fresh ingredients from the garden.
Summer salad days just wouldn’t be the same for me without a few English long cucumbers that I grow myself and keep in the kitchen.
Jim Hole is an owner of Hole’s Greenhouse in St. Albert. Follow him at facebook.com/HolesGreenhouses. For previous columns by Jim Hole, go to edmontonjournal.com/holeArticle contentShare this article in your social networkTrending
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Part One: The Secrets to Growing English Cucumbers, Bok Choy, Tomatoes & More
FAQ
How long does it take to grow English cucumbers?
Do English cucumbers need a trellis?
Can you grow English cucumbers from store bought?
How to grow English cucumbers at home?
Choosing the right location for your cucumber plants sets the stage for a bountiful harvest and healthy growth. By considering factors like sunlight, soil, space, and protection, you can create an optimal environment for your cucumber plants to flourish. To begin growing English cucumbers at home, start by planting cucumber seeds.
When should I plant English cucumbers?
Planting English cucumbers at the correct time is equally important. They thrive in warm weather, so I make sure to plant them after the last frost and when soil temperatures are consistently above 65°F.
Can English cucumbers grow vertically?
Check the soil moisture daily, in hot weather you will need to water more often. English Cucumbers do best when allowed to grow vertically. If left to grow on the ground the cucumbers will become misshapen and risk rotting on the soil. Fencing can be made using chicken wire or garden netting and landscape pegs.
How long do English cucumbers take to grow?
English cucumbers require 50 to 70 days from germination to reach harvesting size, but I keep a close eye on them as the ideal size can vary depending on the specific variety. Regular harvesting also encourages the plants to produce more cucumbers, extending the fruiting season and increasing the overall yield of my garden.