How to Grow a Marketmore Cucumber

Garden bed

A bed gives the heaviest harvest. A vine in good ground produces 10 to 20 cucumbers across a 5 to 6 week peak window, which is more than most households eat fresh. Plan on giving cucumbers away or pickling the surplus.

Use a trellis along the back of the bed and let the vines climb up rather than sprawl. Trained vines stay cleaner, dry faster after rain, and produce straighter fruit than ones lying on the ground.

Pot

A 5-gallon container or larger holds one vine. The plant produces a smaller harvest in a pot but works well on a patio or balcony where a bed is not an option. Use a sturdy bamboo or wire trellis pushed deep into the pot at planting so the vine has support from day one.

Container plants need water more often than bed-grown ones, sometimes daily in hot weather, since the small soil volume dries fast. A self-watering pot or one with a saucer reservoir reduces the watering burden.

Sun

Full sun is required. At least six hours of direct sun a day, eight or more is better. Less than six hours produces a leafy vine with few flowers and even fewer cucumbers. Pick the sunniest part of the yard or patio.

Drainage

Well-drained soil is essential. The roots rot quickly in soggy conditions, and once the rot starts the vine wilts and collapses within days. Loosen heavy clay with compost before planting, or build a raised bed that drains freely.

Soil

Rich garden soil with plenty of organic matter is what this plant wants. Work two to three inches of compost into the top six inches of soil before planting. Cucumbers feed heavily and produce poorly in lean ground.

Crop rotation

Do not plant cucumbers in the same spot for at least two years in a row, and avoid following squash, melons, or pumpkins in the same bed for the same reason. The cucumber family shares soil-borne diseases like fusarium wilt and bacterial wilt, and rotation breaks the cycle.

Watering

Water deeply twice a week in cool weather and three times a week through hot dry spells, soaking the root zone rather than wetting the leaves. A drip line or soaker hose at the base of the vine works best. Wet foliage spreads fungal disease.

Consistent moisture matters more than total volume. Uneven watering causes bitter and misshapen fruit, since cucumbers are mostly water and the plant cannot fix a soaked-then-dried cycle with the next watering. Container plants need water more often than bed-grown ones, sometimes daily.

Feeding

Mix a slow-release balanced fertilizer into the bed at planting. Once the first flowers appear, switch to a fertilizer lower in nitrogen and higher in phosphorus and potassium to support fruit set. A liquid feed labeled for tomatoes and vegetables works well, applied every 10 to 14 days during the harvest window.

Heavy nitrogen at the fruiting stage pushes leafy vines with few cucumbers, so back off the nitrogen once flowering starts.

Ongoing tying

Check the vine every few days during peak growth and tie any wandering main stems loosely to the trellis with soft garden twine or plant clips. The plant climbs with tendrils, but the first few feet often need help finding the structure.

Pinching the side shoots

Once the main vine has six or eight leaves, pinch off the very first side shoots in the lower three leaf joints. These low side shoots tend to produce poorly and crowd the base. Above the third joint, let side shoots grow — they carry most of the fruit.

Topping at season's end

About 3 to 4 weeks before the first expected frost, pinch out the growing tip of the main vine. This stops the plant from setting new fruit it cannot ripen and pushes energy into finishing the cucumbers that are already on the vine.

When it's ready

Pick cucumbers when they are 6 to 8 inches long, dark green, and firm. The skin should be smooth without yellowing at the bottom end. Cucumbers left to grow past 8 inches develop large bitter seeds and a tough skin, and the vine slows down on new fruit while finishing the oversized one.

Picking technique

Cut the stem with a small knife or pruning shears half an inch above the fruit, rather than twisting and pulling. Pulling damages the vine and shortens the harvest window. Pick every other day during peak season — the plant fruits faster when you keep up with the harvest, and skipping a few days lets the cucumbers oversize on the vine.

Storing the harvest

Cucumbers keep best at 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit, which is warmer than a typical refrigerator. A cool basement or root cellar holds them well for a week. Wrapped loosely in a paper towel inside a plastic bag, refrigerator storage works for about five days. The skin softens and the flesh goes mealy past that point.

Surplus cucumbers pickle well. A simple refrigerator pickle in vinegar and salt is ready in a few days and keeps for months refrigerated.

Yellow leaves at the base of the vine

Common on older leaves as the season progresses and the plant pulls energy into fruit. If the upper canopy stays green and healthy, no action is needed. Yellow leaves that spread up the vine within a few days point to wilt disease (see below) or to chronic overwatering. Check soil moisture and drainage.

Bitter or misshapen cucumbers

Uneven watering is the leading cause. A soaked-then-dried cycle stresses the plant and produces fruit that is bitter at the stem end or curved at one end. Even out the schedule with mulch and consistent watering, and discard the worst affected cucumbers. The vine recovers on the next round of fruit.

Flowers but no cucumbers

Pollination problem. The first flush of male flowers opens a week or so before the first females, and that early period drops without fruit. Once female flowers (the ones with a tiny cucumber at the base) open, bees usually handle pollination. If pollinator activity is low, hand-pollinate by transferring pollen from a male flower to the center of a female flower with a small brush early in the morning.

Vine wilts suddenly even with damp soil

Bacterial wilt, spread by cucumber beetles, is the most likely cause. The vine wilts during the day and partly recovers at night, then collapses entirely within a week. Pull and discard the affected vine to keep the disease from spreading. Control cucumber beetles aggressively next season with row covers until flowering and rotate the bed.

Striped or spotted yellow beetles on leaves

Cucumber beetles, the main vector of bacterial wilt. Hand-pick beetles early in the morning when they are slow, and drop them in soapy water. Yellow sticky traps reduce populations. Floating row covers from planting until the first flowers open keep beetles off young vines, then come off for pollination.

Soft white powdery film on leaves

Powdery mildew, common in late summer when nights cool down and humidity rises. Improve airflow by removing the lowest leaves and any heavily affected foliage. Water at the base in the morning so leaves dry quickly. A potassium bicarbonate or neem oil spray every 7 to 10 days slows the spread. Heavily infected vines usually still produce a final round of fruit before the disease ends the season.

Spider mites in hot dry weather

Fine stippling on leaves and faint webbing in the leaf joints during summer heat. Spray the undersides of leaves with a strong jet of water every few days. Insecticidal soap or horticultural oil clears heavier infestations. Adequate watering through dry spells is the best prevention.

Aphids on new growth

Small green or black insects clustered on shoots and the undersides of new leaves. Knock them off with a strong spray of water. Heavier infestations respond to insecticidal soap. Lady beetles eat aphids fast — plant a few yarrow or sweet alyssum nearby to attract them.

Squash bugs at the base of the vine

Flat brown insects clustered near the soil line and on the undersides of lower leaves. Hand-pick adults early in the morning and crush egg clusters (small bronze ovals) on the leaves. Heavy infestations stress the vine into early decline. Row covers in the early season and a clean garden bed at season's end reduce next year's pressure.