Get started in early spring, planting the seeds in flats indoors. Once the danger of frost has passed, transplant them to a sunny spot outside. (It’s okay to plant seeds outdoors too -- just be sure the season’s frosts are finished!) Plant your cukes in well-composted soil with good drainage, and give them something tall to climb (like a fence or trellis). The plants should be 12 to 15 inches apart, and if you have more than one row, plant the rows three feet apart.
You’ll need to weed your cucumbers regularly, but don’t poke anything sharp (like a hoe) more than an inch through the soil, or you’ll risk chopping up your plant’s shallow roots. (Not good.) To get them juicy and firm, water them well at least once a week, or more if you notice the soil drying out. (You know how cucumbers kind of seem like crispy water? That’s because they’re full of water. Go figure.)
If you look closely, you’ll notice your cucumber plant has male and female flowers. (Check out the center of the flowers. The reproductive parts on the males kind of come to a point in the middle. On the females, they look like a little cylinder with an indention in the middle.) Not surprisingly, the females are the ones that produce the babies (aka cucumber fruit). You can lend a hand and help the plant make more fruit if you use a watercolor paintbrush to transfer pollen from the boy flowers to the center of the female flowers. (Kinky!)
Harvest your cucumbers when they are dark green and plump by twisting or cutting them off the vine. (Be careful not to leave them on too long -- they'll turn yellow.)
You can also learn how to grow grean beans and how to grow tomatoes.
Nestperts: Mike Weeks and Joey Cagle are gardening gurus at Fifth Season Gardening Co., which operates six stores in North Carolina and Virginia focused on organic and hydroponic gardening and the ethos of doing it yourself.
-- Paula Kashtan
Oct 20, 2010