Courgette & Cucumber Plants

Organic cucumber plants - a quick guide

Organic cucumbers grow well in the UK with varieties suitable for both greenhouses and for planting outside. For the basics of cucumber cultivation, here’s our quick guide to getting the best from this deliciously crunchy summer staple.

When to plant your organic cucumbers

You can get your cucumber plants into the ground in a heated greenhouse as early as March, but for unheated greenhouses, you must wait until the temperature is above 12-15C for your cucumbers to get off to a good start. If you’re planting outside, you’ll have to harden your plants off carefully and wait until early June to plant them. Cucumbers are a tender crop and, for best results, need good, warm, sunny conditions.

How tall do cucumber plants grow?

Cucumbers are climbing, scrambling plants and will grow to quite a size if left unchecked. It’s best to encourage the growth of fruit by pinching out the growing tip once the plant reaches your greenhouse roof, or for outdoor varieties, once your plants have reached the top of their support. Cucumbers will also trail along the ground, but if you choose to grow them this way, it does make it rather easy for pests like slugs to enjoy your crop before you have a chance to enjoy it with your Pimms.

How to care for organic cucumber plug plants

It’s best to plant your plug plants as soon as you can after they arrive. To do this, fill 4” pots with potting compost, leaving about 1cm free at the top. Make a hole and gently pick your plant up by the leaves or root bowl, place it into the hole and carefully firm in and water well. Some gardeners plant plugs straight into a growing bag, two to the bag. When you transplant your cucumbers from pots to their final locations, prepare the ground with a couple of buckets of garden compost or similar, and once the flowers appear, feed weekly organic feed. Water little and often, being careful to avoid the leaves, which are prone to fungal infections.