How to Grow More Cucumbers

Cucumbers are easy to grow and a versatile crop – and with these tips you can increase your yield and grow even more cucumbers!

collage image of lots of ripe cucumbers; text overlay "How to Grow Lots of Cucumbers"

Cucumbers are generally one of the easier vegetables to grow and perfect for the beginning gardener. They’re also a favorite of experienced gardeners because they produce so much fruit and they are a versatile crop that is easy to pickle and preserve.

You’ll often see cucumber plants for sale at gardening stores and big-box stores alike. They’re readily available and easy to get started. So what are you waiting for?!

Here we’ll break down some of the reasons why cucumbers are easy to plant and grow if you’re just getting started with your garden. We’ll also share tips to grow bigger and better cucumbers, if you’re already growing them.

Why Cucumbers Are Easy To Grow

You can plant cucumbers in any type of garden. Cucumbers can be planted in-ground or in raised beds and container gardens. You can also grown greenhouse varieties in cooler climates.
Cucumbers can grow in almost any soil. Cucumbers aren’t picky when it comes to soil, as long as it has good drainage.
Cucumbers grow quickly. When the temperature is right, cucumbers grow rapidly and are prolific producers.
Cucumbers are disease and pest resistant. Cucumbers are often overlooked by pests. Their bitter smell and taste is a deterrent to many insect pests. Also, there are only a few diseases that affect cucumbers and they are generally easy to manage.

How To Grow More Cucumbers

If you’ve already planted cucumbers but are looking for ways to increase your plants’ yields, here are some tips:

Know Your Ideal Planting Time

Cucumbers grow best in soil that’s about 60 degrees Farenheit or warmer. It’s ok to go ahead and plant them after the last frost date, but they might not grow very quickly until the weather is consistently warm. If there is still danger of frost, start your seedlings indoors or in a greenhouse and transplant them when the weather warms.

Plant Cucumbers In Full Sun

Cucumbers love sun and need full sun to thrive. They can be used to shade other plants, but you don’t want to plant cucumbers themselves in the shade.

Water Cucumbers Regularly

Because cucumbers grow so quickly, they do need watered often when it doesn’t rain. In hot climates you made need to do a deep, soaking watering daily. But keep an eye on them – cucumbers will give you clues that you’re overwatering them, such as yellowing leaves.

Use A Trellis

Cucumbers grow fast and take up a lot of space. Instead of letting them get too crowded in the garden bed, use a trellis to get them up off the ground so they have plenty of room to grow. This also allows you to better spot the cucumber fruits and pick them on time.

I made my trellis out of recycled fencing and T-posts. I made an arch with the fencing above one of my garden beds. When the cucumbers cover the trellis by summertime, they will provide shade for more heat-sensitive crops.

Use Fertilizer Or Compost

Cucumbers are easy to grow, but they do benefit from the occasional soil amendments. You can use a well-rounded commercial fertilizer, or supplement your soil with compost. I do this before I plant and once during the growing season.

Pick Cucumbers As Soon As They Are Ripe

Picking cucumbers in a timely manner will allow the plant to dedicate resources towards growing new fruit. When cucumbers start to turn yellowish, they are overripe.

What Can You Do With Cucumbers?

Now that your plants are growing, thriving, and producing lots of fruit, you may be wondering what to do with all those cucumbers!

You might be surprised with all of the uses for cucumbers. They are incredibly useful and versatile…and not just for food!

Eat them fresh. Cucumbers are a refreshing and nutritious snack. Because they contain so much water, cucumbers are a wonderful source of hydration. They are also high in Vitamin K and a good source of Vitamin A and dietary fiber.
Make pickles. This is one of my favorite things to do with cucumbers! You can try a variety of pickling styles so you never get bored: dill pickles, sweet pickles, bread and butter…so many options! This is also a great way to preserve your crop, for a year or more! I’ve listed my favorite pickle recipes below.
Use them in recipes. Cucumbers can be added to almost any type of food! We add them raw to salads, sandwiches, and tacos. You can also cook cucumbers! We also use pickles in things like dill pickle roll-ups and of course on burgers.
Use them in beauty products. Spa day anyone? Cucumbers are a popular ingredient in beauty products because they are said to help hydrate and soothe the skin. You can also slice them and place them over your eyes to help relieve dark circles.

So many ways to use cucumbers! I love them and every year I plant more!

Try My Favorite Pickle Recipes:

Granny’s Sweet Pickles
Refrigerator Dill Pickles (No Canning Needed)

Plus, learn all about water bath canning here! This is the method I use for canning all of my pickles, except refrigerator pickles.