growing cucumbers

by Philip
(Rockford, IL, USA)

I want to prepare a portion of the yard for cucumbers for next year. what characteristics of soil do they like? Is there any way to head off cucumber beetles in the soil preparation?


Growing Cucumbers By Farmer Dave
Early soil preparation for growing cucumbers.
Preparing your soil a year early is a great idea with many benefits.
If you are ready to start now I would suggest digging or tilling up the soil and planting a cover crop of buckwheat. This will flower in about 60 days which will be a perfect time to till or dig it into the soil around mid September giving you enough time for another cover crop also known as green manure. Let your cover crop break down for 2-4 weeks then till or dig your soil again. Now you can plant vetch and oats as a winter cover crop and turn that in about 4 weeks before you plan to plant in the spring.
You can also start a compost pile now which will have plenty of time to break down before the spring even if you only turn it once, especially if you add some earthworms.

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Cucumbers like it warm so I usually plant my main planting outside in the spring after the danger of frost which for us is end of May or the beginning of June. If it is a warm year I will be eating cucumbers by the second week in July. Since we love cucumbers I also start some in March in a green house and plant them out in mid May under a cloche.
Then we usually get cucumbers by the end of June or beginning of July.

Now you asked about soil prep. So I better answer that for you.
Cucumbers like soil with a PH of 6.5- 7 so test your soil and add a little lime if needed.
They like good drainage, lots of water and fertile soil, so add lots of compost if you have it, making sure they have a good balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium.
I would do the winter cover crop, till or turn that in 2-4 weeks before planting. After the cover crop has broken down make beds or holes and add manure, compost, and some bone meal for a real bumper crop. You can use some maxi crop which is an organic sea weed spray as a foliar feed on your young plants especially if they do not look strong and vibrant.

If your plants are well fed and strong you probably won’t have much problem with cucumber beetles. Cucumber beetles overwinter as unmated adults in bordering vegetation, plant debris; woodlots and fence rows so do as much garden clean up as possible.
If you notice cucumber beetles in the spring you can pick them off then cover your plants with a row cover which will keep them off until your plants are large and strong and the weather is warmer.

Cucumbers like to grow on the ground or on trellis. I like to grow (and eat) pickling cucumbers, lemon cucumbers, straight eights and Armenian.

For more information check my "Victory Gardens"
ebook.
I hope this helps you get a great cucumber harvest let me know if you have any more questions.