If possible, water your cucumbers with a soaker hose or drip irrigation to keep the foliage dry. Inadequate or inconsistent moisture causes oddly shaped or poor-tasting fruit. Just keep the soil consistently moist with an inch of water per week (more if temperatures sizzle and rain is scarce). Wire is easy for the tendrils of climbing cucumbers to grab as the plant grows.Ĭucumbers grow fast and don't demand a lot of care. A 12- to 18-inch diameter cage made from 4- or 5-foot welded wire fencing or hog wire will support 2 or 3 vines. This keeps the fruit clean and saves space. Straw mulch is also thought to be uncomfortable for slugs and creates an uneasy footing for cucumber beetles, helping to keep them at bay. Mulch is especially important to keep the fruit clean for bush types and vines not growing on a trellis. If the weather is unseasonably cool, you can wait a while to mulch until the ground is warmed by the sun. In areas where spring is long and cool, you can warm the soil 3 to 4 degrees by covering the hill or row with black plastic.If you do not plant in black plastic, then mulch with pine straw, wheat straw, chopped leaves, or your favorite organic mulch shortly after planting. For vines trained on a trellis, space plants 1 foot apart. (Compost or composted manure will work, too.) Plant seedlings 36 to 60 inches apart, depending on variety (check the stick tag). To improve the soil and help create the root environment needed for a big harvest, work several inches of aged compost-enriched Miracle-Gro® Performance Organics® All Purpose In-Ground Soil into the top few inches of your existing garden soil.
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