Although I am one of the most English people I know, I am not a huge fan of cucumbers, at least not fresh ones. I find their taste lingers a bit too long after eating, and that it dominates everything else on the plate. That said, I love a good pickled cucumber, and for that reason I will always grow a couple of vines in the spring, summer and autumn months, here in my Lowveld garden.
Cucumbers are surprisingly easy to grow. They are unfussy, fairly pest resistant, and as long as you give them enough space to climb, they will happily give you delicious fruits for months on end. And if you can remember to succession plant, you will have fresh cucumbers almost all throughout the year.
My experience with cucumbers started in the second year of growing veg. I wanted to have everything my family could need in order to make a summer salad, and cucumbers are an obvious addition. What I did not expect was just how fast and abundantly the cucumbers would grow, and so I fell in love pretty quickly.
As I said, I’m not a huge fan of cucumbers. But when I started growing my own, I discovered that the flavour is quite different from the shop bought ones, although this could be because I don’t grow those incredibly long ones that you get at the shop, the types that seem to be the only ones available.
Considering that I didn’t have a lot of space to grow, I thought it would be best to grow a smaller variety, and I must say, it was a good choice.
Not only is it compact enough to grow plenty of them in a small area, but they are packed full of a different kind of flavour that makes them tasty for both fresh eating and pickling.
Types of Cucumbers
My personal favourite is the small Ashley cucumber, but you don’t have to be me. There are all sorts of interesting looking and fresh tasting cucumber varieties that you can get seeds for in South Africa, and just about all of them should be good enough to grow in the Lowveld, provided you plant at the right time.
Cucumbers are not a huge fan of intense heat and loads of rain, and this is something to keep in mind when making your selection. Another factor to consider, when deciding on which seeds to buy, is what you want to do with your cucumbers. If your goal is to add it fresh to dishes, you will want the bigger variety such as the Garden Sweet Burpless, the classic English Cucumber, or the Marketmore. If you want to eat and pickle the cucumbers, try out the Ashley, the Home Made Pickle Pickling Cucumber, and the Zena.
These are all your basic types of cucumbers, and when you look beyond the common type, you’ll find dozens of really unusual varieties such as the sour cucumelon, the African horned Kiwano cucumber, the Cucumis Anguria (which is indigenous to South Africa), the lemon cucumber, and the crystal apple cucumber.
Whichever type you choose for your garden, space is going to be something you need to plan well. The vines will grow quickly, especially in summer, and they can take over. Setting up trellises is about the best way to approach growing your cucumbers. I grow mine up the side fence of my veggie patch but in the past I have tied the vine onto a supporting pole. You can also grow these in pots, so long as you give them enough support.
Sowing
Although I absolutely envy those with a gorgeous greenhouse, I just don’t have the space, so whenever I seed start, I am relying on the grace and temperament of Mother Nature.
Luckily, since cucumbers are quite similar to something like a butternut squash, you will have a lot of success growing them in a similar way. You can direct seed your cucumbers close to your trellis or fencing, or you can start them in seed containers and then transplant them once they have about 4 leaves.
In the past I have used containers but for some reason or other, this year (2022) I lost the lot of them. I don’t know what happened, whether I over watered them or if the extreme spring heat (it hit the 40s on some days) destroyed them, but either way, when I transplanted them, just about all of them died. I did have luck with one, which I left to get quite large, so maybe I just transplanted too early.
Either way, instead of wasting seed, I decided to direct plant the next attempt, and boy did they take off! In future, I am certainly going to save time and just put the seeds in the ground and let nature take the wheel.
The ideal time to sow cucumbers in the Lowveld is really anytime. Our lack of frost and warm days are quite ideal for all types of plants including cucumbers. I have harvested cucumbers right up until midwinter, so believe me, it is doable.
For a faster crop, you can think about planting in August, when the days start getting warmer, and then planting new seeds as your cucumbers grow bigger, if you have enough space to do so. That way you will have a continuous harvest. I have grown just 2 vines and had enough for the family to eat and to also pickle but I would suggest growing up to 5 vines for a consistent daily yield.
If you sow in April or May, you can expect your vines to grow, but they might be a little bit discouraged by the colder weather. Their production will slow down but they won’t die, unless you live in an area that gets frost. The upside of planting before the winter is that by the time the days do warm up, you will have a head start on your harvesting.
Cucumber seeds are a lot smaller than most squash seeds, although they are quite easy to handle. Ideally, the seed should be planted just beneath the surface, not too far under the soil. I usually just make a small indent, place the seed and then cover it. Depending on the season, you should see a seedling emerge about 2 weeks after planting. In spring and summer, you might see it sooner, and in winter you might have a delay.
Growing
Once the warmer weather arrives, cucumbers grow quite fast which means you should have your support structure in place before the plant starts trying to climb.
A cucumber needs very little attention to flourish. Make sure that it gets enough water if there are long stretches between heavy rainfall and give it some plant food once or twice a month (if you can remember) and it should do just fine.
Try not to let the plants get too overcrowded, make sure there is about 10 cm between each cucumber at its base. You should not grow them in an area that gets too much afternoon sun and don’t plant them in full shade.
As the plant grows bigger and bigger, cut back the leaves closer to the bottom of the plant to discourage disease.
Harvesting
Much like squashes, the cucumber will produce male and female flowers, with the males appearing first. When the plant gets bigger, the females (which you can identify by the tiny fruits growing behind them) will kick into action and you will start seeing viable cucumbers.
No matter what variety you are growing, you should never let your cucumbers get too big as they can end up looking delicious but having a watery flavour. Cucumbers can’t really be harvested too early, but if you let them get to a good size, and you’ll know it is the right size because the cucumber will be fully green with no brown signs of aging, you will get that flavour punch and a really pleasing texture. A cucumber can be ripe as soon as 8 to 10 days after the female flower has been pollinated.
Depending on your variety, your cucumber might only going to grow to a specific size. For instance, pickling cucumbers like the Ashley, are not going to get huge, and so they are perfect for canning.
Pests
Squash bugs can become a problem, as can cucumber beetles. You might also encounter slugs and snails having a nibble on the leaves. You can get rid of these pests with various organic sprays and pellets, and with the beetles, if you have absolutely too much time on your hands, you can catch them and drown them in soapy water. It might sound barbaric but it is satisfying and to get over my guilt I try to remind myself that they are destroying my food.
What to do with your harvest
Cucumbers don’t have to be relegated to salads, there are a couple of other things you can do with your harvest.
- Can ‘em. If you slice up your cucumbers and can them in a simple vinegar, sugar and pickle brine, you’ll have your very own pickles!
- Dice them up and add them to a chicken and mayo sandwich or pita bread.
- Slice the cucumber and add it to water for a refreshing drink.
- Make that traditional green salad.
