How to Grow Cucumbers Vertically

There are two distinctly different sorts of cucumber: the vining style, and therefore the bush style cucumber. The vining sort of cucumber plant is ideal for vertical gardening, as these plants will grow upward naturally when they’re given vertical support. Gardeners have tons of options when it involves providing support for plants like cucumbers that require it. you’ll accompany a standard style trellis, otherwise, you can create your own support method and let your creativity lead the way. you would possibly plan to just plant your cucumbers next to a tomato cage or some garden netting, otherwise, you could even repurpose a rickety old ladder that had been collecting dust in your shed and switch it into a neat looking and super inventive network for your vertical cucumber garden.

However you opt to urge vertical in your garden, the advantages are going to be an equivalent. First things first—you are getting to save plenty of space within the garden. Traditional gardening can take up tons of room, and managing and maintaining with a sprawling, spread-out garden that covers much ground can literally be a pain (as during a pain within the neck and therefore the back).

Vertical gardening not only clears away the clutter, opening up many ground space for more plants, but you’ll find you’re ready to harvest the fruits of your labor without stooping down low to try to so. These vining cucumbers aren’t the sole element of the garden that’s easier to identify with vertical gardening. The extended vertical growth of this sort of gardening also makes it easier to identify and destroy weeds also as insects and pests.

Cucumber plants that are allowed to open up across the bottom are often more vulnerable to damage from bugs and overexposure to water. mildew disease can become a problem quickly when soil conditions are moist and air conditions are humid, especially if your cucumber plants are planted approximately. Raising the plants off the bottom and going vertical with them both reduces moisture levels and increases the flow of air around your plants, creating an environment where the fungus is a smaller amount likely to appear—and one it cannot survive in permanently.

TYPES OF CUCUMBERS

There are two different classifications of cucumber fruits: slicing cucumbers and pickling cucumbers. Slicing cucumbers are grown to be eaten fresh, are commonly found in supermarkets, and you’ll most frequently find them utilized in salads, on sandwiches, and to enliven other fresh, healthy fare. These pretty, dark-green vegetables are typically six to nine inches long. The skin usually appears glossy once you buy these cucumbers within the store, as slicing cucumbers are often waxed after harvest to extend their time period.

Pickling cucumbers are available in an array of various varieties, but these types aren’t commonly found in supermarkets. Instead, they’re usually sold at farmers’ markets and in specialty stores. These varieties are usually just called pickles or pickling cucumbers rather than being mentioned by their official cultivar names. Pickling cucumbers are usually getting to be smaller and shorter than the slicing cucumbers that you simply would find during a supermarket. Probably the best-known pickling cucumber is that the gherkin, known for its small, squatty appearance and bumpy skin.

Special sorts of pickling cucumbers are only available seasonally, but you’ll find common slicing cucumbers, also as Armenian and Japanese cucumbers, year-round. Here are a couple of the foremost commonly cultivated cucumbers that you simply can choose between.

Kirby Cucumbers:

Kirbies are documented due to the favored brand of pickles that carries an equivalent name. an outsized majority of the Kirby cucumbers that are grown are becoming dill pickles and sold commercially, but these special cucumbers also are harvested and sold fresh. Kirby cucumbers became a well-liked choice for chefs around the world, preferring to use them thanks to their thin skin, crispy texture, and tiny seeds also as their tendency to be left unwaxed after they’re harvested.

Hothouse Cucumbers (English):

The hothouse cucumber, also referred to as English cucumber (or European cucumber), is very large. Though slender, the fruits of a hothouse cucumber can get older to 2 feet long . Hothouse cucumbers also are seedless, which makes them easy for those with sensitive stomachs to digest. These cucumbers are milder than field-grown varieties, but they have a tendency to be costlier to get just because they’re grown in hothouses rather than outdoors.

Japanese Cucumbers (Kyuri):

These small culinary favorites are both slender and short, with dark green, bumpy skin. they need a crisp, juicy, well-balanced taste with a sweet finish. Both the skin and therefore the seeds of Kyuri cucumbers are edible.

Armenian Cucumbers (Snake Cucumber, Snake Melon):

The Armenian cucumber may be a slicing cucumber with a light flavor. The fruit turns yellow and releases a somewhat pungent odor almost like that of the muskmelon, a plant to which it’s closely related. you’ll recall seeing Armenian cucumbers at the supermarket. You’ll know them by their thin dark green skin, which is marked with pale green longitudinal furrows.

Lemon Cucumbers:

Lemon cucumbers are fully ripe once they have grown to just about the dimensions of a lemon. This variety’s crispy texture and delicate, citrusy flavor have made it a favorite in culinary circles. Its lemon-colored skin starts out a straw and matures with the cucumbers to a golden-yellow hue when they’re ripe.

Persian Cucumbers (Sfran):

Crunchy and watery, the Persian cucumber is usually grown to eat fresh. almost like the common slicing cucumber in its flavor and complexity, the Persian cucumber is shorter, fatter, and more compact.

PROVIDING SUPPORT FOR YOUR CUCUMBER PLANTS

As mentioned above, there are tons of various options for gardeners to settle on from when they’re deciding the way to provide vertical support for cucumber plants. the foremost important thing is that your network is tall enough—and that it’s sturdy enough to not topple over because the plants grow larger. In most cases, for growing cucumbers, a trellis or ladder that’s a minimum of five or six feet tall should suffice. If you’re worried about your climbing cucumber varieties not choosing to climb up your network of choice, try the A-frame trellis design, which can allow the plants to crawl up and down the structure with ease.

GROWING CONDITIONS FOR CUCUMBERS

Location

Cucumbers love warm and sunny locations with minimal high-speed windage.

Temperature

The optimal temperature range for growing cucumbers is between 65 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

Soil

A loose, deep soil that gives many drainages is preferred. For growing cucumbers, you ought to also strive for soil with a neutral pH level and much of organic matter.

Watering

Due to the high water content of the cucumber fruit, regular and deep watering is important for gardening success. When you’re watering, attempt to keep the plants’ leaves dry to avoid fungal diseases.

Mulching

Using a light layer of mulch around the base of the cucumber plants will improve the soil’s ability to take care of the acceptable moisture level for them.

Fertilizer

When you’re planting cucumbers, add an all-purpose, slow-release fertilizer to the soil. Once the plants begin to flower, side-dress them with aged manure, then apply a balanced liquid fertilizer.

WHETHER TO GROW CUCUMBERS IN CONTAINERS

If you’re using containers, you’ll want to pick large ones that are quite 12 inches both thorough and width. it’s also important to think about the sort of cucumber that you simply are going to be growing when you’re selecting the containers for them. Some varieties require more room than others to flourish. Vining cucumber varieties grow tall and send long roots for support, so a deep container is crucial. Bushier sorts of the cucumber plant are short and thus would require less depth in their containers and fewer vertical support.

How to Grow Cucumbers Vertically

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