When To Pick A Cucumber

Most slicing cucumbers for fresh eating should be harvested when they are seven to nine inches long and have a dark green color. If they get much larger than this, they'll be bitter and won't have a pleasant texture. When you pick cucumbers, leave a small, one-inch section of stem attached to the cucumber.

How do you know when cucumbers are ready to be picked?

However, cucumbers are generally ripe and ready for harvest anywhere from 50 to 70 days after planting. A cucumber is normally considered ripe when it is bright medium to dark green and firm. You should avoid cucumber harvesting when cucumbers are yellow, puffy, have sunken areas, or wrinkled tips.

Why are my cucumbers prickly?

Some might have tiny little hairs and others all out spines. The slicing varieties are usually less prickly while the pickling types are spinier. Native to India, cucumbers may have become spiny for the same reason that some animals are camouflaged or have horns…to protect themselves from predators.

Will cucumbers ripen off the vine?

Unlike tomatoes, stone fruit, and avocados, cucumbers will not ripen off the vine. ... Pick the largest fruit first by cutting them from the vine and continually harvest fruit to encourage ongoing production.

What happens if you pick a cucumber too early?

Picking the cucumbers early and often will encourage the vine to keep producing longer into the season. It is best if you do not allow the cucumbers to become over-ripe. They can develop a bitter taste if left on the vine too long.

What are the stages of a cucumber plant?

The Growing Stages of a Cucumber

Seed Sowing and Seedling Emergence.
Cucumber Flowering and Pollination.
Fruiting and Harvest.
Cucumber Post-Harvest Care.

Should I pick the flowers off my cucumber plants?

A: Pinch off the flowers if you want more stem and leaf growth – especially if the plant is young. You can remove flowers on the bottom so the plant will focus more on the top cucumbers (this will keep cucumbers off the ground too).

How do you pick a good cucumber?

Look for firm cucumbers, without blemishes or soft spots, which can indicate they have started to rot. They should be dark green without any yellow spots, which develop as the cucumber is getting overly ripe. At that point, it will often produce off-flavors and odors.

Are Japanese cucumbers prickly?

They tend to look like English cucumbers, only they are less smooth, having a few bumps on them, and sometimes prickly skin.

How many cucumbers do you get per plant?

Generally, a healthy pickling cucumber plant produces about 5 pounds of cucumbers per plant. If you plant cucumbers for slicing and eating fresh, plan on growing about 2 to 3 plants per person in your household; healthy plants generally grow 10, 6-ounce cucumbers per plant.

When should I pick my Burpless cucumbers?

If your burpless cucumber is 10 inches long, it's ready to be harvested. A uniform shape and color, firmness to the touch, and their crispness indicate it's time to snip them from the vine.

Do cucumbers need to be refrigerated after picking?

According to a post at Root Simple, cucumbers should be stored at room temperature – not in the refrigerator. Root Simple cites the University of California, Davis, which determined that cucumbers are sensitive to temperatures below 50°F. When stored at room temperature, cucumbers thrive and last longer.

Why are my cucumbers yellow and fat?

Unless you are growing a yellow variety (such as lemon cucumbers), cukes that turn yellow are generally over-ripe. Also, they may have been over-watered. When cut lengthwise, the fatter fruits are generally seedy and may taste bitter.

What season are cucumbers?

Although you can find cucumbers at your market year-round, the peak season is from May through August.

How long do cucumber plants produce fruit?

When properly cared for and kept free of disease, cucumbers produce long, slender fruit that range in length from 3 to 24 inches. It is ready for harvest in 50 to 70 days from planting, depending on how you plan to use them.

What is a Burpless cucumber?

Burpless' cucumbers, both American and Asian types, contain low or no cucurbitacin, the compound that causes bitterness and increases one's susceptibility to 'burping' after eating the fruits. Stays crisp longer than any cucumber we've tried. ...

Can you overwater a cucumber plant?

Overwatering is one of the worst things that can happen in a garden. Although you may think you are helping your cucumbers by watering more often, too much water can damage and quickly kill them by allowing roots to sit in damp soil and by removing beneficial oxygen from the soil.

What plants should not be planted next to each other?

Other commonly believed plant incompatibilities include the following plants to avoid near one another:

Mint and onions where asparagus is growing.
Pole beans and mustard near beets.
Anise and dill neighboring carrots.
Cucumber, pumpkin, radish, sunflower, squash or tomatoes close to potato hills.

When should you thin cucumbers?

When seedlings reach 4 inches tall, thin plants so that they are at least 1½ feet apart. If you've worked organic matter into the soil before planting, you may only need to side-dress your plants with compost or well-rotted manure.

What can you not plant next to cucumbers?

Two plants to avoid planting near cucumbers are melons and potatoes. Sage is not recommended as a companion plant near cucumbers either. While sage shouldn't be planted near cucumbers, oregano is a popular pest control herb and will do well as a companion plant.

How do you know if a cucumber flower is male or female?

Inspect the bright yellow flowers growing on the cucumber plant. Look behind each flower for a small immature cucumber growing behind it. Female flowers have this immature bloom, known as an ovary, growing behind it, while male flowers do not. Male flowers grow on a thinner-looking stem.

Should I cut off yellow cucumber leaves?

Should I Prune my Cucumber Vine? The short answer is yes, it's okay to prune cucumbers, but I guess that doesn't really say much. Both cucumbers' vegetative and reproductive growth need to be balanced. Anyone who's ever looked at a cucumber plant can see that it is often the vegetative growth that's left to run amok.