How to Grow Cucumbers in Containers – Growing Cucumbers at Home
Intro:
Hey everybody! Today, we are going to teach you how to grow cucumbers in containers. If you’re a beginner and want to learn how to grow this, so you can also read this. So, without any further delay let’s start…
Topics covered in this article:
- Basics
- Soil Preparation
- Varieties and Seeding
- Using Shade Cloth
- Watering
- Tie Cucumbers
- Mulching
How To Grow Cucumbers In Containers
I am going to give you an example of growing cucumbers in a 5-gallon container. You can grow it in any container you want. Now, cucumbers are one of those vegetables that it’s really hard to find a good one at the grocery store. But they’re so easy to grow, so why not grow your own. They are also one of those vegetables that you can grow all summer long. Plant every couple of weeks, so you have a harvest throughout the summertime. They go from seed to harvest in about 6 to 8 weeks. So, it’s definitely not too late to get some seeds planted.
No 01: Basics – Before Planting Seeds
Before planting seeds, there are some basics about cucumbers that you should know. They are a warm-weather vegetable, they love the summer temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees. They do really well and they like full sun. You can start them from seed, either indoors or you can plant them directly in your containers. I personally love to plant them in smart pots because you really do need good drainage when you’re planting in containers. The smart pots fabric containers are aerated, and the fabric is really durable. So, they’re going to last you for many years and their perfect size to plant cucumbers in.
Install Support:
When you’re planting in a small 5-gallon container, you only want one maybe two plants in your container. You don’t want to crowd them. Before planting your cucumber seeds, I would highly recommend you install some support. Since cucumbers are vining vegetables, this support keeps your cucumbers up off the ground. They need good airflow, so they don’t get diseases. Keeps them away from pests and critters. You do not have to get complicated with supports. You can make support or a trellis out of just about anything you can find around your garden. So, you can grab some old sunflowers and make a quick trellis for your 5-gallon container or using any way you like.
Making Trellis:
You definitely want to install your trellis before you plant your seeds or plant your transplants. That way you’re not disturbing the roots as you plant. You don’t want to make it too big. You want your trellis to be about anywhere between 4 to 6 feet. Put in your container to get plenty of room for your cucumbers to climb up it.
For the simple teepee trellis, you need 3 poles. Then, just tie up the top with twine and fan it out, once you put it into the container. You are just going to wrap it around and tie it off. It’s a quick and simple trellis for your cucumbers. Once you’re done then just pop it into the container, kind of fan it out. Make a nice sturdy trellis for the cucumbers. You are just to push it down in there. Make sure it gets all the way down to the bottom of the container.
No 02: Soil Preparation
When you are growing cucumbers in a container, you want to make sure that your container is not too small. So, the 5-gallon container really is a great size for it. It’s about 18 inches tall by 12 inches across. You can definitely grow in a larger container if you want. But a 5-gallon container is just super easy to move around, and it has handles too.
As far as the soil goes for containers, you definitely want to have a good organic potting mix. If you want to buy, so I am gonna drop some useful links at the end of the article, do check them out. Don’t fill your containers with soil from your garden. It tends to be heavy and then the roots get bound up in the container and don’t grow as well.
No 03: Varieties And Sedding
There are so many delicious varieties of cucumbers to grow. It’s really hard to choose. I love them all but one of my favorites is the Space Master cucumber and it has 12 varieties that are specifically designed for growing in smaller spaces and containers. So, this is a smaller variety of cucumber absolutely delicious slicing cucumber. When you are growing in a 5-gallon container, it is important that you don’t crowd your cucumbers. They need good airflow. They tend to be prone to diseases and when you crowd them, they just don’t do as well because they don’t have as good of airflow.
Now, you are going to pop in one seed next to each little leg of the trellis there. Then, you’ll probably eventually thin them down to one or two plants. But plant a few seeds just to make sure they all germinate and you have a good crop there. So, just drop your seeds in the soil, covering up just a little bit kind of pressing them down lightly. You want to plant your cucumbers when the soil is nice and warm around 70 degrees. Usually, they germinate so quickly within about 5 to 7 days. If you want to grow a lot of cucumbers and who doesn’t want to grow a lot. So, you want to plant them in a spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of sun a day.
No 04: Using Shade Cloth
When it gets over 90 degrees in your area, so just cover your cucumbers with a piece of shade cloth. If you’ve never used shade cloth, it’s a super handy thing to have around. It’s basically cloth that you can kind of see through. It lets some sun through but it protects it from getting overcooked in the heat. When it gets over 90 the blossoms to drop, you kind of have to start all over again with the fruit production. So, it’s one great thing about 5-gallon containers, especially with trellises. You can just drape the shade cloth right over your trellises and then you’ve got a little protection there for your cucumber plants. If you don’t have a shade cloth what you can do is use an old sheet or a sheer curtain. So, again look around your house and make it work for you.
No 05: Watering
I actually have a drip irrigation hose hooked up in my little 5-gallon container which is super easy to do. I just go to hook this into my drip irrigation on my deck. If you don’t have a drip, you guys don’t worry about it, you could easily water with a watering can or a garden hose. The seeds you may have just planted don’t need any fertilizer now, wait to fertilize them for a couple of weeks. You want to water your cucumbers properly. Keep it nice and moist, especially when the seeds are germinating. You can put a plant saucer under your 5-gallon container if you’re growing on a wooden patio or a deck. If you’re concerned about damage to your deck.
Watering and fertilizing are in most gardeners get tripped up but it is really important especially with cucumbers that you don’t let the soil dry out. When the soil dries out, the cucumbers tend to get bitter and who likes a bitter cucumber. They don’t really need any fertilizing until they get to about 2 sets of true leaves. When it gets 2 sets of true leaves, you want to fertilize them about every 2 weeks in containers because the nutrients drain out every time you water.
I water with my tried-and-true plant cocktail of Vermisterra Worm Tea and Good Dirt Plant Food. The reason why I use this is because it works keeps it simple. You only need to keep a couple of fertilizers around, you don’t need a whole storage shed full of fertilizers. Put it in the watering can because it’s water-soluble. The plant will take up the nutrients immediately from the fertilizer and you want to water at the base of your cucumber plants. Since again cucumbers are prone to diseases like powdery mildew and you want to keep the leaves as dry as possible and give as plenty of airflows as possible to your plant.
No 06: Tie Cucumbers
As your cucumbers grow, you want to tie them up to the trellis. To manage the space that they’re growing in and give lots of airflow to the bottom of the plant. I personally use stretchy tie tape, it’s really fun because you don’t have to have scissors. You can just keep it in your pocket, bust it apart and then just tie up your cucumbers to the trellis. Just wrap the stretchy tie tape around the stem and then just tying it to the little tree branch there to keep it in place.
No 07: Mulching
It’s very important when you’re growing in containers especially is to mulch the top of your containers. I love to use free sources of mulch because that’s what we’re all about here is quick simple and inexpensive. One of my favorite sources of mulch is shredded leaves and you can just collect them over the wintertime or from anywhere you get. Throw them in a big compost back and then just let them dry out and crunch them up with your hands. Then, go to throw a handful, a couple of inches on top of the place where you planted the seeds. Don’t go super heavy on the mulch because you want the seeds to be able to germinate and bust through the soil. Then, you can add more as they grow.
Mulch is super important because it helps with water evaporation. Containers dry out a lot quicker than like your in-ground gardens. Especially with the heatwave, and mulch is going to be really important to keep the soil nice and moist in the container.
Hope so guys you liked reading this article. I tried my best as much as possible ways to make you understand everything clearly so hopefully, this article is gonna be helpful for you in the best wheelbarrow. Keep visiting us to learn many more things. Have a nice day!
Some Useful Links:
- Smart Pots … click here to buy
- Organic Potting Mix Soil … click here to buy
- SpaceMaster Cucumber … click here to buy
- Shade Cloth … click here to buy
- Watering Can … click here to buy
- Plant Saucer … click here to buy
- Vermisterra Worm Tea … click here to buy
- Good Dirt Plant Food … click here to buy
- Stretchy Tie Tape … click here to buy
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