Growing Cucumbers in Containers: 9 Tips On Pruning, Feeding, Pests, and More!
Вставка
- Опубліковано 11 чер 2024
- In this video, we're going to show you how to grow tons of cucumbers in containers at home the easy way! By following our 9+ cucumber grow tips, you'll be able to produce bumper crops of cucumbers in no time!
Cucumbers are a great way to add freshness and flavor to your meals, and this easy container cucumber growing tutorial will help you get started in no time! By following our tips, you'll be able to produce sweeter cucumbers even in a small space.
Chapters
00:00 Intro
01:18 Grow Parthenocarpic, Gynoecious, Multi-Pistillate Varieties
04:16 Don’t Prune Off the Suckers
06:43 Water Like Crazy (And Add Extra Peat Moss/Coco Coir)
09:44 Fertilize Early. Fertilize Often.
12:30 Trellis Your Plants
13:28 Don’t Settle For “Bush Type” Determinate Varieties
14:28 Transplanting Cucumbers Works Great!
16:49 Use Non-Toxic Sticky Fly Traps to Reduce Whitefly Damage
18:06 Plant in Full Sun (Even Strong Summer Sun)
Written article version of this video if you'd rather read than watch: nextdoorhomestead.com/blog/9-...
The tips at a glance:
1. Choose a Gynoecious, Parthenocarpic, Multi-Pistillate Variety
Container plants are smaller, generally have fewer pollinators available, and possess smaller root systems to draw nutrients from.
Luckily, there's a really easy solution to working around all those limitations and it’s tip number one: grow a variety that is parthenocarpic which means it doesn’t require pollination to set fruit, gynoecious which means it produces all or almost all female flowers for a way bigger harvest, and multi pistillate for clusters of fruit rather than just one cucumber per node.
2. Don’t prune the suckers
If you’ve got at least a solid 3 feet worth of horizontal space on your trellis to dedicate for 2each plant or if you don’t mind allowing the suckers to trail onto the ground, and you’re carefully watering from below, don’t worry about pruning off the suckers from your cucumbers.
3. Use Extra Peat Moss or Coco Coir & Water Like Crazy
Everyone says that cucumbers are a thirsty plant. Well I’m here to tell you they’re 100% right. Applying that more infrequent, conservative tomato watering schedule to a container cucumber is convenient but results in sad plants and more importantly bitter fruit.
4. Fertilize and fertilize often
I’ve done a fair bit of testing with my cucumbers, both in ground, and in containers and have found pretty conclusively that they do better with a generous pre-plant fertilizer and regular side dressing.
5. Trellis Container Cucumbers
One of the benefits of a container garden is we get just a little bit of separation from soil diseases and pests. We might as well take advantage of that benefit by growing the vines up a nice clean trellis. Make the container an advantage!
6. Skip Bush Varieties
Bush varieties of cucumbers are often marketed as appropriate for containers. However, you really don’t need to limit yourself to those smaller plants, a 7 or ten gallon grow bag can definitely support a full size vining cucumber.
7. Transplanting is just fine
Cucumber seeds are generally direct sown in the ground or directly in their container rather than started from seed and then transplanted. But don’t worry about transplanting if direct sowing isn’t a good option for whatever reason.
8. Do Use Non Toxic Sticky Traps for Whiteflys
I’ve found that white flys absolutely love, love, love a healthy cucumber plant. Putting up a couple cheap, nontoxic sticky traps helps keep their population down without any work.
9. Do Place Containers in Full Sun
This year, I started resorting to placing my cucumbers in partial shade because my plants were just frying. It turns out that was a mistake, even in my hot climate. Our cucumber containers are back in full sun and much happier for it. - Навчання та стиль
“Nothing likes to germinate on the surface of the sun.” ROFL😂🤣😆 true statement
Sometimes that feels like the reality though, tell ya what!
Love your style of communicating the very important information. I am in Central Florida learning in my backyard garden!
Thank you Patricia, that is so awesome to hear! Florida is such a unique, beautiful place to garden.
Thank you for this video. Now I understand why my cukes did poorly last year - I didn't water or fertilize enough. Now that I know this, I have actually decided to skip trying to grow them this year - I will concentrate on other, less-needy plants. Sometimes knowing you don't want to get tied to daily watering and constant tending is as valuable as knowing how to grow something.
Totally agree. I don't like growing them much without irrigation. And you can always come back another year.
Absolutely love your channel. Can't say it enough ❤ i feel every word you're saying. Great communication skills
❤ Just really lovely of you to take the time to say so! Thank you for sharing and checking these videos out =)
Also great editing!!! Best gardening editing I've seen sir
This video is so informative! Just wish I’d have seen this before being so destructive to my poor cucumber. After seeing this I realised I may have harmed pre than helped
While not true cucumbers, I love Armenian cukes. Great taste. Awesome size. Crazy easy to grow, at least for me.
I need to give them another try! I don't think I got the best out of mine.
Thanks for the reminder =)
Very helpful, thank you. You’re easy to listen to 👍
You're so welcome! And thanks for watching and the kind words 😁
Such a helpful video! I love that you do different experiments by growing different plants and doing different things with each plant. So glad I found your channel.
I too have had trouble with cucumbers so I stopped growing them and this year I tried again and I seem to be doing better. I put worm castings & bone meal with some peat moss in the planting hole in a 10 gallon grow bag. I am getting a bunch of cucumbers. I spray some worm castings tea and put some organic tomato tone around the soil. I planted them from seeds and put them out in the middle of July. I’ve only fed them once.
I’ve watched different opinions on when to pick them. One video said don’t let them get too ripe. Pick them right away or the plant will stop producing fruit. By picking them it encourages the plant to produce more. Another video didn’t seem to think that was necessary and to let them grow right up to just before yellowing. What do you think as far as picking them?
Thank you so much! So I'll confess I've always believed it to be true that harvesting prior to the fruit reaching full maturity results in more total fruit. And it certainly seems like when I harvest a few cucumbers, a few younger ones grow quickly to replace them.
But I've never actually verified that so I'll do a bit of research and see if we can't find someone who's looked at it more rigorously 😁
I have started using weed tea and finally this year and am growing heirlooms that I saved my own seed from 2022. I notice a huge difference in the pepper harvest so far in pots and tomatoes in the growing far less disease in the tomatoes which I hand water daily and I don’t flood them. We have awful sandy soil and gardening has been tough.
That's awesome! I love hearing successful seed-saving experiences like yours. We're going to work more on homemade fertilizers ourselves next year.
Cheers!
Parthonocarpic.... That's the word I was looking for. I definitely want to get a few heirloom varieties. What other "popular" vegetables are also parthonocarpic? I really need to research more about plant pollination. Thanks for the motivation :)
Ahhh, so many! And I wish I'd tried more. Some of the common ones are cucumbers, eggplants, and zuchinis (summer squash). We've got all three of those to plant this year =)
There are also tomato varieties but they're not super common so I can't speak to those. Mostly they were developed in Oregon to deal with poor fruit set in foggy areas. Very cool research.
I'm sure there are others that will pop into my head too!
I like that you're so close to the camera.. I feel like I can concentrate better on what you're telling me. I'm easily distracted by other peoples beautiful gardens..😂
Hahahaha thanks Luann! I'm glad it didn't bother you 😁
And thanks for watching!
Poinsett 76 has very good powdery mildew resistance--you just have to keep moving them, or replacing the dirt in the container.
Thanks for the tip Kim! I don't think I've tried 'em.
Do you pinch out early flowers?
Nobody seems to talk about this, but I add silica to all my plants and it really makes them much more hardier. I learned that from a professor of agriculture.
Hey Hamza, thanks for the tip! Do you have any resources you like for this topic?
Thank you! I look forward to reading up on this topic 😁
@@NextdoorHomestead I definitely look forward to hearing whatever you find out! 😊
@@NextdoorHomestead This was the prof. I met ua-cam.com/video/0I6awuKSp2c/v-deo.html
I would love to research hot weather varieties of plants. Any suggestions? Thanks for the great info.
I'm a little (read: a lot) obsessed with hot weather varieties and researching them. So tough question to answer quickly.
Look for parthenocarpy to help with fruit set, "slow bolt" for greens, "heat set", and varieties that were developed for the southern US. Those are good starts but it's a topic I plan to delve into more deeply in a future video.
Such a good question.
@@NextdoorHomestead screenshoting this. Great info. Thanks
I like #7 - I've also heard cukes don't like to be transplanted so I never have. Thanks for trying what everyone says not to do and letting us know what works for you. You also kinda answered my question from a previous video about shade cloth. You use it in limited applications. Do you find that tomatoes need to be protected from harsh western sun exposure? We had unusual record temps (116) last year so I wanted to protect them. Necessary or not in your opinion?
Hahah I think a future video will feature the whole "xyz plant doesn't like to be transplanted" norm. It's just not accurate for so many plants!
So, I don't use a lot of shade cloth for two reasons:
1) My main growing location doesn't receive morning or late afternoon sun as it is =( Even in the summer.
2) It's expensive and fiddly!
But if you only need a little, it's really terrific stuff. We get up to similar temps and tomatoes simply can't fruit anywhere near that warm.... unless you use shade cloth! Many commercial growers in such areas do utilize it because it's so effective.
Cheers!
Maybe I should break down and get shade cloth just for my few tomato plants. The way the weather is going I think I'll need it.
I’m trying to grow cucumbers in my indoor tent 😂 i wrapped chicken wire around the inside for a trellis. Hope it works out.
Woah, let me know how it turns out! That's a cool project. I've kind of given up on fruiting plants indoors =)
Cucumbers and pumpkins are easier to grow whether in pot or ground , what we do is throw the seeds in it , there the plants started to come out just take care then the fruits that I called popped out beautifully and delicious
Also you are very real. Bomb diggity lol
What are you using for mulch? Looks like some sort of wood chips?
Yep exactly! I use either arborist wood chips or compost as mulch pretty much exclusively.
Do you having opinions on growing in old styrofoam coolers? Or styrofoam in general. Tires? Concrete beds? Using old drinking water bottles as pots/mini origation? It's a touchy subject among some growers.
We're probably pretty far biased toward the side of being very careful with regards to toxicant exposure due to my wife's fields of study. So no tires or styrofoam.
But we're not touchy at all about it and we're not dogmatic. I prefer pragmatism over ideology in the garden. We use plastic trays for starting seeds and poly tubing for irrigation. At the end of the day, my goal is to do better than we might otherwise and not to be perfect =)
Hello so you dont recommended fertilizer until you plant into soil or potting medium?
Heya! Your potting soil should have nutrients mixed throughout when it was made and then I recommend adding a scoop of fertilizer into the potting hole before transplanting.
Cheers!
Great video. I saw in another channel that if you grow a variety that doesn't require pollination, you should only grow that variety that season (or keep them seperate). Reason being that if pollinators cross pollinate the two varieties then the fruits won't grow. Is that true?
Thank you so much for watching!
Parthenocarpic varieties (those that don't require pollination) will still grow fruit even if the female flower is successfully pollinated, but that specific pollinated fruit will no longer be seedless. The pollinated fruit can also become misshapen (although I haven't personally found that to be a big issue).
Many growers do therefore intentionally isolate their parthenocarpic varieties and only grow varieties that are *both* parthenocarpic and gynoecious so as to limit the chances of pollination from male flowers.
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks!
do you have a link to the 10 gallon grow bags you got?
I honestly just always buy the cheapest ones on Amazon! I've never noticed a difference except the "ipower" brand bags seem 50% larger than all the other brands...
=)
Are burpless cucumbers easy to grow? First time planting.
There are lots of burpless varieties so it's good to experiment. But in general, they're similar to other types 😄
When I grow in containers. 1.5-2 feet tall. I take all the stuff sifted from my compost. I layer the bottom 25% with this. Large holes on the bottom. The moisture stays great and helps with drainage. Water twice a week lightly. 25 percent composted cow dung, 25 percent compost, and rest native sandy soil.
Confession: I also sometimes use native soil in my containers. Very taboo!
Not for cucumbers so much but it's nice to know I'm not the only one breaking that rule ;)
@@NextdoorHomestead I grow them in ground and in containers. Compost right on the soil. Pull up "weeds" and put them in the compost. Eventually everything gets "contaminated". My main goal is to keep my organic matter high (basically beach sand only finer in my garden). Pots protect me against heavy and long rains. Two years ago it was basically a jungle nearly 1.5 meters high. I know it's decent soil just lacks organic matter and water retention. Always important to not discard others experience and methods. Grow as we learn.
Is there a seed that is parthenocarpic Gynoecious and multi pistolate?
I’m having difficulty finding gynoecious, parthenocarpic, multi-pistillate varieties. Do you have any recommendations?
Heya! I don't have a variety I love so much yet that I want to make a blanket recommendation but hopefully we'll have a winner this year.
Luckily, many beit alpha and hybrid cocktail type cukes are gynoecious, parthenocarpic and multi fruited. I used the term multi pistillate because that's what you'll see in the research, but it's mostly referred to as "multi fruiting" or "multiple fruits per node". There are a fair number out there! Johnny's seeds has the best cuke descriptions overall.
You may want to check out Katrina and Unistars to start.
@@NextdoorHomestead Thank you! Great videos BTW!
No problem and thank you for that! Really wonderful to hear. Happy growing!
Im growing china jade seedless, do i need to remove suckers from this varitety?
It's really up to how much space the plant will have. Did you check out our full cucumber growing guide by chance?
Only two of my vegetables need water everyday. Cucumbers and Corn. 95 degrees and summer is still another month away. Everything else seems to do well.
Could you please share the names of the cucumbers you grow?
My favorite to date is the variety Corinto from Johnny's. It doesn't tick all the boxes covered in this video but makes up for it by being SUPER fast growing and tough.
That said, I'm on the search to find more varieties to recommend - hopefully by the end of this season =)
what NPK has your 'low nitrogen fertilizer'?
Good question! Generally 3-4-4 or 2-5-3.
@@NextdoorHomestead thanks 🙏.
The square metre mix I use comes with a 8-5-6 fertilizer. I'll add some P and K to it.
I'm just diving into this NPK numbers. Can you recommend a good site for which crops need which NPK by any chance?
It's a fascinating topic, I agree! Because there are so many variables, crop fertilizer needs tend to be a little complicated. But if you're interested in really digging into it, my favorite resource *by far* is the crop fertilization guidelines put out by the California Agriculture department and UC Davis: www.cdfa.ca.gov/is/ffldrs/frep/FertilizationGuidelines/
It's worth keeping in mind these are written for farmers growing in California specifically so your needs will be different. But each crop is given a detailed breakdown of when it needs a specific nutrient, why, and how much. It has helped me better understand fertilization more than any other resource.
Cheers!
@@NextdoorHomestead 🙏
I will have to get my head around that document, not something to understand when waking up 🤭
I’m attempting to make a cow panel trellis this year. Really half a**ed my cucs last year, not this time
I love how those turn out! Effective and look nice. Working on a different style trellis today myself actually.
Good luck!
Do you lose a lot of benefitial insects on those fly papers? We've got loads of bees. I'd it doesn't affect them I'm in.
So glad you asked. We did not. In fact, almost none that I saw.
But I know for a fact that other growers *do* have issues with catching beneficials. Worth noting I use them primarily in an area with minimal pollinator activity.
@@NextdoorHomestead good to know. Cheers
Ok, I’m going to have to do some research since I think I’m doomed for have started the wrong variety of cucumber (tip #1). 😮
Definitely not doomed! But cucumbers are a great plant to grow at staggered intervals if you want to plant another variety or two this season =)
Best of luck!
I bought 1 pickling cucumber transplant. After watching the first 5 minutes of this video, it's going in the trash!
I'm so excited to start some cucumbers! Can't wait for warmer weather. Trying some new varieties this year (of course =)
@@NextdoorHomestead You obviously didn't read my comment. But, I am going to keep this plant alive and productive.
@@Moon..Shadow Or, perhaps, I simply misunderstood. In any case, best of luck with your transplant.
@@Moon..Shadow
He said to try new varieties, what did you miss?
@@krazykkarl I wasn't going to try ANY variety. But I bought a transplant. LOL. It's all the preparation to even get it planted that bothered me. I'll use what I have. Happy Gardening
Your approach is less work.
Hahah I'm glad! I'm a big fan of less work ;)
good god dude youre so close to the camera and for what purpose
Yeah, that's uhhhh... valid. Basically because it's easier for me to film and I'm still learning how to do it better =)
So we can see his beautiful blue eyes! 😊 @nextdoorhomestead your filming is fantastic, keep doing what you’re doing. I’m now subscribed. Thank you for this perfect information in great video form. 🙏
RE: container-starting stuff with long tap roots... I picked up a trick from the channel called Grow Veg, and it works great.... toilet paper rolls!
Oh, that is clever! Thanks for sharing =)