Cucumber varieties including slicing cucumbers (for salads) and pickling cucumbers.
Slicing cucumbers are only cultivated in greenhouses.
For cultivation in domestic gardens either pickling cucumbers or mini salad cucumbers are suitable.
Cucumbers can also be grown in pots.

Protected from wind. Warm, loose soil which is rich in humus.

Cucumbers can be easily grown in a pot on a balcony.

Cucumbers are propagated by sowing seeds.

Bush beans, Fennel, Garlic, Lentils, Onions, Parsley, Runner beans, Salad, Spinach, Spring onions, Sweet corn, sweet pepper

Courgette, Radish, Radish

Plants that are well suited for next year cultivation:

Brussels sprouts, Cauliflower, Kale, Kohlrabi, Leeks, Radish, Sweet corn, White cabbage

The following plants should not be planted in the following years:

How many years:	Not to plant:
3 – 5 year(s)	Cucumbers

Cucumbers cannot withstand temperatures below 5 to 8°C. Young plants will die off at low temperatures around 5°C.

• Soak seeds in milk for 24 hours before sowing. Sow just 1 seed per pot.
• Cucumbers can neither withstand temperatures below 5 - 8°C nor large temperature differences between day and night.
  In the first weeks after sowing you should enclose them in a plastic tent.
• Regularly fertilise or mulch near the stem, ideally with horse dung and water liberally, without allowing puddles to form.
• If there is a risk of standing water, plant them on a ridge to ensure good drainage. This means that the roots will get plenty of oxygen.
• Keep the leaves dry when watering.
• Only leave 6 fruit sets at the most on the main and side shoots. When the shoots are about 50 cm long, trim them.
  

Tip:
Put black strips of plastic between the rows of seeds in the vegetable bed.
This will heat up the soil and prevent weeds from growing.

Pests: Snails. They like to eat young cucumber seedlings.
Diseases: Fungi (downy mildew – can be recognised by yellow/brown spots on the leaves), viruses, bacteria (bacterial leaf spot)
Control: To prevent the plant from dying prematurely, a fungicide treatment is indispensable
Preventative measures:

• A wire mesh trellis is good for drying and thus for preventing disease.
• Suitable for companion planting with basil and dill.
• Grow a variant which is resistant to mildew.

The first harvest will be about 14 days after flowering starts. The earlier the cucumbers are harvested, the more that will ripen.
Tip:
Cucumbers should not be kept together with fruit or vegetables such as bananas, apples or tomatoes as they will spoil more quickly.

Cucumbers can be kept for up to a week at a temperature of about 12 to 15°C.

Cucumbers are mostly eaten uncooked or pickled, but they can also be braised in a casserole.
Cucumbers taste great as a crisp salad with fresh dill and cream. Slice the cucumber, add salt and pepper and allow to marinade for a few minutes then add fresh cream.

One person consumes an average of 6.5 kg a year.
Der Pro Kopf Gurken Verbrauch liegt bei etwa 6,5 Kilo jährlich. Quellen: BLE; BMELV; DESTATIS; LfL Stand: 14.03.2013.