Cucumbers
Cucumbers: greenhouse and outdoor types, when to sow, how to train the plants and when to pick.
Cucumbers at a glance
Cucumis sativus · Cucurbits (with pumpkins and squashes)
- Position
- Warm and sunny, sheltered outdoors
- Spacing
- 30 cm apart in the ground (RHS); 45–90 cm depending on type (BBC Gardeners' World)
- Sow
- Mid February to late April indoors, by type
- Plant
- Late May under glass, early June outdoors
- Harvest
- Mid summer to mid autumn
- Watering
- Evenly moist, in the morning, at the base
- Height
- About 2 m
- Difficulty
- Medium
Seedlings
Growing and care
Cucumbers through the year
Every job for growing cucumbers on one chart. Click a row to open the full guide.
Sow for a heated greenhouse Sow for an unheated greenhouse Sow indoors for outdoors Plant out Harvest Sow for a heated greenhouse Sow for an unheated greenhouse Sow for outdoor plants Sow outdoors Plant into an unheated greenhouse Plant outdoors Harvest
SowPlantHarvest
Common questions
When should I sow cucumbers?
Indoors from mid February to mid March for a heated greenhouse, in April for an unheated one and in late April for outdoor plants. Direct outdoors in late May or early June. More
When should I sow cucumbers for a greenhouse?
For a heated greenhouse, mid February to mid March. For an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel, April, according to the RHS. More
In this section we use these sources: Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), BBC Gardeners' World Magazine, Garden Organic, Met Office. Each page lists its own sources at the bottom.