newgardener2016
Full Member
Posts: 20
Joined: Fri Apr 08, 2016 5:08 pm
Location: Modesto, CA.

Cucumber

Hi everyone,
So it's been almost a month since I planted a transplant cucumber plant (2) and my first time doing it. Question is how tall should they be within first month. I know that there's a lot of factors to consider like weather and soil, etc...
Right now the weather is off and on with warn and not so warm weather and not quite summertime here yet and I know they like warm weather. My soil is raised bed garden soil and what was recommended and has quite a bit of stuff in it (pic of ingredients uploaded).
I believe it's maybe mostly weather related due to not having constant warm summertime weather yet, I may have jumped the gun a bit by planting early but you live and learn.
Any opinions and advice.
Thanks all
Attachments
IMG_20160415_144414.jpg
IMG_20160502_100444.jpg
IMG_20160502_100348.jpg

PinkPetalPolygon
Senior Member
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2016 5:57 pm
Location: California Zone 9b <3

Hi there :) I'm semi-new to gardening myself.

Those are Nice pictures! & good questions. I am growing the same kind of cucumber as you are this year. It would have been a useful fact had I recorded exactly when they stopped growing upwards and began vining. (But you are right, there are a lot of factors that influence that.)

For what it is worth, my first thought was that yours looked good.

I remember the first time I ever grew cucumbers I got scared when they toppled over! :shock:

Then they began crawling on the ground with vines and everything was illuminated. I thought it was funny I thought the cucumbers falling over was a bad thing at first, hah! It really did feel sudden when they began vining, it didn't feel like it was going to happen, like ever. Until it really did. Then once they get going they go!

I really like your structure /the trellis/ what you have given the cucumbers to grow up (from what I can see)! I'd like to see how it looks when they all start vining (but no pressure! :)), I wish you all the luck of the earth!

(P.S. I'm no expert of course / don't take this as your final word, but the leaves of the same type of cucumber I have in my garden were smaller than yours when they started vining: I think yours looks really nice and should start vining soon, especially if they've been in for a month & it's been cooler. I can tell they aren't getting burnt by too much sun which is one of the main obstacles where I live, ultra sun valley. Last year the sun in May killed my lemon cucumber! No contest. This year I started early to avoid that if at all possible! :lol: )

Cucumber plants are so cute/cool to me... they seem like they'd never become vining monsters like do from just the little bush of a plant they are for so long in the beginning. It is awesome.

I have more experience with armenian cucumbers (which is actually a member of the muskmelon but used like a cucumber), but this year I am growing the cucumber in your picture, "bonnie burpless hybrid", a lemon cucumber, & a Japanese long cucumber.

In addition to 3 Armenian cucumber plants grown at my MIL for us, we are going to have a cucumberpalooza if we can help it. I look forward to making tomato-cucumber salad with the 4 different kinds of cucumbers and a rainbow load of different kinds of tomatoes. But I digress! ;)

Anyway, I hope a real cucumberologist can come give you a definitive answer soon. It was good "talking" to you!

PinkPetalPolygon
Senior Member
Posts: 142
Joined: Fri Mar 18, 2016 5:57 pm
Location: California Zone 9b <3

Haha, P.P.S:

I had mishaps in my garden that definitely probably caused my leaves to be smaller than yours before they vined :lol:

So what I was trying to say was your plants looked better than mine before they vined and they are certainly vining. ^__^;

So my prognosis was very positive in any event! My prognosis that should be taken with and/or a grain of salt. ;)

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13962
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

When you transplant the plant will be doing most of its growing underground. The warmer weather speeds the process.
I usually prefer to grow squash and cukes direct from seed. They just grow faster. the top should be making progress soon. Make sure the seedlings have enough fertilizer and lots of water.

User avatar
Lindsaylew82
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 2115
Joined: Wed May 21, 2014 9:26 pm
Location: Upstate, SC

They look perfectly normal to me. Some don't vine out, they bush up! They'll continue to go when the weather warms. Cukes I've found to be a little more tolerant of cool weather than some other plants in the garden, but they pick right up in the warmth!

User avatar
Meatburner
Senior Member
Posts: 163
Joined: Sun Jun 17, 2012 2:00 pm
Location: SW MO zone 6b

Hello newgardener. The most important factor is where you are located.

User avatar
Gary350
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7396
Joined: Mon Mar 23, 2009 1:59 pm
Location: TN. 50 years of gardening experience.

Plant size depends on several things, your soil, warm weather, full sun will make plants grow faster than cold weather and shade. Moisture and fertilizer will make plants grow fast also. I see a lot of wood chip looking stuff in your soil, high carbon will pull all the nitrogen from the soil then plants grow very slow. Some plants grow faster than others. After transplanting not much happens for about a week then the plants take off growing maybe 1 inch every day if conditions are right. Cucumbers are like melons the roots like soft soil to grow far and wide.

User avatar
KitchenGardener
Senior Member
Posts: 274
Joined: Mon Apr 25, 2016 8:30 pm
Location: Northern California; Hardiness Zone 10a, Climate zone: 17

They do look like they have a good amount of new growth happening. I bet they're about to take off.

User avatar
jal_ut
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 7447
Joined: Sun Jan 18, 2009 10:20 pm
Location: Northern Utah Zone 5

Fun.

I never transplant cukes. I just wait till the weather is warm, here first of June, and go plant them directly where they will grow. I like to plant a row with plants about 6 to ten inches apart in the row. They will grow out both ways and since the vines get 4 to 5 feet long, you have quite a cucumber patch. I just let 'em sprawl. Have never tried to trellis them in any way. Have fun!



Return to “Organic Gardening Forum”