. . . but, that "little head start" helps, a little.rainbowgardener wrote:. . . I don't grow cucumbers, because I'm not fond of them, but I grow squash which are in the same family. I start them indoors for the little head start, but you really don't need to. They are fast to germinate and grow.
Some years, I have trouble getting winter squash to adequately mature so I began to always set them out as started plants. I will even do that with some late-planted summer squash that can be popped in to the garden just when space is available. I even started the cukes last year.
Stella, the Cucurbits only benefit from 4 weeks or maybe even a day or 2 less, indoors. And, being careful with them is important. I probably only gain about 2 weeks to the growing season.
Beans? I am usually in no hurry to plant beans. They are a great 2nd crop well into July, when some other veggies can't even get started because of the heat or shortness of the remaining season. Anyway, what that means is that I've got an awful lot of beans for the kitchen during the 2nd half of the season!
Steve