Growing Cucumbers {Beginner’s Garden Podcast}

The past few years I have found myself begging my friends to take my excess cucumbers. I’ve even been known to sneak a bag full on a table at church, hoping someone would take a few home.

But growing cucumbers hasn’t always been this successful. My first year I met several challenges — most of which can be traced back to a lack of basic knowledge. Now that I’ve got those simple basics down, growing cucumbers is a cinch.

In today’s episode of The Beginner’s Garden Podcast, I talk about those basics:

• The difference between slicing and pickling cucumbers
• Why you don’t want to plant slicing cucumbers if you plan to make pickles with them
• The varieties with which I’ve had the most success
• When to plant a summer crop of cucumbers
• When to plant a fall crop of cucumbers
• Trellis options and what happens if you don’t trellis
• Alternatives for small spaces or if you don’t want to trellis
• How to prevent bitter cucumbers
• What to do if your cucumbers are bitter
• Common cucumber plant problems such as fungus and the cucumber beetle
• What to do with all the cucumbers you’ll harvest!

If you want to grow cucumbers, or if you’ve had problems in the past, you don’t want to miss the tips in this episode. Click below to listen:

Show Notes

Great list of cucumber varieties, broken down into slicing, burpless, space-saving, and pickling from Harvest to Table.

Trellis options:

Cattle panel at 45* angle

Vertical cattle panel

Reuse pea trellis:

Arch trellis:

Other Trellis ideas:

• Plants the Sprawl and Climb: Choosing the Best Trellis Options for Your Garden {Beginner’s Garden Podcast}

Video: How to Remove Bitterness from Cucumbers

Picture of Spotted Cucumber Beetle:

Cucumber Overload:

Best Sweet Pickle Relish Ever (from the Ball Blue Book of Canning)

Carolyn’s Freezer Pickles (from my free download, Garden Fresh Recipes, click to learn more)