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How Long Do Cucumbers Take To Grow – Everything You Need To know

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Cucumbers are the early ripening crops that yield a harvest within 40 days after germination. However, even the late ones begin to bear fruit early after 60 days.

During the growing season, the cucumbers form new cells, tissues, and organs, increasing their volume and mass. The growth and development are carried out in stages and are accompanied by the formation of foliage, shoots, buds, ovaries, and fruits.

Nevertheless, few people manage to get maximum yields because cucumbers quickly fall ill and dry out. Often this is from improper care. Therefore, it is crucial to provide cucumbers with the most comfortable conditions.

How Long Do Cucumbers Take To Grow

Varieties of Cucumbers

  1. Crispin

This is an early ripe variety, which is not so common in the Russian Federation and many neighboring countries but is in recommended crops for industrial cultivation.

Over the past 25 years, it has practically not changed and has not improved. It is perfectly acclimatized in the middle zone and withstands high temperatures and periods of drought well.

Suitable not only for eating raw but also for pickling and salting. The yield reaches 650 kg/ha in one season. It is grown mainly in the open field but is also suitable for greenhouses.

  • Zozulya F1

This is a variety of the Volgograd selection, found in almost all regions of Russia. The yield reaches up to 10-15 kg from one bush in-home growing conditions.

Its advantage is excellent resistance to weather conditions, feeling good in the heat, and increasing in the sun and shade. Pinching of lateral shoots is not required. It is resistant to insect pests and many pests typical for these vegetables.

Cucumber Zozula F1
Cucumber Zozula F1 via Amazon.com
  • Emelya

Emelya is a relatively new variety that has been on the domestic market for a few years. During this time, it has established itself well not only as a greenhouse plant but also when grown in the garden, as it is resistant to diseases.

It gives good yields of up to 17-22 kilograms per bush with excellent care. The variety is suitable for canning, consumption at the stage of technical ripeness, and salting. Also, it has reasonably dense flesh, crunches when biting, and is very sweet, which many gardeners like.

Emelya Cucumber
Emelya Cucumber via Amazon.com
  • Krypton

Krypton was launched in 2012, which is juicy, small, and has a sweet taste. It is used primarily for conservation and sale since each fruit has an excellent presentation and the best characteristics.

The yield reaches 35 kg from one bush for the entire season, almost a record figure. When grown at home, this figure will decrease significantly, but the yield will undoubtedly delight you. Resistance to various types of rot and spotting is high.

How Long Do Cucumbers Take to grow?

From seed to harvest, the average cucumber plant can take 50 to 70 days to grow. Cucumbers are plants that do well in warm weather and grow faster in warm conditions.

Their seeds can germinate within three days or three weeks, pending on the temperature. Knowing the type of cucumber you are growing can help you learn how long it takes to mature.

Pickling cucumber plants produce mature cucumbers faster than recently used cucumber types but within a shorter time, mainly three to six weeks.

The maturity days mentioned on the seed packet begin after the seeds germinate. The growing period depends on the type of cucumber grown and the climate. Drought, less sunlight, pests, or low temperatures can stress these plants, decrease yield, and retard fruiting.


How to Grow Cucumbers

1. Seed preparation

Take full-weight large seeds that have undergone pre-sowing heating. The seeds are heated to give the friendly shoots; otherwise, the plants will begin to bear fruit earlier and give less barren flowers.

Then they must be disinfected: for this, you can use an infusion of garlic pulp – for 100 ml of cold water and 30 g of garlic pulp. Then keep the seeds in this infusion for 1 hour.

After that, please put them in cloth bags and soak them for 12 hours in a nutrient solution. This solution is 1 liter of water, one teaspoon of sifted wood ash, and nitrophoska.

After rinsing with clean water, place them on a slightly damp cloth and keep them for about two days at a temperature of +20 °C, until they swell entirely. Make sure the seeds do not germinate but only slightly nibble. Then place them in the refrigerator for a day.

2. Sowing 

In the middle lane, cucumber seeds are sown throughout May. They are often sold dyed in bright colors, which signifies that they are covered with a protective compound against diseases.

These seeds are best sown dry. The most that can be done is to germinate. And one more thing, it is best to sow old seeds that have lain for at least 3-4 years because they are the most fertile. Fresh seeds produce a lot of barren flowers.

Seeds of cucumbers are sown in holes of 2 – 3 pieces to a depth of 1 – 2 cm. If the cucumbers are tied to the trellis in the future, then the distance between the holes should be 25 cm.

When the first true leaf appears at the seedlings, they need to be thinned out, leaving only one strongest sprout in each hole.

3. Watering

The frequency of watering depends on the stage of development of the cucumber. The scheme is as follows:

  • Before flowering – once a week
  • During fruiting – every 3 – 4 days, and if heat and drought do it every day.
  • The watering rate should be done 2 – 2.5 liters per square meter.

And three more watering rules are important to follow:

  • Water strictly at the root – If water gets on the leaves, mushroom diseases will develop faster.
  • Water only with warm water – Otherwise, the ovaries will begin to fall off.
  • Water in the morning so that the topsoil has time to dry out during the day – Wet ground, combined with night coolness, leads to disease outbreaks.

4. Top dressing

Lack of fertilizers makes the ovaries fall off. It happens that because there is no humus under the cucumbers and nitrogen that ensure good growth.

You need fertilizer that has enough nitrogen to ensure good nutrition. To provide them with all the elements, plants need to be fed four times in the summer. This include:

  • Two weeks after germination: 15 g of ammonium nitrate (1 tablespoon), 20 g of double superphosphate (4 teaspoons), and 20 g of potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon) per 10 liters of water.
  • At the flowering time: 0.5 liters of mullein, 15 g of nitrophoska (1 tablespoon), 100 g of wood ash (1 glass), and trace elements per 10 liters of water.
  • During mass fruiting: 50 g of urea (5 tablespoons), 100 g of ash (1 glass), and 40 g of potassium sulfate (2 tablespoons) per 10 liters of water.
  • Two weeks after the third feeding: 1 glass of ash under the bush.

Harvesting Cucumbers

Cucumbers are tied very quickly and in large quantities, so they need to be harvested often – 2 to 3 times a week. Do not let them overgrow on the bushes.

Overripe fruits take away many nutrients from the plant, which means they are no longer perfect for conservation and are suitable for salads.

To extend the fruiting season, sow Chinese cucumbers because they yield a harvest almost until the very cold. Also, they are the tastiest and ideal for fresh salads. The rest are suitable mainly for salting.


Conclusion

Cucumbers are unique plant species that are easy to grow. They are tasty and rich in nutrients like magnesium and potassium.

These plants do well in warm conditions. The growth period is between 50 and 70 days. Also, these depend on different types since others grow faster than the others.