#gardeningtips #growyourownfood #cucumber #vegetablegarden

Pruning Cucumber Plants 🌱🥒

Cucumbers are a fun summer crop to grow in the vegetable garden, yet vining varieties do require ongoing maintenance to ensure a steady and healthy crop. 😊

Once the plant is between 1 and 2 ft tall I remove any lower leaves that are close to, or are touching the ground, to help prevent issues such as powdery mildew due to water splashing up onto the leaves when watering. I continue to remove yellowing lower leaves as they grow.

Then, I follow the main stem from the base of the plant to where the leaves meet it, this is where the side shoots or suckers grow from this axel which I remove to contain the plant to one manageable main stem – improving productivity and maximising airflow – which reduces the possibility of disease. 😊👍🏻 I remove them all the way up the plant and continue to do so throughout the season. 🍃

The fruit also forms within these axels producing flowers prior to developing fruit behind them once pollinated. Only female flowers produce a miniature fruit behind it though, male flowers have a very thin stem. 🌼

Male flowers are also often removed from greenhouse cucumber varieties to prevent them pollinating the female flowers, which can result in bitter fruit as they then produce a bitter compound called cucurbitacin. However, some varieties have been bred to produce only female flowers and outdoor cucumber varieties can be left to their own devices, so check each variety. 😊

For my greenhouse cucumbers I remove the first 3 or 4 flowers that the plant produces, allowing it to focus on initial growth prior to fruiting, again I leave outdoor ridge varieties to do their thing though. 🌱

The tendrils are used by the plant to climb so leave them on and I train my plants around a twine support as it grows. 👆🏻🌱

They grow very fast and before you know it you’ll have more cucumbers than you know what to do with! 😊🥒

And for more growing tips you can now pick up a copy of my book ‘Nettles and Petals – Grow food, Eat weeds, Save seeds’ in most book stores, or through the link in my bio 😊📗

Are you growing cucumbers this season?

here’s how I prune my cucumber plants Once the plant is between 1 and 2 ft tall I remove any lower leaves that are close to or touching the ground to help prevent issues such as mildew Then I follow the main stem from the base of the plant to where the leaves meet it This is where the side shoots or suckers grow from the axle which are removed to contain the plant to one manageable main stem improving productivity and maximizing air flow The fruit also forms in these little axles producing flowers prior to developing fruit behind them once pollinated I remove the first three or four that the plant produces allowing it to focus on initial growth prior to fruiting These are the tendrils that the plant uses to climb And I train the plant around a twine support as it grows And they do so very fast So before you know it you’ll have more cucumbers than you know what to do with And for more growing tips you can now pick up a copy of my book in most bookstores or through the link in my bio So get pruning and follow along for more tips