We love growing cucumbers! But there are many differences, so let’s do a cucumber comparison.

They’re a favorite of the vegetable garden and one of the homegrown treats my kids most impatiently look forward to munching fresh off the vine—as well as sliced (with ranch)—then fermented and pickled all winter long.

Needless to say, we grow a lot of cucumbers!

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There are different cucumber varieties including slicing, English (burpless), pickling, and then you can get into the specialty varieties that have been saved for their unique characters for centuries. These specialty varieties have a special place in my heart.

Planting Basics

In general, cucumbers prefer 5–8 hours of sunlight a day, and can benefit from a little afternoon shade. They do best with good drainage in slightly acidic yet fertile soil.

This is one of those plants that gardeners debate over whether to start indoors or direct sow. If you do start indoors, wait until just 2–4 weeks before the last frost dates, as these plants grow quickly. If direct seeding into the garden, wait until the soil is around 70°F for best germination. I love my Soil Thermometer. Adding floating row cover can help raise the soil temps at that time of year.

In general, cucumbers produce best in a mild temperature range, with soil at least 70°F and 75–85°F air temperatures. They kind of shut down flowering below 50°F and over 95°F. I’ve also had great results heavily mulching or planting another ground cover/companion crop at the base to keep roots in the happy temperature zone. Deep watering is key.

Space out individual cucumber plants 8–12 inches apart. They love to climb, so plan to grow where a trellis makes sense.

Common Problems Growing Cucumbers

If you’re seeing more leaves than fruits, I will suggest you stay away from a typical all-purpose fertilizer here and focus on using a fertilizer with a higher phosphorus number. Phosphorus is the middle number in the N-P-K ratio.

Cucumbers do require pollinators, so if you’re short on bees, you may be short on fruit. You can hand pollinate in a few different ways. Female flowers will have a slight bulge at the base while male flowers have no bulge.

1. Take a male flower and touch central flower stalk (the anther) to a female flower center (the stigma).
2. Take a little paint brush and go from male flower pollen to female flower center to hand pollinate.

Pest info below from the University of Minnesota Extension website

• Pests:
  Striped cucumber beetles damage plants by eating leaves as well as flowers, stems, and fruit. They may also contribute to bacterial wilt.
• Spotted cucumber beetles migrate to Minnesota every year, and once here they feed on all above-ground parts of the plant.
• During periods of hot, dry weather, spider mites can feed on leaves, giving them a bleached or bronzed appearance.

Photo below includes:
Top Middle: 3 little pickle bush cucumbers, Upper Right: 1 Poona Kheera
Middle: 3 large Telegraph Improved, Bottom: 1 Armenian
1 tiny mini-muncher below and 1 above 3 Dragon’s Eggs

A Cucumber Comparison of Varieties I’ve Grown

Armenian (Cucumis melo)

50–75 Days, Heirloom + Open Pollinated, 12–24” fruits

Burpless, crunchy flesh, lots of seeds (but soft and edible + easy to scoop out if desired), on the sweeter side. Skins range from pale green to striped, with Painted Serpent a variety with pronounced stripes. Still produces well in hot weather.
–Seed Savers Exchange

Chicago Pickling Cucumber (Cucumis sativus)

50-60 Days, Heirloom + Open Pollinated, 2” gherkins, 4” slicers.

Classic pickling cucumber since 1888! Dark green skin with spines. Long season of production, especially if fruits are taken when still small. Resistant to scab and cucumber mosaic virus.
Experimental Farm Network (offering a “Dual Purpose Grex” this year)

Dragon’s Egg (Cucumis sativus)

50–70 Days, Heirloom + Open Pollinated, 3–4” ovals, from Croatia.

These really do look like eggs! Thin skins, VERY prolific (especially if well-mulched) early producers, mild flavor. Seeds do get tough if left on the vine too long. My kids eat them like apples in the garden. Best eaten within a few days. Not the best for pickling—but makes great cucumber lemonade!

Lemon Cucumbers
(Cucumis sativus)

60–70 days, Heirloom, + Open Pollinated, 2.5”–3.5” round yellow skin.

A specialty variety with strikingly bright yellow skin, with many spines. Crisp white flesh, lots of seeds. Never bitter burpless variety. Not my favorite as the spines are hard to remove and the seeds get tough before the fruits get fully yellow.
–Territorial Seed Company

Marketmore 76
(Cucumis sativus)

65 Days, Open Pollinated, 8–9” fruits

Classic slicing cucumber with dark green bumpy skin and good flavor. These can get long fast; expect to peel skin if over 10” long. Once it starts producing it goes strong. Resistant to powdery mildew.
–High Mowing Organic Seeds

Pickle Bush

50–55 Days, 4” paler green fruits on a 2’ long vine

This is my favorite space-saving variety for growing in containers. Early yielding, lots of fruits (they grow in pairs—so cute!) at once, so you could pickle a few jars from just two plants. I’ve only grown the Burpee seeds for this.
–Burpee

Poona Kheera (Cucumis sativus)

50 Days, Heirloom, + Open Pollinated, 4–6” blunt ended fruits

The Indian cucumber that looks like a potato—these go from yellow-green to full-on russet colored as they mature! These weird-looking fruits are a new family favorite, super crisp (almost apple-ish) white flesh, almost salty not sweet—but also never bitter.
–High Mowing Organic Seeds

Mini Muncher F1

55–60 days, Hybrid, 3–4” long fruits

These are similar to the fancy little cucumbers you find in the store. Basically seedless when picked under 4” with a barely there skin. Sets fruit in cooler temps, and keeps on producing late into the season. These resisted powdery mildew the longest of my cucumbers last season too!
–Territorial Seed Company

Telegraph Improved

60 Days, Heirloom, 10–18” fruits, English slicer

Burpless, and mild overall, thin and shiny skinned with soft seeds. These plants will grow up to 8 feet, so get a sturdy trellis! These will also set fruit without pollination as they were developed back in the 1800s for greenhouse growers but have been a home gardener favorite ever since.
–Botanical Interests

Cucamelon (Melothria Scabra)

70 days, Heirloom and Open Pollinated, 1” fruits

Grown as much for the novelty as anything else, the mini-watermelon-looking fruits have a crisp, sour-lemon flavor and are the cutest things coming out of the garden in August. One plant can easily take over a trellis, as they climb over 8 feet even in our shorter Minnesota growing season. Start these indoors as they are slow to germinate and get growing. We mostly eat them fresh, and area  fun addition to fruit salads.
–Botanical Interests

And since I always love trying something new, I’m trialing Suyo Long this summer. Follow along for my results…

Eating (and drinking) All Those Cucumbers!

We do eat a lot of cucumbers sitting in the garden or—if they make it inside—simply sliced, in salads, or fermented as pickles…

And since I discovered Cucumber Lemonade we never let any cucumbers go to waste! Just peel, scoop seeds if tough, and puree, then strain out pulp if desired, add fresh-squeezed lemon juice, some honey, and sip away!

We also just found Freezer Pickles thanks to Crystal’s book, Freeze Fresh. This is such an easy way to use up those one or two extra cucumbers—so now I’m never worried about growing too many cucumbers!

Has this cucumber comparison inspired you to try growing cucumbers this season?

Dig In!
-Michelle