Gadenin日本語Get the appThe shape of the season
From planting to the end of picking, a cucumber runs for about three and a half months. The heaviest picking comes in the first six weeks or so of harvest, and after that you are working against a tiring plant. Everything in the calendar is about where you place that peak.
If you want to pick for longer, do not plant everything at once. Put in a second batch three or four weeks later, so the second set comes into production just as the first is flagging, and the supply never breaks.
| Batch | Planting or sowing | Main picking |
|---|---|---|
| First | At last frost | Six to fourteen weeks later |
| Second | Eight to ten weeks after the first | Late summer into early autumn |
| Autumn direct sow | Mid summer | Early to mid autumn |
Treat the calendar as a frame. The start of the wet season and the start of the real heat move everything by a week or two. Judge by the plant, not the date.
Before and at planting: preparation
The two jobs you cannot go back and do later are soil preparation and the support frame. Neither is possible once the plant is running. Fix the date you will buy plants and work backwards two weeks for the compost and lime.
| When | Job | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Four weeks before planting | Prepare the ground | Compost and lime need two weeks or more before planting |
| Two weeks before | Make the bed and lay mulch | Black plastic warms the soil so plants take hold faster |
| Planting day | Plant and build the supports | Frame and netting go up the same day, not later |
| One week after | Tie in as leaves multiply | Use soft twine rather than relying on tendrils |
| Two to three weeks after | Tie in and strip the lowest joints | Remove flowers and side shoots from the lowest five or six joints |
Plants sell out quickly at the start of the season. If you want a particular variety, buy early and hold the plants outdoors in full sun, watered, until you can plant.
The peak: one round a week is not enough
In the heaviest weeks a single plant produces roughly one cucumber a day. Run short of water or feed here and the peak is cut short, so use the date of your first picking as the anchor and put a feed in the diary every ten days from there.
| Stage | Job | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| First picking | Pick and give the first feed | Cut the first fruit small so the plant is not set back |
| Two weeks in | Check for powdery mildew | Look weekly for white patches on the lower leaves |
| Four weeks in | Stop side shoots, strip lower leaves | Wet weather is when downy mildew starts moving |
| Six weeks in | Top the main vine, lay mulch | Stop the tip once it reaches the top of the net |
| Seven weeks in | Sow or buy the second batch | This is the point to set up an autumn crop |
| Eight weeks in | Move to morning and evening watering | You are picking daily. Late picking is the biggest single loss |
The first clear morning after rain is your inspection slot. Turn the lower leaves over then and you will catch almost every outbreak at the start.
Late season: rescue the plant or start again
Late summer is when the strain shows. You choose between finishing, rescuing the plant with a feed and a tidy up, or switching to the second batch. The deciding factor is whether the growing tip is still extending.
| Stage | Job | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Early late summer | Tidy old leaves and feed to rescue | If the plant is tired, drop a few fruit to rest it |
| Mid late summer | Plant or sow the second batch | This is the last chance for an autumn crop |
| Late summer | Tie in and mulch the autumn plants | A batch started in heat needs its roots kept cool |
| Early autumn | Clear the first batch | Pull plants that have lost their leaves to mildew |
| Mid autumn | Pick the autumn crop | Cool nights slow the fruit down |
| Late autumn | Finish and clear up | Take diseased leaves off the plot rather than digging them in |
Not leaving diseased leaves and roots on the plot at the end of the season noticeably reduces the damage next year. Lifting the whole net with the vines still on it is the quickest way.
Habits that matter in every month
Whatever the month, the single most useful habit is looking at the plant every time you pick. Picking happens daily anyway, so checking the lower leaves for white patches, checking for wilt, and checking the thickness of the tendrils costs nothing and moves your response forward by a week.
The calendar above is a frame. The start of the wet weather and the start of the heat shift it by one to two weeks in any given year, so judge by the plant.
- Look every time you pick Stop for a moment and check the lower leaves for white patches, check for wilt, and check the tendrils. Those three tell you most of what you need to know about water, feed and disease.
- Look up from below once a week Crouch at the base and look up. You will see crowding you cannot see from above, and the giant cucumber hiding behind a leaf.
- Follow the plant, not the date Keep the calendar as a frame and make the actual decisions from the state of the plant.