I love Greek salads, but I’ve ruined a few by tossing in cucumbers with tough skins and big, chewy seeds. Fortunately, making a tender Greek salad instead — with fresh, homegrown cucumbers — is simple. Now, I just include a few English long cucumbers in my garden each year.
I love Greek salads, but I’ve ruined a few by tossing in cucumbers with tough skins and big, chewy seeds.
Fortunately, making a tender Greek salad instead — with fresh, homegrown cucumbers — is simple. Now, I just include a few English long cucumbers in my garden each year.
English long cucumbers are excellent outdoors in pots, but not widely used in gardens because many gardeners still adhere to the myth that the thin-skinned, seedless cucumbers are only suitable for growing within the confines of a cosy greenhouse.Advertisement 2Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
English cucumbers, known for their long, slender shape and mild flavor, are a delight to grow and enjoy fresh from your garden. But can you really grow these European favorites at home? The answer is a resounding yes! With the right conditions and care, anyone can cultivate crisp, tasty English cucumbers.
English cucumbers are a variety that originated in Europe and are now popular worldwide. They differ from standard American slicing cucumbers in a few key ways:
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Shape: English cucumbers are long and slender, often measuring 12-20 inches in length. Their thinner skin allows them to grow straighter without bulging.
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Flavor: English cucumbers have a milder, less bitter taste. Their thinner skin means you don’t need to peel them.
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Seeds: English cucumbers contain tiny, soft seeds. You won’t get that seedy crunch like regular cukes.
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Use: Their refreshing flavor and crunchy texture make English cucumbers ideal for salads, sandwiches, and snacking.
With proper care, English cucumbers can be grown successfully in backyards and containers by home gardeners. Here’s everything you need to know to grow them yourself.
Growing Conditions for English Cucumbers
English cucumbers thrive in warm weather and need similar conditions to other cucumber varieties
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Sunlight At least 6-8 hours of direct sun daily More sun means more abundant harvests
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Soil: Well-draining and nutrient-rich, with a pH of 6.0-7.0. Incorporate compost or manure before planting.
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Temperature: Minimum soil temperature of 65-70°F for sowing seeds. Ideal daytime temperature is 75-85°F.
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Water: Consistent moisture, especially when fruits are forming. Avoid waterlogged soil.
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Support: Trellises, cages, or stakes to support vines and keep fruits off the ground.
With the right conditions, English cucumbers will flourish in your garden.
How to Plant English Cucumber Seeds
You can purchase English cucumber seeds from garden centers or seed catalogs. Here are some tips for getting seeds started:
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When: Sow seeds 1-2 weeks after last frost date when soil has warmed.
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How deep: Plant seeds 1 inch deep in pots or garden soil.
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Spacing: If transplanting, space seedlings 12-18 inches apart in rows 3-5 feet apart.
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Germination: Keep soil moist and warm (70-90°F). Seeds should sprout in 5-10 days.
Caring for English Cucumber Plants
Once your seeds have germinated, here are some tips for nurturing your plants:
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Water: Water at soil level 1-2 inches per week. Avoid wetting leaves which can encourage disease.
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Fertilize: Use a balanced vegetable fertilizer when plants begin vining.
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Train vines: Guide vines upward using trellises and ties to save space and improve air circulation.
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Weed and mulch: Apply organic mulch around plants to conserve moisture and reduce weeds.
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Scout for pests: Watch for cucumber beetles, aphids, and other pests. Remove by hand or use organic remedies if needed.
With attentive care, your English cucumber plants will thrive and produce an abundant harvest.
How to Harvest English Cucumbers
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When: Begin harvesting fruits when they reach 6-8 inches long. Check plants daily.
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How: Gently twist or snip cucumbers from vines using sharp pruners. Handle carefully to avoid bruising tender skin.
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Storage: Store at 45-55°F in refrigerator crisper, unwashed, for 5-7 days.
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Productivity: Regular harvesting encourages continual production.
For peak flavor and texture, harvest English cucumbers while skins are still glossy and fruits feel firm.
Tips for Maximizing English Cucumber Yield
Here are some additional pointers to help you get the biggest, healthiest harvest from your English cucumber plants:
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Select disease-resistant varieties like ‘Sweet Success’ or ‘Diva’.
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Use trellises and pruning to optimize airflow and light exposure.
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Apply organic mulch to conserve soil moisture and reduce weeds.
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Hand pollinate flowers using a small brush to improve fruit set, especially indoors.
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Use row covers at planting to protect emerging seedlings from pests.
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Avoid overcrowding plants which creates humidity and disease risk.
Follow these tips and you’ll be rewarded with prolific yields of delicious English cucumbers.
Common Problems When Growing English Cucumbers
Despite your best efforts, issues can pop up while growing English cucumbers. Here are some potential problems and solutions:
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Poor pollination: Gently shake vines to distribute pollen or hand pollinate using a brush.
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Powdery mildew: Improve air circulation. Water at soil level. Use neem oil if needed.
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Cucumber beetles: Handpick pests. Use floating row covers. Apply insecticidal soap.
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Blossom end rot: Maintain even soil moisture. Add calcium amendments if soil is deficient.
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Downy mildew: Avoid overhead watering. Improve air flow. Remove diseased leaves promptly.
Catch issues early and take appropriate organic action to keep your plants healthy.
Enjoying the Fruits of Your Labor
Now for the best part – savoring your homegrown English cucumbers! Enjoy them fresh in salads and sandwiches, or try these tasty recipes:
- Cucumber gazpacho
- Greek yogurt and cucumber dip
- Gin and tonic with cucumber garnish
- Quick refrigerator pickles
With their refreshing crunch and mild flavor, English cucumbers are a treat straight from the vine. Follow this guide and you’ll be harvesting basketfuls of these delicious fruits.
English cucumbers are absolutely worth growing in your own backyard or containers. By providing suitable growing conditions and attentive care, you can successfully cultivate an abundant harvest of these slender green delights. With their mild flavor and tender skin, homegrown English cucumbers will bring a taste of Europe straight to your table.
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But they actually grow well outside — weather permitting, of course — and it’s rare not to have a great crop by late July.
HISTORY
Cucumbers are indigenous to both the Old World and the new, and are members of the cucurbitacea family that includes squash, pumpkins and melons.
English long cucumbers are simply the result of extensive breeding work to eliminate the undesirable characteristics that many cucumber varieties possess: tough skin, tough seeds, and often, bitter fruit.
From a reproductive perspective, cucumbers have interesting sex lives. Some varieties have male and female flowers that are separate — but on the same plant — while other varieties produce a blend of entirely male or entirely female plants. English long cucumbers really have no sex lives at all and are classified as parthenocarpic, which means that they develop fruit without any pollination and are thus seedless. You might notice some rudimentary seeds in an English long cucumber fruit, but these are simply the beginnings of what would have been seeds had the seeds been pollinated.
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BEST FEATURES
I think most would agree that the best feature of English long cucumbers is the fact that they are seedless. But having a nice, thin skin that doesn’t require peeling is a close second.
I also find the rich-green, broad leaves and viney growth to be rather attractive and English long cucumbers look great on a trellis, even without any fruit.
Another great feature of English long cucumbers is their lack of bitterness. Other cucumbers inherently contain naturally occurring, bitter-tasting chemicals called cucurbitacins, but the English long cucumbers rarely have even a trace of these compounds.
DEGREE OF DIFFICULTY: EASY
English long cucumbers are no more difficult to grow than any other cucumber variety, but they do require a sturdy, tall trellis. They will sprawl across the ground without support, but leaving the long fruit sitting makes it more prone to rotting and curling up like a snake.
Training the cucumber to climb up a trellis is simple. I just weave the new leaves through the structure and that works just fine. Tying the main stem to the trellis with soft ties also works well. Either way, it’s important to train and support the cucumbers every few days because they tend to grow wild very quickly.Advertisement 4Story continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.Article content
In the greenhouse, we grow thousands of English long cucumbers and would expect to harvest about 20 to 25, 30-centimetre-long fruit per plant over a 12-week period. In my garden, I grow four plants that begin production now and continue for about an eight-week stretch, with each plant producing about a dozen large fruit.
Believe me, there are times in August when jumbo Greek salads are my entire meal!
English long cucumbers are rarely attacked by insect or disease pests, but they are heavy feeders. I apply Nature’s Source fertilizer at least once a week and always blend in Sea Soil (composted fish waste and pine bark) with my potting soil to provide a few extra nutrients.
HOW PERFECT IS IT?
My Greek salad routine at this time of year is to head out to the garden and grab one tomato, one onion and one English Long cucumber, head to the kitchen, chop and throw the vegetables and black olives into a bowl with oil and feta cheese and eat. It is one of the simplest things to make and loaded with fresh ingredients from the garden.
The salad days of summer just wouldn’t be the same for me without a few homegrown, English long cucumbers a mere hop, skip and jump away from the kitchen.
Jim Hole is an owner of Hole’s Greenhouse in St. Albert. Follow him at facebook.com/HolesGreenhouses. For previous columns by Jim Hole, go to edmontonjournal.com/holeArticle contentShare this article in your social networkTrending
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English Cucumbers – They’re kinda big !
FAQ
Can you grow English cucumbers from store-bought cucumbers?
In theory, yes, you could plant seeds from a store-bought cucumber but the likelihood of them ever fruiting is doubtful. If you were successful in getting grocery store cucumber seeds to germinate, chances are you would not get anything resembling the cucumber you culled the seeds from.
How long does it take to grow English cucumbers?
Most varieties of cucumber will be ready for harvest between 50-70 days from the day you plant from seed. Choose multiple varieties with varying harvest dates to enjoy them for a longer season. Most people plant cucumbers in a small mound of soil, or in a container.
What is the difference between a garden cucumber and an English cucumber?
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YouTube · Jessica Gavinhttps://www.youtube.comThe Difference Between English and Regular CucumbersJul 19, 2022 — have you ever wondered what’s the difference between an English cucumber. and a regular one let’s find out an English cucumber has thinner skin so y…
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Facebook · Jerry James Stonehttps://www.facebook.comSlicing Cucumbers vs. English Cucumbers – What’s the Difference?Mar 28, 2019 — The standard cucumber has larger seeds and they’re just kind of more in the way, and the English cucumber has pretty, pretty tiny seeds, so they con…
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Southern Livinghttps://www.southernliving.comWhat Is An English Cucumber? – Southern LivingJun 17, 2024 — The English cucumber differs from the classic American cucumber in several ways. First, as mentioned already, they are sweeter. “The standard cucumb…
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Food Networkhttps://www.foodnetwork.comA Handy Guide to the Different Types of Cucumbers – Food NetworkJul 26, 2022 — Types of Cucumbers * English cucumber. Photo by: Teri Lyn Fisher. Teri Lyn Fisher. English Cucumbers. This is a common variety carried at supermark…
Where can you grow English cucumbers?
English cucumbers are grown in a controlled environment: a hothouse or a greenhouse. But don’t think backyard greenhouse, these are commercially grown in large indoor growing facilities. This type of cucumber is known as a “slicing cucumber” due to the thin skin and immature seeds.
Are English cucumbers easy to grow?
If you are a lover of cucumbers then English cucumbers are a great variety to try. They are flavorful and are relatively easy to grow, which makes them great no matter your experience level as a gardener. They make a great addition to any garden and will be a new favorite. What Are Burpless Cucumbers? Can You Grow English Cucumbers from Seeds?
How to grow English cucumber from seed?
Cucumbers are one of the most popular garden vegetables. And growing cucumbers from seed is a rewarding experience that can be done all year long. For this article, we’ll talk about how to grow English cucumber from seed, and some common questions people have. After planting the cucumber seeds, keep moist for 7-10 days. Cucumbers prefer full sun.
How fast do English cucumber plants grow?
Generally speaking, the cucumber plants grow between 2 to 8 inches a day during the first month. English cucumber plants are fast growing, vine-like climbing plant. If left to their own devices, they can climb a support structure more than 10 to 15 feet high and almost as wide.