cucumber dilema - plant or seed?

marie-p

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Does anyone have experience growing cucumbers?

I decided to try this year and I bought some seeds (for lemon cucumbers... they look so weird
). I tried to start the seeds inside in a biodegradable container and no luck. 3 of the seeds never germinated and the fourth one gave a small plant that then withered and died. I think my apartment might have been too cold (we turned off the heat really early this spring)

I read in my book that I can plant seeds directly outside at the end of May. Would they still grow quickly enough? My space really limited so I don't want to waste some on a plant that might never grow enough to give me anything...

I could also buy plants, but then I wouldn't have lemon cucumbers, only regular ones. Also, I heard that cucumber plants hate to be transplanted.

What should I do?
 

cococat

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Not sure what zone you are in but I would just go ahead and buy the plant so you can get them quicker and not waste any more time to your path to garden fresh delicious cucumbers
 

GoldyCat

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Where are you located? I seem to remember planting seeds around the end of May in the midwest and they always produced well before the first frost. Where I am now May is too late because it gets so hot.

You need to plant 4-5 seeds together, then if they all come up pull out all but one or two so they won't be too crowded.

Do you have room to put in one plant and one hill of seeds, just to see which works best?
 

gailc

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Those usually germinate fairly easy! I would plant outside now and if the temps dip to below 40F bring pot in overnight. To help germinate in pot faster buy the potting soil and have in inside so its room temperature instead of having the bag outside where the soil would stay colder. The seeds should germinate in about 7-10 days. But they do like the temps at 70-80F to germinate so a sunny spot if starting indoors is best.
 
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marie-p

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I'm in Montreal (so pretty far north). There is still chance of frost until mid-may. Right now it's warm enough to walk around in shorts, but last week it was snowing


would it help if I covered my outdoor container to make a little greenhouse?
Or maybe I'll try again to start it inside so at least it can germinate and grow a couple of leaves before I plant it outside...
 

sk_pacer

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May long weekend should work. Just make your rows and put 4-6 seeds in a spot, move down 10ish inches and repeat and water before covering lightly with soil. Mom did it that way here for years and I am farther north than you are. The only thing you have to watch is variety - it must be under 100 days to maturity or you are sunk. Some exotic types are 120 days or more and should be started indoors in late March or purchased as seedlings from a nursery. I tend to keep my gardening to patio tomatoes now simply because at any given point in time I can think of 25 things I would rather do than weed gardens, hill cucumbers, hill potatoes and other grubbing in the dirt.....tractor work, driving horses, playing gofer all come to mind. I ran a greenhouse, and once the plants have hit the sales packs, I dont give a hoot for them, but starting is interesting
 
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marie-p

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Originally Posted by sk_pacer

May long weekend should work. Just make your rows and put 4-6 seeds in a spot, move down 10ish inches and repeat and water before covering lightly with soil. Mom did it that way here for years and I am farther north than you are. The only thing you have to watch is variety - it must be under 100 days to maturity or you are sunk. Some exotic types are 120 days or more and should be started indoors in late March or purchased as seedlings from a nursery. I tend to keep my gardening to patio tomatoes now simply because at any given point in time I can think of 25 things I would rather do than weed gardens, hill cucumbers, hill potatoes and other grubbing in the dirt.....tractor work, driving horses, playing gofer all come to mind. I ran a greenhouse, and once the plants have hit the sales packs, I dont give a hoot for them, but starting is interesting
Oh, I didn't even think to look how much time until maturity. The kind I have takes 60-70days.
It's also more resistant to cold than most cucumbers.
 

sk_pacer

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Originally Posted by marie-p

Oh, I didn't even think to look how much time until maturity. The kind I have takes 60-70days.
It's also more resistant to cold than most cucumbers.
Well, there ya go. That less than 100 day rule applies to all veggies and flowers for us in zone 3 and colder. There are also short season tomatoes, corn, peas, beans (specifically Royal Burgiundy), almost anything you want to grow. Stick with Canadian seeds - McKenzie, Dominion, Stokes (be careful here, though, some flowers are from way south) and get them at a place with high turnover like Canadian Tire, Westfair Foods (Super Store, Loblaws, etc), Co-op. Stay away from Walmart, Zellers, etc as they have oddball brands. Read labels to be sure they are Canadian seeds if you plant straight into the ground; there is nothing wrong with US seeds except most are for much warmer areas and need started inside.
 

gailc

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Yep I agree with the above statements. Lots of the big box stores carry plants that are not for our climate ( Im technically zone 5 but with the winter and wind I usually go with zone 4 plant material). Checking the maturity on the seed packets is crucial. That's why melons are iffy here too long for maturity. Depending on the summer temps peppers may or may not turn red. I had problems with corn germinating the past couple of years as even though I have sandy soil the soil must still be too cold so I soak the kernels overnight to give them a headstart.

Good luck! You might want to soak some of the seeds in lukewarm water overnight to hasten germination.
 
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