It requires a rich, well-drained moisture retentive soil and a warm very
sunny position. The seeds are sown early to mid spring in rich soil.
Germination takes place within 2 weeks.
It is in flower from July to September, and the seeds ripen from August to
October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or
female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant). The plant is
self-fertile.
The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow
in the shade and requires moist soil.
The male flowers should be removed in order to prevent fertilization,
since the fertilized fruits have a bitter taste.
The roots of cucumber plants secrete a substance that inhibits the growth
of most weeds. Cucumbers make good companion plants for sweet corn, beans
and sunflowers, but they dislike growing with potatoes and aromatic herbs.
A few varieties of cucumber are parthenocarpic, the blossoms creating
seedless fruit without pollination. Thousands of hives of bees are
annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom for this purpose.
Cucumbers may also be pollinated by flies.
The edible parts are fruits, seeds and leaves.
Cucumbers grown for pickling (picklers) and those grown for fresh market
(slicers) are the same species. Fruit of fresh market cucumbers are
longer, smooth rather than bumpy, have a more uniform green skin color and
a tougher, glossier skin than fruit of picklers.