Southern Homemade Pickles Cucumber Guide

This old heirloom cucumber so named for its perfect properties for pickling – a la stocky stature and bumpy skin – can tickle your craving for a pickle with the best tang! Just add to a brine of some apple cider vinegar, water, dill, salt, pepper, mustard seeds, garlic, and onion and enjoy!

 

TO SOW

Homemade Pickles cucumbers grow best in warm weather between 70°F-90°F. They do great in containers and small gardens. Bank on Seeds recommends direct seeding.

If Direct Seeding

• Direct seed outside 6-8 weeks after last frost date; or

• Direct seed into a container 10-12 inches deep and wide anytime of the year. It can be placed outside when the temperature is between 70°F-90°F; or

If Transplanting

Begin the growing season early and start the cucumber seeds indoors in trays or pods 2-3 weeks after the last frost date; clingwrap the container to seal in the warmth. Germination is best and fastest between 70°F-80°F. It can be transplanted outside 6 weeks later.

Sow 2-3 cucumber seeds ½ -1-inch-deep and 12 inches apart. If planting multiple rows, leave 36-48 inches in between. If you use a trellis or tomato cage, the space between rows can be reduced to 24-36 inches. Germination will take 3-10 days.

TO GROW

Cucumbers like well-draining, sandy soil with lots of aged compost or manure. They also like full sun and warm growing conditions. Water regularly to keep the soil evenly moist and do not let it dry out fully. Check the top 1-2 inches of soil and if it is dry, then water it. Do not let the foliage get wet, it will lead to poorer, smaller yields.

Apply mulch to the top of soil to retain moisture, regulate temperature and deter weeds. Cucumber usually likes 2-3-6 fertilizer or aged compost every 30 days.

TO REAP

Homemade Pickles cucumber is full grown in 55 days. Do not let the cucumbers get too big, they taste better smaller. Pick daily when they reach 4-6 inches. Picking daily will encourage more cucumber production for a longer harvest season. This variety is quite vigorous and grows in bushy over a long season.

PESTS/DISEASES

Resistant to diseases

Aphids, cucumber beetle – pick off, spray off, insecticidal soap, neem oil

*Companion plant cucumber with corn, dill, marigolds, nasturtiums, beets, radishes, and carrots. Avoid planting with melons, potatoes, and sage. *