Select your climate zone Australia - cool/mountain Australia - sub-tropical Australia - temperate Australia - tropical New Zealand - cool/mountain New Zealand - sub-tropical New Zealand - temperate United Kingdom - cool/temperate United Kingdom - warm/temperate What is my climate zone?

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
P	P							P	P	P	P

(Best months for planting Cucumber in Australia - temperate regions)

P = Sow direct in garden where they are to grow.

September: Bring on in pots

• Harvest in 8-10 weeks. Cut fruit off with scissors or sharp knife.
• Sow in garden. Sow seed at a depth approximately three times the diameter of the seed.
• Best planted at soil temperatures between 16°C and 35°C.
• Space plants: 40-60cm

Cucumbers are frost tender. Can be started in small peat pots then transplanted when weather is suitable. A trailing plant which will grow tendrils as it gets bigger. Lebanese cucumbers are best picked about 10 -12 cm (4 - 5 in) and eaten whole. Gherkins are usually picked 5 or 6 cm (2 - 3 in) long and pickled. They have a prickly skin. Apple cucumbers are round with a pale, almost white, smooth skin.

Grow in full sun. Grow up a trellis or framework to save space and keep the fruit clean. Needs ties to support it at first. Water regularly and fertilise to encourage growth.

Culinary hints - cooking and eating Cucumber

Pick frequently before the fruit become too big.
Use raw in salads, peeled if preferred.

Your comments and tips

28 Jul 10 Darren (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

Has anyone tried growing the armenian type cucumbers up in brisbane if so did you grow on a trellis

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28 Jul 10 Chris (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I grew them in Armidale (cool climate) last summer. They did fine growing sprawling across the ground.

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16 May 10 Phil (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

I've heard that leaving sliced or whole cucumber in the garden helps to ward off bugs and beasties. Is this true?

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05 Jun 10 Martyn (Australia - temperate climate)

We've had success with sliced cucumber on aluminium trays. Maybe its the taste (to the slugs and snails) or a chemical reaction with the Al but they've stayed away

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18 May 10 (Australia - temperate climate)

Lots of slugs and slaters have been tucking into the old cucumbers I didn't harvest, so it doesn't work for them!

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03 Apr 10 Michelle (Australia - temperate climate)

I've just transplanted my lebanese cucumbers & they've now started turning yellow on their leaves. I'm not sure what could be the problem as the ground is very fertile and there's no problem with the amount of water that I give them. Please help !!

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15 Feb 10 Kellie (Australia - sub-tropical climate)

hi there, I am a new gardener, growing cucumber in pots on my verandah. I get to the stage where a couple of fruit are produced and then the leaves turn yellow and brittle and the whole plant seems to die back. Any ideas? Many thanks!

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05 Feb 10 Suzanne (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

Do you need to cut back cucumber plants after they have stopped producing fruit?

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02 Feb 10 noel (Australia - temperate climate)

how do you stop cucumbers going soft after you pick them

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30 Jan 10 Ben R (Australia - cool/mountain climate)

My cucumbers have been weird this year. They are similar to John D's - they have grown in the shape of a butternut pumpkin from early on and they are now about 30 cm and yellow/brown. They have good sunlight, were watered regularly, in mushroom compost. They did not at any stage go dark green, just from light green to yellow. They probably weigh about 2 kilo's each. I have not cut one open yet - i think the whole crop may be headed to the chickens... any ideas to avoid the same next year would be appreciated.

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