Cucumbers are fun and easy to grow in the vegetable garden. There are many different types of cucumbers, but the two most popular types are generally slicing cucumbers and pickling cucumbers. I typically grow the slicing varieties in my vegetable garden each year. The pickling types are grown by my sister so we trade cucumbers each year.
There are two ways you can plant cucumbers in your vegetable garden – by sowing the seeds directly in the vegetable garden and by starting the seeds in seed trays then transplanting the seedlings in the vegetable garden later. I start the cucumber seeds in a seed tray then transplant them in the vegetable garden once the weather is warm enough.
Here I will show you how I transplant cucumber seedlings into my vegetable garden.
Removing The Cucumber Seedlings From The Seed Tray
Removing the cucumber seedlings from the seed tray can sometimes be very tricky. When using the plastic seed starting trays, the seedlings can be difficult to remove from the tray cell without damaging the seedling. Because of this I started using a seed tray that is made from peat. The peat-based trays are biodegradable and make it very easy to remove the seedlings.
First, I find the seedlings in the seed tray I want to transplant to the vegetable garden. Once I pick out the seedlings I want to transplant, I simply use a knife to cut the seedlings from the seed tray.
I use a sharp knife to cut the seedling from the peat tray by cutting down one side of the particular pot of the seedling I want.
Then I cut down the other side of the same seed tray cell.
Once I have completed both cuts I can simply pick up the seed cell that contains the desired cucumber seedlings. The seedling is now in its own individual little peat pot. The cucumber seedling has been removed from the seed tray without any damage and is now ready to transplant into the vegetable garden.
I continue removing the cucumber seedlings in the same manner until I have all the seedlings I need for my vegetable garden.
Transplanting The Cucumber Seedlings Into The Vegetable Garden
Now that I have all my cucumber seedlings I am ready to transplant them in the vegetable garden. The first thing to do before transplanting the seedlings is to make sure the bed is prepared by loosening the soil and amending the soil with compost.
Once that is completed, it is time to transplant the cucumber seedlings.
I have a cucumber trellis I built a couple years ago specifically for growing cucumbers, so that is where I will transplant my cucumber seedlings. I grow four cucumber plants next to the cucumber trellis – two on each side.
I use my hand to create a small hole for the cucumber seedlings. The hole is a little bit bigger than the size of the peat pot.
Next, I carefully remove the very bottom of the peat pot so the cucumber seedling’s root will be exposed to the soil. I cannot stress enough here – remove the bottom of the peat pot carefully. Avoid disturbing the roots as much as possible.
I also remove the top of the peat pot so the remaining peat pot is at the same level as the soil in the peat pot.
You can remove the peat pot completely from the cucumber seedling if you like. I leave the sides of the peat pot intact so the soil around the seedling does not fall apart. The peat pot will slowly dissolve and not be a problem. I have transplanted seedlings with the whole peat pot intact and not had any problems. You could do that with your seedlings as well if you are not comfortable removing the peat pot from the seedling.
Finalizing The Cucumber Seedling Transplant
Now that the cucumber seedlings are ready to plant, it’s time to place them in the hole and cover them with soil.
Simply place the cucumber seedling in the hole so that the top of the soil in the peat pot is at the same level as the garden soil. Once the depth is correct simply fill in the hole with soil or compost.
Continue the same process until all of the cucumber seedlings are transplanted into your vegetable garden. Once all the cucumber seedlings are transplanted be sure to give them a good watering or drink of compost tea. Once the cucumber seedlings have become established and growing a little make sure to come back and thin out the seedlings so there is just one plant per hill.
How do you grow cucumbers in your vegetable garden?
Do you transplant your cucumbers or do you sow the seeds directly in the vegetable garden? Please share with us how you grow cucumbers!