The cucumber ( Cucumisspp . ) is an easy - to - grow and much - loved summertime garden staple . As an annual , the life cycle of cucumber plants is completed in one year . It favour warm temperature , needs plenty of room to grow and can be turn in small-scale garden spaces when trellis . Cucumbers are used fresh in salad , eat plain and often pickle .
With so many species and cultivars , it may be surprising to learn that the living cycle of all cucumbers is unco alike .
5 stage of a Cucumber Plant
Is Cucumber a Fruit or Vegetable?
Botanically speak , the cucumber is a yield ; to the consumer , it ’s referred to as a vegetable ; and to growers , it ’s also considered a vegetable .
TheUniversity of Georgia Cooperative Extensionexplains these different perspectives .
get it on the correct botanic classification of this industrial plant does n’t really matter at the grocery store stock or Fannie Merritt Farmer ' market , or even how you suffice it or eat it , but its botanical categorization as a fruit is an essential part of the life stages of a cucumber plant .
Cucumber Life Stage 1: Seeds
The life bicycle of cucumber plants begins with seeds . Seeds can be removed from the cucumbers and saved for the next year as long as you ’re growing an heirloom cultivar . Cucumis sativus grown on intercrossed works produce seeds that do n’t do lawful to type or seeds that wo n’t germinate at all .
Cucumber seeds generally are viable for five year or more , stored under optimum circumstance . TheUniversity of Connecticutnotes that this viability windowpane may increase ten - fold if germ are stored in wet - proof containers in the refrigerator or freezer .
ejaculate may be started indoors several week before the last spring freeze and transfer as seedlings , or directly seed into the garden after the last frost
Cucumber Life Stage 2: Seedlings
If seeds were started indoors , they can be transferred outdoors when they are 3 to 4 weeks older and after the last frost date has excrete . Whether melt off outdoor - grown plants or transplanting indoor start , the seedlings do best when space 12 in apart with row space approximately 5 foot apart for vining types and 3 feet apart for bush types .
As they turn , blossoms will commence to form . Cucumbers have both manly and female blossom on each plant . distaff blossoms have what resemble a diminutive cucumber just below the blossom ; these are what develop into cucumbers if flowers are successfully fertilized following pollenation .
Cucumber Life Stage 3: Plants
Cucumber plants may be bush types or vining type . vine will sprawl and roam as they grow , but cucumber vine will dwell on the earth and risk rotting if let to develop this style . As long as the ground does not puddle during rainfall or watering , this should not block growth .
In moist , poorly draining area or in small gardens , trellises can be added to support the vine and the free weight of the cucumber vine .
Cucumber Life Stage 4: Flowering/Fruiting
As the industrial plant uprise , efflorescence will begin to form . cucumber have both male and female bloom on each plant .
Female blossoms have what resembles a diminutive Cucumis sativus just below the flush ; this is what rise into yield if flowers are successfully fertilized come after pollination .
Cucumis sativus should be find out day by day for harvest , as they mature apace and can become too large and acid — filled with seeds and not as tasty . If a cucumber over - ripens , however , it can still be seed glean for planting next yr .
How Long Do Cucumbers Take to Grow? Stage 5: Harvest
Cucumber ontogeny time to harvest varies because of the different types of cucumbers .
Both will continue to get throughout the affectionate growing season .
Cucumis sativus grow apace and should be delay daily for crop . Left too long , the Cucumis sativus can become too prominent and bitter , meet with seed and not as tasty .
From Seed to Seed
Overripe cuke , while they do n’t taste very good , are perfect for seed harvesting . Because of their size , they have more seeds than little cucumber . bequeath to nature , they would go down to the ground and decompose , letting their seeds become part of the landscape painting or be eat by brute and have their seeds broadcast to other area when they perish through the animals ' digestive systems .
For collection purposes , remove the seeds from heirloom cucumbers and give up them to air wry . Store the seeds in a cool , teetotal place and you will have seeds for next year ’s sowing .
