Soil

Cucumbers tend to like loamy soils! Dark in color, this soil type has a lot of organic material and feels as moist as a rung-out sponge. If you compost, or know where to get very good quality compost, use pure compost in my opinion. Or, plant in the ground and mix compost into your native soil. 

Compost is created from the breaking down of leaves and food scraps by either bacteria or critters like worms. Pre-made potting soils will be made of inert and unsustainable material, usually peat moss, that features the correct drainage and texture needed for root stability. BUT it will have added non-organic fertilizer that completely drains out over time, requiring you to add more. Peat is unnecessary!

You want your soil to be alive with microorganisms creating nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium continuously as bugs and micro-organisms break down organic material over time. Living compost has the right stuff for cucumbers, with the added benefit of providing the plant with just the right moisture throughout the day.

Hot tip: You can test drainage before planting by placing some of your soil into a small flower pot. Pour water over it, and if the soil uniformly moistens and drains easily, you’ve found what you need. You can always add leaves or tree bark to the top of your soil and the microbes and bugs (and worms) will just.. show up. That’s free fertilizer right there, my friends.

Soil and Heat

The greater the soil volume, the bigger your cucumber plant will get. Think of a small pot versus in the ground where the roots can go as far down as they want. Soil volume correlates directly with crop output. More soil, more cukes, more pickles. You don’t know how happy that equation makes me.

Planting in the ground will protect your plant’s roots from heat, allowing the roots to grow deeper, and to seek out water wherever it is. The more regular watering your cucumber plant gets, the better its heat tolerance. This isn’t the whole story though. You’ll want some strategic shade too, especially after about 1pm during the hottest part of the days.

That means full sun from sun-up until about 1pm, then the dappled shade of a tree or shade cloth after that. Water in the early morning so it doesn’t face drought stress.

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If you must plant in containers, here are a few helpful tips.

When deciding on a location, take into consideration the amount of heat your area gets during the day. The sun will heat up the soil and dry it out faster. Water more often, and get the soil well soaked in the morning. Setting up a drip irrigation system for your container where the water is allowed to drain out and not stand will do wonders. 

In Tucson for instance, we get temperatures upwards of 110F (43C) so shade is required. In cases like this, take as much advantage of the morning sun as possible. It is cooler then, and will still give the right amount of light throughout the day.  

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Soil Depth

If planting in the ground, amend the soil to a depth of 1.5 to 2 feet. If you are growing in a container, at least 3 cubic feet of soil is a must. Wide + short and tall + skinny containers are not practical for heat tolerance or water retention.

Excited to start? Check out how to grow cucumbers for seed depth suggestions, whether to start them in smaller containers and transplant or not, and more.