:strip_icc()/GettyImages-2155337410-8ddfe8f83e6e4fb0a36ad2c120c6cddf.jpg?w=1920&resize=1920,1267&ssl=1 "The Harvesting Mistake You’re Probably Making with Cucumbers, and What to Do Instead")
Harvesting cucumbers too early or too late leaves you with an undersized crop or bitter, yellow fruit that no one wants to eat. But while harvesting at the wrong time is a big issue when growing cucumbers, there’s another common mistake that can be even more costly to cucumber harvests. If you want to make sure your plants fruit well and help cucumbers last long after you pick them, here’s the number one cucumber harvesting mistake you don’t want to make, and tips to ensure a fruitful cucumber season.
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The Common Mistake Gardeners Make
If you’ve been growing cucumbers for a while, you probably know to harvest cucumbers before they turn yellow, and to look under cucumber leaves for hidden fruit. But even experienced growers often harvest cucumbers by pulling on the vine and twisting the fruit off the vine, which may damage both the plants and the cucumbers.
Although harvesting cucumbers by pulling them off the plant by hand is convenient, the vines are delicate and easily torn, broken, or pulled up by the roots if you handle them roughly. This makes your plants more vulnerable to disease and less productive. Or worse, if the vines are badly damaged, they may stop growing entirely and die back.
Even if you manage to harvest cukes without damaging the plant, pulling cucumbers free usually results in stemless fruit, which don’t last as long in storage. Rough treatment potentially bruises or damages cucumber skins, too, and makes them spoil faster.
How to Harvest Cucumbers Correctly
Instead of pulling cukes off the plant, it’s best to cut the fruit off with a sharp knife or a pair of pruners. This limits damage to your vines, and your cucumbers will stay fresh a bit longer after harvesting.
To harvest, hold the cucumber you’d like to pick in one hand and cut the stem cleanly with a knife or pruners about 1/4-inch away from the top of the fruit. Keeping a bit of stem attached to each cucumber you pick will help the fruit last in the fridge for about 7 to 10 days, and prevent the ends from turning mushy quickly. After harvesting, lay cucumbers in a single layer in a flat-bottom basket to avoid bruising, and handle their delicate skins with care.
Leave the rest of the vine intact so it can produce more fruit. Check your plants in a day or two to see if any more cucumbers are ready to pick. With frequent harvesting, cucumber vines will stay productive for six weeks, and even longer if they don’t succumb to bacterial wilt or another plant disease.
If your plant still produces fruit in late summer as nights get cooler while days are still warm, the cucumbers tend to turn bitter. Even if that is not the case, pick all cucumbers before frost hits.
Tips for Fixing Damaged Cucumber Vines
Sometimes accidents happen, and cucumber vines get damaged despite our best intentions. Rough harvesting and handling or inclement weather can result in broken vines, damaged plant stems, and potentially uproot entire plants from the soil or pull vines free from their supportive trellises.
If your cucumber vines are suffering from any or all of these issues, take a deep breath and use these tips to help your plants recover.
- Replant uprooted plants. If cucumber plants have been pulled from the soil, press the plant’s roots carefully back into the earth and firm the soil around the plant’s base. In general, you’ll want to plant cucumbers as deep as they were initially growing, but if your plant still feels unwieldy, add a little extra soil over its roots.
- Secure vines to trellising and stakes. Cucumbers that have been dislodged from trellises and stakes should then be resecured to their supports using plant clips or garden twine. Tie the stems loosely so their bindings don’t constrict plant movement or growth, and add extra ties if needed to make your plants extra secure.
- Mend broken stems. Sometimes, cucumber stems that are partially torn will mend themselves back together if you press the broken stem bits to each other and secure them with masking tape, washi tape, or floral tape.
- Prune carefully. Cucumber vines that are badly broken or bent generally won’t grow back together. However, that doesn’t mean your plant is done. If the damage is confined to a section of the cucumber vine, prune the broken stems back to the nearest leaf node or branch, and your plant should send out new growth soon.