Do this when it forms a small leaf – any sooner, and you might harm the fruit. The only thing that needs removing is the sucker. On every stem node, you’ll find the following structures: Here’s how to identify what you need to discard. Cucumbers grow much faster than tomatoes, so while you might be in the habit of pruning your tomatoes 1-2 times a week, you’ll need to check your cucumber plants for suckers daily. Once the cucumber plants get to a decent size, it’s time to check each node of the main stem for pruning. Despite their many tendrils, once the plants bear fruit, they might fall off the string, so you still need to loosely secure the main stem to the string with a clip or a loose tie. Single stem cucumbers will grow tall up on a string or a bamboo pole. You don’t really need to single-stem your cucumbers out in the field or in your home garden. Let’s differentiate the three different types of pruning, and which one applies best to your style of gardening: Training the cucumbers to grow in a single stemĪs I mentioned, this style of growing is mostly reserved for greenhouses. However, to facilitate air-flow and ease of picking, many gardeners and most commercial growers will train their cucumbers to grow a single stem. Unlike tomatoes, cucumber suckers will turn into branches and produce just as generously as the main stem. You can train your cucumbers to grow single-stem by regularly pruning the suckers off, or allow them to grow freely and only pick the male flowers. While you don’t have to prune cucumbers to get fruit, pruning reduces the chance of powdery mildew and increases productivity in many varieties. There are a couple of ways you can go about pruning, and this article will give you a deep understanding of how, when, and why you should prune cucumber plants. They are vining plants that grow best vertically, so they will need trellising or training and, since they grow so fast, a lot of pruning. As an Amazon Associate earns from qualifying purchases.Ĭucumbers are amazingly productive if you treat them right.
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