Cucumber plants produce long, green slender fruits, and need warm soil to sprout and flower pollination to produce fruit. There are many varieties of cucumbers, including types that work well for slicing and pickling. The amount of fruit each plant produces depends on the type of plant, the growing conditions and care of plants. You cannot predict the exact number of fruit each plant will produce, but there is an estimated amount per healthy plant.
Cucumber Production
If you plant cucumbers to use for pickling, plan on growing 3 to 4 plants per each quart of pickles you want to make. Generally, a healthy pickling cucumber plant produces about 5 pounds of cucumbers per plant. If you plant cucumbers for slicing and eating fresh, plan on growing about 2 to 3 plants per person in your household; healthy plants generally grow 10, 6-ounce cucumbers per plant. Heirloom cucumber varieties generally produce less fruit, which is about 2 to 3 pounds of fruit per healthy plant.
Increase Yield
Proper harvesting helps increase plant yield. When you pick cucumbers every other day, this makes the plants continue to produced fruit over a longer harvesting period. When you stop harvesting, this signals the plant that growing season is done. You want to pick fruit while still immature for most varieties. Harvest pickling cucumbers when they are between 1 and 6 inches long and slicing cucumbers at 6 to 10 inches. Armenian and English cucumbers grown in a hot house grow a bit longer and are harvested at about 12 to 15 inches long.
Decrease Yield
Along with infrequent harvesting, there are other reasons you may experience a reduced yield in your cucumber plants. Spacing can affect plant yield, so space plants appropriately. Cucumbers need 8 to 12 inches between plants and 4 to 6 feet between hills to ensure adequate pollination. Spacing plants too far or too close together can affect pollination and decrease fruit production.
Cucumber Growing Tips
There are some things you can do to grow healthy, productive cucumbers. Start by selecting a good location in loose, well-drained soil where the plants will receive full sun. Cucumbers need enough water to keep them evenly moist; the soil should never dry out. You can use a trellis for plants to climb. This keeps the fruit off the ground away from insects and makes harvesting easier.
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