For different regions, planting cucumbers for seedlings and in a greenhouse in 2024 is recommended at different times. We propose to understand in more detail when it is best to sow seeds to obtain strong viable seedlings, as well as plant young plants in the ground, taking into account the cycles of the lunar calendar.
Variety features
Cucumber is a heat-loving plant that can be grown in greenhouses or open ground in the climate of different regions.
Today there are many popular varieties on sale, which can be divided into three large groups according to the length of the growing season:
| Plant type | Before landing in the ground | Before fruiting |
| Early | 14 - 21 days | up to 45 days |
| Medium | 20 - 22 days | 45-55 days |
| Latest | 20 - 28 days | 55 days or more |
If a family plans to enjoy cucumbers from their garden throughout the season, it is recommended to plant several early and medium varieties, and fill most of the beds with late bushes, which are ideal for s alting and pickling for the winter.
Greenhouse varieties (self pollinated)
If the plant should bear fruit in a greenhouse, it is better to plant parthenocarpic varieties, the pollination of which occurs without the help of bees. As a rule, in such conditions they give a higher yield, have excellent shade tolerance and at the same time are not bitter.
Among parthenocarpics the most popular are:
- Christina F1;
- Delpina F1;
- Capra F1;
- Emelya F1;
- Courage F1;
- Paratunka F1.
Garden varieties (bee-pollinated)
In the open field, many gardeners prefer growing bee-pollinated varieties with characteristic tubercles on the surface, but more suitable for harvesting pickles and pickles for the winter.
The most popular varieties among bee pollinators are:
- F1 Relay;
- Athlete F1;
- Ajax F1;
- Nun 8386 F1;
- Nezhinskiy;
- Unbearable 40;
- Spring;
- Drop.
Climatic features
Since the cucumber is a heat-loving plant, the timing of planting is very dependent on what the region of plant growth will be.
Optimal conditions:
- soil temperature - at least 10-12°С;
- day air temperature - at 18°С;
- night air temperature - not less than 10°С.
Outdoor cucumber is best grown in the southern regions, where summers are long and warm, as well as sufficient length of daylight hours during the warmer months. In the central latitudes, early varieties are recommended to be grown in greenhouses, since planting in open ground becomes possible only at the beginning of summer.
The approximate calendar for sowing cucumbers for seedlings and planting young plants in 2024, depending on the region, will be as follows:
| Regions | Sowing seedlings | Ground landing |
| Southern | late February - early March | April - early May |
| Central | March - beginning of April | second half of May |
| Northern (Siberia, Ural) | second half of April | May - early June |
Plant development cycle
To understand when it is better to plant a cucumber from seeds, you should understand how and in what time the plant develops.
The development of a young cucumber includes the following stages:
- sowing seed;
- appearance of the first entry (about a week after sowing);
- formation of the first full sheet (after 7 more days);
- appearance of subsequent leaves (on average every other week);
- beginning of flowering (approximately on the 30th day from the moment the entrances appear).
Important! The cucumber is quite capricious and does not tolerate transplants, so it is best to plant the seeds immediately in peat pots. This method gives two advantages at once - young plants will not need to be removed, and the pot material will serve as an additional nutrient medium for young shoots.
Lunar gardener calendar
To understand when planting cucumbers for seedlings and greenhouses will be most effective in 2024, it is worth analyzing the lunar calendar, also called the gardener's calendar.
Important! The most favorable period for sowing and planting is the new moon and the periods of the growing moon.
Sowing and planting cucumbers is usually carried out between February and June:
| Month | Descending | New Moon | Growing | Full Moon | Descending |
| February | 1 - 9 | 10 | 11 - 23 | 24 | 25 - 29 |
| March | 1 - 9 | 10 | 11 - 24 | 25 | 26 - 31 |
| April | 1 - 7 | 8 | 9 - 23 | 24 | 25 - 30 |
| May | 1 - 7 | 8 | 9 - 22 | 23 | 24 - 31 |
| June | 1 - 5 | 6 | 7 - 21 | 22 | 23 - 30 |
Another option is to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse in 2024, taking into account the signs of the Zodiac that patronize this or that day of the month.
- favorable: Cancer, Scorpio, Taurus, Pisces;
- neutral: Libra, Capricorn;
- unfavorable: Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius, Aries, Leo;
- the most unfavorable is Aquarius.
The summer resident's classic calendar recommends focusing on the following dates for planting cucumbers in 2024:
| Month | Auspicious days | Bad days |
| February | 2, 3, 7, 8, 11, 12, 15, 16, 19-21, 24-26, 29 | 4-6, 14, 18, 27 |
| March | 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 13, 14, 18, 19, 22-24, 27-29 | 4, 7, 12, 15, 16, 20, 26, 31 |
| April | 1-3, 6, 7, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19, 20, 24, 25, 29, 30 | 5, 8, 9, 16, 18, 21, 28, 29 |
| May | 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, 13, 16-18, 21, 22, 26, 27, 30, 31 | 5, 9, 12, 15, 19, 25, 26 |
| June | 3, 4, 8, 9, 12-14, 17-19, 22, 23, 26, 27 | 5, 7, 8, 11, 15, 20, 21, 25 |
| July | 1, 2, 5, 6, 10, 11, 15, 16, 19-21, 24, 25, 28, 29 | 7, 8, 12, 13, 30 |
Useful tips
In order for the seeds to germinate well, and the seedlings to be strong and well received, experienced gardeners recommend following these tips:
- it is better to sow seeds in warm soil;
- if you plan to sow seeds in open ground, use a greenhouse (the film will protect young shoots from possible night cold snaps);
- use peat pots to grow seedlings;
- water young plants with warm water (23-28℃);
- the higher the air temperature, the more often it is worth feeding the seedlings;
- alternate mineral and organic top dressing (important not to overdo it);
- hilling up a young bush will allow the plant to create a more powerful root system;
- keep the crop rotation in the beds, planting cucumbers where cabbage, tomatoes, potatoes, beets or peas grew last year.
Important! Cucumbers do not grow well in beds where pumpkins were previously planted. If this important condition is not taken into account, you may face constant diseases and low yields of cucumbers.
Whether you will use a greenhouse and a greenhouse or plan to grow cucumbers in the open field, take care of the structures for tying the vines. So the plants will be better ventilated and get sick less, and it will be much more convenient to harvest.
