How to Pick Cucumbers

Determining when Cucumbers are Ripe

Search for the cucumber seed packet or plant tag. There, you can see how many days after germination your cucumbers should be ready to harvest and how long your particular cucumbers should grow. This will give you a rough time frame of when to be on the lookout for ripe cucumbers. If you can't locate the seed packet, or bought your seedlings from a garden center and don't know exactly when they germinated, there are other ways to tell when your cucumbers are ripe. Most cucumbers are ready to harvest about 50-70 days after germination.

Look for female flowers appearing on the vine. Cucumbers have separate male and female flowers, and the first flowers to appear are male, not female flowers. Female flowers have a cucumber-shaped swelling at the stem end of the flower. This is what will grow into the fruit.After the female flower appears, it will only take 8-10 days for a cucumber to grow to a mature size. Cucumbers become bitter and develop tough skins and seeds if left on the vine too long.

Check the length of your growing cucumbers. Depending on the variety of cucumber, they will be ripe at different lengths. Remember that cucumbers grow rapidly with plenty of water, so keep an eye on emerging baby cucumbers every day.. As well, the more frequently you find and remove ripe cucumbers, the more cucumbers the vine will produce. Regular slicing cucumbers are ready when they are about 6 inches (15 cm) to 8 inches (20 cm) long. Harvest dills are ready at 4 inches (10 cm) to 6 inches (15 cm) long, and pickling cucumbers at 2 inches (5.1 cm) long. Large burpless cucumbers are ready at about 10 inches (25 cm), and some types are even longer.

Look for cucumbers that are firm and a medium to dark green color. To check firmness, gently squeeze the cucumbers. Also, keep in mind that the ultimate color of the cucumber might depend on the variety you are growing. Some kinds of cucumbers may have a yellow or even whitish hue. Consulting your seed packet may be helpful for determining the proper color of your ripe cucumber.

Harvesting Ripe Cucumbers

Cut above the cucumber .25 inches (0.64 cm) to 1 inch (2.5 cm) from the vine. Support the cucumber with your other hand. If the cucumber falls, it will become bruised. Some people grab and twist the fruit off with their hands, but this can damage the plant. Wear a pair of gloves to protect your hands from the cucumber’s prickly spines. Be sure to handle burpless cucumbers carefully, as they have thin skins and bruise easily.

Decide what you want to use your cucumbers for. Slicing cucumbers are best used in salads and sandwiches. Pickling cucumbers can be used to make pickles for snacks later. European cucumbers are meant for fresh eating. You can also search for ideas online on how to incorporate fresh cucumbers into a variety of dishes.

Store or refrigerate cucumbers as necessary. Refrigerated cucumbers should be wrapped in plastic or stored in a zipper bag. This helps them retain moisture and stay crisp. Pickling and slicing cucumbers will keep in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days. Hothouse cucumbers can stay in the refrigerator for 1 to 2 days, though the temperature can’t be too low or they will freeze and turn soft. Pickled cucumbers will be edible for up to 1 year.