Cucumber
Cucumis sativus
Spring and autumn direct-sown crops; downy mildew is what usually ends them here.
When to plant in Washington
Cucumber is planted more than once a year here. Both windows are shown below and labelled; they are two separate plantings, not one long one, and the months between them are not part of either.
- Direct sow · MarchOpens in 21 weeks
March 1, 2027 – April 30, 2027
UF/IFAS North Florida planting dates: March to April.
- Direct sow · AugustOpens in 43 weeks
August 1, 2027 – September 30, 2027
UF/IFAS North Florida planting dates: August to September.
- Harvest · SeptemberOpen now
September 10, 2026 – December 4, 2026
Derived, not published as a window by the guide: the August to September planting plus the guide's 40–65 days to harvest from sowing.
- Harvest · AprilOpens in 27 weeks
April 10, 2027 – July 4, 2027
Derived, not published as a window by the guide: the March to April planting plus the guide's 40–65 days to harvest from sowing.
Growing it
- Days to maturity
- 40–65
- Sun
- Full Sun
Cucumbers are direct sown after frost risk has passed and again in late summer. In the humid Gulf Coast summer, downy mildew arrives reliably and is normally what finishes a planting, so the autumn sowing is planned as a separate crop rather than as insurance.
From the guide: UF/IFAS gives the North Florida planting dates for this crop as March to April, and again August to September. It gives 40–65 days from seed to harvest, 6–12 inches apart in rows 48 inches apart, sown ½–¾ in. deep. On the crop itself it says: Two types: slicers and picklers. Many hybrids are gynoecious (female flowering; only female flowers set fruit). Bees are required for pollination.
Where these dates come from: the North Florida column of the UF/IFAS Extension Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide (SP 103/VH021), which defines North Florida as everything above State Road 40. Walton County is well inside it, and the Central and South Florida columns of the same table give different months. The guide is written for home and market gardens, so its spacing and days-to-harvest figures are a starting point for a field planting rather than a commercial schedule, and days to harvest varies by variety.
Common problems
- Downy mildew
- Powdery mildew
- Pickleworm
- Cucumber beetles
- Angular leaf spot
- Silverleaf whitefly