Cucumber
Cucumis sativus L.
Botanical family: Cucurbitaceae
Native to India (grown for 3000 years), the cucumber (Cucumis sativus) belongs to the great Cucurbitaceae family along with squash, courgette, and melon. Varieties to choose: for the greenhouse (long Dutch types), for open ground (Marketmore, Tanja), for gherkins (Vert petit de Paris). Harvest 60-80 days after sowing, continuously to stimulate production.
Full sun
Light, humus-rich
Regular
Frost-tender annual: damaged from -0.5 to -1 °C, it is planted outdoors once the temperature stays above 12 °C
An annual killed by frost in your zone
The same plant bears male and female flowers, pollinated by insects; all-female greenhouse varieties fruit without pollination
One plant is enough for a crop
Role in permaculture
A trailing cucurbit cross-pollinated by bees and bumblebees. Sow in pots in April or in place after mid-May; staking is essential beyond 1 m. Prone to leaf spot and downy mildew in late summer, water at the base only, mulch abundantly, space plants 60-80 cm apart.
Good companions
Attract pollinators and beneficial insects
Suppress some soil nematodes (dense planting, before the crop)
Trap plants (variable effect, need watching)
Traditional companion planting (benefit not demonstrated)
Poor companions
Same family: shared diseases and pests
Traditional avoidance (antagonism not demonstrated)
Insects attracted or useful
Known pests & diseases
Pests and diseases that commonly affect this plant, tap to learn how to recognise and manage them.
Seasons & availability
A summer vegetable, from June to September.
Available: June, July, August, September.
Guidance for the oceanic / temperate climate; it may vary with your region, altitude, exposure and growing method.
Sources
- RHS, « How to Grow Cucumbers » (rhs.org.uk/vegetables/cucumbers/grow-your-own)
- La Ferme de Sainte Marthe, « Réussir la culture du concombre et du cornichon » (fermedesaintemarthe.com/en/blogs/comment-reussir-la-culture-de/reussir-la-culture-du-concombre-et-du-cornichon)
Nutritional & medicinal properties
For educational purposes. Not a substitute for medical advice. Effects depend on the form, the dose and personal context.
Precautions & contraindications
Low nutritional density compared to green leaves or more colourful vegetables; its interest is mainly for hydration and cooking.
In the kitchen & the apothecary
Where to find cucumber in preparations: recipes and traditional herbal teas.
Recipes
Family behaviour: Cucurbitaceae
In general, Cucurbitaceae are trailing and hungry for organic matter: they need water, warmth and a compost-rich soil. Their large leaves cover the soil and limit evaporation, the role they play in the Three Sisters guild (maize + bean + squash).
Understanding families means learning one rule per family rather than every pairing one by one. Learn more →
Species & varieties
The best-known species and varieties in France.
Common varieties
Voices of peoples
Paraphrases attributed to their documented sources. Never an invented quote.
Pliny the Elder describing the emperor Tiberius · Imperial Rome, 1st century AD
Pliny the Elder reports that the emperor Tiberius was so fond of the cucumber that he wanted to lack it no single day: his gardeners grew the plants on frames mounted on wheels, brought out into the sun and taken back in during cold weather under frames glazed with a transparent stone. It's one of the oldest accounts of a form of forced cultivation under cover. The anecdote, however, comes to us from Pliny's account alone, in which it also illustrates the whims of the powerful.
Pline l'Ancien, Histoire naturelle, livre XIX, chap. 23 (traduction Loeb, Rackham).
A testimony transmitted by Pliny alone, not corroborated by another contemporary source: presented here as an anecdote reported by Pliny rather than as an independently established fact.