How to Plant a Cucumber in a Container Garden

Overview

Container gardens are designed to take advantage of limited space by using less space than a traditional vegetable garden. Container gardens are grown on window ledges, patios, balconies and doorsteps. If a plant does not grow well in one location, then move the container to another site. Cucumbers can grow in a container garden. There is a large variety of cucumbers that include tiny cucumbers and large cucumbers. Most cucumbers are ready for harvest in 70 to 80 days. This subtropical plant needs hot weather to produce cucumbers for pickling or slicing.

Step 1

Wash a 5-gallon or larger container with hot soapy water. Rinse the plant pot with 1 part bleach and 9 parts water. This eliminates any insect pests and plant diseases hiding in the container.

Step 2

Mix together 3 parts potting soil with 1 part well rotted manure or compost. Add 1/2 cup of 5-10-10 slow-release fertilizer to the soil. Cucumbers are heavy feeders and need large amounts of organic material.

Step 3

Fill the container with your soil mixture, leaving 5 inches of space at the top. Place a 4- to 6-foot piece of trellis in the middle of the container, pushing it down through the soil to the bottom. Most cucumber varieties need a support in order to grow vertically.

Step 4

Dig 4 to 5 holes at the same depth as the cucumber seedling rootball with a hand trowel. Place the cucumber roots in the hole, and gently firm the soil around the seedling with your fingers. Plant the rest of the seedlings in the container.

Step 5

Fill the container with water and continue adding water until it runs out the bottom of the plant pot. Move the cucumber container to an area that receives full sun.