Vegetable
Cucumber
Cucumis sativus · Cucurbitaceae
Also called: Slicing cucumber, Pickling cucumber
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a high-water vegetable well suited to Tucson and the low desert. It thrives in full sun, with a fast growth rate. Expect yellow blooms.
Cucumber at a glance
- Water use
- High (established)
- Sun
- Full sun (6+ hours); benefits from afternoon shade or 30-40% shade cloth in peak Tucson summer heat above 100F
- Mature size
- Vines 3-6 ft long (or trained vertically); bush types stay 2-3 ft. Fruit 6-9 in for slicers, 2-4 in for picklers.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Bloom
- Yellow, Blooms (yellow flowers) about 5-6 weeks after planting; harvest roughly 50-70 days from seed. Spring crop harvests late May-June; fall crop harvests October-November.
- Cold hardiness
- Frost sensitive (warm-season annual); killed by frost. Grows in USDA 9a-9b as a seasonal crop, not overwintered.
- Soil
- Well-drained, loose, fertile soil amended with compost; tolerates Tucson's alkaline soils but prefers pH 6.0-7.0. Raised beds or amended native soil work best.
- Native range
- South Asia (Indian subcontinent); not native to the Sonoran Desert
- Best used as
- Fresh eating / salads, Pickling, Home vegetable garden, Trellis / vertical garden
- Wildlife
- Flowers attract bees and other pollinators essential for fruit set; honey bees and squash bees aid pollination.
- Toxicity
- Non-toxic to humans, dogs, and cats; safe edible vegetable.
How to grow Cucumber in Tucson & the low desert
Watering
Keep soil consistently moist; in Tucson's low desert water deeply 2-3 times per week in spring, daily or twice daily during June-July heat. Drip irrigation and mulch reduce blossom-end issues and bitterness from heat/water stress.
Fertilizer & nutrients
Work compost or balanced fertilizer into the bed at planting; side-dress with nitrogen (e.g., ammonium sulfate, which also helps acidify alkaline desert soil) when vines begin to run and again at first fruit set. Avoid excess nitrogen which favors foliage over fruit.
Pruning & care
Generally not pruned; train on a trellis to save space, improve airflow, and keep fruit straight and off hot ground. Pinch tips only if managing rampant growth.
Notes
Tucson has two planting windows: warm-season spring sow (direct seed) mid-February through April after frost danger passes, and a fall sow mid-August (heat-tolerant varieties). Avoid planting into peak summer; extreme heat (>100F) causes blossom drop, bitterness, and poor set. Provide afternoon shade and mulch heavily. Powdery mildew and squash bugs/cucumber beetles are common; bitter fruit results from heat and water stress. Choose heat-tolerant or burpless varieties (e.g., 'Armenian', 'Poinsett', 'Marketmore').
Sources: University of Arizona Cooperative Extension (Pima County) vegetable planting calendar; Pima County Master Gardeners; AMWUA (Arizona Municipal Water Users Association) plant/landscape guidance