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Cucumbers

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When to plant cucumbers

Sow outdoors once soil is warm (about 18 °C), or start in pots three to four weeks earlier; they dislike root disturbance.

Photo: H. Zell, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The rules we use

Frost
Tender: killed by frost. Goes out 1–2 weeks after the average last frost.
Start indoors
3–4 weeks before planting out, or sow directly outside
Soil warm enough
Weekly mean around 16°C61°F or more
Heat limit
Average highs above 35°C95°F while it matures (flowers drop)
Days to harvest
About 55 days from sowing in warm weather; longer when it is cool
Picking
About 6 weeks from one planting

General guidance, kept on the cautious side. Varieties differ: check the seed packet. How the dates are worked out.

At a glance

Grows outdoors in
81 of 89 cities
Earliest start (north)
Tampa, January 1
Latest start (north)
Halifax, June 25
Can go in this week
11 cities
No outdoor window
Anchorage, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast, Dublin, Calgary, Edmonton

Cucumbers: city by city

Sorted from the earliest start after midwinter to the latest. Southern-hemisphere cities follow, with their seasons six months on.

Sow indoorsSow or plant outdoorsHarvestFrost seasonToday

Northern hemisphere
TampaFlorida
MiamiFlorida
HonoluluHawaii
OrlandoFlorida
PhoenixArizona
HoustonTexas
JacksonvilleFlorida
San AntonioTexas
New OrleansLouisiana
TucsonArizona
AustinTexas
Los AngelesCalifornia
Las VegasNevada
DallasTexas
CharlestonSouth Carolina
El PasoTexas
San DiegoCalifornia
FresnoCalifornia
BirminghamAlabama
Little RockArkansas
AtlantaGeorgia
MemphisTennessee
Oklahoma CityOklahoma
CharlotteNorth Carolina
TulsaOklahoma
SacramentoCalifornia
NashvilleTennessee
RaleighNorth Carolina
RichmondVirginia
San JoseCalifornia
St. LouisMissouri
LouisvilleKentucky
BaltimoreMaryland
Kansas CityMissouri
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia
AlbuquerqueNew Mexico
CincinnatiOhio
PhiladelphiaPennsylvania
IndianapolisIndiana
ColumbusOhio
PittsburghPennsylvania
OmahaNebraska
Des MoinesIowa
New YorkNew York
ClevelandOhio
MinneapolisMinnesota
Salt Lake CityUtah
DetroitMichigan
ChicagoIllinois
BostonMassachusetts
DenverColorado
MadisonWisconsin
FargoNorth Dakota
BoiseIdaho
MilwaukeeWisconsin
MontrealQuebec
BuffaloNew York
TorontoOntario
OttawaOntario
BurlingtonVermont
PortlandMaine
BillingsMontana
PortlandOregon
WinnipegManitoba
SpokaneWashington
San FranciscoCalifornia
LondonEngland
VancouverBritish Columbia
SeattleWashington
CardiffWales
ManchesterEngland
BristolEngland
HalifaxNova Scotia
Southern hemisphere
BrisbaneQueensland
SydneyNew South Wales
PerthWestern Australia
AdelaideSouth Australia
MelbourneVictoria
AucklandNew Zealand
CanberraAustralian Capital Territory
HobartTasmania

Swipe sideways to see the whole year →

Dates

CitySow indoorsSow outdoorsHarvest
Tampa Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Miami Florida–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Honolulu Hawaii–Jan 1 – Dec 31Jan 1 – Dec 31
Orlando FloridaJan 6 – Jan 26Jan 27 – Jan 5Jan 1 – Dec 31
Phoenix ArizonaJan 29 – Feb 25, Aug 31 – Sep 21Feb 26 – Apr 11, Sep 28 – Oct 12Nov 8 – Jan 18, Apr 20 – Jun 30
Houston TexasFeb 2 – Mar 1Mar 2 – Oct 12Apr 25 – Dec 27
Jacksonville FloridaFeb 3 – Mar 2Mar 3 – Oct 31Apr 26 – Mar 21
San Antonio TexasFeb 5 – Mar 4Mar 5 – Jun 1, Aug 3 – Oct 1Apr 26 – Aug 20, Sep 11 – Dec 2
New Orleans LouisianaFeb 7 – Mar 6Mar 7 – Oct 12Apr 29 – Jan 7
Tucson ArizonaFeb 12 – Mar 11Mar 12 – Apr 22, Aug 30 – Oct 3May 4 – Jul 11, Oct 8 – Dec 8
Austin TexasFeb 14 – Mar 13Mar 14 – Jun 3, Aug 3 – Sep 29May 4 – Aug 22, Sep 11 – Dec 2
Los Angeles CaliforniaFeb 21 – Mar 20Mar 21 – Nov 28May 23 – Apr 18
Las Vegas NevadaFeb 24 – Mar 23Mar 24 – May 1, Sep 9 – Sep 21May 13 – Jul 20, Oct 18 – Nov 21
Dallas TexasFeb 26 – Mar 25Mar 26 – May 30, Jul 31 – Sep 22May 15 – Aug 18, Sep 8 – Nov 26
Charleston South CarolinaMar 2 – Mar 29Mar 30 – Sep 25May 20 – Dec 6
El Paso TexasMar 4 – Mar 31Apr 1 – May 4, Jul 26 – Sep 17May 21 – Jul 23, Sep 3 – Nov 18
San Diego CaliforniaMar 4 – Mar 31Apr 1 – Nov 9Jun 4 – Mar 30
Fresno CaliforniaMar 10 – Apr 6Apr 7 – May 18, Aug 25 – Sep 17May 29 – Aug 6, Oct 3 – Nov 19
Birmingham AlabamaMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Sep 9May 28 – Nov 10
Little Rock ArkansasMar 11 – Apr 7Apr 8 – Sep 9May 27 – Nov 9
Atlanta GeorgiaMar 14 – Apr 10Apr 11 – Sep 6May 31 – Nov 7
Memphis TennesseeMar 16 – Apr 12Apr 13 – Sep 8May 31 – Nov 11
Oklahoma City OklahomaMar 17 – Apr 13Apr 14 – Jun 13, Jul 14 – Sep 3Jun 1 – Nov 1
Charlotte North CarolinaMar 18 – Apr 14Apr 15 – Sep 2Jun 3 – Nov 2
Tulsa OklahomaMar 20 – Apr 16Apr 17 – Jun 21, Jul 12 – Sep 4Jun 4 – Nov 3
Sacramento CaliforniaMar 21 – Apr 17Apr 18 – Sep 13Jun 9 – Nov 18
Nashville TennesseeMar 22 – Apr 18Apr 19 – Sep 2Jun 6 – Nov 2
Raleigh North CarolinaMar 23 – Apr 19Apr 20 – Sep 2Jun 8 – Nov 3
Richmond VirginiaMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Aug 31Jun 12 – Nov 3
San Jose CaliforniaMar 28 – Apr 24Apr 25 – Sep 17Jun 21 – Dec 2
St. Louis MissouriMar 31 – Apr 27Apr 28 – Aug 26Jun 13 – Oct 25
Louisville KentuckyMar 31 – Apr 27Apr 28 – Aug 28Jun 14 – Oct 30
Baltimore MarylandApr 3 – Apr 30May 1 – Aug 28Jun 17 – Oct 31
Kansas City MissouriApr 3 – Apr 30May 1 – Aug 25Jun 17 – Oct 25
Washington District of ColumbiaApr 4 – May 1May 2 – Aug 28Jun 18 – Oct 31
Albuquerque New MexicoApr 5 – May 2May 3 – Aug 26Jun 18 – Oct 27
Cincinnati OhioApr 6 – May 3May 4 – Aug 22Jun 21 – Oct 24
Philadelphia PennsylvaniaApr 10 – May 7May 8 – Aug 25Jun 24 – Oct 28
Indianapolis IndianaApr 11 – May 8May 9 – Aug 20Jun 25 – Oct 22
Columbus OhioApr 12 – May 9May 10 – Aug 19Jun 26 – Oct 21
Pittsburgh PennsylvaniaApr 14 – May 11May 12 – Aug 17Jun 29 – Oct 20
Omaha NebraskaApr 15 – May 12May 13 – Aug 16Jun 28 – Oct 17
Des Moines IowaApr 16 – May 13May 14 – Aug 14Jun 30 – Oct 16
New York New YorkApr 18 – May 15May 16 – Aug 21Jul 2 – Oct 27
Cleveland OhioApr 20 – May 17May 18 – Aug 15Jul 5 – Oct 19
Minneapolis MinnesotaApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Aug 6Jul 7 – Oct 9
Salt Lake City UtahApr 23 – May 20May 21 – Jun 14, Jul 13 – Aug 17Jul 6 – Oct 17
Detroit MichiganApr 24 – May 21May 22 – Aug 11Jul 9 – Oct 15
Chicago IllinoisApr 25 – May 22May 23 – Aug 12Jul 10 – Oct 16
Boston MassachusettsApr 27 – May 24May 25 – Aug 13Jul 12 – Oct 17
Denver ColoradoApr 28 – May 25May 26 – Aug 7Jul 11 – Oct 7
Madison WisconsinApr 30 – May 27May 28 – Aug 4Jul 16 – Oct 9
Fargo North DakotaApr 30 – May 27May 28 – Jul 29Jul 14 – Sep 29
Boise IdahoMay 1 – May 28May 29 – Aug 13Jul 16 – Oct 14
Milwaukee WisconsinMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Aug 6Jul 18 – Oct 11
Montreal QuebecMay 2 – May 29May 30 – Aug 1Jul 19 – Oct 5
Buffalo New YorkMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Aug 6Jul 22 – Oct 13
Toronto OntarioMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Aug 4Jul 20 – Oct 8
Ottawa OntarioMay 4 – May 31Jun 1 – Jul 28Jul 22 – Oct 1
Burlington VermontMay 8 – Jun 4Jun 5 – Aug 2Jul 25 – Oct 8
Portland MaineMay 8 – Jun 4Jun 5 – Jul 31Jul 26 – Oct 7
Billings MontanaMay 9 – Jun 5Jun 6 – Jul 31Jul 23 – Oct 2
Portland OregonMay 11 – Jun 7Jun 8 – Aug 5Aug 2 – Oct 17
Winnipeg ManitobaMay 12 – Jun 8Jun 9 – Jul 19Jul 29 – Sep 21
Spokane WashingtonMay 13 – Jun 9Jun 10 – Jul 28Jul 30 – Oct 1
San Francisco CaliforniaMay 14 – Jun 10Jun 11 – Sep 2Aug 24 – Nov 30
London EnglandMay 17 – Jun 13Jun 14 – Jul 24Aug 12 – Oct 15
Vancouver British ColumbiaMay 17 – Jun 13Jun 14 – Jul 24Aug 12 – Oct 7
Seattle WashingtonMay 21 – Jun 17Jun 18 – Jul 26Aug 17 – Oct 12
Cardiff WalesMay 26 – Jun 22Jun 23 – Jul 15Aug 30 – Oct 14
Manchester EnglandMay 27 – Jun 17Jun 24 – Jul 8Sep 3 – Oct 7
Bristol EnglandMay 27 – Jun 23Jun 24 – Jul 14Sep 1 – Oct 13
Halifax Nova ScotiaMay 28 – Jun 24Jun 25 – Jul 25Aug 19 – Oct 6
Brisbane QueenslandJul 26 – Aug 22Aug 23 – Jun 18Jan 1 – Dec 31
Sydney New South WalesAug 25 – Sep 21Sep 22 – Apr 17Nov 22 – Sep 5
Perth Western AustraliaAug 30 – Sep 26Sep 27 – May 12Nov 25 – Sep 30
Adelaide South AustraliaSep 15 – Oct 12Oct 13 – Mar 15Dec 11 – Jun 12
Melbourne VictoriaOct 5 – Nov 1Nov 2 – Mar 2Jan 2 – May 29
Auckland New ZealandOct 16 – Nov 12Nov 13 – Mar 7Jan 12 – Jun 10
Canberra Australian Capital TerritoryOct 20 – Nov 16Nov 17 – Feb 11Jan 12 – Apr 30
Hobart TasmaniaDec 4 – Dec 22Jan 1 – Jan 12Mar 21 – Apr 22
Anchorage AlaskaSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Birmingham EnglandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edinburgh ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Glasgow ScotlandSummers are too cool for a reliable outdoor crop. Grow it in a greenhouse or polytunnel.
Belfast Northern IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Dublin IrelandNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Calgary AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.
Edmonton AlbertaNo outdoor window passes all the checks here; grow it under cover or try a specialist variety.

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