Seeding: Come May 1st, here on Whidbey Island we start cucumbers and summer squash seeds in 2” pots in our greenhouse on heat mats set at 75 degrees. Sowing indoors allows us to get plants growing when the outdoor soil is still too cold, while also giving these crops a head start on the pests and weeds. If you don’t have a heat mat or greenhouse, a bright, warm window ledge should suffice. If you’d like to direct-sow cucumbers and squash, wait until the soil is at least 60 degrees, ideally a bit warmer.
Placing and Spacing: When cucurbits have filled out their 2” pot, we plant cucumbers outside spaced one foot apart and the squash between 18” and two feet apart, depending on type. Intuitively, summer squash require less room than giant vining winter squash. Both crops love full sun. We prefer growing long Asian and English cucumbers on trellising in the greenhouse to keep them straight and easy to pick, but you don’t have to.
Harvesting: To my serious chagrin, we need to harvest these crops every other day to get ‘em in their prime eating state. If you don’t mind a giant zucchini boat or slightly suboptimal cucumbers, you can get away with picking less frequently. CSA members, grocery store customers and chefs prefer these speedy growers small and firm, so at least two months of our summer our lower backs are feeling the burn as we fill bin after bin of these tasty fruits.