Whether recreational gardeners will be able to harvest he althy, crunchy snake cucumbers all summer long depends on how they are grown and cared for. He althy and, above all, hardy young plants create the best starting conditions. This is how the snake cucumber starts from cultivation to care to harvest.
How do you properly care for snake cucumbers?
The correct care of snake cucumbers includes regular watering without waterlogging, watering twice a week, only spraying young plants, repotting with care, pinching out and cutting the side shoots as well as fertilizing and adding minerals if the leaves are yellow.
Water snake cucumbers a little bit every day or a lot once?
Snake cucumbers, like all cucumber plants, are heavy drinkers and react bitterly if they don't get enough water. On the other hand, they cannot tolerate waterlogging. Water snake cucumbers in doses - which of the watering options is correct depends on the type of plant, the soil structure and the weather.
- Drip irrigation
- daily moderate watering
- weekly watering
Extensive watering is important for the first 2 weeks after planting snake cucumbers to activate root formation. After that, depending on the weather and soil, twice a week is enough.
- Water twice a week
- Avoid waterlogging
- Only spray young plants
Take your time when repotting
If the snake cucumber seedlings get too big, sort out the weak ones and transplant the robust ones into peat pots. As soon as the young plants are 10 centimeters high, you can repot them in the greenhouse (€247.00 on Amazon) or outdoors, depending on the season and weather. Important: Repotting takes some time. Because mistakes, such as root injuries, cannot be repaired.
You can grow or refine snake cucumbers yourself or purchase grafted snake cucumber plants from specialist retailers. These are resistant to soil germs and mildew. Like these snake cucumber varieties:
- Midios
- Sudica
- Printo
Stripping and cutting – how do you do it right?
Climbing snake cucumber plants grow without limits. Unless you cut the cucumber plants or show them the direction with a suitable cucumber climbing aid. We recommend pinching out the side shoots between the leaf axils. You can cut the shoots both in width and height so that the plant compacts and concentrates its strength on abundant fruit production.
Diseases and pests of snake cucumbers
Dangerous cucumbers Diseases and pests that also affect snake cucumbers and what you can do about them.
Too many yellow leaves – what to do?
If yellow leaves and pale green become prevalent on snake cucumbers, this is a clear indication of dryness or mineral deficiency. Fertilization and additional mineral additions ensure fresh greenery.
Tips & Tricks
We eat around 3.3 kg of fresh cucumbers per nose in Germany every year. Seen this way, growing snake cucumbers in your own garden is worthwhile - family, friends and neighbors appreciate and enjoy the 1 A organic quality.
