Can you grow cucumbers in a hot, dry climate? Absolutely.
In this video, I’m sharing exactly how I grow cucumbers in my Arizona garden, even when temperatures soar. From the right planting time and heat-tolerant varieties to trellising, pruning, watering, and avoiding bitterness, you’ll learn what actually works in a desert climate.
00:00 Introduction
00:37 When to plant cucumbers in hot climates
01:12 The best varieties (including my favorite Japanese and Armenian types)
02:10 How to plant cucumbers
02:30 How to prepare the soil before planting
02:38 How to grow cucumbers vertically
03:22 Pollination help and organic pest control
03:42 Watering tips
04:09 Pruning tips for airflow and better production
04:40 Monitoring for pests & disease
05:04 Harvesting and easy ways to use your cucumbers
Resources mentioned:
Planting Guide: https://growinginthegarden.bigcartel.com/product/vegetable-herb-fruit-planting-guide
Cucumber Growing Guide: https://growinginthegarden.com/growing-cucumbers-in-arizona/
How to Prevent & Fix Bitter Cucumbers: https://growinginthegarden.com/how-to-fix-prevent-bitter-cucumbers/
➤ Become a Channel Member
Get access to exclusive videos
https://www.youtube.com/@GrowingInTheGarden/membership
➤ Visit My Website
Gardening tips, blog posts, and resources
https://growinginthegarden.com/
➤ Join the GITG Academy
Monthly classes, deeper dives, and community support
https://www.patreon.com/growinginthegarden
➤ Shop My Planting Guides & Calendars
Planting calendars and helpful guides for desert gardeners
https://growinginthegarden.bigcartel.com/
➤ Sign Up for My Weekly Garden Newsletter
Stay inspired with seasonal tips delivered every Thursday
https://growinginthegarden.com/subscribe/
➤ Amazon Storefront
My favorite garden tools and supplies
https://www.amazon.com/shop/growinginthegarden
➤ Garden Beds & Grids
I use Garden in Minutes beds and watering grids in my own garden
https://glnk.io/koxp5/angela
Use code Angela10 to save $10 off $100
Or code ANGELA for 7% off any size order
➤ Heirloom Roses
See my favorite roses:
Angela's Favorite Rose Bushes
Use code GARDENAZ20 for 20% off through 2025
People say cucumbers won’t grow in the desert, but the first year I tried, I had a bumper crop, and I thought it was easy. Turns out it was just perfect weather. Now I know what really makes the difference. Timing, the variety, and most importantly, how to keep them from turning bitter. Let me show you what actually works in a hot, dry garden. Gardening isn’t always easy. If you want more help like this, like, subscribe, and stick around. I’m Angela from Growing in the Garden. My garden’s in Mesa, Arizona. I want to help you succeed, even if you’re gardening in tough conditions. Growing cucumbers in the heat starts with one thing: timing. Cucumbers don’t love extreme heat. They can turn bitter, stop producing, or just dry up. So, I plant in the warm seasons. In my low desert garden, that means February or early March once the soil hits 60 degrees and again in late August for a fall crop. Some years we get a long mild spring and the plants thrive. Other years the heat comes fast and it’s a struggle. Planting early gives you the best chance at success. Now, what if you want cucumbers in the summer? Armenian cucumbers are your best option. They’re not true cucumbers. Technically, they’re a melon, but they grow like cucumbers, taste like cucumbers, and they love the heat. They don’t turn bitter. They’ll keep producing all summer long, even when it’s 110°. They’ve earned a permanent spot in my summer garden. My favorite variety, painted serpent. When choosing traditional cucumber varieties, look for ones labeled burpless or bitterfree. They have lower levels of kur cubitassin. That’s the compound that causes bitterness. Some of my favorite varieties, Div.A. A burpless variety that’s crisp, mild, and reliable in the heat. Suyol Long, a Japanese cucumber that’s slender, thin skinned, and sweet. Japanese cucumbers in general are mild, crisp, and rarely bitter. Other common varieties like market 76, and pickling types are more likely to become bitter. You can start cucumbers from seed or use transplants. I do both depending on the season. If you’re direct seeding, remember to make sure the soil is warm. 60° is the minimum, but closer to 70 is ideal. Want a head start? Use transplants early in the season while the soil is still warming up. Before planting, I prep my beds with compost and worm castings. Cucumbers are hungry plants. They need fertile, well- draining soil. I grow all my cucumbers vertically using whatever I have. The vines are easy to trellis. I’ve grown them on my arch trelluses, tomato cages, frier trelluses, ladder mesh panels. If it can hold a vine, I use it. Vertical growing saves space, improves air flow, and keeps fruit off the ground, which means fewer pests and straighter cucumbers. [Music] [Laughter] Cucumbers have male and female flowers, and most rely on bees for pollination to set fruit. That’s why I plant flowers nearby to attract pollinators. I’ve never had to handpollinate cucumbers, but if you see female flowers turning yellow and falling off without fruit, lack of pollination might be the reason. If needed, you can handpollinate by transferring pollen from a male to a female flower. Cucumbers need consistent moisture, especially in a hot, dry climate. Letting them dry out stresses them out and can turn them bitter. I use drip irrigation to keep the soil evenly hydrated and mulch to hold in moisture and keep the roots cool. If you’re growing in containers, try adding an oya. It helps the roots access water as needed and keep the soil from drying out too quickly. Let’s talk about pruning. Something I get asked about all the time. Should you prune cucumbers like tomatoes? Not exactly. Cucumbers produce fruit on their side shoots. So, I don’t remove everything, but I do trim suckers that get too wild or start crowding the plant, especially near the base. Light pruning improves air flow, helps prevent issues like powdery mildew. I also remove any yellowing or damaged leaves to keep the plant healthy and productive. What about pests? I mostly deal with aphids, spidermitites, and white flies. Aphids like new growth. Planting near cilantro or dill attracts ladybugs in early spring. They’ll help with the aphids. Spider mites love hot, dry, dusty weather. I spray the leaves with water and prune for air flow. White flies. I thin crowded areas and prune as needed. Once the vines start producing, I check them daily and try to harvest often. Try picking at different stages to see which size you like best. Cucumbers grow fast. They can grow from perfect to overgrown in just a couple of days. This one got away from me. It was hiding behind some vines and I didn’t see it. If they start turning yellow, they’re usually overripe. They can be seedy or bitter. Those are the best ones to save for seeds. If it’s hot outside after harvesting, I dunk them in a bowl full of ice water and get them inside. This cools them quickly and helps them stay crisp longer. For the longest storage life, wrap cucumbers in a dry paper towel and store them in an airtight container in the fridge. Sometimes cucumbers come on all at once. And if you’re harvesting a lot, you might wonder what to do with them all. Besides eating them fresh, I love adding them to salads, cucumber water, chilled dips, even tossing extras into smoothies. Quick refrigerator pickles are a great option. No canning required. If you’ve struggled with cucumbers, don’t give up. Sometimes it’s just the weather or the variety. Make adjustments and try again. Thank you so much for watching. Warm up. Okay. Smiling. Okay. Yeah. Testing. Testing. One, two, three. Curbassen. Kur Q curbatassen. That’s what it is. Qur. Okay.
16 Comments
I want to get your growing calendar, Angela. Help?
Oh wow great info. Here in N Tx I have hot dry climate and pickling and snacking types are my favorite. I’m going to give some of the Japanese varieties a try.
My spider mites couldn’t care less if it’s wet or not. They were flourishing when I we had a wet spring this year. I think they hate me. I fight them 7 days a week. 😢
💚👍
What makes them grow into balls instead of longer cucumbers?
Beautiful garden. I'm in zone 8a, and lost almost all of my cukes this summer due to bitterness and worms. I've learned that BT helps with the latter, but I'[ll consider these tips next season to combat the bitterness.
My English cucumbers produced during the spring, but died off this summer.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my painted serpent Armenian cucumbers this summer. Because they grow so quickly, some of mine became very large before I knew it this year. But even the huge ones were mildly sweet and delicious. Smaller ones tasted more like English cucumbers.
Thank you for this video! It's reassuring to watch this which validates what I've experienced growing cucumbers in our climate.
After trial and error, japanese style and armenian cucumbers do best for me. Rather than purchase starts, I grow them from seed which gives more options for varieties that do better in our climate. I had Suyo Long, Summertop and Sweet Success varieties producing sweet and crisp fruit well into July… until rabbits got into my garden. I grow tomatoes, cucumbers and cantaloupe vertically in raised beds and despite trying to put up barriers to make it too high for them to jump into, the rabbits got in anyway and chewed through the vines at soil level.
When harvesting, I use the ice bath method too but I add 1/4 cup of white vinegar to the ice water and let them soak for about 2-3 minutes before rinsing and refrigerating them. I do the same with lettuce and other leafy greens but only soak for 2 mins. It kills any mold spores which makes them last longer. I monitor the refrigerated cucumbers. If any show signs of mold or softness, I toss the bad one, repeat the vinegar soak again and put back into fridge. This method for storing whole cucumbers has made a huge difference in keeping cucumbers for fresh eating.
When I only use part of a cucumber, a storage trick is to cut the remaining part into parts tall enough to fit into a glass canning jar with canning lid and ring. It keeps the leftover cucumber fresh and crisp for a long time when stored that way.
Varieties that didn't work for me were: Ashley, Bragger Hybrid, Beit Alpha F1, Bush Slicer, Poinsett 76, Supremo Hybrid, Wisconsin SMR 58 Pickling
This is another one of my favorite plants to kill 😂 if I get a single cucumber I am lucky
Thanks, I needed that!
I'm in Las Vegas. I planted Arminian, Lemon, market more cucumbers in march, may and they all dyed off. Heat and I'm guessing some disease. I tried by seed and transplants. I didn't get not one cucumber. I tried with and without shade cloth. I might try again next year.
This is so very helpful as we have struggled in production of cucumbers during the summer here in NY. Thank you for sharing your knowledge 💜.
Did your garden get beat up by that huge haboob a few days ago?
Also how long do you think a pot could go with just a filled olla and no other water? I travel a lot and I can’t do any irrigation in my current situation.
Thank you so much❤
Really helpful information for us in hot 🥵 areas, thanks Angela.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Angela I’m so new to this but I really want to grow my own food can I do cucumbers in a pot since I haven’t put my own roots down and is there miniature varieties