In this video, I share how to start cucumber, squash and melon plants from seed the RIGHT way! Many gardeners make critical mistakes starting these plants from seed. Please, DO NOT plant cucumbers, squash or melons before watching this! It could save your harvest.
These videos help make growing squash, melons and cucumbers easier:
• How To Start Seeds: https://youtu.be/PCGZ5wp8_kY?si=krgyG5XqE8bFhmr4
• How To Transplant Seedlings: https://youtu.be/GBp81ZZ9Ops?si=rO_aMYKI_NM8m7VN
• Growing Cucumbers: https://youtu.be/lKc-HVDWkcs?si=DTh5yPbEWZZ9Mrgw
•• Some of my favorite seeds can be purchased** here:
Cucumber ‘Merlin’: https://fxo.co/Iz4s
Cucumber ‘Party Time’: https://fxo.co/Iz4t
Cucumber ‘Crispy Crunchy’: https://tomatogrowers.com/products/crispy-crunchy-hybrid
Cucumber ‘H19 Little Leaf’: https://www.jungseed.com/product/J02005/522
Cucumber ‘Iznik’: https://www.jungseed.com/product/J02019/522
Cantaloupe ‘Honey Rock’: https://amzlink.to/az0GTSHsIC8Db
Melon ‘Kajari’: https://www.rareseeds.com/melon-kajari
Zucchini ‘Dunja’: https://tomatogrowers.com/products/dunja-hybrid
Zucchini ‘Sanabria’: https://www.jungseed.com/product/J03571/573
Squash ‘Tromboncino/Rampicante’: https://amzlink.to/az0kuYRW1plFf
Squash ‘Seminole Pumpkin’: https://amzlink.to/az0dmLlYyjAlJ
•• I use the following products* to grow cucumbers, squash and melons:
4FT LED Grow Light (60W): https://amzlink.to/az0V6hbDTqDNP
Seedling Heat Mat: https://amzlink.to/az071jOYOileE
Seedling Heat Mat & Thermostat Kit: https://amzlink.to/az0w0n9cO7SRH
Grow Bags (Black): https://amzlink.to/az0UDaVzkSLWi
Grow Bags (Tan): https://amzlink.to/az02kBaExY5sL
Pruning Snips: https://amzlink.to/az0S6BULZGPmi
Thicker Row Cover, 1.5oz/yd, 10x30FT: https://amzlink.to/az09JmFkSWHQS
Watering Wand: https://amzlink.to/az0O3ZfEhftZ8
Weed Barrier: https://amzlink.to/az08ZicLmCqRc
Shade Cloth: https://amzlink.to/az01boLJy9JNI
Insect Netting: https://amzlink.to/az0ZdeiIJWHMw
Alaska Fish Fertilizer [5-1-1] (Gallon): https://amzlink.to/az0Jhw8liNoe3
True Organic All Purpose Fertilizer [5-4-5]: https://amzlink.to/az0lVAel6Wss7
Espoma PlantTone [5-3-3] (36lb): https://amzlink.to/az0gylQKIH3hO
Espoma PlantTone [5-3-3] (50lb): https://amzlink.to/az0dh0dYaye1l
Espoma Bone Meal (10lb): https://amzlink.to/az0KAuCOZcPgQ
True Organic Blood Meal (3lbs): https://amzlink.to/az0jNeCruTl6a
Azomite Trace Minerals (44lb): https://amzlink.to/az0qPn4i34Eol
Jack’s All Purpose [20-20-20] (1.5lb): https://amzlink.to/az0JG0Dv6Da0h
Jack’s All Purpose [20-20-20] (25lb): https://amzlink.to/az0F6FgxdhKjO
Jack’s Blossom Booster [10-30-20] (25lb): https://amzlink.to/az08lv7ZJFnUu
•• Full Amazon Store: https://amzlink.to/az0yli4Cz0iXX
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
0:56 Don’t Plant Cucurbits Like This!
2:10 The Seed Starting MISTAKE Everyone Makes
3:45 Why Your Cucumber, Squash And Melon Plants Are Dying
6:50 Seed Starting And Transplanting Schedule
8:11 Succession Planting: The Key To Big Harvests
10:57 My Favorite Cucumber Varieties
12:55 My Favorite Squash Varieties
14:56 My Favorite Melon Varieties
16:39 Adventures With Dale
If you have any questions about how to grow cucumbers, how to grow zucchini and other squash or how to grow melons, growing a vegetable garden at home, how to grow fruit trees or the things I grow in my raised bed vegetable garden and edible landscaping food forest, please ask in the Comments below!
*******
MY WEBSITE
https://www.themillennialgardener.com/
*******
VISIT MY AMAZON STORE FOR PRODUCTS I USE MOST OFTEN IN MY GARDEN*
https://amzlink.to/az0yli4Cz0iXX
*******
CUSTOM MERCH!
https://shop.spreadshirt.com/themillennialgardener
*******
SUBSCRIBE TO MY 2ND CHANNEL!
https://www.youtube.com/c/2MinuteGardenTips
*******
SOCIAL MEDIA
→ INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/millennialgardener/
→ X (@NCGardening) https://x.com/NCGardening
*******
ABOUT MY GARDEN
Location: Southeastern NC, Brunswick County (Wilmington area)
Zone 8B, 34.1°N Latitude
*******
*As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
© The Millennial Gardener
#gardening #garden #seedstarting #vegetablegardening #vegetablegarden
35 Comments
If you enjoyed this video, please LIKE it and SHARE it with family and friends! TIMESTAMPS here:
0:00 Introduction
0:56 Don't Plant Cucurbits Like This!
2:10 The Seed Starting MISTAKE Everyone Makes
3:45 Why Your Cucumber, Squash And Melon Plants Are Dying
6:50 Seed Starting And Transplanting Schedule
8:11 Succession Planting: The Key To Big Harvests
10:57 My Favorite Cucumber Varieties
12:55 My Favorite Squash Varieties
14:56 My Favorite Melon Varieties
16:39 Adventures With Dale
Thank you for permitting me to plant my tomatoes. Tried 100 ways to get info on 40°+ vs frost freeze so I could plant.
I'm growing my pepper plants in a plant terrarium .
Above 50 tonight In East Tennessee . So far so Good .
Damn you would be so proud of my fig trees . I added some new types of Fig trees to my garden .
I think I'm going to try spaghetti squash this year . Zucchini sounds good too .
Thanks brother ❤❤❤
I'll be growing 4 types of pumpkin this year. The trust white custard for another year now. Brought in a few new kinds like butternut (both fot myself to eat and to serve as chicken feed :), muscat de province and the last one I can't get the name off from the top of my head
Sowing cucumers too. Amongst the last of seeds going in for the very mild zone 8b
The high temperatures rn (consistent 14-18c for 2 weeks already) made all seedlings grow way faster than im used to… Need to uppot most already.. while i normally just directly uppot or plant them outside in april. Its never been so warm so long here in late feb and early March
My Sun Gold Tomato survived all year. The tomatoes that fell off have regenerated and growing under my existing plant. I am in So. Calif. so that helps. I have never had a tomato last this long. Happy Spring everyone.
You didn't comment about the bay laurel that was in the video. Very cool plant. Not a common thing to see in gardens but we have a large tree in the front yard. Great thing to have.
TOO LATE! I planted mine 6 months ago. 😱
(TBF, I'm in the Southern Hemisphere 🤪)
Good scratches for our very good boi Dale 🐕❤
Im in the Triad area of NC. I appreciate having you as a resource.
Excellent video today!
You will love the Seminole they are very tasty as well
I have always direct seeded cucumbers with good results.
Virginia zone 7a
I live in Ohio. How do I find out our last frost date? Our weather is all over the board!
Ooops. I've planted seeds of cukes and aquash directly into soil March 1st. Cukes starting to show. I'll try to proctect them from frost.
I direct seed my squash and cucumbers or melon. I have a long enough growing season.
If you haven’t already, you should try the variety Gherking (with a g at the end). This was the 1st big success I ever had with cucumbers. I had no idea they were parthenocarpic and was pleasantly surprised with how much production I got. Great pickling cucumbers, but good in salads too. I’m also 8b coastal NC, so they should do well in Wilmington.
Braise yourself with the Seminole pumpkin. They are nearly bulletproof, but only plant a couple and give them LOTS of space. I only planted 3 last year and I still have 9. I think I got abt 25.
There's a study that shows that you have to wait until the coldest temperatures are above 60° to plant cucumbers.
"This year, we challenged the cucumbers by planting them in end of March. Wilt was observed following a night with average soil temperature about 55°F. Soil temperatures continued to drop to 48°F on the following day that eventually killed all of the cucumber plants. In another situation, we lost 90% plants following two nights with average soil temperatures at 58 and 54°F"
I made the mistake of planting cucumbers when temperatures were still below 60° and they all died. Wasted 4 weeks that year.
Dale…Don't stop Dad!
lol. I don’t think it’s catastrophic. It’s definitely not a good idea to start them early but it’s not detrimental. They grow so fast that you can always just start them again if they fail. I’ve made the mistake of planting them out too early and I just simply restarted them 🤷🏽♀️.
Another video that could have been a short, and should have been. I'm done wasting time with this channel, every video feels like a milk for time to feed the algorithm
I wasn't planning on planting vines for another 2-3 months.
Just Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplants seeded on February 31st as well, heat mat and grow light… should see babies soon!
Once again- great (inspiring) information. Love the Dale part of the video, too! ♥♥♥♥
Great video, as always. Starting my cold-sown tomatoes today, a bit late but it will all work out. Got a question: is it too soon for me to put my seed potatoes out in their grow bags?
3 – 4 weeks? Shoot with my limited space and the container size I have to start a cucurbit it's more like 10 – 14 days and then they HAVE to be outside, and it's such a short time period it's just not worth it. The only thing I can do is start these outside on a table if it's the case I just can't get them into the ground at the moment but nighttime temps are at the lowest in their upper 50s and getting into the 80s during the day. For us that's mid Apr. so it makes no sense to start indoors. I just get too much growth too fast and it overwhelms the space I have. Add to that it's best to hit these with full sun right away unlike tomatoes and peppers.
Do you save the seeds from the crops you grow to plant the next year
My Seminole pumpkins succumbed to squash vine borers before I got any fruit here in North Texas. Will try again this year with netting.
Cucumbers: direct seed and thin to stand. Much simpler and effective.
Truly excellent advice. You really hit all the key points. There's no rush to get those curcurbits into the ground quickly, because they're really not going to do much of anything until the weather starts to get consistently warm. And they always crap out pretty quickly, so section planning is a great idea. Maybe i'll even get it together to do that for the first time this season.
I'm also considering trying overwintering some pepper plants to get them going more quickly the following season, that sounds like a fun experiment, and it would be great to have some peppers earlier.
My tomato plants popped up just last night. I'm looking forward to nursing them along, and also finding some folks to share them with, because i'll have far too many seedlings to plant them all. And also watched your video review of tomato varieties last year, and my purple rosella seeds just came thursday, that's the variety i'm most excited to give it a try based on your reviews.
I'm curious whether you've ever tried better boy tomatoes. I always grow some of those as my main stay. Reliable, excellent flavor, because they're middle middle, not too big not too small, so you get a good sized crop, in the first flush of them ripen during the part of the summer where they get enough sun to get really sweet, up here in new england, once the sun starts to get lower in the sky, the tomatoes you harvest in early september, while still good, don't have the knee buckling deliciousness that an august tomato has.
I tell people that cucumbers have a fibrous cell stem system that when it gets cold, the cells explode. I sowed some zucchini and cucumbers Wednesday. They r already popping up. They r on heat.
Manny is another fantastic variety. I've had some nodes produce 3 cucumbers at a time. Make good pickles since small seed cavity