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Small and crunchy, long and nutritious, fresh or pickled - the cucumber is a very diverse vegetable and also very easy to care for. The pumpkin fruit is used in salads, as an accompaniment to bread, or on its own as a refreshing snack. For this reason, it is not only cultivated on a large scale in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, but is also ideal for cultivation in your own home garden. Cucumbers taste best when they are ripe. But when is the right harvest time?
Harvest time of cucumbers
Cucumbers you grow yourself can be harvested eight to ten weeks after sowing. The ideal time cannot be generalized. The decisive factors for harvesting are the taste, the variety and the intended use. A ripe fruit has a smooth, rich green colored skin.
Size as a guide
In addition to the well-known cucumber from the supermarket, there are countless other varieties such as pickled cucumbers, mini cucumbers or field cucumbers, to name just a few. These differ greatly in taste, which is partly due to the different harvest times. Depending on the intended use, the length of the cucumber is an important indicator of its ripeness. Below are some examples:
- Gherkins: represent the smallest form of cucumber, available as pickling cucumber in a jar, optimal length: 4-6 cm
- Delicatessen gherkins: also gherkins in a slightly larger form, optimal length: 6-12 cm
- Cucumbers: suitable for raw consumption, optimal length: 20-30 cm
In contrast to many types of cucumber, the color of the skin of the gherkin provides information about the right time to harvest. This should be a strong yellow.
greenhouse cucumbers
Don't wait too long
For all other cucumber varieties, however, as soon as yellow spots form on the skin, the harvest time has already passed and the vegetables are overripe. In this form, the vegetable has a very high water content and loses a lot of flavor as a result. Sometimes it even takes on a bitter taste. Therefore, in case of doubt, the early cucumber harvest is recommended. You really can't go wrong with this. On the contrary, young fruits have a pleasantly soft skin and the seeds have not yet fully formed. The mild consistency makes the cucumber more digestible for many people. Young crops also have the most vitamins and nutrients.
In addition, a regular harvest increases the yield. Anyone who grows a cucumber tendril in their own garden should harvest the cucumbers as soon as possible. The longer the vegetable hangs on the plant, the more energy resources it has to expend in order to preserve the infructescence. In the worst case, she rejects subsequent crops before they are ripe. With conscientious care, harvesting is even possible every two weeks.
notice: Unfortunately, it cannot always be completely ruled out that a cucumber tastes bitter, even if it is picked at the right harvest time. This is often due to genetic causes. Care mistakes such as over-fertilizing the plant can also cause the bitter taste. In particular, a wrong location ensures the indigestible aroma, since the bitter substances from the stalk base are transferred to the fruit in cold and rainy weather.
Harvest tips
- remove the flower bases in September
- in this way, the plant continues to bear fruit until October
- don't pick the fruit…
- … use a sharp knife instead
- harvest in the morning or in the morning
- then the nutrient content is highest
Cucumber harvest in Austria and Switzerland
Home-grown cucumbers can be harvested throughout the summer, depending on the sowing date. Anyone who plants the tendril in May (necessarily sow after the Ice Saints) can look forward to the first yield in July. The official cucumber harvest for greenhouse cultivation in Germany also begins at this time. Varieties from the field come onto the market a few weeks later.
This also obtains a large part of the goods from neighboring countries. Austrian cucumbers primarily come from the regions around Vienna, where they are only cultivated in greenhouses. During the harvest season, temporary workers travel here to secure their livelihood with the cucumber harvest. Thanks to the optimized conditions that the greenhouse offers, workers here start harvesting the plants as early as March. Only in the period from November to February the vegetables are not available here.
In Switzerland, cucumbers are in season from April to October. Here, too, the focus is on greenhouse cultivation. Foil cultivation is also common. Incidentally, the gherkin is particularly popular here, as it is an ideal accompaniment to a hearty snack or to the Swiss classics of cheese fondue and raclette.