Skip Regular Soil And Reach For This Ingredient When Growing Cucumbers

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A crunchy, garden-grown cucumber can elevate the quality of your summer salads in an instant. Though cukes are excellent ingredients to seek out at farmers markets, harvesting them at home is even more satisfying. Cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus) are typically grown in moist, well draining garden soil, but the TikTok gardening community has been recommending a specialized growing medium called PittMoss for cultivating these plants in grow bags. One user, @perkyplantparent, ran an experiment to see if her cukes performed better in regular soil or this soil-free product designed to conserve water. The plants grown in PittMoss were visibly stronger, which has led some gardeners to try this approach.

Whether you're growing cucumbers in soil or a soil-free potting mix, they're generally happy as long as they receive full sun, consistent watering, and hearty helpings of nutrients. Cucumbers — which thrive in a broad range of USDA Hardiness Zones from 2 or 4 through 11 — don't like their roots to stay wet for long, so be sure they're planted in a spot with excellent drainage. For some gardeners with small yards, this spot is inside a grow bag. In addition to saving space, these containers can be moved from place to place, which is useful when inclement weather strikes. You can DIY a budget-friendly grow bag with Dollar Tree items or purchase one that's already assembled. Bags that hold 10 gallons of soil and plant matter — for example, the Vivosun 10-gallon heavy-duty grow bags – are about the right size for cucumber plants. Also consider giving these vines a structure to climb. If you're into repurposing, try turning an old screen door into a garden trellis.

PittMoss is popular among sustainability-focused gardeners for a few reasons beyond conserving water. First, it's made of recycled paper, which helps keep a reusable material out of landfills. According to the PittMoss website, the paper fibers take in nutrients and deliver them to plant roots, promoting healthy growth. Second, unlike a lot of other soilless growing mediums, PittMoss doesn't contain peat moss, which is linked to greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental concerns.

Of course, PittMoss isn't the only soil-free growing medium that's gentle on the environment and suitable for cucumbers. Other eco-friendly products designed for the same purpose often contain coconut coir or leaf mold, both of which are good at holding the right amount of water and releasing any excess. You may also find products containing pine bark fines, which can enhance airflow and water drainage. These qualities are especially important when cultivating cucumbers in grow bags. That's because cukes planted in these bags often need more watering than those growing in the ground. This is true for other container-grown veggies as well, from potted patio tomatoes to pumpkins growing in balcony planters.