In this summer series, we will focus on several crops that can be grown, harvested, and enjoyed by your family and showcased to your local community at this year's NC Mountain State Fair.

Cucumbers are a staple of vegetable gardens and can be enjoyed in a variety of ways. Here is some information about how to grow, maintain, and harvest your cucumbers!

• Soil Prep: Before planting, consider conducting a soil test and amend the soil if needed.
• Varieties: Common varieties include Ashley, Cherokee 7, Gemini, Palomar, Poinsett, and Straight 8. There are a variety of cucumbers both as slicers and pickling cucumbers (pickling cucumbers tend to be smaller in mature fruit size, have thinner skin to soak in brine efficiently, and generally are firmer in texture).
• Starting Seeds: Seeds can be started inside your home or outside in a covered greenhouse or hoop house in a container with soilless media to get an early start. Generally, cucumbers germinate within 10 days, and should stay in containers until several inches tall and true leaves have formed, before planting out.
• Directly Sown: Seeds can be directly sown if average soil temperatures are above 60 degrees (generally this is 2 weeks after the frost free date for your area).
• Germination and Care: Plants should be planted 1.5 feet from each other to allow for proper growth. They can be trellised if they are vining or staked if they are bush form.
• Ripening and Harvest: Cucumbers ripen and mature starting 6 weeks from the time of planting. Harvest slicer cucumbers when they are 6-8" long. Harvest pickling cucumbers when they are 2-3" long. Harvest will occur throughout the summer as cucumbers will bloom continuously throughout the growing season.

This year's NC Mountain State Fair will be held at the WNC Ag Center from September 11th-20th. Entries can be submitted online and include categories specifically for slicing and pickling cucumbers for both youth and adults.

Entry deadline for the fair is August 28th, 2026 by 11:55pm and can be completed online (tutorial can be found here) with entry drop-off happening September 7th-8th from 9:00am-7:00pm both days. See the full list of categories related to cucumber below:

Adult: Pickling Cucumbers (CA032), Cucumbers Slicing/Burpless (CA033).

Youth: Cucumbers; Age 6-8 (IA029), Cucumbers; Age 9-11 (IA229), Cucumbers; Age 12-14 (IA629), Cucumbers; Age 15-19 (IA829).

Food preservation categories: Bread and Butter Pickles (EB070), Cucumber Pickles- Dill (EB072), Cucumber Pickles-Sliced-Sour (EB073), Cucumber Pickles-Sliced-Sweet (EB074), Cucumber Relish (EB086).

For comprehensive entry categories and other information, see the full fair catalog which can be found here.

We hope to see you at this year’s NC Mountain State Fair! You can reach out with entry related questions to the WNC Ag Center Fair staff by calling  (828) 687-1414. For technical questions regarding how to grow your cucumbers, reach out to your local Extension office and we will be happy to assist you!

Resources:

Growing Cucumbers in your Home Garden: NCSU Extension Homegrown

Vegetable Gardening: A Beginner's Guide: NCSU Extension