Lemon cucumber

Pests & beneficial insects

🐛 Prone to: Aphids

Aphids

Aphididae

Curled leaves, sticky honeydew and ants on patrol — usually with something already eating them.

, Whitefly

Whitefly

Aleyrodidae

A puff of white when you brush the leaf, and stickiness underneath.

.

Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies

Syrphidae

The adults only drink nectar. It is the larvae that eat the aphids.

, Lacewings

Lacewings

Chrysopidae

Golden-eyed adults that mostly drink; larvae that hunt like small alligators.

, Ladybugs

Ladybugs

Coccinellidae

The one predator here where the adults hunt as hard as the larvae do.

, Parasitic wasps

Parasitic wasps

Braconidae, Ichneumonidae and relatives

Pinhead-sized, stingless, and lethal to aphids and caterpillars from the inside.

to keep them in check — plant African MarigoldGreat, AngelicaGood and AniseGood nearby.

Growing from seed

Start Lemon cucumber indoors about 4 weeks before your last frost, keeping seeds in warm soil (around 20–25 °C). Seeds usually come up in around 7 days. Move seedlings out once the danger of frost has passed, in full sun, spaced about 30 cm apart. It is frost-tender, so don't plant out early. Expect to harvest in roughly 60 days.

Lemon cucumber seed rarely stays viable beyond 5 years — track what's still worth sowing.

Companion Planting

• 
  Red Mustard
  

  Red MustardGreat pair

  • ❧Red Mustard attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Lemon cucumber
  • ❧Red Mustard suppresses pests that trouble Lemon cucumber
  • ❧Red Mustard draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
• 
  Wasabina
  

  WasabinaGreat pair

  • ❧Wasabina attracts Hoverflies and Parasitic wasps, which prey on the Aphids and Whitefly that attack Lemon cucumber
  • ❧Wasabina suppresses pests that trouble Lemon cucumber
  • ❧Wasabina draws Bees and Butterflies that improve pollination for both
• 
  Wild Garlic
  

  Wild GarlicGreat pair

  • ❧Wild Garlic attracts Hoverflies, which prey on the Aphids that attack Lemon cucumber
  • ❧Wild Garlic draws Bees and Bumblebees that improve pollination for both
  • ❧Wild Garlic acts as living mulch, keeping soil moist and weeds down around Lemon cucumber

How to grow Lemon cucumber

1. Sow4 weeks before frost
2. Germinates7 days
3. Space30 cm apart
4. GrowFull sun
5. Harvest~60 days

Water: Medium · Height: 180 cm · Soil: Well-draining soil rich in organic matter; prefers slightly acidic to neutral pH