Gherkin Growing en Sowing
Pickle is a delicious vegetable that can serve as an addition to many dishes. Think for example in a salad or herring with onions and pickles (this is not eaten everywhere with 'sour', but in Volendam it is). Growing pickles is pretty much the same as growing cucumbers because those 2 are family from each other.
Grow your own pickles
Growing pickles yourself is actually the same as growing cucumbers. Nowadays we see more and more that pickles grow upwards on a fence instead of 'crawling' over the ground. Growing pickles does require some effort and attention.
When to sow pickles?
You can start sowing indoors from mid-April. Pickles likes warmth, so in a room where it is 20 to 22 degrees, the pickle will feel at it’s best. You can start sowing outdoors from Mid-May (depending of course on the weather and the temperature ) after ice saints. If you are going to sow the plants in a greenhouse, it can often be done a few weeks earlier.
When to harvest pickles?
When the pickle can be harvested depends of course on when you started sowing. Did you start indoors, in the greenhouse or did you start to sow it directly in ground:
- Sow indoors in April => sow under glass => then usually harvest at the beginning of July
- Sow indoors => then continue growing outdoors => harvest in August
- Sow outdoors in the ground => harvest at the end of August
Sowing pickles in a greenhouse
If you sow pickles in a greenhouse, it is important to keep it moist. After all, the pickle consists for the most part of water. Also try to make sure that it does not get too hot in the greenhouse. The pickle, unlike the cucumber, can withstand the cold better and doesn't like extreme heat temperatures. The pickle plant can produce many pickles at once. Keep in mind that pickles are tastier when they are small.
Growing pickles in the garden
From mid-May you can grow the pickles directly in the ground. We recommend to let the pickle plant climb up against a rack or fence. The reason for this is that the pickle is a bit sensitive to mould. The advantage of growing on a rack is that the leaves dry up quickly after rain and of course, the fruits and flowers also stay cleaner this way when they hang above the ground instead of on the ground.
Where to sow pickle?
The pickle plant likes warmth but not full sun. The advice is therefore to place the plant in a sunny spot out of the wind, but not in full sun. Of course it can also be done in a greenhouse, but as already described, this plant can withstand cold better than heat. The soil in which the pickle grows is not so important. It actually grows on almost all types of soil. You can add some fertilizer halfway through growth.
Grow pickles in a pot
It is also possible to grow pickles in a pot. Our advise is to take a pot that is at least 35 to 40 cm in diameter. Make sure that the soil remains moist, otherwise the plant will not continue to grow.
Sowing pickles step by step
- Fill the tray with soil or a combination of soil and vermiculite.
- Sow the seeds about 1cm deep
- Water the seeds well and make sure that the soil remains moist in the beginning
- When the plants are about 10 to 15 cm, you can thin them out.
- You can let the plant climb up against a fence (with some help from the gardener of course).
- Use a planting distance of about 1 meter.
- Water the plants regularly because this plant loves water and the pickle consists largely of water.
- Harvest when the pickles are still small ( they are tastier small ).
Pickle sowing tips
Most tips have already been given, the last tip is to order your seeds in our webshop!
Free shipping on orders with seeds above € 25,- 
