Cucumbers may seem like an easy vegetable to grow. But here in Calgary, growing Korean cucumbers can be a little different.
Our growing season is short. Spring weather can change quickly, and a warm afternoon can sometimes be followed by a cold night. For a warm-season crop like cucumbers, timing can make a big difference.
This year, our Korean (Baekdadagi) cucumbers taught us that lesson more than once.
Starting Our Cucumber Seedlings
We started our cucumber seeds indoors in early April. We wanted to give the plants a good head start before the outdoor growing season began.
By the end of May, around the Victoria Day long weekend, the weather finally seemed warm enough to move the seedlings outside. We waited until the seedlings had developed about three to four true leaves before transplanting them.
We planted some of the seedlings in our greenhouse and the rest directly in our garden.
At first, everything looked good. The young plants settled in, developed roots, and started to grow.
Then June came.
A Cold and Rainy June
June was a difficult month for our outdoor cucumbers.
After we transplanted the seedlings, we had quite a bit of rain, and the nights remained colder than the young cucumber plants liked. The outdoor plants began to struggle. Even then, Calgary nights could still be quite cool, with temperatures sometimes dropping to around 4–7°C in late June.
At first, we hoped they would recover. We watched them for a while, but they continued to weaken. Eventually, the cucumbers planted outside did not survive.
Losing the entire outdoor crop was not what we had expected. It was disappointing, but we knew we would regret it all summer if we just gave up. We decided to plant them again, determined to grow at least a few cucumbers that we could enjoy. So, without waiting any longer, we planted the seeds again.
But there was one bright spot.
The cucumber plants in our greenhouse survived.
The greenhouse gave them protection from the colder nights and wet weather. Seeing the difference between the outdoor plants and the greenhouse plants was a useful lesson for us.
In Calgary, sometimes gardening is less about controlling the weather and more about finding ways to work with it.
Starting Again
Around the middle of June, we started new cucumber seeds indoors. We gave the new seedlings some time to grow, and in early July, we transplanted them into the garden.
This time, we were a little more cautious.
The new plants surprised us. Once the weather became warmer, they grew much faster than we expected.
Helping the Plants Build Strong Roots and Stems
This time, we also paid close attention to how the plants developed.
In the early stages, our goal was not to get as many cucumbers as possible right away. We wanted the young plants to build strong roots and strong main stems first.
When a young cucumber plant produces fruit too early, some of its energy and nutrients go into developing that fruit. We wanted the plants to use their early energy to establish themselves first.
So, when cucumbers appeared on the lower part of the plants, we removed the ones that developed before the fifth node.
It was not easy to pick off those first little cucumbers. After waiting so long to grow them, it felt strange to remove them.
But we believed it was better to give the young plants more time to develop before asking them to carry a crop.
Removing Side Shoots
We also watched for side shoots growing from the leaf joints.
When they appeared, we removed them and kept the plant growing mainly along the main stem.
Our reason was simple.
We wanted to reduce unnecessary competition for the plant's energy and nutrients while the plants were still developing.
Keeping the Plants Open
Cucumber plants can become crowded very quickly.
When leaves and stems become too thick, sunlight has a harder time reaching the plant, and air cannot move as freely through the leaves.
This is especially important in a greenhouse, where moisture can remain around the leaves and stems.
For our plants, keeping the growth under control helped us maintain better sunlight and airflow.
We were not trying to make the plants look perfect. We were simply trying to keep them healthy and easier to manage as they grew.
Finally, Our First Harvest
The second planting grew surprisingly quickly once the weather warmed up.
After losing our first outdoor crop, it was exciting to see the new plants producing healthy growth.
Eventually, the waiting paid off.
Now, in late summer, we are finally beginning to harvest our Korean cucumbers from our Calgary garden.
Looking back, losing the first crop was disappointing, but it also taught us something about growing warm-season vegetables in Calgary.
The greenhouse plants showed us how much protection can matter.
The second planting showed us that it is not always too late to start again.
And removing the early cucumbers and side shoots reminded us that sometimes growing a healthy plant comes before growing a lot of fruit.
Why Korean (Baekdadagi) Cucumbers?
There are many varieties of cucumbers available in Canada, and local cucumbers can certainly be delicious. But when I am craving the taste and texture of Korean cucumber, Baekdadagi (백다다기) is one of my favorites.
The texture is particularly noticeable. Compared with many of the cucumbers commonly available here, Korean (Baekdadagi) cucumbers have a wonderfully crisp and crunchy texture with plenty of refreshing moisture.
When you bite into a freshly harvested cucumber, you get that satisfying crunch followed by a burst of juice. That freshness is difficult to replace. Because we can pick them directly from the garden, we don't have to wait for them to travel from a farm to a store and then to our kitchen. We can simply walk outside and harvest what we need.
The Best Cucumber for Korean Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Kimchi)
One of the first things I think about when I see our cucumber harvest is oi kimchi (오이김치) — Korean cucumber kimchi. Fresh Korean cucumbers are particularly well suited to this dish.
Of course, you can make cucumber kimchi with cucumbers commonly found in Canadian grocery stores, and we have done that too. But the result is different. The cucumber's texture directly affects the final dish.
For cucumber kimchi, you need a cucumber that stays crisp and refreshing while absorbing the flavors of garlic, chili flakes, green onion, and other seasonings. That is where Korean cucumbers really shine. The fresh crunch combined with the spicy, savory seasoning makes a simple garden harvest feel like a proper Korean side dish.
From Calgary Garden to Korean Table
This year's cucumber story did not go exactly as planned. We started early, transplanted around Victoria Day, and watched the cold rainy weather take most of them away. But we started again, and now we are harvesting.
That is gardening in Calgary. It is not always predictable, and it certainly isn't always successful. But perhaps that is part of what makes the harvest more meaningful. Every cucumber we pick now reminds us that the garden got a second chance.
Tonight, that cucumber may become dinner — maybe sliced fresh with a little salt, served alongside a traditional Korean meal, or turned into oi kimchi.
The journey is simple:
- Seed
- Garden
- Harvest
- Kitchen
- Korean Table
This year, our Korean cucumber took a longer road than expected to get there. But the first bite makes it worth it. Crisp. Fresh. Juicy. Grown right here in Calgary.
Fresh Korean Cucumber Kimchi (Oi Sobagi)
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