--- title: "Cucumber" description: "Cucumber grows faster than any other fruiting vegetable under glass, and the climate system is sized for peaks rather than averages. What the crop asks of a greenhouse, and what separates the four types." canonical: "https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/cucumber" locale: "en" updated: "2026-08-11" --- # Cucumber > Part of: [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · Provider: [DutchGreenhouses](/) Cucumber is the fastest fruiting vegetable of the glasshouse, grown on substrate and carried on a high wire with a demand profile sharper than tomato. Commercial production divides into long, midi, mini and snack formats, separated by fruit length and mass, each with its own pack format, picking labour and market. ## Facts | Property | Value | |---|---| | Scientific name | Cucumis sativus taxon | | Crop group | Fruiting vegetable categorical | | Growing system | High-wire substrate categorical | | Cycle | Short cycle, multiple plantings categorical | | Commercial classes | 4 classes | Crops # Cucumber. Fast, hungry, and unforgiving of a slow climate. Cucumber grows faster than any other fruiting vegetable in the glasshouse, and that speed is the commercial argument for it. Fruit sets and fills in days rather than weeks, so a house can turn several crops in a year and respond to a market rather than committing to one long cycle. The same speed is the risk: the crop expresses a climate error almost immediately, and there is little time to correct a stalled or overloaded plant before it shows in the grade. ## What the crop needs The plant is grown on substrate and carried on a high wire, like tomato, but its demand profile is sharper. Transpiration is high, the fruit is mostly water, and the plant will abort loads it cannot carry. Humidity control and irrigation capacity therefore matter more than they do on a slower crop, and the climate system is sized for peaks rather than averages. ## What separates the varieties The commercial types are separated by fruit length and mass — long, midi, mini and snack — and those categories have drifted over time as breeding has moved. A label alone does not identify a product any more, which is why a project is specified against a named cultivar rather than a category. The type decides pack format, picking labour and price, and each of those is planned for the crop actually being grown. DutchGreenhouses® designs the structure, climate, screening and irrigation around the cucumber type, its cycle and the local climate, so the house can carry the crop’s peak demand rather than its average. Get in touch to plan a cucumber greenhouse. Cucumber ## The varieties ### Long cucumbers The wrapped Dutch standard, and the fastest crop in the house. ### Midi cucumbers Shorter than a long cucumber, and a category that has moved. ### Mini cucumbers A label that has drifted further than any other in the crop. ### Snack cucumbers The smallest format, sold to be eaten whole. ## What it loses, it does not get back Cucumber is eaten raw and cold, and nearly all of it is water. That is what the crop is for rather than what is missing from it. The fruit is bought for freshness and for texture, and for the light load of potassium and vitamin C that comes with it. Water is also the whole of what it loses. From the moment it is cut, the fruit gives moisture back to the air, and nothing further down the chain puts it back. Wrapping slows that. Cold slows it. Neither reverses it, so every day between the plant and the plate comes off the fruit’s condition. Distance is therefore counted in days rather than in kilometres. A crop grown near the people who eat it reaches them while it is still firm, and a cucumber that arrives firm is one that gets eaten instead of thrown out at the end of the week. ### Nutrition facts Cucumber, with peel, raw Per 100 g Energy 15 kcal Fat 0.11 g Carbohydrate 3.63 g Sugars 1.67 g Fiber 0.5 g Protein 0.65 g Sodium 2 mg Potassium 147 mg Vitamin C 2.8 mg Source: USDA FoodData Central, FDC 168409 From the knowledge base ## Reads you might find interesting ceacultivationbusiness-case ### Grow Like a Pro: Starting Smart, Growing Strong How Grow Like a Pro combines smart farming, CEA technology and local partnerships for eco-friendly, profitable, pesticide-free greenhouse pr Read article education ### The Case for a College Greenhouse Why a college greenhouse belongs in the curriculum: teaching science, craftsmanship, business logic and sustainability, and preparing studen Read article education ### The Case for a High School Greenhouse Why every high school greenhouse matters: how it makes STEM tangible, builds responsibility and teamwork, and helps students discover their Read article education ### Greenhouses in Education: The Case for Schools Greenhouses in education reconnect students to reality — the full case for why every school, high school, college and trade program should h Read article historyconstruction ### The Origins of Greenhouse Horticulture: My Backyard A tour through greenhouse horticulture history: from 19th-century Westland fruit walls to the “City of Glass” and today’s international high Read article company ### DutchGreenhouses Rebranded: A New Corporate Identity Announcing our new corporate identity — a visual style reflecting our dedication to advanced, high-quality greenhouse projects and The Futur Read article ## FAQ **Why is cucumber called the fastest crop in the glasshouse?** Fruit sets and fills in days rather than weeks, so a house can turn several crops in a year and respond to a market rather than committing to one long cycle. The same speed means a climate error shows in the grade almost immediately. **What separates the commercial cucumber types?** Fruit length and mass. Long, midi, mini and snack are pack formats with their own cultivars, fruit count, picking labour and price, sharing one cucumber climate recipe. **Why is a cucumber project specified against a named cultivar rather than a type label?** The type categories have drifted as breeding has moved, so a label alone no longer identifies a product. A named cultivar fixes fruit size, count and pack format, which is what the house, the labour plan and the pack line are dimensioned for. ## Related [Greenhouse crops](/crops.md) · [Tomato](/crops/tomato.md) · [Sweet pepper](/crops/sweet-pepper.md) · [Hydroponics](/irrigation/hydroponics.md) · [Climate](/climate.md) · [Long Cucumbers](/crops/cucumber/long-cucumber.md) · [Midi Cucumbers](/crops/cucumber/midi-cucumber.md) · [Mini Cucumbers](/crops/cucumber/mini-cucumber.md) · [Snack Cucumbers](/crops/cucumber/snack-cucumber.md) ## See also https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q23425 --- Canonical HTML version: https://dutchgreenhouses.com/crops/cucumber