I'm by Grand Rapids and I started my seeds on Memorial Day and mine are just now starting to rear their little heads. So maybe just give them time :)

I appreciate your being kind to let me think I've done nothing wrong. :)

However.... I planted the seeds weeks ago, and after about 3 weeks, I just stopped watering them. They're all dried up now. I even had the trays with all my veggie seeds on little heating pads I was given with clear lids to keep in the moisture. I really just don't know what I'm doing. Lol

I started mine in 4" pots couple of weeks ago. They have just cotyledon leaves now. The reason was that our temps were not quite warm enough then.
This weekend I will plant them in bed. But in warm soil and air it is best to direct sow them. Cucurbits are not transplant friendly. And if it is too cold or wet, they might rot.

So, are you saying nothing you planted from seed came up?

It's possible you're planting too deep, or too shallow. Too much water will rot them, too little will dry them up. Have you tried to gently poke back the soil a little to see if they're still down there?

I forget what the packet says about planting cucumber seeds. I usually end up planting them deeper than I'm supposed to, but never deeper than an inch.

It could also be poor quality or old seeds. If we knew where you got them and how long ago, we could help with that also.

Generally, cucumbers and zucchini should be pretty easy to grow from seed. Granted, I know zilch about gardening outside of California, so maybe it's more difficult in other parts of the country. But they definitely are bigger, hearty seeds, not as temperamental as, say, peppers or carrots.

You still have time to reseed, so don't worry (mine just popped up last week). Cucumbers grow fast and produce a relatively early harvest. You can try presprouting them in paper towels and then planting the seed, too. I always direct sow my cukes, no need to start indoors.

Mine have been stubborn this year too, my first batch took forever to sprout, then some insect ate the cotyledons on all of them. Round two had low germination rate and the little plants are just sitting there looking sad, granted it was three year old seed.
Bought a fresh pack of seeds for attempt number 3, patiently waiting for them to sprout lol.
You still have time to get some plants going. Once they start they grow pretty fast!!

We seeded cukes, squash and melons on Mem Day and they're just starting to come up since I didn't water them at all, we had a stretch with no rain but I knew the rain would come. They grow pretty quickly - just make sure to keep watered once they do germinate. Plant no deeper than 2x the size of the seed (so 1/2" or so max). Plant directly in your prepped beds and thin once the seedlings are established.

You can sprout your cucumbers in the wet towel. Take some paper towel, fold it two -three times, wet it, place seeds on top of it, fold again. Place the towel on the saucer and saucer in the plastic bag. Keep it in a warm spot, like on top of your refrigerator. Check them every day starting on the day 3. As soon as you see that the seeds gave you small roots, plant them not more then inch deep. Be careful not to disturb the small root. If you planted your cucumbers weeks ago - it was too cold yet to start outside. Now is still a good time to start them again. But do it now.

I'm i. Zone 5 too and you should still have time to reseed. Just put me right in the garden. Mine took about 3 weeks to sprout this year, I planted in early May.

I get a fair amount of cukes in my 5a zone every year. I grow 3-4 varieties and usually smaller varieties....can't remember the others but one is the lemon cuke that always does well direct seeded...and always the first or second weekend in june so that is now.

I did start a full 50 cell tray this year...weeks ago. Something i never do as direct seeding works fine...cukes, squash etc...
(I prepped another large bed last fall since the winter squash did so well...)
Only one Kabucha seed sprouted quickly that really thew me off...others turned to mush...i dug into the cells...and just a few cukes emerged, three-4 weeks later.
Started another tray and it did great...
Putting all in this weekend...and...a few seeds in the same hills for insurance...
Cukes i'll do the same...a few seeds in the row with the starts...thin all later as they grow if crowded...
Melons never do so well but i always try. Every third year i get a few depending on the season.

DD really wanted melons this year so we planted Sweet N' Early cantaloupe - 75 DTM. We'll see what happens, last July was so hot that they probably would have done well (I plant cucurbits in house garden so watering isn't a problem).

Besides the Early Prolific straightneck (yellow) squash I plant every year, I'm trying "Sure Thing" early zukes - 48 DTM so maybe can beat the SVB and/or put in 2nd planting (will start those inside later this month and transplant if SVB gets the first ones).

Thanks so much, Everyone! I like the idea to try sprouting them first. Then I can keep an eye on them easier... I'll check in my pots I tried indoors and see if the seeds did anything in there.

How do I make sure they are properly watered once they are in the ground? Is there some kind of guideline, like once or twice each day? The seeds I planted in the ground last year never came up. I had two out of 12 or more shoot up and then die. They were only a couple inches high.

And to answer loribee2, a few of the seeds I started came up, but just a random few. A few zucchini, one bean, a couple broccoli that stopped growing. It was a sad turnout! I got all my seeds either from Lowe's last year or Canadian Tire this year. They were kept in my cellar between last year and this.

Cucurbits need warm air to grow, unlike things like tomatoes that can take cool weather. So, to my experience planting too soon is not going to pay off: First it will take weeks to germinate and more weeks to develop roots and start growing vines. You can start them indoor, in cold frame, in the hoop. but cannot keep them in starting cells/pots for very long as they grow fast and deep tap roots. The best time to transplant in such cases is when they have couple of true leaves.

BTW: I have planted out my tomatoes 2 months ago and I am going to plant out my cukes this weekend. I have lost more cukes to cold than anything else. Even if you don't lose them they will be stressed.

Very important is to get a planting calendar that's suitable to your area. You should be able to find them by going to Google and searching "Vegetable planting calendar for [insert your town or county]". They will tell you when to plant, when your last frost date is, things like that. Typically, summer vegetables are planted after the last frost date (you can search that term also to get the date).

Cucumbers, zucchini and beans should really be started in ground outdoors. You don't gain much by starting early indoors (I only start tomatoes and peppers inside before the start of the season). They don't like to be transplanted, and they are such fast-growing plants, you don't gain time by starting early inside.

How often to water new seeds? Planted in ground outdoors I check them daily. Give them a good soaking (assuming you have good draining soil). Go out the next morning. If the top of your soil looks dry, you'll want to water. If your soil looks dark and moist, let them go and check again the next day. I check my new seedlings daily, watering when the top of the soil starts looking light and dry. Once the plants have come up and start sprouting true leaves (the leaves you get after the first two), you can start backing off on watering. At that time, you'll want to start poking your finger in the soil an inch or so down to see if the plants need watering.

Hope that helps!

We sowed cucumber seed last Saturday, June 1st? They are just coming up today. They had 3 days of sun and warmth followed by two days of cloudy wet weather. I did check the temperature of the soil yesterday and it is 70 degrees. I also saw a squirrel trying to dig where they were sown and I had to cover the area with hardware cloth to keep them out of there, but now they are up.

Only watering advice I have is to stick your finger in soil. If you feel it wet, or even moist at least half finger deep - no watering needed. After good rain my beds may stay for a week without watering if is it is reasonably warm , or need to be watered on a day 4-5 when it is really hot. If you mulch, then less watering is required.

I am brand new to planting from seed this year, but I did plant cucumbers, zucchini, melons, beans and peas, corn (all the bigger seeds) using the baggie method. Everything germinated except one bean. Oops... way too many plants but found them all a home. Basically I put 6-10 seeds in each sandwich bag filled with moist potting soil (not wet), had them inside, the room was approximately 65-70 degrees. A week later everything had sprouted! Proud owner of a many new seedlings.

Cukes and such need warm SOIL more than warm air to germinate (though they love the heat, as long as plenty of water, once they get started). So your soil may just have been too cold. If you started inside (?) it's possible the heat mat was too hot, or you let them dry out. You may have to water them every day until they get established but then an inch a week should be fine, even a couple of inches (they need more water than tomatoes or peppers). Since you're planting the seeds pretty shallow don't let the ground dry out down to that depth - say 1/2", or get crusty. Mulch is troublesome with seeds, but maybe covering with a layer of burlap would help them to stay moist while they're germinating, then mulch after they come up (keep it away from the stem). That's what I do with my carrots that take a LONG time to germinate. Don't use plastic.

"Just wondering if I can start them from seeds now and still have a good harvest?"

Absolutely! Now is about the perfect time for direct seeding. The soil is nicely warmed and they will sprout and grow quickly.

If you are having problems with many different types of seeds not sprouting or if they sprout and die off the most likely cause is over-watering, in my opinion. It's very easy to over-water and too much will rot them.

loribee2 and ajsmama are correct. Seeds need constant soil moisture (but not wet/saturated soil!) for them to germinate. If the soil looks dry, water. If it doesn't wait 'til the next day. If it's warm/hot outside you will most likely need to water every day. When the plants have sprouted and are growing, mulch them and switch to deep, infrequent waterings (don't let the soil dry out completely though).

Rodney

Good point about the watering, I don't take chances with direct sown, I watered 3x a day to keep the surface of the soil moist until it became cloudy and rainy.

Oh lordy, I would be very careful about telling anyone to water 3 times a day. Unless it's just a very very light spritz just to keep the surface moist, and those would have to be some shallow seeds or sandy soil.

I'm in California. Warm temps and very low humidity and I've never had to water seeds more than once daily. Mayyybe if we had a hot day over 100 I'd be tempted to go out in the evening and give them an extra spritz.

So much helpful information. Thank you, Everyone, for taking the time to help me get some cucumbers going! I think overwatering is often my problem.... I worry they're drying out and douse them the next few days. Haha.

Here is an interesting fact about cucumbers. When you over water them they start wilting. Strange, right? Like they getting dry... In fact - they are!!! Roots when soaked in water can't move water up to leaves. And cucumber plant dries out staying in a puddle of water. From other point, sometimes plants are pretty much stronger then we think). I helped my mother to transplant some melons she started in the milk cartons. She watered them in the morning of transplanting day still in pots, but few hours later I noticed one melon still sits in a puddle of water. I checked the pot - sure enough it missed drainage holes. Just this one. When I took that melon out of the pot, I found that it kept all it's roots in top 1 inch of soil. And it was in that pot for almost 2 months... So I planed it in the ground and said to my mom that it most likely already dead. That was a week ago. Guess what? It didn't even wilt once during this week and shows signs of new grows. My mom promised to update me on its well been through out a season