I planted a row of cucumbers on April 7 and they came up on April 11. Took 5 days. No heat and in a south window. Temps at a steady 70° F. I grew them from seeds from last years crop of Straight 8 cucumbers. I let at least one cuke get huge and turn yellow and I use that for my seed source.

I've had trouble saving seed from Fordhook Zucchini, I suspect because I don't sacrifice a plant to the following years seeds. The seeds should be plump. The Zucchini seeds I saved were flat and don't germinate.

Might I'm guessing also be your problem. I'd buy a packet of seeds at the store and direct seed them in the ground or bed. I plant a few both ways, from transplant and also from seed. I'm not so sure which produce first!

@john D,

I just got 2 more seedlings sprout this morning for a grand total of 5, so either they just take that long to germinate or the heat makes the difference. Still I need 20-40 plants, so a 33% germination rate won't give me those. Maybe some more will come up. I was planning to plant some of them directly in the ground, but am worried by what I'm seeing with the germination rate.

The reason I'm not buying at the store is that I had a huge case of bacterial wilt last year, so I want something resistant, like County Fair or Little Leaf. Stores don't sell those. They sell only a handful of Ferry Morse generic varieties like "pickling".

I was enticed by the Amazon seller's free shipping and somewhat favorable reviews (mostly "got the seeds. Will plant soon" type). Didn't feel like paying the shipping for a single packet to order from a catalog, but seems like I'll need to, provided the problem is really the seeds and not what I'm doing to them.

Ordering seeds from Amazon or Ebay is always a crapshoot. Some people don't even get the correct type of seed, let alone the correct cultivar, when ordering from these sources. So while you may have cucumber sprouts there is little way of knowing if you truly got County Fair (a hybrid cuke).

I would place the blame on the seed, rather than yourself but then only you truly know whether growing conditions were good enough for germination. Overwatering would be the biggest single reason for lack of germination, if the seed was good and viable.

As for the bacterial wilt problem, the wilt is transmitted by cucumber beetles. Take care of the beetles and you shouldn't have a problem with wilt.

Rodney

I grow County Fair every year because the yield for me is fantastic and I don't have to worry about battling cucumber beetles. I direct seed right in the garden and normally have more come up than I need so they get thinned out. This year it is so cold and wet here in SE WI that I will not be planting until early June.

I think you got a bad packet of seed from your source on Amazon.

Cucumber seeds need warm temperatures to germinate well. It sounds like you have tried to provide that and still not gotten good growth. Sometimes it is hard to know if it is warm enough or actually too warm inside closed mini greenhouses, especially when they are under lights or in direct sunlight. Might be best to try new seeds.

High Mowing Organic Seeds has Little Leaf Cucumber seed available and has free shipping on orders over $10....also 10% off right now. They have many varieties of veggies that are not available on the typical store seed rack. Many varieties have good disease resistance detailed in the descriptions. I like Little Leaf cukes, but I don't see bacterial wilt resistance listed for it. The parthenocarpic characteristic is what I like....early season cukes even if bees are not around or the weather is unsettled.

If you want Little Leaf cucumbers, you could try ordering from them....maybe next year if this year doesn't work for you. I've been very happy with their seeds.

County Fair germinates pretty well. I have seeds from 2010 and they still germinate.

it is better to buy from a reputable source

Amazon, ebay, other online non-seed specialty sellers are always risky because you never know what quality of seeds you are getting. Sounds like your germination rate is not bad considering the risk of where you got the seeds.

Those seeds seem pretty common to find. You can ask for your money back from Amazon, they are pretty forgiving, Amazon knows their "marketplace" sellers are shaky.

I planted the rest of the seeds seeds directly in the ground and got no additional germination. I ordered from Southern Exposure and planted those. Of the 6 in peat pods 5 germinated. I hope my direct planting is more successful this time too.