{"id":5140,"date":"2026-10-11T19:42:37","date_gmt":"2026-10-11T19:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=5140"},"modified":"2026-10-11T19:44:59","modified_gmt":"2026-10-11T19:44:59","slug":"no-prune-greenhouse-cucumbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/no-prune-greenhouse-cucumbers\/","title":{"rendered":"No-Prune Greenhouse Cucumbers: Max Yields From One Plant \ud83e\udd52"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\ud83e\udd52 Quick take:<\/strong> In this thread, growers discuss a popular technique for greenhouse cucumbers known as the Smorchkova method<\/strong>. Instead of crowding multiple pruned plants together, the grower puts just one or two plants at the far end of the greenhouse and lets them run completely wild without any pinching or pruning. Combined with heavy grass mulching and early soil-warming tricks, this low-maintenance method produces massive yields from a single plant. Full summary \u2193<\/a><\/div>\n

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Growers’ Notes and Photos (USDA Zone 4 Experience)<\/h2>\n

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A<\/div>\n
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Aleksan9ra (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Veteran Grower (15,056 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Good morning. It’s chilly, cold, and damp out there today. But they’re promising a warm-up by Wednesday. Anna, I am just in awe of your cucumbers. Could you walk me through exactly how, what, and when you do everything, please?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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R<\/div>\n
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Russi (Anna) \u2b50 Veteran Grower (1,275 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Ramensky District, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Aleksan9ra wrote:<\/strong>
\nAnya, I am just in awe of your cucumbers. Could you walk me through exactly how, what, and when you do everything, please?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Hi Lyuda! I do everything using the Smorchkova method. She harvests cucumbers from a single plant in her greenhouse all the way into October. And she puts just 1 plant across the entire width of the greenhouse.<\/p>\n

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But she claims that if you start your cucumber seeds too early, the seedling “ages” too fast and gets stunted before you even plant it out in the dirt. I completely disagree with her there. Smorchkova sows her cucumbers in mid-April and plants them out when they are still tiny. I sow my seeds around March 17th, and I end up planting this long, leggy seedling that’s about 20 inches (50 cm) long and looks pretty scrawny, because cucumbers just don’t grow well for me in seedling cups, even under grow lights. I have no idea what the heck they are missing. But I want to be eating cucumbers a little earlier, in late May, not in late June like Smorchkova.<\/p>\n

I plant them out in the greenhouse as soon as it warms up and the soil temperature rises, usually in late April. I plant them slightly above the soil level. And now I dig the holes the way you taught me, so the earth warms up faster, and I backfill with that warmed-up dirt.<\/p>\n

The main trick to the “Smorchkova” cucumber method is giving the plant total freedom, absolutely no pinching or pruning. It grows however it wants, you just have to guide the vines early on. Having good soil is a given, obviously. I always plant them in the exact same spot, reserving one far gable end of the greenhouse just for cucumbers. The dirt there is like fluffy compost, because I’ve been heavily mulching it with grass clippings all summer for years now. The earthworms are working overtime constantly turning that grass into worm castings. I haven’t added any fresh grass lately, so there’s just a very thin layer left right now packed with worms. Oh, and you have to make sure to water the entire surface of the mulch, checking it with your hand to see if it’s dried out.<\/p>\n

It also saves you seeds. Folks think they can plant 10 cucumbers spaced 12 inches (30 cm) apart in the greenhouse and get a massive harvest. In reality, the plants have nowhere to grow, you constantly have to pinch and prune them, they never reach their full potential, and it just creates a ton of extra work for the gardener.<\/p>\n

To be fair, I do start 3 seedlings just in case one dies. And if everything goes well, I plant all three, because honestly, one single plant doesn’t give you a ton of cucumbers for that early spring harvest. But once they hit their stride and I have enough cucumbers coming in, I just yank out the two side plants and leave the central one. Because by that point, there are way too many of them and they start crowding each other out. And don’t worry about damaging the vines of the central plant when you yank the others out, they bounce right back. Here is the plant on May 9th and then on May 24th.<\/p>\n

\"Greenhouse<\/a>
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A<\/div>\n
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Aleksan9ra (Lyudmila) \u2b50 Veteran Grower (15,056 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Anna, around what date do you usually plant them out in the greenhouse? And if you’re planting at the far gable end, I assume that’s the north side and you keep that door closed all the time?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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R<\/div>\n
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Russi (Anna) \u2b50 Veteran Grower (1,275 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n
\ud83d\udccd Ramensky District, Russia (USDA Zone 4)<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Aleksan9ra wrote:<\/strong>
\nAnya, around what date do you usually plant them out in the greenhouse? And if you’re planting at the far gable end, I assume that’s the north side and you keep that door closed all the time?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It really depends on the weather. This year we got dumped on by snow on May 3rd and it was freezing, so I planted the cucumbers on May 5th. Last year I planted them on April 28th. The door is always kept closed at that time of year. I only open it if we suddenly get a hot day outside.<\/p>\n

But in the summer it’s always open. Having them at the far end makes watering easier, and I can just step outside to harvest them. Sometimes I harvest from both sides, it’s actually really convenient reaching right through the trellis netting, your arm just fits right through.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Full Summary: The “No-Prune” Greenhouse Cucumber Method<\/h2>\n