Pickling Cucumber
Where to buy seeds
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Sumter is a blocky, early-maturing pickling cucumber that grows from 5 to 6 inches long with firm, medium-green flesh and white spines. Ready to harvest in just 50 to 59 days, this open-pollinated variety thrives across all hardiness zones (2-13) and produces an exceptional yield of straight, symmetrical fruit. Its vigorous vining habit and built-in resistance to powdery mildew, downy mildew, and scab make it a reliable choice for home gardeners looking for a productive, disease-resistant cucumber that performs equally well in the ground, containers, or trellised systems.
Full Sun
Moderate
2-13
48in H x ?in W
Annual
High
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Sumter cucumbers are renowned for their exceptional productivity and early maturity, producing symmetrical, straight fruit with a vibrant green color and tender, firm flesh. The blocky shape and modest 5- to 6-inch length are ideal for pickling, while the vigorous, high-yielding vines deliver consistent harvests throughout the season. Built-in resistance to four major diseases, powdery mildew, downy mildew, scab, and tolerance to cucumber mosaic virus, means you spend less time troubleshooting and more time harvesting.
Sumter is a pickling cucumber, bred and selected for the specific needs of home preservers and small-scale gardeners who want to can, ferment, or quick-pickle their harvest. The blocky shape and firm flesh hold up beautifully through brining and fermentation, making it the go-to choice for anyone serious about putting up cucumbers. Its early maturity and concentrated production window also suits gardeners who prefer a harvest flush rather than a long trickle of fruit.
Direct sow Sumter seeds into warm soil after the last spring frost date, when soil temperature reaches at least 60°F (ideally 70°F or warmer). Sow seeds at the spacing noted for your garden layout and thin or space transplants to 18 inches apart within rows spaced 48 inches apart.
Pick Sumter cucumbers when they reach 5 to 6 inches long and the skin is a vibrant medium green with firm flesh. Harvest regularly every 2 to 3 days once fruit begins forming; leaving mature fruit on the vine signals the plant to slow production. Use a gentle twisting motion or a clean knife to avoid damaging the vine, and harvest in the morning when fruit is crispest.
Allow Sumter's vigorous vines to grow freely along a trellis system; pruning is generally unnecessary. If you do trellis, simply train the main stems upward and let lateral shoots grow naturally. Removing lower foliage once the plant is established can improve airflow and reduce disease pressure.
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