Marketmore 76
Cucumis sativus
Long dark green cucumbers. The slender, refined "Marketmore look" has long been the standard for slicing cucumbers in the North. 8-9" fruits stay uniformly dark green even under weather stress. Begins bearing late, but picks for a relatively long time.
Harvest
58d
Days to harvest
Sun
Full sun
Zones
2–11
USDA hardiness
Height
8-18 inches
Planting Timeline
Showing dates for Marketmore 76 in USDA Zone 7
All Zone 7 cucumber →Zone Map
Click a state to update dates
Marketmore 76 · Zones 2–11
Growing Details
Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar
| Zone | Indoor Start | Transplant | Direct Sow | Harvest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zone 3 | May – May | June – July | June – August | August – October |
| Zone 4 | April – May | June – June | June – July | August – October |
| Zone 5 | April – April | May – June | May – July | August – September |
| Zone 6 | April – April | May – June | May – July | July – September |
| Zone 7 | March – April | May – May | May – June | July – August |
| Zone 8 | March – March | April – May | April – June | June – August |
| Zone 9 | February – February | March – April | March – May | May – July |
| Zone 10 | January – February | March – March | March – April | May – June |
| Zone 1 | June – June | July – August | July – September | September – August |
| Zone 2 | May – June | July – July | July – August | September – September |
| Zone 11 | January – January | February – February | February – March | April – May |
| Zone 12 | January – January | February – February | February – March | April – May |
| Zone 13 | January – January | February – February | February – March | April – May |
Succession Planting
In zone 7, direct sow Marketmore 76 starting May 1 and repeat every 14 days through June 15 — that gives you two or three staggered plantings before heat makes germination unreliable and downy mildew pressure climbs. Each sowing takes about 58 days to first harvest, so a May 1 planting starts producing in late June and a mid-June sowing carries you into late August before the vines start to crash.
Don't push a late-season sowing past June 15 here in the Southeast. Daytime highs above 90°F slow fruit set noticeably, and by August the combination of cucumber beetle pressure and foliar disease tends to finish vines faster than they recover. A late-July direct sow for fall cucumbers is possible but treat it as a gamble — not a planned succession.
Complete Growing Guide
Long dark green cucumbers. The slender, refined "Marketmore look" has long been the standard for slicing cucumbers in the North. 8-9" fruits stay uniformly dark green even under weather stress. Begins bearing late, but picks for a relatively long time. According to Johnny's Selected Seeds, Marketmore 76 is 58 days to maturity, annual, open pollinated. Disease resistance includes Scab, Cucumber Mosaic Virus, Powdery Mildew. Notable features: Organic Seeds, Plants, and Supplies.
Light: Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day). Soil: High Organic Matter. Soil pH: Neutral (6.0-8.0). Drainage: Good Drainage, Moist. Height: 0 ft. 8 in. - 1 ft. 6 in. Spread: 3 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in. Spacing: 12 inches-3 feet. Growth rate: Rapid. Maintenance: Medium. Propagation: Seed. Regions: Coastal, Mountains, Piedmont.
Harvesting
Marketmore 76 reaches harvest at 58 days from sowing per Johnny's Selected Seeds. Expect 8-9" at peak. As an annual, harvest continues until frost ends the season.
The "vegetable" is botanically a fruit– it is a pepo, a berry with a hard rind. Long and cylindrical, starting out prickly when young and smoothing out to a bumpy surface as it matures. Length and girth can vary based on cultivar and culinary purpose but grow at least 3 in long. Some varieties are bred to be seedless.
Color: Green. Type: Berry. Length: > 3 inches. Width: 1-3 inches.
Garden value: Edible, Showy
Harvest time: Summer
Edibility: Fruits are commonly eaten raw or pickled. Fresh cucumbers last in the fridge for about a week.
Storage & Preservation
Fresh Marketmore 76 cucumbers store best in the refrigerator crisper drawer at 50-55°F with high humidity. Wrap individual cucumbers loosely in paper towels to absorb excess moisture, then place in perforated plastic bags. Properly stored cucumbers maintain quality for 7-10 days – avoid storing near ethylene-producing fruits like tomatoes which accelerate yellowing.
For preservation, Marketmore 76's crisp texture makes excellent refrigerator pickles using a simple vinegar brine. Slice and freeze cucumber rounds on parchment-lined trays, then transfer to freezer bags for smoothies and cold soups – frozen cucumbers lose crispness but retain flavor. Dehydrate thin slices at 125°F for 8-12 hours to create healthy chips, or ferment cucumber spears in 3% salt brine for probiotic-rich pickles that develop complex flavors over 3-4 weeks.
History & Origin
Marketmore 76 is open-pollinated, meaning seed saved from healthy plants will produce true-to-type offspring. Listed in the Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog.
Origin: Himalaya to Northern Thailand
Advantages
- +Maintains uniform dark green color even during adverse weather conditions
- +Classic crisp flavor with mild sweetness makes it ideal for fresh slicing
- +Long productive harvest period extends your cucumber supply throughout the season
- +Disease-resistant genetics protect against fusarium wilt and bacterial wilt
Considerations
- -Late season start means fewer early harvests compared to faster varieties
- -Requires vigilant pest management for cucumber beetles and spider mites
- -Slender fruit shape demands consistent watering to prevent misshapen development
Companion Plants
Radishes planted at the bed edges draw cucumber beetles away from your vines, and you get to harvest them in about 25 days regardless of how the cucumbers perform. Nasturtiums work as an aphid trap crop at ground level without shading anything out. French marigolds (Tagetes patula) are worth a longer commitment — planted densely for a full season, they actively suppress root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) in the soil, which is a real payoff in zone 7 Georgia clay where nematode pressure shows up reliably by midsummer. Bush beans fix nitrogen at a shallow depth and don't compete with cucumber's somewhat deeper roots, so they fit in the same bed without much friction.
Keep melons at least 20 feet away. They share the same pest complex — cucumber beetles, squash bugs, Podosphaera xanthii — so grouping them just concentrates the damage. Potatoes are a harder problem: they're allelopathic to cucumbers, both are heavy feeders, and they'll pull in opposite directions on soil nutrients from the day you plant them.
Plant Together
Radishes
Repel cucumber beetles and squash bugs while improving soil structure
Marigolds
Deter cucumber beetles, aphids, and nematodes with natural compounds
Nasturtiums
Act as trap crop for cucumber beetles and aphids, also repel squash bugs
Bush Beans
Fix nitrogen in soil and provide ground cover without competing for space
Dill
Attracts beneficial insects like ladybugs and parasitic wasps that control pests
Lettuce
Provides living mulch and cool soil while utilizing different root zones
Sunflowers
Provide natural trellising support and attract pollinators
Catnip
Repels cucumber beetles, ants, and aphids more effectively than DEET
Keep Apart
Aromatic Herbs
Strong herbs like sage and rosemary can inhibit cucumber growth and germination
Melons
Compete for same nutrients and space, can cross-pollinate affecting fruit quality
Potatoes
Release compounds that can stunt cucumber growth and attract shared pests
Nutrition Facts
Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #169225)
Pests & Disease Resistance
Resistance
Cucumber Mosaic Virus (Intermediate); Powdery Mildew (Intermediate); Scab (High)
Common Pests
Cucumber beetle, squash bug, aphids, spider mites
Diseases
Bacterial wilt, fusarium wilt (generally resistant to most common diseases)
Troubleshooting Marketmore 76
What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.
Plants wilting mid-day even after watering — lower leaves drooping first, then the whole vine, with no recovery overnight
Likely Causes
- Bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila) — transmitted by striped or spotted cucumber beetles feeding on leaves
- Fusarium wilt (Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cucumerinum) — soil-borne, enters through roots
What to Do
- 1.Do the vine test: cut a stem near the base, touch the cut ends together, pull apart slowly — if you see fine sticky threads, it's bacterial wilt; pull and bag those plants immediately
- 2.Control cucumber beetles with row cover at transplant, removing it only when flowers open for pollination
- 3.Rotate cucurbits out of the affected bed for at least 3 years; Marketmore 76 carries good general disease resistance but none against bacterial wilt
Lower leaves with large tan blotches between the veins and scorched-looking edges, new growth still green
Likely Causes
- Root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne spp.) damage to the root system — reduces nutrient and water uptake, making leaves look starved even in well-irrigated beds
- Angular leaf spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans) — angular brown spots bounded by leaf veins, often mistaken for drought scorch
What to Do
- 1.Pull back the soil and check the roots: knobby or lumpy nodules point squarely at root-knot nematodes — healthy cucumber roots are white, firm, and smooth
- 2.If nematodes are confirmed, send a soil sample to the NCDA&CS Nematode Assay Laboratory before replanting susceptible crops; NC State Extension recommends a solid planting of French marigolds (Tagetes patula) in the affected bed the following season to suppress nematode populations
- 3.For angular leaf spot, water at the base rather than overhead, and time irrigation so foliage dries before sunset
White powdery coating spreading across upper leaf surfaces, starting mid-to-late summer
Likely Causes
- Powdery mildew (Podosphaera xanthii) — airborne spores that thrive when days are warm and nights cool, even at low humidity
- Dense plantings that cut off airflow between vines
What to Do
- 1.Space plants at least 18 inches apart and train vines up a trellis to open the canopy
- 2.Apply potassium bicarbonate or dilute neem oil at first sign — once it covers more than 30% of the canopy, you're mostly managing decline rather than stopping spread
- 3.Remove finished vines promptly in fall; Podosphaera xanthii spores persist on plant debris through winter
Fruit turning bitter, misshapen, or pinching narrow at the blossom end
Likely Causes
- Inconsistent watering — Marketmore 76 wants 1 to 1.5 inches per week; uneven soil moisture stresses developing fruit directly
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV) — spread by aphids, causes mottled foliage and distorted fruit simultaneously
- Overripe fruit left on the vine, which signals the plant to stop setting new cucumbers
What to Do
- 1.Lay 3 inches of straw mulch over the bed to buffer soil moisture swings and reduce the aphid pressure that spreads CMV
- 2.Harvest Marketmore 76 at 8 inches or slightly under — don't let them yellow; check every 2 days once the first fruits size up
- 3.If you're seeing mottled, puckered leaves alongside the distorted fruit, suspect CMV: remove affected plants and hit the remaining vines with insecticidal soap to knock back aphid populations
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does Marketmore 76 take to grow from seed?▼
Is Marketmore 76 good for beginners?▼
Can you grow Marketmore 76 in containers?▼
What does Marketmore 76 taste like?▼
When should I plant Marketmore 76 seeds?▼
Marketmore 76 vs Straight Eight cucumbers – what's the difference?▼
Growing Guides from Wind River Greens
Where to Buy Seeds
Sources & References
External authority sources used in compiling this guide.
- BreederJohnny's Selected Seeds
- USDAUSDA FoodData Central
See the Methodology page for how this data is sourced, what's AI-assisted, and known limitations.