HybridContainer OK

Tasty Jade

Cucumis sativus

Harvest

54d

Days to harvest

📅

Sun

Full sun

☀️

Zones

2–11

USDA hardiness

🗺️

Height

8-18 inches

📏

Planting Timeline

Zone:

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Start Indoors

Transplant

Direct Sow

Harvest

Start Indoors

Transplant

Direct Sow

Harvest

Showing dates for Tasty Jade in USDA Zone 7

All Zone 7 cucumber →

Zone Map

Click a state to update dates

Tasty Jade · Zones 2–11

What grows well in Zone 7? →

Growing Details

Difficulty

Moderate

Spacing12-18 inches

SoilRich, well-drained soil with high organic matter

pH6.0-7.0

Water1-2 inches per week, consistent moisture preferred

SeasonWarm season annual

FlavorExceptionally sweet, crisp, refreshing with no bitterness

ColorDeep jade green

Size11-12"

Zone-by-Zone Planting Calendar

Zone	Indoor Start	Transplant	Direct Sow	Harvest
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
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

Succession Planting

Tasty Jade comes in at 54 days, and cucumber vines don't keep producing indefinitely — once heat stress peaks or the plant exhausts itself, that's the crop. In zone 7, direct sow a first planting around May 1 and a second around June 1. That second sowing pushes harvest into August, which already brings heavy spider mite pressure and the kind of overnight humidity that accelerates angular leaf spot. A third sowing is usually a losing bet — soil temps above 95°F drag germination out past 10 days, and plants that go in after mid-June rarely hit full stride before the vines give out.

A fall window is theoretically possible if you back-calculate from a mid-October frost and sow by late July, but the combination of germination stress in hot soil and disease-loaded beds from the summer crop makes it low-percentage most years. Two successions, May and June, is the right call for this climate.

Complete Growing Guide

Vigorous, high-yielding plants produce glossy, 11-12" long, bitter-free fruit with small seed cavities. Cukes are sweet, crisp, and thin-skinned; no peeling required. Suitable for outdoor or greenhouse culture. Trellis for straight fruit. Parthenocarpic. According to Johnny's Selected Seeds, Tasty Jade is 54 days to maturity, annual, hybrid (f1). Disease resistance includes Powdery Mildew. Notable features: Greenhouse Performer.

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

Tasty Jade reaches harvest at 54 days from sowing per Johnny's Selected Seeds. Expect 11-12" 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

Store freshly harvested Tasty Jade cucumbers in the refrigerator's crisper drawer at 40-45°F with high humidity for optimal quality. Wrap individual cucumbers in paper towels to absorb excess moisture, then place in perforated plastic bags. Properly stored cucumbers maintain peak crispness for 7-10 days.

Avoid storing at room temperature for extended periods, as Tasty Jade's thin skin makes it more susceptible to moisture loss and quality degradation than thick-skinned varieties.

For preservation, these cucumbers excel in quick pickling—their sweet flavor and crisp texture shine in refrigerator pickles with rice vinegar and Asian seasonings. Slice and freeze in single layers for smoothies and cold soups, though texture becomes soft after thawing. Their exceptional flavor makes them ideal for lacto-fermentation, creating probiotic pickles that maintain more crunch than traditional canning methods.

History & Origin

Tasty Jade is an F1 hybrid developed through controlled cross-pollination. Listed in the Johnny's Selected Seeds catalog.

Origin: Himalaya to Northern Thailand

Advantages

+Exceptionally sweet and crisp flavor with zero bitterness makes eating enjoyable
+No peeling needed due to thin skin, saving preparation time
+High-yielding vigorous plants produce abundant 11-12 inch fruit consistently
+Parthenocarpic variety sets fruit without pollination, ideal for greenhouse growing
+Fast 54-day maturity allows multiple harvests in shorter growing seasons

Considerations

-Susceptible to bacterial wilt, angular leaf spot, and anthracnose diseases
-Vulnerable to aphids, spider mites, and cucumber beetles requiring pest management
-Requires trellising for straight fruit and proper structure support
-Moderate difficulty level may challenge beginner gardeners with disease prevention

Companion Plants

Radishes are the most practical companion here — direct sow them around the base of your cucumber hills at transplant time. They pull cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum and Diabrotica undecimpunctata) away from the main plants, and since they finish in 25-30 days, they're out of the ground before they compete for anything. French marigolds (Tagetes patula) have real nematode-suppression data behind them, but the catch is you need to grow them densely and turn them under as a cover crop the season before — a border row of marigolds looks nice but won't do much for Meloidogyne populations already in the soil. Nasturtiums pull their weight as a trap crop, drawing Aphis gossypii colonies away from Tasty Jade's tender new growth.

Beans make a reasonable neighbor since they fix nitrogen at the root level without competing hard for moisture, and tall corn can serve as a natural trellis for vines that want to climb. In our zone 7 Georgia garden, a corn-bean-cucumber planting that goes in around May 10-15 tends to line up well — the corn is tall enough to support by the time the cucumbers need it.

Keep aromatic herbs like rosemary, sage, and fennel on the other side of the garden. Strong volatile compounds from those plants interfere with cucumber germination and suppress early root development. Melons are the other separation worth enforcing, though the reason is less about chemistry and more about disease: angular leaf spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans) and powdery mildew jump between cucurbits with very little encouragement, and planting them together just concentrates that risk in one spot.

Plant Together

Radishes

Repel cucumber beetles and squash bugs, quick harvest makes space for cucumber spread

Marigolds

Deter cucumber beetles, aphids, and nematodes with natural compounds

Nasturtiums

Act as trap crop for cucumber beetles and aphids, repel squash bugs

Beans

Fix nitrogen in soil to benefit heavy-feeding cucumbers, different root depths

Corn

Provides natural trellis support and shade, compatible root systems

Lettuce

Grows in cucumber shade, shallow roots don't compete, efficient space use

Dill

Attracts beneficial insects like parasitic wasps that control cucumber pests

Sunflowers

Provide natural trellis support and attract pollinators essential for fruit set

Keep Apart

Aromatic Herbs

Strong scents from sage, rosemary can inhibit cucumber growth and germination

Melons

Compete for same nutrients and space, share common diseases like bacterial wilt

Potatoes

Both susceptible to similar fungal diseases, potatoes may stunt cucumber growth

Nutrition Facts

Calories

10kcal(1%)

Protein

0.59g(1%)

Fiber

0.7g(3%)

Carbs

2.16g(1%)

Fat

0.16g(0%)

Vitamin C

3.2mg(4%)

Vitamin A

4mcg(0%)

Vitamin K

7.2mcg(6%)

Iron

0.22mg(1%)

Calcium

14mg(1%)

Potassium

136mg(3%)

Per 100g serving. % Daily Value based on 2,000 calorie diet. Source: USDA FoodData Central (FDC #169225)

Pests & Disease Resistance

Resistance

Powdery Mildew (Intermediate)

Common Pests

Aphids, spider mites, cucumber beetles

Diseases

Bacterial wilt, angular leaf spot, anthracnose

Troubleshooting Tasty Jade

What you'll see, why it happens, and what to do about it.

Plants wilting progressively — starts as midday droop, gets worse even after extra watering, lower leaves show brown blotches with scorched edges

Likely Causes

Root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) — microscopic soil-dwelling pests that create lumpy galls on the root system, cutting off water and nutrient uptake
Bacterial wilt (Erwinia tracheiphila) — transmitted by cucumber beetles; clogs vascular tissue so water can't move up the stem

What to Do

1.Pull one plant and rinse the roots — if you see lumpy, knotted galls (not just nodules), you're dealing with Meloidogyne; don't replant cucurbits in that bed for at least 2 seasons
2.For bacterial wilt, do the stem-snap test: cut a wilted stem near the base and slowly pull the two ends apart — thin thread-like strands stretching between them means it's bacterial wilt, and the plant needs to come out now
3.Control striped cucumber beetles (Acalymma vittatum), which vector bacterial wilt — use row cover until flowering, then remove for pollination

Angular, water-soaked spots on leaves that dry to tan or brown and are bordered by leaf veins, sometimes with a yellow halo

Likely Causes

Angular leaf spot (Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans) — bacterial disease that spreads fastest with overhead irrigation and warm, wet weather
Anthracnose (Colletotrichum orbiculare) — fungal, favored by warm humid conditions and poor airflow

What to Do

1.Switch from overhead sprinklers to drip irrigation or soaker hoses — wet foliage is the single biggest driver of both pathogens
2.Remove and bag (don't compost) infected leaves as soon as you spot them
3.Rotate out of cucurbits for 2 years; both pathogens persist in crop debris left in the soil

Stippled, bronzed, or yellowing leaves with fine webbing on the undersides during dry stretches; or new growth curling and sticky with a shiny residue

Likely Causes

Two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) — explode in hot, dry conditions above 85°F, especially on water-stressed plants
Melon aphid (Aphis gossypii) — clusters on new growth and leaf undersides, excreting honeydew that leads to sooty mold

What to Do

1.For spider mites, blast the undersides of leaves with a hard stream of water every 2-3 days — it physically dislodges them and they struggle in high humidity; consistent soil moisture reduces plant stress that makes infestations worse
2.For aphids, spray insecticidal soap mixed at 2 tablespoons per gallon directly onto the undersides of leaves; repeat every 5-7 days until populations drop
3.Back off high-nitrogen fertilizer once plants are vining — the soft, fast growth it produces is exactly what both pests target

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does Tasty Jade cucumber take to grow from seed to harvest?▼

Tasty Jade cucumbers mature in 60-65 days from seed to first harvest. When started indoors 3-4 weeks before transplanting, you'll see first fruits about 5-6 weeks after transplanting outdoors. The plants continue producing for 8-10 weeks with regular harvesting, providing continuous yields throughout the growing season.

Can you grow Tasty Jade cucumbers in containers?▼

Yes, Tasty Jade grows excellently in containers with at least 20-gallon capacity and good drainage. Use a sturdy trellis system as vines reach 6-8 feet. Container growing actually provides better control over soil conditions and watering, which this variety appreciates. Ensure containers receive full morning sun with some afternoon protection in hot climates.

Is Tasty Jade cucumber good for beginners?▼

Tasty Jade is moderately challenging for beginners due to its need for consistent watering and proper trellising. However, its excellent disease resistance and parthenocarpic fruiting make it more forgiving than many cucumber varieties. New gardeners succeed with this variety when they maintain steady soil moisture and provide adequate support structures.

What does Tasty Jade cucumber taste like compared to regular cucumbers?▼

Tasty Jade offers exceptional sweetness with a crisp, refreshing crunch that's notably superior to standard slicing cucumbers. The flavor is completely free of bitterness with a clean, mild taste that's perfect for fresh eating. The thin, tender skin adds no harsh notes, making the entire cucumber more palatable than thick-skinned varieties.

When should I plant Tasty Jade cucumber seeds?▼

Start Tasty Jade seeds indoors 3-4 weeks before your last frost date, or direct sow outdoors when soil temperature consistently reaches 65°F. In most regions, this means indoor starting in March-April for May transplanting, or direct sowing in May-June. Warm-season gardeners can succession plant every 2-3 weeks through mid-summer.

Do Tasty Jade cucumbers need pollination to produce fruit?▼

No, Tasty Jade is parthenocarpic, meaning it sets fruit without pollination. This makes it excellent for greenhouse growing or areas with limited bee activity. The fruits develop seedless or with minimal seeds, contributing to their superior eating quality and consistent production regardless of pollinator availability.