Yes — Strong Match
cucumber (zones 2-11) covers every zone Alabama contains (7b-9b), so hardiness is not what limits it anywhere in the state.
Cucumber in Alabama — the short answer
Cucumber in Alabama: hardy in zones 2–11, full sun, against a state median of ~266 frost-free days.
- Plant zones
- 2-11
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Alabama zones
- 7b-9b
- USDA PHZM 2023
- Frost window
- Feb 24 - Mar 16 – Nov 15 - Nov 28
- NOAA RCC ACIS 1991-2020, 28°F
- Shortest county season
- 225 days
- NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze
- Days to maturity
- 60 days
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset.
Your yard isn't the whole zone.
Alabama spans zones 7b-9b, but your yard has its own microclimate — slope, trees, and low spots shift frost and sun across a single parcel. Enter your address and we'll score cucumber against your land's actual soil, sun, and frost.
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Alabama is not one climate
A single Alabama answer averages 67 counties whose growing seasons are 72 days apart — from 225 frost-free days in Marion County to 297 in Mobile County. Which end of that your land sits nearer changes what cucumber can finish before the first hard freeze.
The middle half of 67 counties runs 244–277 days, with a median of 266 days — a 72-day span end to end.
Measured across 67 Alabama counties. NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020, county 28°F killing freeze. Quartiles are order statistics — every figure shown is a value a real county recorded, not an interpolation. Your own site sits somewhere inside this range; a parcel report resolves where.
Where in Alabama Fits Best
Even within Alabama's zones 7b-9b, county microclimates differ enough to change what thrives. These counties carry the closest zone match for cucumber (USDA PHZM 2023):
Zone Comparison
Cucumber Needs
- USDA Zones: 2-11
- Frost-Free Days: 40+
- Sun: Full Sun
- Mature size: 6 ft tall
- Picking window: ~35 days of harvest
- Drought tolerance: Low
Alabama Has
- USDA Zones: 7b-9b
- Last Hard Freeze (28°F): Feb 24 - Mar 16
- First Hard Freeze (28°F): Nov 15 - Nov 28
- Annual Rainfall: 50-65 inches
- Common Soils: Red clay, Sandy loam, Alluvial
Plant Zone Range (zones 2-11)
Preferred Soil pH
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources — per-field provenance varies and is published with the dataset. State data: USDA ARS PHZM 2023, NOAA Climate Normals, NRCS SSURGO.
When to Plant Cucumber in Alabama
The frost window
Across Alabama, the last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 24 and Mar 16, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 28 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Counting from the latest last freeze to the earliest first freeze, that's a 244-day window you can count on — up to 277 days on a mild site in a kind year. That marks the hard freeze, not the last light frost, so tender transplants usually wait another 2-3 weeks.
When to start the seed
Those dates are when cucumber goes out, not when it starts. It is sown under cover about 3 weeks ahead, so counting back from Alabama's late-side last freeze of Mar 16 is what fixes your sowing date — and a yard that clears frost earlier than the state's late date starts earlier still.
Days to maturity vs. the window
At 60 days to maturity (Growable Ground Plant Database), counting from the last hard freeze it ripens with 184 days to spare even in Alabama's tightest freeze scenario — room for a later start or a second sowing.
Timing tuned to sub-state frost dates — Marion County, not the statewide average.
Frost window: NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020. Plant timing fields: Growable Ground Plant Database — frost-free days from FAO ECOCROP, days to harvest from university Extension production guides, and growing-degree-day and chill-hour minimums that are compilation estimates rather than published figures. Your site's own frost dates can run earlier or later than the state range — a parcel report pins them down.
Growing Season Fit
The zone check says cucumber survives winter here. Whether the season is long enough — and warm enough — is a different question.
Frost-free days
Cucumber wants 40+ frost-free days; a typical Alabama site sees ~266 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). That leaves comfortable headroom for succession planting.
Growing degree days
Cucumber needs ~1100 GDD (base 50°F) to ripen. The state median runs ~5383 GDD (from PRISM 1991-2020 climate normals), so Alabama's typical season clears that easily.
GDD and chill-hour figures are computed from PRISM 1991-2020 monthly climate normals; frost-free days from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020. Each is the state median across its counties (P25/P75 span the within-state spread). Hardiness-zone range is USDA PHZM 2023.
Soil + Drainage Fit
Cucumber tolerates a wide pH range (pH 4.5-8.7) — 4.2 units, acid ground through alkaline — so soil acidity is rarely what limits it in Alabama. A soil test is still worth having, but for what else it tells you about this site, not to clear this plant. It will grow across that whole span, but it does best between pH 6 and 7.5 — worth knowing before you decide whether a Alabama soil test result is a problem or just a number. Drainage matters: this plant wants well (dry spells). If your Alabama site is heavier clay or sits in a low spot, raised beds or amendment with compost solve it.
Your land, not the state average
SSURGO maps about 14.1% of Alabama as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and the class flips parcel to parcel. Cucumber has low drought tolerance, so it is the fast-draining end that will cost you — your soil map unit, not the state average, is the real answer.
Check your parcel → Source: USDA NRCS SSURGO.
Plant pH requirements: FAO ECOCROP and USDA PLANTS, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Drainage: FAO ECOCROP, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation. Alabama soil profile from USDA NRCS SSURGO. Site-specific verification: a 30-minute soil test from your local Extension lab.
Before you plant cucumber for food
Anything you grow to eat takes up what is in the ground it grows in, so what is on record near you is worth knowing before cucumber goes in. What follows is Alabama’s documented federal record at state scale — a screening signal, not a soil test, and not a statement about any one lot.
Safe to Grow Here?
What the federal record shows across Alabama — and how to grow with it.
We checked the federal record across Alabama — 27,834 documented sites across 8 of the 9 source types we track.
The most significant on record: 327 Superfund sites. Sites tracked in EPA's Superfund program — from assessment-stage CERCLIS entries to confirmed National Priorities List cleanup sites.
Alabama carries one of the heavier federal records we track — and that's not a verdict on your yard. Proximity to a documented site is information, not a diagnosis: nothing here says any particular parcel is affected. It does earn one concrete step — before food beds go in the ground, a professional soil test tells you exactly what you're working with, and raised beds with clean imported soil grow well almost anywhere in the meantime.
Sources Checked
across Alabama
Severity Distribution
across Alabama
Highest-Severity Sites
A note from Gnorman
What an experienced grower watches for around here
In and around Alabama, two things run higher than the national average across Alabama — CAFO (1,551 sites) and PFAS (290 sites). That's not a problem with your land — it's information about it.
CAFO: CAFOs pose a different contamination profile than chemical sources.
PFAS: PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are called "forever chemicals" because they do not biodegrade.
Wash all produce consumed raw thoroughly, especially leafy greens grown near CAFOs.
Test irrigation water source — this is the primary pathway for PFAS to reach garden crops.
Sources: EPA, USGS — 1.8M documented sites tracked nationwide across 9 federal source types.
What Else to Consider for Cucumber in Alabama
Zone compatibility tells you about winter cold survival — but Alabama growers also need to think about:
Heavy clay soils in the Piedmont region
High humidity promotes fungal diseases
Fire ants are a persistent garden pest
Growing cucumber here specifically
Cucumber roots run medium and prefer pH 4.5–8.7, but drainage comes first here: SSURGO maps about 14.1% of Alabama as poorly or somewhat-poorly drained, and wet ground rots its roots before pH ever matters.
Plant cucumber on a raised, gravel-amended berm so water drains fast and the roots stays dry. How to handle it →
What to actually do about these — and the constraints that apply to every Alabama grower, not just cucumber — is covered on the Alabama growing guide.
Timing shifts within Alabama
Alabama isn't one climate. In Marion County, the last hard freeze (28°F) holds until about Mar 28 — roughly 26 days later than the recorded state median — so plant cucumber to your county's window, not the statewide date.
Cucumber needs about 40 days of frost-free season to complete its cycle. Even Marion County — Alabama’s shortest season at 225 frost-free days — clears that by 185 days, so season length isn’t the constraint anywhere in Alabama. What varies is your own parcel.
Across Alabama’s 67 counties the frost-free season runs from 225 days in Marion County to 297 days in Mobile County — a spread of 72 days, which is why a single statewide planting date misleads. The median Alabama county sees 266 frost-free days, leaving cucumber about 226 days of slack on a typical parcel — room for a second sowing where the season runs long.
County last-freeze dates and frost-free day counts: NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS (1991-2020), county 28°F freeze (earlier than the folk 32°F "last frost"). Cucumber's 40-day requirement: USDA PLANTS / Growable Ground plant database (minimum frost-free days). A parcel report resolves your address's own frost dates.
Pollinator + Wildlife Value
Cucumber draws honeybees and native bees (moderate value, Growable Ground Plant Database). Planting it near vegetable beds can lift fruit set on neighboring crops. Outdoors, cucumber can only work that bloom inside Alabama's frost window — roughly 266 days, opening after the last 28°F freeze (Feb 24 - Mar 16) and closing at the first (Nov 15 - Nov 28), per NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020.
Recommended Cucumber Varieties for Alabama
These are a regional Cooperative Extension recommendation covering Alabama (cited source, 2025). Variety facts aren't ours — we extract and cite them; the full list lives at the linked source.
Tier 2 — a regional Cooperative Extension consortium recommendation. Cultivar data: PLANT_DATABASE/cultivar_registry.json (provenance-gated).
Alabama Cooperative Extension
For Alabama-specific cultivar recommendations, planting calendars, and pest pressure for cucumber, the canonical source is Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Their fact sheets carry the local trial data we can't generalize across 50 states.
Is Cucumber native to Alabama?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Cucumber as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Alabama's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Alabama natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
Looking for plants that belong here? The Alabama growing guide lists USDA-documented natives for the state.
Native-range data: USDA PLANTS Database state-distribution records, accessed 2026-07-01.
What pests threaten cucumber in Alabama?
Squash bug is documented in Alabama and will find cucumber, but it is manageable here. What an experienced grower watches for, and does:
Squash bug
Worth watchingSquash bugs will feed on any cucurbit — the University of Illinois says all members of the family — but they prefer squash and pumpkins, so a cucumber or melon planting is usually the second thing they find, not the first.
What to do: Let the squash rows do the scouting: check them first, and when egg clusters show up there, start checking leaf undersides here too. Crush eggs on sight and keep debris cleared.
Here: In Alabama that second clean-up lands around Nov 15 - Nov 28, when the first 28°F freeze typically ends the cucumber — pulling the vines then is what strips the overwintering shelter, and leaving them is what stocks next season.
Documented range: the United States · University of Illinois IPM, University of Minnesota Extension
Only pests whose documented range and host relationship both trace to a primary source appear here — so a quiet section means we have nothing sourced to tell you, not that your garden is pest-free.
Common Questions About Growing Cucumber in Alabama
When can I plant Cucumber in Alabama?
Alabama's last spring hard freeze (28°F) clears between Feb 24 and Mar 16, and the first fall hard freeze lands between Nov 15 and Nov 28 (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Time outdoor planting to after the last hard freeze for your specific site — a further two to three weeks for anything tender — and count back from those dates for transplant scheduling.
Can Cucumber mature before first frost in Alabama?
Yes — Cucumber matures in 60 days (Growable Ground Plant Database), and Alabama's dependable hard-freeze-free window runs 244 days (NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020), leaving 184 days of margin. Plant once the last hard freeze has passed — two to three weeks later for anything tender — and it ripens ahead of the first fall freeze.
What hardiness zone is Cucumber grown in across Alabama?
Alabama spans USDA hardiness zones 7b-9b (USDA ARS PHZM 2023). Cucumber carries a range of zones 2-11, so the overlap zones are where outdoor growing is most reliable.
Which cucumber varieties are recommended for Alabama?
Cooperative Extension variety trials for Alabama list 'Bristol', 'Cortez', and 'Dasher II' among recommended cucumber cultivars (cited source, updated 2025). Match one to your site, then confirm timing and soil against your own parcel — not the state average.
How many frost-free days does a typical Alabama site have?
A typical Alabama site sees ~266 frost-free days per year (derived from NOAA Regional Climate Centers ACIS, 1991-2020). Cucumber needs 40+ frost-free days, so check whether your local microclimate runs above or below the state average before settling on a planting date. In cooler counties like Marion, the freeze-free season runs shorter than the state average, so verify your own county's window.
Is Cucumber native to Alabama?
No — the USDA PLANTS Database lists Cucumber as introduced rather than native in the Lower 48, so it is not part of Alabama's native flora. It grows here as a garden plant; pairing it with a few Alabama natives keeps local pollinators fed too.
How should I amend the soil for Cucumber in Alabama?
Cucumber tolerates pH 4.5-8.7 and well (dry spells) drainage (FAO ECOCROP). That is a 4.2-unit span, acid ground through alkaline, so pH is rarely what limits this plant on a Alabama site — amend for drainage and organic matter first.
Will Cucumber actually grow on my specific land in Alabama?
State-level zone + climate data is a sketch. A Growable Ground parcel report scores cucumber against your address's exact soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost-date data drawn from USDA SSURGO, NOAA, and PRISM — not state averages.
Check your specific parcel in Alabama
State-level data is a sketch. Your Growable Ground report scores cucumber against your parcel's exact soil, sun, drainage, and frost data — not zone averages.
Three things about your lot that Alabama cucumber averages can't show:
We read public map data around Alabama — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
25+ data sources read at your address, not the Alabama cucumber average
Explore More
Growing guides for cucumber
Explore Alabama county by county
Alabama carries 67 counties with their own USDA zone — a sample of the growing pages for cucumber there:
Where else cucumber grows
Cucumber's zone band crosses state lines — these are the states closest to Alabama in winter climate where it also has a page, plus the far ends of its range. Each one re-answers the question with that state's own record.
More to grow in Alabama
Alabama has a growing page for 1,034 plants — a rotating sample of the rest of the shelf.
Analysis by the Growable Ground research team, grounded in USDA PLANTS, USDA NRCS SSURGO, NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020), and named Cooperative Extension sources. How we know →
Cite this dataset
Kirchick, M. (2026). Growable Ground Plant Database [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21435643
Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0. DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21435643
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