I thought cucumbers had to be planted every year.

Question

One of our gardens, that had cucumbers planted in it last year, has new plants this year. We did not do any planting this year, so we were quite surprised to see all of these plants growing cucumbers. Last year the plants grew so wild, then they all yellowed and wilted away. Can you explain how we have plants again this year?

Answer 1

Apparently a seed from last year's crop managed to live through the winter to thrive again this year. Here's an article about volunteers: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/propagation/propgen/volunteer-plants-in-gardens.htm