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Seasons
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The thought of fresh cucumber salad and fresh
green beans is enough to make a person plant cucumbers!!! They are
easy to grow and very prolific. It is said that one cucumber plant
can produce a whopping 30-40 lbs. of cucumbers so you don't need to
plant very many to have an abundance.
There are two types of cucumbers; the standard varieties which are monoecious
and the gynoecious which are newer varieties.
Monoecious means they produce both male and female flowers and need
bees to serve as pollinators to have a good fruit set. These are
generally classified as slicing and pickling cucumbers. Examples
of these are Straight 8, Marketmore 70, and Ohio National Pickling.
Gynoecious are special pickling and slicing hybrids that only have
female flowers. Seed companies usually include a few seeds coated
with an identifying colored dust of a standard variety (having male
blooms) to use as pollinizer, meaning they don't depend on bees.
The benefit of this type of cucumber is an earlier and heavier harvest
because the plant's first blooms will be female, fruit- bearing
ones. An example of this is the Burpee Burpless.
Monoecious Varieties:
Straight 8
Produces in 66 days straight, smooth, deep green 8"
fruit. Makes a good slicing variety.
*National Pickling
Produces in 56 days 6" long, medium green, black spined
cucumbers. They are very prolific. They can be sliced for
eating or picked very tiny 1-2" for cute, little pickling
cucumbers. I was raised on this variety and it remains my favorite to
this day. These spines have to rubbed and washed off before pickling.
Improved Long Green
Produces in 67 days dark green cucumbers that make excellent slicers.
Gynoecious Varieties
*Burpless
Produces in 70 days. 2 cucumbers for at each internode.
Pick when they are 10-12 inches long. Makes good slicing and/or pickling
cucumbers and have made their fame by being "burpless"!
I have grown to love this cucumber and usually plant half Burpless and
half National pickling. One cucumber will make a meal.
Dasher II
Produces in 58 days. It is a vigorous slicer with excellent
disease resistance. It is slow to oversize, holds color well and
grows 8" long. It is dark green with cylindrical shape.
Bush Varieties
Bush varieties do not vine and take up as much space but I have never
had much luck with good production. They are designed for
container or small space gardening.
Bush Crop
Produces in 55 days. Compact bushy plant with 6-8" fruit.
Note: Clip art pictures taken from Wetsel Seed web page.
*My favorite varieties. |
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Planting:
Sow seeds outdoors after all danger of frost is past. Place
seeds in rows, 6 inches apart and cover with 1 inch of soil.
They can be planted on a trellis or allowed to run on the
ground. I have a permanent trellis in my garden. Trellised
cucumbers are cleaner, straighter and much easier to pick. I used
a 16' piece of livestock panel with a T post at each end and one
in the middle. The panel is mounted about 10" off the ground
and is strong enough to hold the cucumbers without bending. This
works wonderfully for me. Because it is only 16' long I leave it up
and turn the soil underneath it with a shovel.
Cucumbers left to vine on the ground should be mulched to help with
weed control and to help keep the cucumbers clean.
Care:
Keep soil moist to prevent bitterness in the cucumbers.
Side-dress with 1 T. 5-10-10 per plant about 4 weeks after
planting. Cucumbers also appreciate some good composted manure
worked into the soil. Mulch to prevent weeds and conserve moisture.
Harvest:
Harvest when cucumbers are firm and pickling or slicing size but
before they get overly large and yellow.
Rule for cucumbers...... Bigger is not
better!
Cucumbers grow very fast so they have to be picked at least
every other day or they will basically tell the plant it is time to shut
down and quit producing. Even if you can't use all the cucumbers
pick them to share with a neighbor or throw them away. Cucumbers
are best when harvested first thing in the morning as they are crisp and
fresh. If cucumbers taste bitter they are not getting enough
consistent water. One bitter cucumber ruins the whole salad.
Pests:
The most common pest is the cucumber beetle. The squash vine
bore will also attack it so it is best if they are not planted too close
to the squash plants.
Use approved insecticide (such as Sevin or Permerthrin dust or spray)
for the beetle. The best luck I have had with the bore is using
Rotenone dust. It is organic and safe to use even when the
cucumbers are producing. Keep base of vines dusted. |
®
Hertzler
Farm
and Feed Inc.
Cucumber
June 26, 2004: I plant
my cucumbers on a piece of livestock paneling. The lush cucumbers in the
back are the Burpless and the ones in the front, National Pickling, have yellow
spots on their leaves.