Fri 2 Jan 2009
If you like to fill shelves with jars of garden vegetables for winter use, plant cucumbers. Six to twelve vines will keep you busy pickling for several weeks. The vines of most varieties will spread over 6 feet before the plants are worn out from heavy bearing. Standard vining cucumbers are not for the small garden unless you can train them up supports.
Each cucumber vine bears both male and female flowers; female blossoms are recognizable by the swollen ovary just behind the flower. Pollen is transferred from male flowers by insects and wind. Certain hybrids have been selected for their high percentage of female flowers; seedsmen will usually mix in a few seeds of a male pollinator variety to insure fruiting. Fruits won’t set without pollination; poorly formed fruits are usually caused by nutritional problems, too little or too much water, or hot weather.
How to plant
Plant the seeds 1 inch deep and 2 to 3 inches apart in a row and later thin to 12 inches apart. Closer spacing can increase yields, especially if you create a rich, fastdraining soil by incorporating lots of organic matter and if you mulch under the vines with straw.
Care
If you expect some cool spells during the growing season, plant the seeds along fences where reflected heat will encourage faster growth and better fruiting. You can also start seeds indoors in peat pots two to three weeks before the usual date of the last spring frost. Care. Cucumbers need lots of water. Sprinkling is not recommended for most gardens because it encourages mildew. Furrow irrigation works best but vines can clog the furrows. Train all the vines in one direction to keep the irrigation furrow open. In small gardens, train the vines up 3 to 5-foot-high vertical or slanted frames covered with chicken wire or strung with stout twine. Cucumber vines don’t cling; tie them up every foot or so. Pinch out the tips of rambling vines; this will cause more branches to form. Feed every three to four weeks by scattering a complete fertilizer in the irrigation furrow and watering deeply.
Pests
Cucumber beetles feed on the leaves and can spread bacterial wilt, a fatal cucumber disease for which there is no known cure. The larva of the beetle also does damage, boring into the roots. Dust with diazinon or sevin. (Dusts are preferable to sprays, since moisture can cause mildew on cucumber plants). Cucumber beetle will usually show up only while plants are young.
Harvesting
With most varieties, pick for sweet pickles when 2 or 3 inches long, for dills when 5 or 6 inches, for slicing when 6 to 8 inches. Pick cucumbers before they begin to turn yellow, because at the yellow stage the seeds begin to harden. Keep fruits picked leaving older fruits on vines inhibits the formation of new fruit. Hold the brittle vines firmly while twisting or clipping off the fruits to prevent breakage.
In containers
Try compact varieties, such as ‘Little Minnie’, ‘Tiny Dill’, and ‘Patio Pick’, in good-sized tubs or barrels. Include plenty of well-rotted manure or compost in the potting mix and feed plants frequently.
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