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happy_fl_gardener

Vegetable highlight: Cucumbers

It has been a good year for cucumbers, but I have to admit that this is the only veggie that I am not growing in the ground. I am growing them in 2 Earthboxes. One has 7 plants and the other has 8 plants. I placed them along the garden fence so I didn't have to add any additional support.

Out of the several varieties, only 2 varieties I am pleased with. I put some in the photo to show them. The larger one is called 'Burpless' and the other is Michael's favorite 'Cucino'. Not only are they good producers but they have very good flavor and a thin skin.

Since we have more cukes than we can eat I resorted to making bread and butter pickles. Next I will make some garlic/dill sour refrigerator pickles (cold pack).

The "Marinated Cucumber Salad" recipe that I have been making for the last 10 years or so, came from a local restaurant. This one is easy to make and is very tasty. I will post the recipe if someone wants it.

So, what are your favorite recipes for cucumbers?

What are your favorite cuke varieties to grow?

Christine

Comments (9)

  • olyagrove
    15 years ago

    I will post the recipe if someone wants it.
    Pleeease

    I grew cucumbers before but failed miserably as some nasty worm attacked them...I never tried after that

    Your harvest looks great!

  • linchat
    15 years ago

    Yeah me to. I usually get one cucumber before something ultimately kills the plant. This year I ordered Poinsette seeds which are supposed to have some powdery mildew resistance. Generally been my biggest problem.

    And I have 8 plants going in different places, I am playing the odds this time. I think the odds are in my favor! :)

  • whgille
    15 years ago

    Christine

    From the varieties of cucumbers I am growing I like Diva the best. I am still waiting for others to ripen. I made this today.

    Silvia

    Here is a link that might be useful: Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

  • tomncath
    15 years ago

    Well, it looks like Christine is not only a runner-up for this spring's Green Thumb award, but will also be Cucumber Queen too :-)

    In the previous spring I did well with Bush Champion, this past fall and spring it was a bust. This past fall I had very good success with Spacemaster, and this spring in addition to trying the Bush Champion again I also grew Whopper II Hybrid, with only marginal success, about two dozen cukes. Here's hoping these Asian Metki melons will work over the summer, otherwise I'm tempted to try either the other Armenian cuke (melon) I have or one of the three Thai varieties just to see if any of them can handle the bugs and summer humidity/fungus. Thoughts? Would it be futile attempt?

    Tom

  • whgille
    15 years ago

    Here are my favorites for this season:

    Lemon cucumber

    Diva cucumber

    Silvia

  • tclynx
    15 years ago

    I like the burpless tender greens and I am totally in love with the cucinos now. I wish the cucino seeds were not so costly, I only got a few plants out of the pack of seeds I planted but those little cucumbers are so good and crisp!

    I've also planted some picklebush, sumter and straight eights. So far I'm not overly impressed with those but I'm not being fair as they didn't get the same attention as the others.

    Make sure your soil has enough potassium to help the cucumbers fight off the powdery mildew. I find my cucumbers do well in a big mound of mushroom compost that gets plenty of water and has some extra potassium added.

  • an_ill-mannered_ache
    15 years ago

    yeah, cucinos. darn fine cuke. expensive seeds @ $1 each... but, really, one cuke plant produces a zillion cukes, so, surely worth the cost. i like that there are no seeds, no male flowers, and that the skin doesn't have a trace of bitterness.

    my wife was at long & scott's in zellwood a couple years ago, doing the corn maze with the kids. she asked one of the owners how he grew his cukes, given the problems i've had with pickleworms and mildew. he answered--'we do aerial spraying three times a DAY.' we decided we didn't need to eat cukes from the store any longer. a couple months later, in the dead of winter, i was in new york city visiting family and saw a display case with long & scott's cukes for sale. frankly it really pissed me off--i think of the ecological damage and wasted resources so rich new yorkers could have cucumbers in december. sigh.

    that said, long and scott's sweet corn is really amazingly good... it's in season right now, and we're having a shrimp boil at my place to celebrate the beginning of summer.

    sure wish life were simpler.

  • happy_fl_gardener; 9a, near DeLand
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Correction----The large cuke in the first picture is 'Tiffany', an outstanding cuke and great producer.

    Sorry for the delay, but here is the promised cuke salad recipe, one served at a local restaurant.

    MARINATED CUCUMBER SALAD

    2 medium cucumbers, peeled (peeled, optional) and sliced thin.
    1/4 of a medium onion, finely chopped
    1/4 teaspoon black pepper (optional)
    1 teaspoon salt
    4 tablespoons sour cream
    1 tablespoon sugar
    1 tablespoon white vinegar (I prefer rice vinegar)

    Add salt to cucumber slices. Let sit for several hours.
    Rinse the cucumber slices lightly. Drain well. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

    When I make this recipe I usually triple it.

    Enjoy!

  • happy_fl_gardener; 9a, near DeLand
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    MARINATED CUCUMBER SALAD:

    Add some fresh chopped dill to the mixture. Sorry, I omitted that important ingredient.

    Christine

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