My Cucumber Crop is Winding down

Stimw · Jun 15, 2011

I put in 12 hills of cucumbers in a 20' X 20' area and they went CRAZY! I managed to keep count when I started picking, total so far is 677!!! My best day picking was 82. I would have 2-2 1/2 5gal buckets to bring in and wash.
The heat is burning the vines up now and water won't help.
Except for the 40-50 that I have eaten I have given the rest away. I have been passing them out like popcorn. Took a bunch up to the Fire House for the Firemen too. Hang a bag of them on the mailbox every few days, Mailman really likes them.
These are so sweet and juicy! I have been putting composted horse squeeze on my garden for a couple years and what I think is my secret is Epsom Salts (Magnesium Sulfate). My cabbage is also very good tasting, but that was last winters crop.
My favorite way to fix a cucumber is to cool it, peel it and hand grate it into a bowl and add salt and Thousand Island or Ranch Dressing. It gives it a nice texture kinda like bean sprouts. YUM!

randy41 · Jun 16, 2011

what variety do you grow?

Thomas · Jun 16, 2011

Dang,our cuke plants only up 2"....week an half ago.

tungularafishcamp · Jun 16, 2011

Must be nice, all mine but one plant got bit by a freeze co uple weeks ago and had to start over. Oh well they will get there eventually.
Rick

DennisArrow · Jun 16, 2011

My cukes are just now starting to flower. This year, instead of a double row, have planted a single, perhaps 15', using square wire used in concrete run between 3 t posts for them to climb on. In the past with the 2 rows, with the wire, I would run an arch over the top also made out of wire...........Anyway, I really hope we only put out 5 or so pounds per day instead of the 20 to 30 as in the past several years.

Instead, this year, my problems is yellow squash and zucinni. 2 Zucinni plants are putting out 3 or 4 12" to 18" squash per day, and the yellow is putting out maybe 10 to 15 pounds per day. This out of 12 hills of yellow..........My neighbors love it and if the past runs true, will go from doing this from the first of this month till well into July............

God is good.........Dennis

Stimw · Jun 16, 2011

The variety is Straight Eight but I was getting some 12-14" long.
I just let them run on the ground, in past years I tried a piece of fence running them up in the air and lost way too many to pickle worms. It's been miserable dry here and that might be why I have found no worms this year.
The good news is I will also get a fall crop of Cucumbers too. I just wish I liked them pickled. I don't so I have to pig out when they are here.

jimmyj · Jun 16, 2011

Nice! We are waiting for our first flowers on the cukes up here. Cannot wait!:licking:

Chuck52 · Jun 16, 2011

I just had the grandkids out weeding the garden yesterday and they cleaned up the cucumbers and peppers for me. The cucumbers are only just now starting to climb the cattle panel hoop I put up for them. I planted Diva this year because it is supposed to be disease resistant, and I lost almost all last year's cucs to diseases spread by the squash bugs and cucumber beetles. I also have some National Pickling, Marketmore and bush type in. This is probably the first year in ages that I haven't had Straight Eight. I thought I had seed but didn't.

DW loves her cucs, so I better get some this year. She is still telling me what I did wrong last year. We like cucumbers and onions in vinegar with some sugar, or with dill and sour cream, or finely diced along with onion and tomato, with olive oil and vinegar, or just plain. When the tomatoes, beans, squash and cucumbers are all coming in life is good. A pone of cornbread tops it off.

Chuck