Tag Archives: cucumbers

An American slicer

Every year I grow cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) and some years are better than others. This year, they are doing great.

I usually grow them for salads, not for pickling. Slicers (American slicers) are about 7 to 9 inches long with a green thick skin. The skin is edible but bitter. In grocery stores, the American slicers may be waxed to preserve the moisture, so it is best to peel them.

Pickling cucumbers are shorter, about 3 to 5 inches long, and can be eaten fresh or pickled. American pickling cucumbers have fewer, larger spines than European pickling cucumbers. European pickling cucumbers have many small spines and are used for baby gherkins and cornichons.

Another European type found in grocery stores is the long slender cucumber wrapped in plastic. These have thin, edible skins likely to dry out. These are mild tasting with smaller or less seeds; often called seedless or burpless since they do not cause digestive issues (i.e., gas).

Asian cucumbers are spiny, slender and long, up to a foot in length. And then there are other species such as the striped Armenian (Cucumis melo).

What are burpless cucumbers? Cucumbers contain cucurbitacins which is responsible for causing digestive issues and a bitter taste. There are many cultivars on the market now that have been bred to have low levels of cucurbitacins. They may be marketed as “bitter free” or “burpless.” However, this bitter quality also has health benefits. If you are looking for burpless cucumbers, most varieties that are seedless and thin skinned have lower levels of curcurbitacins (such as European and Asian types) or look for varieties that are described as bitter-free or non-bitter.

This Kitchen Mini is parthenocarpic, no need for bees to have fruit indoors on your kitchen counter

Cucumbers are warm season vines but there are bush types good for container growing. The world of cucumbers is quite large; there are many different types. As always, you get a wider variety if you grow them from seed.

Cucumbers can be started from seed indoors under lights about 3 weeks before the last frost. I start mine in May, outdoors in small containers on my deck. I then transplant the seedlings in the garden. I do not direct sow because every time I do, it seems that storms wash away the seeds or some critter or bird has removed them. Direct sowing should be done when the soil has warmed to 65-70 degrees. Sow 3 seeds in one place, every 12 inches in a row. Of the three, keep the strongest looking seedling and pinch out the other two.

Cucumbers need full sun, plenty of water, and support. My cucumbers grow in the same location as my tomatoes and peppers on metal A-frames. I like the metal A-frames because they are very stable during strong storms. Cucumber tendrils tenaciously wind around anything so any type of vertical structure can be used.

The soil should be high in organic matter – I add leaf compost every year. In June, July, and August, I broadcast a bag of granular Espoma Organic Tomato-tone fertilizer for my tomatoes and share it with the cucumbers.

Cucumbers need to be picked before they become too mature. Like beans, the more you pick, the more the plant will produce fruit. It is best to snip or cut the fruit off the vine instead of pulling. If the cucumber has a spiny texture, wipe with a dry paper towel first and then wash with water. Refrigerate if you are not going to eat immediately.

Cucumbers can be planted more than once in a growing season. This is done for more cucumbers, especially if your first crop was wiped out by a disease, or for staggered fruit production so you are not overwhelmed. Usually, it takes 50 to 65 days to get a mature crop so work backwards from your first frost date in the fall to figure out if you still have enough time.

Suyo Long is monoecious, having both male and female flowers on one plant

Cucumbers have an unusual sex life so it is important to understand several terms. The plants are monoecious or gynoecious. Monoecious have both male and female flowers. These plants depend on bees for pollination. Because male flowers bloom earlier than female flowers, the fruit production is relatively slower over a protracted period of time. This is preferable for a sustained harvest or one in which the gardener does not want to be overwhelmed with too much fruit.

Gynoecious plants have predominantly female flowers on one plant but will need a plant nearby with male flowers for pollination. This results in a higher and more concentrated yield since all the female flowers on one plant have the potential to create fruit. This may be advantageous to commercial farmers, especially with mechanical harvesters. The seed packet will have about 10 percent monoecious to produce the male flower and the rest will be gynoecious. Or the monoecious may be placed in a separate packet or dyed a particular color.

Parthenocarpic plants also have female flowers but they do not need pollination to set fruit. These types do well in a greenhouse because bees are not necessary. However, if they are accidently pollinated by insects, the resulting fruit may not be desirable.

“Open pollinated” plants rely on bees and the seed can be saved to sow again next year resulting in plants with the same characteristics. These have not been bred for a particular characteristic such as disease resistance. All open pollinated plants are monoecious. Heirlooms are a type of open pollinated plants that have been passed down from generation to generation, usually with a story.

Hybrids have been bred for particular characteristics such as disease resistance or lower levels of cucurbitacins. With hybrids, seeds can be saved but the next generation will not retain the desired characteristics for which it was bred.

This year I am growing two types. Suyo Long is an Asian variety with very thin skin that does not have to be peeled. It is easy for me to wash, cut and put in a salad. I also like the unusual fruit – it grows up to a foot long.

North Carolina, not yet ready to be picked

North Carolina heirloom has 4 to 5-inch, yellow/cream colored fruit. I selected these seeds because I have grown lemon cucumbers in the past and this looked similar. Although I use North Carolina in salads, it can be used for pickling because of its short length.

One disadvantage to growing heirlooms is that they are not bred for disease resistance. Like tomatoes, cucumbers are prone to fungal diseases, bacterial wilt, downy mildew, and powdery mildew. Pests include cucumber beetles, squash bugs, and spider mites.

In this area, the biggest issue is the striped or spotted cucumber beetle which transmits a bacterial wilt from which the plant cannot recover. If infected, the leaves wilt followed by the stems and then the entire plant wilts and dies rapidly. To prevent, you must prevent the beetles by:

• spraying or dipping plants in a slurry solution of water and kaolin clay (brand name Surround) before planting
• covering plants with a row cover and removing when flowering so they are pollinated by bees
• growing plants bred to be resistant to the wilt
• spraying seedlings or transplants with neem or pyrethrum
• planting around mid-June, when overwintering adults have emerged and left your garden
• rotating crops
• removing plant material in the fall to reduce the overwintering beetle populations

If you are interested in growing from seed, here is a list of more than 100 seed catalogs. Note that there is one company that specializes in cucumbers called the Cucumber Shop in California. I have not ordered from them yet but I am sure they are a good resource for all things cucumber.