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Cucumbers
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Author: Staff Writer
 Common
Name: Cucumbers
Botanical Name: Cucumis sativus
A favorite for salads! The quickest salad is large
hunks of cucumber, tomatoes and Spanish onion with feta cheese. Yum!
Cucumbers are a late spring, summer crop in New York and Vermont.
They must be grown in warm temperatures and full sunlight, and will not
stand frost. One night of frost and the fruit gets a mealy, peculiar texture.
Cucumbers mature quickly and are best suited to large gardens. They tend
to claim a huge amount of space. However, you can try to limit them (with
some success) if you use a trellise or boxed in area.
Soil Preparation
Cucumbers do well in any well-drained soil. However, they prefer loose,
sandy loam.
Standard soil preparation: turn over the earth to 8 to 12 inches.
Cucumbers require plenty of fertilizer. Add compost or fertilizer. Rake
the soil into beds 4 - 6 inches high and at least 36 inches apart. Vines
can reach 6 to 8 feet or more - so be ready for the spread if you aren't
training them up a trellise, or putting them in a box or wire cage.
Planting
Be aware that plants have both female and male flowers. Some varieties
produce only female flowers, so plant male pollinators nearby.
Make a small furrow about 1 inch deep down the center of each row. Place
a cluster of 3 -4 seeds about a foot apart. Cover the seed about 1 inch
deep with fine soil. Smooth with rake, but don't pack down.
A great tip is to plant crops such as radishes between the slow maturing
vines. That way you can maximize the production of your garden.
After Planting
Thin out the extra plants, leaving the strongest to thrive.
Water slowly and deeply, but avoid wetting leaves to prevent mildew. Bitterness
is believed to be caused by infrequent watering or high temperatures.
Female flowers are easily identified as they have a longer stem. You
may have to help things along if you don't have a good insect population
helping out. A cotton swab or Kleenex on your finger works well.
Diseases
Cucumber plants can get bacterial mildew, leaf spot, mosaic virus and
scab, so plant disease-resistant varieties. Most diseases show up as spots
on the upper or lower sides of leaves or on fruit.
Harvesting
Harvest cucumbers at a size best suited to your purpose.
Harvest
pickling cucumbers at 2 to 3 in (a little longer
than your middle finger).,
slicing cucumbers at 6 to 8 in. (about a handspan)
usually 55 to 60 days from seed.
If cukes turn yellow, you've left them too long. They will be too bitter.
Remove them to the compost (to avoid renegade plants next year)
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