|
Post by rdback on Aug 3, 2023 8:57:06 GMT -6
...Your cucumbers look great. What varieties do you have? I planted three, new-to-me, varieties this year. I'm still looking for that "perfect" cucumber, lol. This year it's (L-R in the pic) Sweet Success, Double Yield, and Chelsea Prize. I just picked the first three Sweet Success yesterday, so I haven't tried them yet. The first Chelsea Prize should be ready in a few days. The Double Yield is the one in the middle of the picture with the longest vines and the multiple flowers everywhere. We've probably picked 10 of these already, and there's several more coming. Unfortunately, I'm not a fan. It grows well, produces early and tastes pretty good. The problem is, it's a rather light-colored cucumber and starts turning yellow just about the time it's ready to pick. It's keeping qualities are very poor. You almost have to eat them the day you pick them. There's not enough time to accumulate enough to process before they soften.
I've grown a lot of different cukes over the years, and my two favorites continue to be Marketmore 76 and Straight Eight. I have no problem recommending either (or both, lol).
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 25, 2023 9:40:17 GMT -6
Rdback, it looks like I forgot to thank you for that information. Sorry about that. Thanks. Our cucumbers are climbing, and blooming, and beginning to set fruit just a little. The bumblebees are so thick on one set of flowers that it’s loud just standing there. The Sumters are a jungle of vines. I have to move aside leaves to see the fruit, but I also have to be careful not to upset the bees. The Southern Delights don’t seem to be quite as vigorous, and they’ve had more insect damage. I’m still hoping to have a nice slicing cucumber to eat some time next week.
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 28, 2023 20:09:28 GMT -6
I picked the first Sumter cucumbers today. I needed to do a little pruning as there were too many vines on one particular trellis. It actually ended up being a fair bit of pruning, and during the course of that job, I discovered a couple of cucumbers that were on the ground on vines that needed to come off. I therefore got a little picking of three. There will be a few more in the next couple of days, so I may make a small batch of pickles for my kids to enjoy since there’s a second crop of volunteer dill sprouting, too. There’s one Southern Delight still growing, but I noticed that whatever has been chewing on the leaves of the plants seems to have scarred the skin of the cucumber as well. It will still be good, I’m pretty sure, but I was said to see it.
|
|
|
Post by woodeye on Aug 29, 2023 10:16:58 GMT -6
Congratulations on the fine looking cucumbers, chrysanthemum. You done good...👏
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Aug 29, 2023 20:00:26 GMT -6
Thanks, Woodeye. I am pleased with how the little ones are shaping up so far. The Southern Delight Hybrid must be tasty to Cucumber Beetles or something. It’s very scarred, especially at the stem end. There’s one other one growing out there, and it’s curved. That can happen sometimes just from where it is on the trellis, but I’m thinking this curve isn’t because of a wire or stem but because of insect damage. I haven’t inspected closely, but it will be interesting to see how the two varieties fare in coming weeks.
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Sept 3, 2023 14:11:20 GMT -6
My cucumber vines don’t look the best, but there is still healthy growth, and both varieties are maturing fruit. It has been a wonderful treat to have fresh cucumbers once again to eat on their own or to add to salad. We’re in for an unusually hot and humid week coming up after a stretch of lovely weather. I hope it won’t be too much for the vines.
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Oct 4, 2023 18:42:23 GMT -6
My cucumber vines gave up the ghost a while ago. My mom says that she hasn’t been able to maintain vines very long for several years now. She thinks she may have some disease built up in her soil. We enjoyed the fruit while we had them. I had one Sumter cucumber that I was leaving to mature for seed, but just yesterday I noticed that it had fallen from the dead vine. It’s not the full-blown yellowy orange of an over-mature cucumber, but it’s pretty hard and has a hint of yellow on the skin. I brought it in, but I don’t know if there’s any hope for getting viable seed out of this. I’m willing to keep it if there is a chance, but I’m not sure that there is. What do you more experienced seed savers have to say? Any hope?
|
|
|
Post by chrysanthemum on Jan 26, 2024 10:05:21 GMT -6
My Sumter cucumber was starting to get soft spots on the outside, so I took advantage of a break from school today to attempt some seed saving. Many of the seeds appeared undeveloped, but some were filled out and hard, though small. It took a bit of work to rinse the gel from them, but I have them doing an initial dry in the strainer now. Later I’ll spread them on a paper towel and try to sort them a bit more.
|
|