Cucumbers

Table of Contents and IntroductionAfrican Violets: the Doyen of House PlantsAgapanthusAlstroemeriasAmerican SagebrushesAmerican WildflowersAndean Nymph - a pink mimulusAquilegias (Columbines)AuriculasAustralian AnnualsBellis Perennis (Daisies)Black-Eyed SusanBlue African LiliesBreeding DelphiniumsBreeding Fuchsias: Part 1: From SeedBreeding Fuchsias: Part 2: HybridisationBromeliads from SeedButterflies in Soy SauceCacti RaisingCampanulasChilean Bell FlowerChilly Treatment for Peruvian LiliesCollecting SeedConserving Annuals and BiennialsCosmosCucumbersCycads: Living FossilsCyclamen for IndoorsDahlias from SeedDamping OffErythroniumsF1 Hybrid - What Is it?F2 and Open Pollinated VarietiesFrom Obscurity to the Height of FashionGentiansGeraniumsGermination to Pricking OutGolden Impatiens - The StoryGrowing Alpines From Seed: Part 1Growing Alpines From Seed: Part 2Growing Bananas From SeedGrowing Cyclamen From SeedGrowing Eucalyptus From SeedGrowing Ferns from SporesGrowing Foxgloves From SeedGrowing Fritillarias From SeedGrowing From Seed: From Packet to SoilGrowing Hardy Ferns from SporesGrowing Hardy Geraniums From SeedGrowing Lewisias From SeedGrowing Magnolias From SeedGrowing Meconopsis From SeedGrowing Proteas and Related Genera from SeedHandling Small SeedsHardy Annuals: Part 1Hardy Annuals: Part 2Hardy CyclamenHardy SpurgesHelleboresIncreasing your Violas and ViolettasKeeping Records of Seed SowingLettuce - the Vital Part of any SaladLord Anson's PeaMagnolias - the Root of the ProblemMimulus from Seed to Seed in Sixty DaysNew Guinea ImpatiensOld-fashioned Sweet PeasOnions with EverythingPansies are not Difficult to Grow from SeedParsleyPerennials for American GardensPetuniasPhygelius - their cultivation and propagationPinks: Evocation of the PastPlants That Flower OncePrickly but NicePropagatorsRadishesRaising PalmsRaising PrimulasSalad Leaves - a lot to be desiredShow Stoppers Twice OverSowing SeedsSowing in Open GroundSowing to Feed our FriendsSturt's Desert PeaSweet Peas - Autumn SownSweet Peas - Sowing and GerminatingTall and HandsomeTechniques with Tiny SeedTexas BluebellThe Effect of Light on Germination and SeedlingsThe Nervous PeaThe Scarlet Welsh PoppyThe Search for the Yellow Sweet PeaToad LiliesTomatoesTreasure Hunt for TasteUnderstanding Latin NamesUnique Poppy (Mother of Pearl)Viability of VegetablesWeaning SeedlingsWill the Real Mimosa Please Stand Up

In the second part of his series on salad vegetables Harry Smith considers the cucumber.

A cucumber should be well sliced, and dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing.

So said Samuel Johnson in 1773. Nowadays few of us seem to share the great doctor's view, and cucumbers are surely second only to tomatoes as a widely-grown greenhouse crop, as well as in the cold frame or outside. There seems no record of them ever growing wild, but these cucurbitaceous relatives of marrows, melons and gourds were known to the Romans, Greeks and the ancient Egyptians. Isaiah mentions 'a lodge in a garden of cucumbers' and more recently Jonathan Swift wrote of one who had 'been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put in vials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw inclement summers.'

Just how the earlier fruits differed from those we grow today can only be guessed. Even my 1933 Carters' Blue Book of Gardening lists, in its four hundred pages, only one variety still around today. What happened, I wonder, to 'Jasper Queen', or 'Lockies Perfection'? But the modern gardener has plenty of choice and most seedsmen still list half a dozen or so greenhouse kinds, and about an equal number to take their chance in our English summers, luckily of late so congenial for cucumbers outdoors.

The Victorian kitchen gardeners were great cucumber growers. They raised them in huge heated greenhouses right through the year, and the long cylindrical glasses which were used to produce choice, straight specimens are now collectors' pieces. As a minimum temperature of at least 60F (15C) is needed for good growth, today's heating costs would make it a rather expensive winter crop and most amateurs now grow them only in the summer.

Quite the most sweeping change was surely the introduction of all-female kinds, needing no removal of male flowers to prevent those much-mentioned bitter-tasting fruits. Though some seedsmen do concede an occasional rogue male could slip through the net under stress, and they warn us accordingly to nip off any odd ones we might espy. The cost of such progress, however, is reflected in the packet price: just five or six seeds for two pounds or more seems par for the course with all-females, but some are dearer still. Three seeds of the recently introduced 'Carmen Fl Hybrid' are priced at over £7, but it offers resistance to all known strains of powdery mildew, scab and leaf spot, and yields of 50-100 high quality fruits per plant through summer and autumn. So, barring disasters it could still show a good return. For maximum yield, 'Carmen' should be sown in time for planting in the frost-free greenhouse after the first day of March.

Among the outdoor varieties, the descriptively-named 'Burpless Tasty Green' is widely listed. For those wanting 'something different', the unique 'Crystal Apple' produces cucumbers the size, shape and colour of large lemons, but the crisp, white flesh is tasty and surprisingly sweet, but difficult to source seed of these days.

For lovers of pickled gherkins, these small cucumbers are listed in several catalogues and grow well outdoors in a good season.

Growing on

Seeds for greenhouse growing should be started in February or March, and those for outdoor culture in April or May. Some seedsmen recommend sowing on edge, others with the seed on its side. So it can't be very critical - and certainly I've never found any difference! What is useful is to sow each seed in a half-filled 3in (7.5cm) pot, and fill to the top with further compost as growth proceeds. This encourages extra roots to form from the stem. The days of sowing two seeds per pot have gone - either through improved germination or the price of seed.

Germination is quicker and more reliable at a temperature of 75F (25C) than at 70F (20C) or below, and should take place within a couple of days. Seedlings appearing significantly later may well lack vigour and are perhaps best discarded. The young plants should be set out in their greenhouse growing positions at the four leaf stage before they become pot bound, spacing them 2ft (60cm) apart if planting in abed.

This was once the main way of growing the crop under glass, and gave excellent results if prepared well beforehand with underlying layers of strawy manure, chopped turf and loam, topped off with sterilised soil and sprinkled with bonemeal, chalk and hoof and horn before being thoroughly soaked. Today's gardeners tend to favour less laborious ways, and the growing bag works quite well within its limitations. 10 or 12in (25-30cm) pots on the staging do very well for us, but whatever method is chosen, the growing medium must be well-draining or the cucumber's arch enemy excessive damp will soon cause rotted stems and the loss of costly plants.

At the optimum temperature of 70F (21C) growth is rapid and no time should be lost before providing support. Where a row of pots is used, this can be a series of horizontal canes fixed at 12in (30cm) intervals with ties of plastic-covered wire to vertical ones in the pots, and attached at their ends to the greenhouse by means of cropped head bolts in the glazing bars to form a rigid grid. Wires supported by screw-in vine eyes are useful in wood-framed houses, but whatever method is chosen, the structure must be sturdy enough to support the considerable weight of the growing fruit.

Regular watering is vital for maintaining active growth of these most succulent fruits, but must never be carried to excess. This will almost certainly cause rotting and loss of the plant. It helps to have each one set in a slight mound, and a small pot sunk to its rim in the compost can help if the water is added through that rather than on to the compost. Cucumbers also appreciate humidity in the surrounding air. For this reason they are not the best of bedfellows for tomatoes which prefer much drier air. If it becomes too hot and dry, an attack by glasshouse red spider mites is highly likely, Generally some compromise is needed, and if the pots are stood on a gravel base kept watered each day, it seems to help.

Unless all-female strains are being grown, a careful watch must be kept for the male flowers which should be removed before they open. These are the ones without a tiny embryo fruit at the base. Tie the stems loosely but securely to the supporting framework or wires until the tendrils gain a grip, and stop all lateral shoots back to the second leaf joint beyond the first female flower. If the plants are grown from floor level, the main stem is best pinched out at about 5ft (1.5m), and a good lateral trained to replace it. Stop this when it reaches the greenhouse roof.

Regular feeding is needed once the first fruits begin to swell. Some growers swear by dried blood or fish meal, but a fortnightly liquid feed with a general soluble fertiliser such as Phostrogen or Miracle-Gro is rather more convenient for most. Harvest the fruit as each is ready, taking care to cut the stems cleanly with a sharp knife or secateurs, rather than trying to pull the fruits and possibly damaging the stems.

Hopefully, by August the remaining fruits can be picked and the tired plants discarded as the outdoor cucumbers are ready to take over. These can be grown in frames or the open ground where they should not be planted until after mid-May when all fear of frost should have passed. A sunny, sheltered site is best, and thorough preparation of the ground beforehand pays off. The plants will thrive on a well-drained, rich soil in which well-rotted manure was worked some time before. The plants should be set about 3ft (90cm) apart at the top of hills or ridges. This will help ensure the main stems stay clear of excessive moisture when the weather is wet.

Unlike their more sheltered sisters, these ridge cucumbers must have the male flowers left on. Little pruning is required: the plant can be left to run, but stopping the main stem at six to eight leaves can help the side shoots develop. Again, cut the fruits when large enough, and more will be produced.

Pest & Diseases

As might be expected, pests and diseases are more of a problem in the greenhouse than on cucumbers grown outdoors. Greenfly can attack the plants and as these spread the dreaded cucumber mosaic virus they should be dealt with as soon as any are seen. For the disease there is no treatment, and infected plants bearing the tell-tale yellow and dark green patches should be destroyed, but any sound fruits from affected plants are said to be safe to eat!

Grey mould or botrytis can arise in very wet seasons when any affected fruit and leaves should be removed and burnt, and the remaining plants treated with a systemic fungicide. As mentioned earlier, the almost microscopic red spider mites can be a problem, and their presence may be first detected by a silky webbing on the leaves. Spraying with a suitable insecticide may help, but use the latter only on established plants. Maintaining good humidity is the best deterrent.

Cucumbers can be a most abundant crop, and often more are produced than even the neighbours can take. But there are plenty of uses for these delicious fruits, apart from garnishes, summer salads or those cooling cricket club sandwiches. Mrs. Beeton made good use of cucumbers from Victorian glasshouses and suggests cucumber ketchup made by simmering them with salt and peppercorns; stewed or stuffed cucumbers, or cucumbers with eggs.

Later cookery books reveal even more culinary delights employing Cucumis sativus. Try them sliced and braised in butter, or battered chunks deep-fried as fritters. Diced they provide a cooling accompaniment for the hottest of curries, and chunks of normal cucumbers can be used in piccalilli as well as the smaller gherkin kinds. The kitchen bookshelf should provide full recipes for this, as well as the delicious pickled gherkins to which onions are usually added. When pickling these, a white vinegar is used and the vegetables steeped in salt water for a while, drained and then covered in warmed jars with the vinegar which was earlier boiled with specified spices.

Most cucumbers though, will still be eaten raw and are completely non-fattening. The skin adds flavour if tender, and can be scored along its length to give an attractive, serrated appearance on the plate. They have their very best flavour when picked and sliced just before serving. By growing your own from seed you can do just that, and enjoy this ancient vegetable to the full.