Cucumber
Tasty, abundant, and convenient, this vegetable is popular in the home
garden.
-Planting: Pick a sunny location after the soil has warmed up before
planting, as cucumbers are a warm weather crop. Use well-drained soil,
and provide them with a lot of room to have them vine along the ground,
although better production is possible if they are trained up a trellis or
wooden lath instead. This will also keep them cleaner, straighter, and
better for pickling. Seeds should be sewn in five-seed hills, with 6 feet
between each hill, although bush varieties can be planted 3 feet apart. A
small pile of compost or manure under each hill must be added to ensure
growth.
-Growing: After seedlings start to develop, thin them to 3 plants per
hill. Train the plants as soon as they vine, tying them loosely with soft
twine if necessary. Most varieties will take to vertical growth very
easily with this method. Vines must be kept moist at all times, and the
use of a thick mulch will keep weeds away. To ensure that the cucumbers
mature before the frost hits, the vines should be picked back as the
season comes to an end. Cucumbers should be picked as soon as they are
ready, so that later cucumbers are allowed to grow with ease.
-Harvesting: Cucumbers are best picked when they are tasty and small. If
the skin of the cucumber has turned yellow, it is already too ripe to eat.
Back