I keep a few replacement plants going all of the time. As soon as one plant starts to produce, a new batch has been seeded in another location. This offers great insurance against many possible causes of plant loss and usually gives us a full summer's worth of daily cucumbers. For me it works much better than trying to coax another cuke or two out of tired, spent vines. I pulled one of my earliest planted vines today.
One of the latest batches of seedlings
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2624/3729070861_bef4d3bd07.jpg[/img]
This is a fairly young plant, though wilted from the hot, late morning sun, will perk up when the sun gets lower and the plant's soil temperature drops.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2628/3729872274_dc917332a4.jpg[/img]
- hendi_alex
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- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
- hendi_alex
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 3604
- Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
- Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina
- gixxerific
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- Joined: Fri Jun 26, 2009 5:42 pm
- Location: Wentzville, MO (Just West oF St. Louis) Zone 5B
I envy you, I wish I had the space and location to do that. Though I have been skeeming, never you fear. I have ideas that change daily but stay on a common course.
The course of veggies and herbs everywhere. (:Insert: Evil Laugh).
Oh yeah I did transplant one cuc that has survived and is doing well it should go for a while after my others are gone.
Dono
The course of veggies and herbs everywhere. (:Insert: Evil Laugh).
Oh yeah I did transplant one cuc that has survived and is doing well it should go for a while after my others are gone.
Dono
I have always had troble starting these guys out... I am curantly trying to germenate them in a papper towl, I'm going to try that method out, after they sprout, how close do you think I can plant them next to a trimed up zuchiini? gixxerific knows what I am talking about, I just want to grow around that one zuchinni plant, and its next to a fence, how close do you think I can put them together, and should I try to keep them out of the direct sunlight when their just starting?
- gixxerific
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You should be careful how close you put them to something. Cuc's go everywhere. Mine are so crazy right now and I have been trimming the piss out of them for control, but I think I have lost that war. They need a lot of space, my garden as it sits is really not big enough for them so I improvised. It's working rather well, maybe too well.Rambo 09 wrote:I have always had troble starting these guys out... I am curantly trying to germenate them in a papper towl, I'm going to try that method out, after they sprout, how close do you think I can plant them next to a trimed up zuchiini? gixxerific knows what I am talking about, I just want to grow around that one zuchinni plant, and its next to a fence, how close do you think I can put them together, and should I try to keep them out of the direct sunlight when their just starting?
Dono
- hendi_alex
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Cucumbers are perhaps our second favorite summer crop. So I keep a succession of plantings going from early spring until fall. The seeds are planted in various locations and some survive the summer heat better than others. But most all contribute in some measure to the steady stream of fresh cucumbers on the table.
My youngest cucumber plants are just over a week old, and hopefully will continue the harvest up until the first frost in November.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/3853076488_e0ef3e0aa2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/3852282555_ea64e9e5b2.jpg[/img]
Some vines are intermediate in size, and are suffering under the August heat. These plants will still contribute at least a few cucumbers to the effort.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2427/3853073438_082ed667d2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3853072396_3a357b2ffa.jpg[/img]
This plant that only gets morning sun seems to be a little happier.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/3852277331_a1a0071db7.jpg[/img]
This plant is in full sun. You can see the benefit of plastic mulch covered by straw. The plant is growing more vigorously than those which are not mulched and it also wilts less during the heat of the day.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/3852278467_4de931960d.jpg[/img]
It will be giving a few cukes in the next couple of days.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3853071352_4f28e0f336.jpg[/img]
My youngest cucumber plants are just over a week old, and hopefully will continue the harvest up until the first frost in November.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2444/3853076488_e0ef3e0aa2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2643/3852282555_ea64e9e5b2.jpg[/img]
Some vines are intermediate in size, and are suffering under the August heat. These plants will still contribute at least a few cucumbers to the effort.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2427/3853073438_082ed667d2.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3853072396_3a357b2ffa.jpg[/img]
This plant that only gets morning sun seems to be a little happier.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3456/3852277331_a1a0071db7.jpg[/img]
This plant is in full sun. You can see the benefit of plastic mulch covered by straw. The plant is growing more vigorously than those which are not mulched and it also wilts less during the heat of the day.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/3852278467_4de931960d.jpg[/img]
It will be giving a few cukes in the next couple of days.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3853071352_4f28e0f336.jpg[/img]
Depending on the hight of your fence, that might not be enough. I started my cuke vines on 4' poles which quickly got too short. Then I put up a 6' pole which also did not last. Right now, my cuke vines are literally 1'-2' away from my roof! That would make the vine somewhere around 12' tall.Rambo 09 wrote:well, I figuerd if I grew them in the right spot it would be fine, I was planning on planting them up ageinst a fence, that way I could wrap them up and get them to grow upwards, think it will work?
- hendi_alex
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Only the mulched plant looks as healthy and vigorous as plants from earlier in the spring and early summer, but the heat and humidity take its toll on tender cucumber leaves/vines. They will likely start to look much better in a couple of weeks when the heat moderates some. Only problem for me with late growing cucumbers is that they tend to get attacked by a small boring larva. I never see evidence of the critter until the fruit is harvested. Then there will be one or two small entry holes. At least the damage is usually limited and can cut around the affected area.
- hendi_alex
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Several cucumber vines are still at various stages of development. No more will be planted for this season, but I would expect all plants to add to the stream of cucumbers before getting killed by frost sometime between late October and Mid November.
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3890017616_7f61c7cca4.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3889224149_978341d07f.jpg[/img]
Even this scruffy vine has a couple of cukes getting close to harvest.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/3890017886_9f580308bc.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2514/3890018172_2d0a1f4079.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3889225245_b4cbd305fc.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3442/3890017616_7f61c7cca4.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2536/3889224149_978341d07f.jpg[/img]
Even this scruffy vine has a couple of cukes getting close to harvest.
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2580/3890017886_9f580308bc.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2514/3890018172_2d0a1f4079.jpg[/img]
[img]https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2464/3889225245_b4cbd305fc.jpg[/img]
- hendi_alex
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Looks wonderful. Yes, out cukes are put in the ground in late April, and by the time mid June rolls around the vines are getting tired and mostly quit producing soon after. It is probably a result of the heat, humidity and disease. Anyway, I compensate by making a fresh planting about every three to four weeks from April through August. Also, my soil is really lousy here, I'm sure many would keep healthy cucumbers growing much longer where the soil is reasonably fertile.