Topic: Outdoor Cucumbers

[Mimi]

I have 2 Marketmore cucumber plants that I want to grow outdoors at the allotment.  Now do I have to grow up a support, or will they do as well as a trailer along the ground????  If they can grow along the ground, how do I protect the little cuckies from sitting in the soil... little cushions  ;) or straw.... any ideas???

[philcooper]

They will trail or can be trained up frames.

There is nothing wrong with their being on the ground, unless the summer is very very wet

Phil

[Wicker]

I've been given two cucumber plants from a lottie neighbour - he brings the seeds back from his hols abroad every year.  He assures me they will grow outside very well - they'll need to as the g'house is all tomatoes!  I can but try as I've never grown cus outside before.

[Mimi]

Thanks for that Phil.  :D I just thought that as they were a bit tender they would rot if in contact with the ground.  

[Doris_Pinks]

growing mine upwards Mimi! Marketmore as well! Last year grew them sprawling, and missed loads of fruit  :'(

[Mimi]

Think I might do that too Doris.  Not for missing the fruit though but thinking what else I could grow in all that space :D

[Doris_Pinks]

Exactly Mimi! ;D

[kingkano]

Other thing to note - trailing on the ground they are more bent and misshapen.  Grown upwards the simple thing of hanging and their own weight does make them a little straighter.

I grew marketmore last year, had plenty, my only complaints were they are very prickly!! lol and they seemed to 'go' quick - ie you have to pick em quickly at the right time or they go bitter and start yellowing.  Other than that a good cucumber.

This year am trying a burpless variety ;)

[john_miller]

Just to save people unneccessary work- cultivars such as Marketmore do not need to have their male flowers removed. I have grown Marketmore for twenty years outdoors and have yet to deliberately pick a male flower off. It is only the gynoceious varieties, commonly sold for growing in the greenhouse, which produce bitter fruit when pollinated.

[abstract gardener]

iv,e yet to see my new allotment but i am assured i have one, well its a shared, but i will be deffinatly growing in the ground, i have grand plans for tomatoes too

[Mimi]

Thanks for that John.  Saved me a bit of time. ;)

[dannylewis]

hi mimi,  you can grow your cucumbers as a trailing type on the ground, but what i found worked best was to stake the cucumbers of the ground, maybe with a twig or something just to stop anything happening to them, also to stop getting bad results.

by the way those capegooseberries are growing really well, about 2 inches tall now.

dannylewis
;D ;D ;D

[philcooper]

John,

So this week's word is "gynoceious" !!!

As Pooh once said "There has been a great increase in the number of things I know nothing about"

Phil

[campanula]

horribly worried about the male and female flower thing as I have not been doing any pinching. My cukes are 'Long Green Maraicher' from the Organic Gardening catalogue - supposedly OK for growing outside but mine are in a home-made poly-tunnel (whole other story!). Anyone know if I should pinch or not. Also, mine are about 5 feet tall now with only 18inches or so till the roof - do I stop them or let them carry on along the 'ribs' of the tunnel? Advice please, please. cheers, suzy