Topic: Carmen cucumber question?????

[gunnerbee]

quote: Aftercare Instructions
Train up the main shoot to top of wire and then pinch out the growing point and allow two shoots to trail downwards. Keep moist but not wet, apply shading as required and provide a moist, warm atmosphere. Regular picking will encourage fruiting. Under stress conditions, male flowers may be produced and these should be removed.

Daft question but how far up is the "top of the wire"!!! how tall are you suppose to let the main shoot?

Thanks in advance xx

[Barnowl]

I'd like to know the answers too :)

[gunnerbee]

Just rang T&M and they said to let the plant grow as tall as you can reach!! as they get quite big.

Anyway out of interest, How many Carmen seeds did you get in your packet?

Paid for 5 seeds, got 7 seeds!!

[tim]

How long's a piece of string!

We are fortunate in having 8' in the centre.

[Barnowl]

Has anyone managed to grow cucumbers outdoors?

[Lauren S]

Has anyone managed to grow cucumbers outdoors?

Yes, I did last year. I had the pots on my steps, canes in each pot which were wired to the hand rail and the cukes grew around and along the canes and up the handrail. They were happy and produced loads of cukes. They had sun up until about 4ish. Great space saver too.

[gunnerbee]

no ive never grown carmens before, ist time, thats why im trying to get it right, you have to at over £1 per seed!!!

[Barnowl]

Has anyone managed to grow cucumbers outdoors?

Yes, I did last year. I had the pots on my steps, canes in each pot which were wired to the hand rail and the cukes grew around and along the canes and up the handrail. They were happy and produced loads of cukes. They had sun up until about 4ish. Great space saver too.

Presumably that means they were on and near stone surfaces that would soak up the heat during the day and release it at night.

Apparently cucumbers like a fairly moist atmosphere .....

http://www.nvsuk.org.uk/medwyn-williams-vegetable-grow-show-31.html

.....  are melons the same?

It seems to me that if you give cucumbers their ideal conditions your other plants in the GH might be a bit unhappy?

[gunnerbee]

 no good if you are a dwalf then or about 7ft tall !!!!

[RosieMcPosie]

i grew one (yes one!!) cucumber last year outside. it was just a little plant from wyvale cant remember the variety, but it got chomped by slugs and i thought it was dead, but low and behold it came back to life and gave me one delicious cuc!! it was just in a small black pot on my patio.

[Suzanne]

I grew Lemon cukes (from a swap on this site), Marketmore and Burpless tasty green outdoors last year - but wasn't a patch on the barrow loads grew the previous year. I grow them on the same frame as the runner beans - so out on an open plot. Are you counting these type of ridge cucumbers as "cucumbers"?

I have been given some carmen F1 seeds - but as they are greenhouse types and I don't have a greenhouse I'll probably rig up a covered frame for these like I do for tomatoes and peppers.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I didn't get anywhere with them last year, but I normally grow outdoor cucs; I grow one called Wautoma from realseeds. They're quite easy as long as you can protect them from slugs until they get established. You do need to use a ridge variety though.

[JimmyJames]

Sorry to hijack the thread, but I have a few questions too...

People are mentioning 'ridge variety'.  What is this?  Is the opposite of a bush variety, or does it refer to the shape of the fruit?

I have Cucumber Marketmore, and Courgette Zucchini F1 seeds.  I was wondering - are both ok to grow outside, and will they need support (as has been discussed above) or are they bush types?

[Barnowl]

Don;t know which variety you have, but I think all courgettes/zucchini are best sown under glass then planted out when the weather warms up. They are prone to mildew so better off in fresh air.

No idea about cukes I'm afraid and am looking forward to guru explanation of ridge vs other types  :)

[Suzanne]

I have grown Marketmore outside for a couple of years now - in a good year they are prolific. 2006 I was literally filling a bucket up every few days because they were so many. Courgettes the same. Both still grew okay last year and I got cukes for the salad and courgettes but not in the numbers I had in 2006.

As Barnowl says - both are frost tender so better to start them off inside and plant them out when the last frost has passd - this is end of May in my area. If you are caught out a frost is forecast cover them up well.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Marketmore is a ridge cucumber which does well out of doors. Start the seeds of both off under cover around April. I start them on a windowsill then put them in a cold frame until we get some warm sumery weather. Then they go in the ground under cloches till late June. I haven't forgotten that a few years back we had a frost on June 16th. Courgettes get exactly the same treatment except that it's a much bigger plant. I put cucs about 18 inches apart, and medium-sized squashes like courgettes three feet.

[Barnowl]

Have done a bit of research: apparently ridge cucumbers are outdoor varieties.

"Growing cucumbers is slightly more complicated compared to some other vegetables, to say otherwise would not be telling the truth. However, the whole subject is made over-complicated because there are two distinct variety of cucumber which require very different treatment.

There is the traditional cucumber (the long slim variety) and the ridge (or outdoor) variety. This article is concerned with ridge varieties which can be grown outside of a greenhouse."

http://www.gardenaction.co.uk/fruit_veg_diary/cucumber_ridge_page1.asp

[Barnowl]

A question for Tim: The article says that Petita are a ridge type and these need pollination by insects, but I'm pretty sure you wrote last year that you grow Petita in a greenhouse. As Petita is the only other variety of cucumber I'm trying this year advice would be welcome :)

[Deb P]

I've grown Petita in my greenhouse the past 2 years, first year very successfully, 2nd year pants.... the plants rotted at the base despite my careful placement on mounds of soil in half growbags..... :-\

[Jeannine]

I never grew cucumbers inside in Canada, most are ridge, this is the basic cuke you will find in shops,short and fat the others are called " Long English cukes"  and cost a great deal more.

However the sowing info is the same, some need pollination others don't, the growing needs are the same, except if they are inside and NEED pollination it has to be done by hand.

The one I buy for pickling  grow outside but the variety I use do not need the bees so I get good pollination even in cloudyor wet summers.

Here I grow salad ones in a greenhouse, but only female flowered ones.

XX Jeannine



XX Jeannine