Allotments 4 All
Produce => Under Glass => Topic started by: tonybloke on June 27, 2009, 19:23:11
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how's everyone else's doing?
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(http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/2826/p03060918580002.jpg)
mine were doing fine i've had a couple of decent size ones of this plant but after remving this one all the small ones that were left have dropped off.
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Our plants (carmen) are still quite small because I planted them late, but they do have a few fruits starting off now.
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My Marketmore are little over bud size at present. I worked away during last years harvest of cucumbers but my OH said she had over 20 Carmen from each plant. We have harvested 12 from 3 plants this year so far and this is the last. Hopefully it will produce more or was she just telling me porkies to make me feel better when away ::) ::)
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Not as far as you Tony but I am keeping my fingers crossed that these will turn out to be as any I have grown.
The difference with these is; they are from seed I saved from last year...........to hell with paying around a pound a seed.
If these work then thats the way I will be going in future.
(http://i222.photobucket.com/albums/dd27/tgalmanac/Allotment/26th-Cucumberforming.jpg)
The seed were taken from a variety called 'Prolific' and to see two fruit in the distance these are apart then 'Prolific' seems to be a good name for them.
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The difference with these is; they are from seed I saved from last year...........to hell with paying around a pound a seed.
Are these F1 hybrids TeeGee - not sure if their seed is sterile - or do you have to go and get rid of the male flowers every morning. I was never able to get there in time and the cucumbers I grew that year were bitter.
Meg
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Growing cucs for the 1st time, and so far really pleased with the results. Have 4 plants (mirella and Marketmore) outside in large pots and so far have had 5 cucs.. Very very tasty they were too! And definitely 1 for next year, although it may be beginners luck (hope not)
1066
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Mine are coming along just fine had about six so far but at this stage i don,t let them stay on any longer than need be.
From the door
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From the back
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side chutes being trained along the cane
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Are these F1 hybrids TeeGee - not sure if their seed is sterile - or do you have to go and get rid of the male flowers every morning.
The original cucumber was indeed an F1 this is its spec;
Prolific F-1;(bf) Outdoor slicing type,early maturity,good size & shape,mainly female flowering.
As I said this is an experiment and I had no idea what to expect.
Oviously they are not strerile or I would not have got as far as I have!
What I am pleased to say is of the four flowers on that plant to date, only one was male, so it suggests my plant is coming fairly true to the parent, i.e. mainly female flowers.
All I have to do now it would seem is; to let them grow on and see what size they become and what they taste like!
Isn't it fun playing around with nature there is always something to look forward to.
If it all failed it wouldn't be the end of the world, afterall we all will have learned something from my experiment!
But hey! I'm optimistic having seen what I have seen to date.
Watch this space!
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The original cucumber was indeed an F1 this is its spec;
Prolific F-1;(bf) Outdoor slicing type,early maturity,good size & shape,mainly female flowering.
As I said this is an experiment and I had no idea what to expect.
Oviously they are not strerile or I would not have got as far as I have!
Obviously :D - looking forward to finding out how they taste.
Meg
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My first year of growing cucumbers (I've grown veggies for years but never been tempted by cucumbers). I germinated several for a friend who loves them and had a few left over so I put them in a growbag in the greenhouse (location North East Scotland). One died from neck rot and a second looks like it will die from neck rot as well (both burpless tasty green F1). I pre-watered the growbag as it was dry then planted the cucumbers with bottomless pots around their necks so no water would get near the necks and then gave them the slightest wetting around the outside. Haven't watered them since as the growbag remained moist. Bit disappointing but I'll have another stab at it next year.
Meanwhile my friends cucumbers which I planted for her and have been looking after while she's been away on holiday are growing tall and flowering away. Just my luck
On the other hand the spare gherkin (Diamant F1) I planted with my cucumbers is romping away and flowering.
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Hmmmm I wonder if this is the place to ask for help...
I've got 3 cucumbers growing in my new greenhouse and while two of them are fruiting fantasticly at the mo the other is just flowering like mad with none of them growing on into fruit...
The two that are working ok are the small prickly kind, the other was supposed to be one of the longer varities... I dont know the names I'm afraid...
I'm wondering if they need hand polinating, or I'm supposed to pick the flowers off at some point... Some of the flowers look to have mini cucumbers about 3 cm long behind them but they just go yellow and fall off after the flower has died back. Others seem to have just a very small ball behind them which I dont think ever does anything else other than fall off with the flower... I'm guessing that's male/female flowers then which I assume I'm supposed to 'do' something with....
help....
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First you should remove the male flowers to stop pollination other wise you will get a bitter cucumber.
Its hard to give an answer without seeing what the plants are like, but perhaps the answer may be to remove all the side chutes and fruit below 2ft and every other cucumber going up the plant to try and put more feed where it is needed. Was the ground prepared before they went in or are they in tubs, do you feed then once a week and water them daily.
Best i can do for you at the moment.
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Yellowing embryos? Every year - often in a row. Even though fruit is picked regularly. Took 3 off this am.
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The two that are working ok are the small prickly kind, the other was supposed to be one of the longer varities.
My guess is; you are growing an indoor and outdoor possibly ridge variety (the prickly one)
I'm wondering if they need hand polinating,
Again I am guessing plus you haven't mentioned if they are indoors or out!
My guess is the flower/fruit is not setting try misting the flowers with a hand spray containing clean water, this might help the fruit to set (pollinate)
or I'm supposed to pick the flowers off at some point...
Yes unless they are all female varieties which I guess they are not!
Some of the flowers look to have mini cucumbers about 3 cm long behind them but they just go yellow and fall off after the flower has died back.
These are the one you spray with water as suggested above!
Others seem to have just a very small ball behind them which I dont think ever does anything else other than fall off with the flower
These are the male flowers i.e. the ones you remove!
I hope that helps!
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Do you reckon that a poor set leads to aborts - rather than overloading or somesuch, TG??
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I always thought aborted ones were because the plant was already growing a couple of cues and it couldn't manage to blow up any more until they were gone.
I'm on a very late cue schedule this year. But with luck I'll have a couple by mid-July. Love having a potting shed! It's crammed with chillies, tomatoes, a cue and an aub.
moonbells
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Also it appears you are letting the side chutes grow on i don,t think you can have both a tall plant and side chutes its got to be one or the other, You either nip out the side chutes after two leaves Possibly four and let the plant grow on or let the side chutes grow and nip the growing tip out.
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I used be oh so careful when training cucumbers-take off the first fruit-train up the leader,pinch out and train side shoots-I got a huge crop--------but all mostly at the same time.
This year some are trained,some can fruit as soon as possible and I`m wondering about sowing a couple even now to get late fruit??
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Do you reckon that a poor set leads to aborts
I have never looked at it that way Tim but when you think about it;
No set = No fruit
Good Set = Normal fruit
So I would say it is fair to say; partial set = partial or mishapen fruit
At the same time the plant may well have been subjected to some physiological problem and this could aggravate the situation.
So maybe a case of Either/Or, or both!
letting the side chutes grow
I never seem to have this problem, none seem to grow on my plants ??? must be the variety I grow :-\
Having said that; I always remove the tendrils, I see no point in sapping the plants strength growing tendrils if I am tying the plant in.
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Logical, TG - but it's so strange that one can get 6 such, over perhaps 12-18" with, apparently, a sympathetic water/feed regime.
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I'm not sure Tim! but I will tell you what I have noticed over the years!
OK it applies to flowers Roses and Dahlias in particular!
When I was showing I noticed that sometimes my dahlias had a hard daisy eye or some of my roses never opened fully.
I thought long and hard about this and came up with the following conclusion;
The plants must have stopped growing for a short time ??? Why??
On looking further; I found that it tended to occur when there was a sudden drop in temperature.
We know that within the calyx of a flower all the petals have formed from the outset and are miniscule. We also know that after the calyx bursts we will find that these petals are quite silky to touch, in fact if it were a machine, we would say they were well oiled.
Then we get the drop in temperature I mentioned!!
Voila! the petals stop opening,and this is where I think the problem occurs, particularly if there is a drying wind.
The petals 'dry out' causing them to stick together (in roses this is called balling, and in Dahlias it is known as Daisy eye) and thats it!! the flowers just won't open fully.
Where the calyx has not burst when this temperature drop took place these flower heads carry on to open natuarally!
Could similar thing be happening with the cucumber flowers we have been discussing? meaning; full pollination can't take place?.......i.e. the calyx broke when the temperature dropped ???
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Another bit of 'useless' information I noticed during these studies;
Have you ever noticed that when a flower opens it is sometimes peppered with holes?
We all tend to jump to the conclusion that earwigs, slugs/snails and caterpillars have had a right go at them :( and you look all over for the culprit and can't find it/them ???
Let me fill you in;
The culprit left some days ago!!
Here's what I think happens;
As I mentioned above all the miniscule petals are preformed in the calyx the earwig,slug/snail,caterpillar takes a bite out of the calyx!!
OK the hole is very small but so are the petals within the calyx and what has happened is; the earwig,slug/snail,caterpillar took a bite out of dozens of petals at the same time.
Then when the flower opens and the petals enlarge so does the hole/s in them :o
so what we have witnessed is; Insect Origami
Now you know what I do with some of my time now that I am retired 8)
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Thankfully, TG, I too am retired - for the 2nd time - so have time to absorb your wisdom.
Yes - but 'tis a b****r! All the TLC in the world & then the elements step in?
Must do more recording of these fluctuations to see if I can establish a relationship.
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I am growing Mini Munch for the first time - and have noticed that there are about 5 or 6 fruits at each stem junction - should I let all of these come to fruit, or get rid of a couple to allow the other fruits to swell? I haven't nipped out side shoots before, but it looks as if these will also be heavy with fruit - should I nip these too?
Meg
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Let 'em be!!
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Let 'em be!!
OK - will leave them alone - will probably be eating cucumbers for breakfast, lunch and dinner ;D - nice complaint though isn't it.
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Pick the fruits when 8cm (3in) long or leave them to mature into full-size, small cucumbers! Either way, Mini Munch is delicious, thin-skinned and very heavy cropping - expect up to 20 fruits per week per plant!
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Pick the fruits when 8cm (3in) long or leave them to mature into full-size, small cucumbers! Either way, Mini Munch is delicious, thin-skinned and very heavy cropping - expect up to 20 fruits per week per plant!
Just went back and read the empty seed packet Tim - and you are spot on - so as I said, think I am going to be eating a lot of cukes, just as well I like them:-)
Meg
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My cucumbers seem to be wilting, is that due to the heat and if so what can I do to stop it?
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If sudden, usually.
Shade & ensure well moistened - not soggy, If heat, they can revive within minutes.
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Lucky devils with lots of cues.
My plants are not even getting up to speed yet.
They are only six inches long and no sign of flowers yet.
Possibly late season variety.
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;D
sorry to be smug but I'm excited
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I know just how you feel
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My cucumbers seem to be wilting, is that due to the heat and if so what can I do to stop it?
In this heat wave they do tend to wilt a bit even in nicely moist soil-my theory is that they cannot take up water as fast as they are losing it so shut down for a while.
If the leaves do nor perk up a bit later on in the evening is the time to worry
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we have pieces of pipe buried next to ours, we're filling them every 2 days at the moment :)
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Which reminds me, Mick - indoors or out?
Grow Bags or soil??
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one of mine has wilted at the top it just looks like lack of water but it's still moist at the base, it's been about 38c in the polytunnel today so maybe it's just the heat.
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Moist - or wet?? Latter can be a problem.
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Mine are in very large pots in the ground Tim, I bought a large spray bottle and misted them today plus poured lots of water onto the ground today and my wife nipped up about an hour ago to shut the doors and she said they'd picked up.
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I'm trying mine in medium sized pots this year, sitting in a large tray and watering from below. Seems to be working well so far, mini cukes picked today, proper sized ones about 2/3rds grown and won't be long now..... ;D
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(http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad68/landimad/garden/cucumber.jpg)
This is the first time I have tried to grow these and dont see the cues on any of them yet. ???
Still plenty of time left to the season and hope they come true for us soon.
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ah, but those little tiny yellow things are the fruits, ours are growing at a rate of knots now they've started :)
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Don't let them fruit until they are 12-18" high!
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Wait for it - & then they're OFF!!
Passandra
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Tim: Does Passandra produce more crops than Carmen? How many plants did that lot come off..... you could persuade me to switch varieties next year from that photo. Which is the better of the two
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KT passandra will produce more cucumbers than carman because of the difference in size, the plant does not have to work as hard to feed the cucumbers so therefor unlike carman you don,t have to nip off every other cucumber so others can develop.
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KT - I've grown both & now stick to Passandra because:
1. We rarely eat a whole long cu & there's no point eating left overs if there's fresh on the plant.
2. They are lunch box size for the grandchildren & they snack on them at all times when at home instead of lollies!
3. They are quicker to mature.
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Seed of Passandra very pricey. Cheapest seems to be 8 for £3.50 but mostly seems to be 5 seeds for around £4. Can it be grown outside?
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"Porch or conservatory".
Simpsons - 5 for £2.70.
Plants of Distinction - 8 for £3.50
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Shame that rules me out, don't have a porch or conservatory. Grew Zeina in the sitting room last year, wasn't long before we could not see out of the window. Loads of fruit. Have it outside at the moment but even with Slug Killer pellets it is being eaten.
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KT passandra will produce more cucumbers than carman because of the difference in size, the plant does not have to work as hard to feed the cucumbers so therefor unlike carman you don,t have to nip off every other cucumber so others can develop.
Thanks for that tip! I have carmen growing in the greenhouse and it has lots of flowers and tiny fruits, but no big ones yet.
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Plants of Distinction - 8 for £3.50
That`s very reasonable for an F1 hybrid-I think I will offer those next year(25 seeds £10-from `Moles`)
I got very careless during this heat wave and just watered the larger greenhouse with a hose-spray everything=My `pepinex 69` gave up with mildew after a couple of fruit.
That will teach me to actually do what I often preach :-[
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Of COURSE - forgot Moles who I like to plug.
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Two Carmen that i took off today
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Just GREAT!!
Raita for 10??
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Well Davey and Tim. Some good reasoning there that changes my rule of thought to go for the shorter varieties. You have persuaded me to skip Carmen next year and opt for the Passandra for a change of indoor cukes. I will still do an outdoor variety such as Burpless Tasty or Marketmore
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Hello, everyone
followed the thread with great interest. This is my first year growing cucumbers and I opted for Marketmore (Garden Organics). From the 9 seeds in the packet (!) 6 succeeded, and went into quite large pots in the Greenhouse. When this was too cramped (tomatoes) I planted 2 of the cues outside in the ground, and had flowers and fruit within a few days both inside and out - there seemed no advantage in them being under glass at all.
Being ignorant, I didn't do anything but watered them a lot, as I do with courgettes, and we have since harvested and eaten 4 delicious, ca. 8 or 9" cucumbers - sorry no picture, was too eager to serve them. Perhaps I was just lucky, but I will definitely try these again next year.
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Being an outdoor variety, there might even be a disadvantage being indoors?
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So far, there doesn't seem to be any difference in their development, whether they're inside or out. I had put them in the GH initially because we suffer strong and cold Northerly winds, which had thankfully died down during the warm fortnight. The winds are back on now, so we'll see how the cues outside are coping.
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thought this might be a good read I enjoyed use usefull http://www.organicgardening.com/feature/0,7518,s1-5-16-1576,00.html
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Some of my cucumbers have got spikes on, I only grew on variety so can't understand why this has happened.
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Some types do have spike Burpees Tasty Green being one of them
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Having read the previous comments I thought I would add my details. I am growing "Tasty King" which cost £1.99 for 20 seeds. I have used 2 seeds so are cheap enough. We have already had 6 cucumbers to eat and you can see there are many more to follow.They are growing in large pots and take about half gallon of water each day and feed twice a week. It says on the packet that they can be grown outside as well.
(http://img338.imageshack.us/img338/8752/1002073.th.jpg)[/URL (http://img338.imageshack.us/i/1002073.jpg/)
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Looking good!
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MIne are coming along just fine
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My "whites" are in full production now... :)
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All goes well - but, as per, I get a lot of yellowing, mushing leaves at the base.
Do others?
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Looking good Tim, don,t know about mush leaves at the base as i take them off.
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I haven't had time to clear the space to pot mine on so they are still in root trainers - but one is growing little cukes. They get water mixed with Maxicrop in the bottom of the container - hydroponics anyone? :)
PS I removed the developing cucumbers from the first foot or so of stem a few weeks back, these are at the end.
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Mine are picking up now! I am growing 2 carmen plants. Had one cucumber and quite a few nearly ready... Nice taste I thought.
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Taken today, and still only little ones on the plant. Nothing picked for us at the moment, maybe before the season is out we shall get a glut.
Here's hoping for at least one off the plant.
(http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad68/landimad/garden/cucumberslow.jpg)
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looks like a very healthy plant Landimad. Mine are looking a bit miserable but still getting some cucs :-X
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My cukes are not even a foot long yet. I am just waiting to see if I can get one to munch on.
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My outdoor types are doing terribly now, they fruited early but since then have hardly grown and are going yellow....thank goodness the indoor ones are going great guns!
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Mine is neither, but it is growing in a coldframe.
Perhaps there is not enough light to allow them to fruit properly.
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I've still got some Petita so won't be into Passandra until next year, though might try Socrates instead. In the meantime I'm trying La Diva (from Tuckers) - all female but not a hybrid so cheaper.
Has anyone tried Iznik F1 (from POD)? Thought it might suit as I'm pushed for space.
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I have at last got a couple of cues off the plant in the shed! Yum. Both picked before they were at maximum size (still some ridging lengthways) so hopefully this will mean that the oodles of smaller ones will continue growing and not go yellow because there's a full sized one on the plant. I hope!
moonbells
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Do you folk trail your outdoor cukes then? I thought you grew them up canes ( sorry if asking the obvious...first time I've grown cukes...3 so far from greenhouse)
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I grow them on the flat because we have room.
These are indoor Passandra.
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i grow mine up an arch, it helps to keep the ruit dry and out of reach of the slugs.
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Well it has been two weeks since I last looked at the cucumbers and this is how they are doing.
(http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad68/landimad/garden/cucumber1.jpg)
Not much to shout about, but given time I think I might get a few.
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picked a monster of a cucumber today 20 inch long, biggest I have grown.
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Picked half a dozen white ones from the greenhouse...
Size isn't everything Simon... ;D
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Picked half a dozen white ones from the greenhouse...
Size isn't everything Simon... ;D
lol, very true
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Here is the prize that I have been waiting upon.
(http://i922.photobucket.com/albums/ad68/landimad/garden/cucumber6.jpg)
Not the biggest but its the first I have grown. ;D
More to come if the weather holds.
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Result Landimad!
all but 1 of mine have succumbed to powdery mildew. But we had a few good uns so am pleased with my 1st attempt at growing them. Think I will plant them out on the plot next year instead of them being in pots in the garden and taking it over !
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my plants are now starting to die off, saying that, ive had almost 20 per plant this year so i am not surprised. there are a few left which i will grow on till they are ready
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So much for the great Cucumber grower!!
Passandra. Usually 400 from 8 plants, ending October.
So far 158 from 12 plants & they're going over.
Grandchildren are incensed!!
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We grow the 1/2 size cues and to date (he's still picking) the OH has picked 144 from two plants :o
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Good going in anyone's language!
What variety?
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Good going in anyone's language!
What variety?
the label just says F1 Mini whether thats' a name or just a description I'm not sure.We buy the plants as the seed is so expensive and you only need a couple to fail and it makes the remainders a bit pricey ::)
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Starting to get sick of cucumbers at the moment, tubing them up for the only two shows i am entering, village show tomorrow, i may have a nice pair.
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