Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: Mimi on June 02, 2004, 15:03:55
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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???
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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
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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.
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Thanks for that Phil. :D I just thought that as they were a bit tender they would rot if in contact with the ground.
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growing mine upwards Mimi! Marketmore as well! Last year grew them sprawling, and missed loads of fruit :'(
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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
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Exactly Mimi! ;D
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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 ;)
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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.
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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
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Thanks for that John. Saved me a bit of time. ;)
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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
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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
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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