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???
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
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.
Thanks for that Phil. :D I just thought that as they were a bit tender they would rot if in contact with the ground.
growing mine upwards Mimi! Marketmore as well! Last year grew them sprawling, and missed loads of fruit :'(
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
Exactly Mimi! ;D
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 ;)
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.
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
Thanks for that John. Saved me a bit of time. ;)
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
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
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