My first cucumber! I planted Armenian cucumbers, Lemon cucumbers, and (mini) Mexican Sour Gherkin cucumbers. I picked the Armenian very young, about 6″, to stimulate more production. They can get as long as 3 feet! (!!!!!) It was very tasty. They say they are tastiest at 1 foot, and you don’t have to peel the skin because it is so thin. I have more babies growing:
Sigh. How fast they grow up.
The Lemon cucs have not made their grand entrance yet. There are flowering males though, so the females are sure to follow soon. I can’t wait! I was first introduced to the specimen at the farmers market last year. They do not look like cucumbers at all lol. More like a giant lemon. But again, very tasty! I am very antsy for them to show up.
And now the baby (mini) Mexican Sour Gherkins. You are not going to believe this…
When I said mini, I meant it. These will grow 1-2 inches in diameter. They taste just as they sound. Like a (pleasantly) sour cucumber. My sis-in-law grew them last year, and gave me some seeds this year. They look like baby watermelons when they are mature. So fun!
So, the analysis… The Armenians are a little late to show up, in my opinion. I planted them in March or April, and they should take 60-70 days to maturation. So, a little late, but not so much that I’m going to complain. They are a climbing vine, so they take only vertical space. The Lemon I planted later… I think in May or June. So they are right on schedule. They are also climbing vines, and are partnering up wonderfully with some Rattlesnake Beans (more on those in another post), which need some shade this time of year. The Gherkins I also planted later, and my sis-in-law warned me that they take a long time to produce. But actually they produced in 60-70 days, which is right on schedule. So my cucumbers are definitely worth the time and space, aka bountiful. And that makes me happy because they are one of my favorite veggies!
Update 7-24-11:
The Armenians are really taking off! It’s really hard to not pick them now!
About halfway to pickin’ time!
This one is funny! Short and fat.