My plan is to let some get big and let the chickens peck those from their side of the fence, and eat the smaller ones on my side. I do let the hens free range often, so will likely lose the lower ones to them also, but I can share.

Bonehead said:
Back to cukes, I planted a 4" pot containing 3 starts from the grocery store next to my chicken yard. The tag simply says 'Cucumber Slicing' - how's that for specific!

There are two good reasons to have good labels. The first is in case the produce tastes like "ambrosia of the kings" so that you can select the same variety to plant nest time. The other reason is in case the produce tastes like you would imagine soggy cardboard tasting that a dog peed on....

Intheswamp said:

There are two good reasons to have good labels. The first is in case the produce tastes like "ambrosia of the kings" so that you can select the same variety to plant nest time. The other reason is in case the produce tastes like you would imagine soggy cardboard tasting that a dog peed on....

Ed ~ you always have a way of making me bust out laughing! Usually while eating or taking a drink...

I agree with finding a cultivar you like and needing the name if you chose to grow it again.

I've been dining on cucumbers for a week now. The one I'm growing (Homemade) has done well but the outside is soooo knobby even after the prickles are removed. I am picking at about three inches and wonder if I let them grow if they would outgrow these speed bumps.

Thanks. OK, red wine vinegar it is! I knew the other one.

I fortunately know the grower, so if the cuke in question is either extra yummy or not so hot, I can just call and find out what they planted this year. I have gotten buckets of pickling cukes from the farm in the past, and they made good pickles, but these are definitely labeled for fresh eating.

I stIll need to plant one more section of cucumbers. It is in this 12 foot long by about 16 inch wide narrow bed which is set up with a trellis.

At least I made progress as today even though everything was soaking wet from the rain I was out there weeding and mulching.

My goal had been to get cucumbers planted there by this weekend. Not quite ready so now my goal is to get them planted before the first of June.

I would love to finish planting all my veggies before June but I still also have my Beans to plant.

And mulching. I will never get all my mulching finished before the end of May.

Rita ~ you might have to enlist some volunteers... like those you share the produce with??? If I were nearby, I'd be glad to assist.

I am getting lots of smaller cucumbers to eat and can answer my own question about the prickly bumps. They do outgrow them as the Homestead gets larger.

I sowed the second planting of them today.

No one ever volunteers to weed my garden!!

Sad. If someone shared with me, I'd return the favor somehow.

pod said:Sad. If someone shared with me, I'd return the favor somehow.

I don't really mind. My neighbors and friends are plenty kind to me in other ways. Everyone on the block knows I am not a great cook so bring me lovely cooked dinners upon occasion. Hey works for me.

pod, I share my bulbs, daylilies, cannas, anything else I have plenty of with my mail ladies. I wasn't expecting anything in return, I appreciate that they appreciate my flowers! One is going to share produce from her uncle's garden and the other has brought me a few things.
Rita how nice that your neighbors do that for you!! Addendum: and what you do for them with your veggies!

I think it's nice that Rita delivers peppers and gets back stuffed peppers! Or tomatoes and gets back fresh sauce! I'm not great cook either and this sounds like a good deal to me!

I must REALLY like the idea-look at all of those exclamation points. LOL.

Saltflower said:I think it's nice that Rita delivers peppers and gets back stuffed peppers! Or tomatoes and gets back fresh sauce! I'm not great cook either and this sounds like a good deal to me!

It really is the best deal for me. I am always thinking I get the better end of the deal but then I do give massive amounts of veggies away.

Last year neighbor from down the road said if I give her peppers she would make stuffed peppers and share with me. Well I gave her a lot, I mean a lot of peppers.

So she did make the most delicious stuffed peppers. And shared with me and with most of the other neighbors in my block. Everyone benefited from our shared efforts.

Saltflower said:I think it's nice that Rita delivers peppers and gets back stuffed peppers! Or tomatoes and gets back fresh sauce! I'm not great cook either and this sounds like a good deal to me!

Ditto! And Amen!

Being alone, I don't cook a lot and have my preferences. I have lots of customers that share produce this time of year. I graciously accept it and pass it on to other customers that don't garden but cook. Of course I have dibbs on the watermelons and other fruits.

It all sounds wonderful to me. Oh, rats I just saw my typo, I left out an "a". Am I so OCD as to mention it? Clearly, yes...

In my small raisedbed garden I grow cukes next to poke beans to give them a little shade from the fierce summer sun. The only variety I've grown is North Carolina Pickling, which is a yellow cuke, pickle-sized. It is OP so I I've saved seeds year to year and it's stayed true. I'm curious what the experience is OP versus hybrid for cukes? With tomatoes I definitely notice many OP are more susceptible to fungus and stress from extreme Southern weather. But my OP cukes seem pretty healthy tho last year I did have some unexplained die off. But I chalked that up to my neglect and this year's plants look healthy.

I have always just bought new seeds or sometimes plants.

Wow am I happy because I did get the last of my cucumbers planted today. My goal was get them done this weekend and I know it is Monday but its a long Holiday weekend so I feel that I have met my goal.

I planted Marketmore and Burpless Hybrid. I direct seeded them which seems to be how I did all my cukes this year as I just couldn't find plants.