GROW YOUR OWN
Emma Crawforth
is a qualiied horticulturist, trained at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and is the gardening editor for BBC Gardeners’ World. This month, she oer advice on growing your own cucumbers.
When are they ready?
Cut cucumber stalks from the vine once they have parallel sides and have reached a reasonable size for the variety but before they turn yellow or have hardened skin.
What time of year are they grown?
Cucumbers are summer or early autumn crops – they need frost-free conditions. You can cheat the season by growing them in a greenhouse to harvest from early summer. Outdoor varieties are ready from late summer to early autumn.
Are there di erent varieties?
Outdoor cucumbers are traditionally short and stubby, sometimes with prickly skin. Indoor ones may be longer, with smoother skin. These are usually all female, needing no pollination, but occasional male lowers will appear – you’ll need to remove these. Heritage varieties, such as Crystal Apple, are yellowskinned and rounded. Gherkins, sprawling cucumbers with small fruits, are suitable for pickling.
How easy is it to grow your own?
Homegrown cucumbers easily beat shop-bought ones. It’s not hard to get a cucumber crop if you follow a few basic rules – with a little eort, you may achieve a glut. Nearly all the plants are climbers, beneitting from supports. Sow in spring or wait for summer if sowing outdoors. Train up supports, pinching out the tips if they reach the end of their growing space. Water well and feed if the leaves turn yellow. A few pests favour cucumbers, but careful growing and good greenhouse hygiene should prevent them.
How do you like to eat cucumbers?
I love tzatziki – cucumber mixed with yogurt, garlic and mint.