Kitchen Garden Simon Courtauld

IT'S CUCUMBER TIME

Although cucumbers are available all year round in supermarkets, they are traditionally associated with the summer months. In the mid-19th century the Pall Mall Gazette commented, ‘When cucumbers are in, the gentry are out of town.’ Home-grown cucumbers may not be in quite yet, but the seeds sown in April under glass should be ready now for planting in a large pot in the greenhouse or outside in a sunny position. Seeds of the outdoor varieties can also be sown directly into the ground from late May.

The charmingly named ‘Burpless Tasty Green’ is said to be one of the best smooth-skinned cucumbers and, with supporting wire or a wooden trellis, may grow to a height of about nine feet. Like most varieties these days, this is

an all-female plant, producing cucumbers without the large seeds and bitter taste that would result from male flowers. Bushy plants can also be grown under cloches and trailed along the ground. Some of the smaller ridge cucumbers can be pickled as gherkins; others, such as ‘Green Fingers’, will grow to no more than four inches and are said to be ‘ideal for snacking or a lunchbox’. Should be popular with the grandchildren.

While growing, cucumbers need regular, generous watering, around the base of the plants, not over the foliage. If grown in a greenhouse, they prefer humid conditions, which may not suit other plants, such as tomatoes, growing in the same space.

Cucumbers were formerly known as cowcumbers, possibly because they were thought fit only for animals, prompting Dr Johnson’s comment that they should be ‘well sliced, dressed with pepper and vinegar, and then thrown out, as good for nothing’.

However, the great man would surely have changed his mind if presented today with a home-grown cucumber, peeled, thinly sliced, salted and peppered, and sandwiched between slices of buttered white bread with the crusts removed.