Monday, May 6, 2013

Cucumbers, Round 1

I say "Round 1" with the full knowledge that these cucumbers may not make it.  This is actually the first time I have tried to grow cucumbers.  It is quite early to have moved them outside, but they were outgrowing their little peat pots, so why not try?  I can easily start some more seeds if these don't make it, but it seemed worth a shot.

I set them up adjacent to the peas, with an identical stake-and-twine lattice system.  These cucumbers are the pickling type, so they will be a little smaller and hopefully something I can get away with growing vertically (otherwise they spread over a very large portion of the ground).  My gardening class and several websites and gardening books have led me to believe this is possible. 

Another tip I learned from the gardening class is that the roots of cucumbers (and any other squash plants) are very, very delicate and you have to be extra careful when transplanting the seedlings so as not to disturb the roots.  The roots on these guys were pretty well adhered to the peat pots (and growing through the small hole at the bottom) so the process of removing them delicately was a little tough.  By which I mean... it is very possible these were not all handled as gently as was necessary.  So, one more strike against these cucumber plants' possible future.

No comments:

Post a Comment