Cucumbers.... unsung heroes of my garden

So I have to admit.... I was not a huge fan of cucumbers growing up.  I can remember my mother making cucumber raita and tomato cucumber salad/koshimbir and I wasn't crazy about either of them.  I thought raita made cucumbers taste slimy (because they pretty much shred the cucumber so when you mix it with the yogurt its looses its crunchiness) and when she added cucumbers to tomatoes I thought it diluted the taste of tomatoes in a perfectly good koshimbir (onions and cilantro add to the flavor but cucumbers detract a bit). I mean I did eat them but it left me with a aversion for cucumbers. It never would have occurred to me to grow them myself. However a few years ago some friends of ours were talking about their bumper crop of cucumbers, and I realized that there are three other people in my house who all eat cucumbers. So I started growing them for the rest of my family but ended up finding out that I actually like cucumbers. Honestly if one thing gets consistently eaten by every member of my household its cucumbers, which is an absolute bonus. Not only does everyone eat them but they also don't get tired of them easily. We can eat them daily and I don't get many complaints.

 A few things I have learned to appreciate about cucumbers

1)They are so easy to grow vertically!!! Just train them for the first 2- 3 weeks by tieing them up onto the trellis and then just let them run.

2)Great for gardens with limited space. I have grown 6-8 plants in a 1ft by 4ft section.... up a trellis of course. When you think about how much space tomatos and eggplants take up (which are some of my favorite summer veggies).... this is an incredibly efficient use of space.

3)They keep going an going and going. I did one set of succession planting with my cucumbers and now it is the beginning of October and I am still getting a few cucumbers a week (the picture at the beginning of this post was taken on October 1st.) 

4) They are great for school/summer camp lunches. No peeling or scrubbing like carrots and while I wish I could just throw cherry/grape tomatoes in their lunches only one of my children actually eats tomatoes and she can sometimes get picky about only eating the red grape tomatoes (which are determinates and have a short season). Also unlike kiwis and sometimes berries I don't have to worry about them getting mushy when they get to school.

5)They can be fun to grow.  I do enjoy training cucumbers up the trellis. I like fussing over the individual vines and showing them how to climb the trellis. Once they were going I had fun with these Heart and star Vegetable molds.  I used them on the cucumbers and they really worked out well.

6) There are some easy fun cucumber recipes. For me to enjoy growing these I had to find a way for me to enjoy eating them. My absolute favorite thing to do with them is refrigerator pickles, (I am still experimenting to find the best recipe but we are getting close). Here is probably my favorite article on refrigerator pickles.  Here are some other recipes which I enjoy:
Cucumber Yogurt Salad with Feta and Dill
If I do make Raita or Tzatziki I make sure I cut the cucumbers into chunks. (I like making Tzatziki with mint).

Seed Source for the varieties I grew this year:
Heirloom Straight Eight Cucumbers by Burpee (Found this in a clearance bin)
 Sweeter Yet Hybrid By Burpee
Burpee Pickler Hybrid By Burpee

A few notes on the varieties I grew. The pickler is truly an early variety and is consistently the first to fruit. By the end of the season though it had crosspollinated with my Heirlooms so I got these hybrid, they were still good. The heirlooms have a tough skin so they have to be peeled otherwise my kids eat the other two varieties straight no peeling. I love love love the sweeter yet hybrid variety, everything I need in a cucumber... they can get pretty huge and still retain good flavor.

Next year I'd like to try these cute little cucumbers and see if my kids will eat them.

What's growing on....

Ok... I started this earlier in the week but its been a busy with getting the kids ready for school but anyway... here it is. 

Asparagus- You can see the asparagus ferns peaking out of this wild overgrown area of my yard... I put them there because I had no where else to put them. I think I have found them a home. So hopefully I can move then soon.

Sunchokes- So I think the deer have been eating the tops off this plant. The plant does not seem to mind and is growing as vigorous as ever and since I am interested in the tubers underground I don't mind either. 

Okra- This millionaire (F1) okra has been doing great this year. I am not keeping on top of the pods as quickly as I should but luckily they don't get fibrous until they are really huge so its ok. I may grow this one side by side against Clemson spineless next year to see which one I like better.

Small sized tomatoes- My cherry and grape tomato plants did outstanding this year. They are so consistent and reliable even with the odd summer we had (with repeated nights down to 50 degrees). I think for this reason I may add back a dark cherry plant next year, I have my eye on this one. (This also means I need to drop one of my large tomato plants). 

Large Tomatoes- Its been an odd summer for these guys. They have been coming down with fungal diseases earlier than they should  likely because of the cooler nights. I have had to ripen them indoors (which my husband hates) but I've also had to toss quite a few as well. I think next year I need to have a more regimented antifungal regimen The Opalka in the picture below has not ripened yet (in all fairness it did have a rough start).

Cantaloupe- I made the mistake of trying to trellis this plant but ended up taking the whole thing down when the fruit came in. Anyway, these fruit should have ripened by now but are really taking their merry time about it. I am hoping the weather stays warm so these guys can ripen before the frost hits.

Cucumbers- These did great this year.... and are still growing strong. At one point I told my kids that we have to finish one cucumber a day to keep up with these plants.

 
Watermelon- I learned so much about this plant this year. First they need MASSIVE vines in order to fruit. I gave one plant about 3ft by 4 ft of space and boy was it not satisfied with that. It ended up growing UP and OUT of the fence. So now I have this one watermelon growing about 4 ft off the ground (in the picture below) and one growing outside the fence (in the picture to the right underneath the mass of  vines). I really didn't want to have to figure out how to support a watermelon on a trellis but I guess I am going to have to.  Lets hope that this one stays small. Next year I want to grow a more compact variety. I'd rather not grow them altogether but my kids LOVE watermelon so I need to figure this out. 

  

Nasturtiums- I have been eating these flowers all summer long... love them. Yes I am turning into my parents... when I was little I thought they were a bit nutty for eating these flowers. Now I love them :)

Bhut Jolokia or Ghost Pepper- Early in the summer my son picked the leaves off this plant thinking it was the stevia plant. It took a while for this guy to recover and is just now starting to  flower/fruit. A bit late, yes, I know but I am growing this one to keep year round so I am ok with that.

Stevia- Great year for this plant! May try making stevia extract this year.

Pumpkin- I pruned this one down to one vine which has 3 pumpkins on it, two of which are already ripened. I am wondering whether I should take them off or let them stay on till Halloween.

Curry Leaf Plant- This one is chugging right along. I am wondering how well it is going to take to being transplanted when the fall hits.

Golden Anne Raspberry- These guys are filled with fruit getting ready to ripen, just in time for school to start. Hoping that I can regularly send raspberries to school for snack or lunch. 

Mukunuwenna- This is one of two Sri Lankan "greens" that a friend of mine gave me. It was just transplanted so its leaves don't look very full but this one has been growing well and sending out runners like crazy.  

Gotu Kola- This is the other Sri Lankan "green", like the mukunuwenna it has also been growing well and sending out runners. I hope I don't kill them over the winter. I've given them nice big pots so lets see what happens.

Blueberries- I've moved all my young blueberry plants into this row with the mature ones. My focus now that they are finishing up is to strengthen the plants for next year. 

Turmeric- I am having fun growing this one. I am wondering how well it will do in the winter when I bring it in. I was hoping it would be a bit bigger and stronger but oh well.

Lemongrass- Do you remember the plant I talked about in this post? Well this is what it looks like today... need I say more!

Ginger- I was also hoping this one would be bigger by now... oh well the season isn't over yet. I am also hoping to keep part of this plant growing over the winter too.