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| Cucumbers |
| Cucumus
sativas (fam. Curcubitacae) |
| Half
Hardy Annual - HHA |
| Sowing
to Harvesting time: 10-14 weeks. |
| Size:
Plants to 2.4m tall in the greenhouse or 1.2m in
the open. |
| Yield:
Greenhouse cucumbers average 20 fruits per plant,
outdoor 12 to 15. |
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| The
cucumber has been around for some time, the
Indians have been using it in cooking for around
three thousand years. |
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| Cucumber Telegraph |
| Long
Variety. Greenhouse or Frame. Maturing time
approximately 12 weeks from sowing. |
| Seeds
available online from: Dobies |
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| Cucumbers
like many other salad crops are at their best when
they are fresh. I find there is a massive
difference in taste between my own and the ones
supplied by the supermarket. |
| When
growing cucumbers it is worth bearing in mind that
quite a lot of space is required, if space is
limited young shoots can be trained along wires,
rather like tomatoes. |
| Although
once a tricky grower because of the male/female pollination
process, the arrival of F1 hybrid varieties has made it
much easier. These varieties produce only female
flowers, fruits that are fertilised by male flowers are
bitter tasting. |
| Follow
the germination guidelines on the back of the seed
packet or use the technique below. |
| Sow seeds singly in 3" pots filled
with a good quality potting compost. Place the seed on
its edge, sideways, half an inch deep. The compost must
be thoroughly damp as the seeds have a very hard casing,
not enough water will lead to no germination. |
| Cover
the pots with plastic (cling film or bin liner) and
place in a warm room at least 15° C, or ideally 18- 25°C,
a heated propagator is ideal. |
| After
germination remove the covering and place in a light
position on the windowsill or in the greenhouse. These
plants are quick growing and will need staking with a
cane. Keep the temperature as constant as you can,
trying not to drop below 15° C, especially at night. |
| Pot
them on after 3 weeks or when the roots appear around
the rootball. Use bigger pots (5'' to 6"). |
| When
the pots are full of roots and four leaves have fully
expanded, nip out the growing tip. |
| These
are now ready to be transplanted to their final
position. Use a 12" pot if growing in a container.
Erect something for them to climb up eg, bamboo canes at an
angle or wires attached to the
greenhouse roof. |
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| Symptoms |
Probable
Causes |
| Leaves
turn yellow. Silky webs on plant. |
Red
spider mite |
| Leaves
turn yellow. Small green insects. |
Greenfly |
| Clouds
of tiny insects. |
Whitefly |
| Holes in
leaves or stems. Slime trail. |
Snail /
Slug |
| Leaves
discoloured, plant collapses. |
Root
knot eelworm |
| Grey
fluffy growth on stems, fruit and leaves. |
Botyritis |
| Leaves
wilt, dark stem, plant dies. |
Collar
rot |
| Leaves
mottled yellow, wilting. |
Mosaic
Virus |
| Leaves
turn yellow from base upwards. |
Verticillium
wilt |
| Sunken,
oozing spots on fruit. |
Gummosis |
| Wet
dark wounds on stems, leaves and fruit. |
Sclerotinia
disease |
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Cucumber
F1
Bella (All Female)
- Dark with a hint of
rib! |
| A superb
variety with resistance to Powdery Mildew.
Vigorous plant habit and heavy yield of long,
slightly ribbed, quality dark green bitter free
fruits. Also resistant to Target Leaf Spot and
Gummosis and tolerant to Downy Mildew. |
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Cucumber F1 Burpless Tasty Green
- Can
stand the heat! |
| Prolific
plants producing high-quality Cucumbers comparable
to glasshouse varieties. Fruits are at their best
when about 23cm (9") long. Tolerant of summer
heat, and resistant to mildew. |
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Cucumber Crystal
Apple - Unique
and tasty! |
| A
unique variety producing a prolific crop of round,
pale-skinned fruits that taste superb! |
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Cucumber Green
Fingers F1 - Indoors
or outside! |
| An
early cropping, high yielding baby cucumber that
can be grown outdoors or inside. Delicious taste.
Powdery mildew resistant. |
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Cucumber
Long
Green Ridge
- Good crops! |
| Produces
a heavy crop of medium-length fruits. Features:
Ridge (Outdoor) Variety. |
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Cucumber Marketmore
- Very
tasty! |
| A
reliable and heavy-cropping variety producing a
tasty harvest of dark green, cylindrical fruits
from July onwards. AGM - Award of Garden Merit. |
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Cucumber Natsuhikari
F1
- Very heavy cropper! |
| Indoors
or outdoors, this superb Tokyo Slicer type variety
will trail or grow up supports, producing an
abundance of flavoursome, dark green, slightly
spined fruit. Very durable, standing up well to
extremes of temperature. |
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Cucumber Palermo
F1
- Ideal for unheated greenhouse! |
| Long,
luscious, dark-green fruits with a high tolerance
to Powdery Mildew. A very stable 'All Female'
variety for an unheated greenhouse. |
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Cucumber Passandra
F1
- Excellent disease resistance! |
| An
'All Female' type mini Cucumber with good
resistance to Powdery Mildew, Mosaic Virus and
Downy Mildew. Heavy crops of crisp, delicious,
smooth, dark green fruits about 15cm (6")
long. |
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Cucumber Pepinex
69 F1
- Bitter-free fruit! |
| One
of the first 'All-Female' varieties, this crops
well and is quite free from bitterness.
Recommended for exhibition. |
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Cucumber
F1
Prima Top
- High yielding! |
| For
greenhouse or outdoor use, this excellent,
disease-resistant variety remains fairly compact
and produces high yields of 20-22cm (8-9")
long, bitter-free fruits of fine flavour,
throughout summer. Ideal for small families. R.H.S.
'Award of Garden Merit' winner. |
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Cucumber Rocky
F1
- Ideal for small spaces! |
| Produces
large numbers of mini-cucumbers, 8-10cm
(3-4") long, borne in compact multiple
clusters close to the main stem, with little side
branching. Can be grown successfully outdoors in
many areas if planted through black polythene to
keep the roots warm. The crisp, nutritious fruits
are ideal for children's lunch boxes. An 'All
Female' variety. |
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Cucumber Sunsweet
Yellow F1
- Lemon-shaped fruit! |
| A
unique lemon-shaped variety for the greenhouse. At
each leaf joint a bunch of two to three fruits
form, and you can either eat them raw when young,
or allow them to fully ripen, turn orange and cook
them like Courgettes. Either way, they are
delicious. |
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Cucumber Telegraph
Improved
- Very reliable. |
| An
improved strain of this well known and reliable
variety with smooth-skinned, good-sized fruits.
Recommended for exhibition. |
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Cucumber Venlo
Pickling (Gherkin)
- Very good for pickling. |
| A
delicious variety, ideal for pickling. The fruits
are best picked when young and tender. Crops well
all summer. |
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| Judges
will be looking for straight fruits of uniform
thickness. |
| Cut
the fruits off the parent late in the evening when they
are fully charged with water. |
| A
pointed cucumber is not ripe. |
| Cucumbers
are usually shown in pairs between 30 to 37cm long. |
| Cut
the fruit with a length of stem; it can be handled by
the stem and the bloom will not get damaged. |
| The
flower should be on the end, the fruit should be young,
crisp and tender. |
| If
your fruits are at their best a few days before the
show, cut them off the vine and place them stem
downwards in a bucket of water, change the water every
day. |
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| Dobies
Vegetable Seeds - Choose from a full range of flower and vegetable seeds, bulbs,
fruit, plus annual and perennial plug plants for pots, patios and all
around the garden. There's free delivery on seeds and most plants. |
| Propagators
- Ideal for taking cuttings, growing seeds and bringing on
young plants. Provides continuous heat. |
| Suttons
Vegetable Seeds - Offering top
quality flower seeds, vegetable seeds, plug plants, bulbs, seed
potatoes, fruit and
gardening equipment, all with the Suttons guarantee of quality. |
| Two Wests & Elliot
- A great range of greenhouse equipment available,
including propagators, trays and pots. |
| Unwins
- Supplier of Sweet Pea Seeds, Flower Seeds, Bedding Plants, Flower
Plants, vegetable seeds, gardening accessories and more. |
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