Grow What You Eat: Cucumbers

I heart cucumbers. They are one of the easiest, most refreshing vegetables of the summer.


(Note: This picture was taken by my sis, of Photo Kitchen fame. You will easily be able to tell the difference between her pics and mine throughout this blog, as mine are very matter-of-fact and hers are magical.)

I picked up a cucumber plant at Raisin Rack on May 18 for approximately $4. It came with only a hand-written tag that said "AC Picking Cucumber", which, after a half-hearted Google search, I assume means this?



By June 9, I could see tiny cucumbers beginning to grow. Though there were 3 or 4 babies on the plant at a time, usually only one of them grew into a full-fledged cucumber. According to this article, the shriveled baby cucumbers are due to lack of pollination. Oops.



I harvested the first cucumber on June 23. It was beautiful.



Some of the cucumbers were a bit misshapen, but still just as tasty.

I realized a bit too late that the plant was yellowing because there was a cucumber hanging out of sight over the edge of the deck. I think if I would have noticed it and picked it sooner, the plant would have started to send its nutrients to the rest of its limbs.



But the real death of the plant came with a raccoon attack. The roots were dug up and exposed. Though I tried to replant it, it soon shriveled and died.



In the end, I was able to harvest 5 cucumbers throughout the summer.

Though this variety is meant for pickling, I was too lazy to learn how, so I just ate them in my staple summer salad consisting of cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, red wine vinegar, olive oil and feta cheese.

Things I'll Do Differently Next Year:

• Try to keep the raccoons from digging up the plant (though I'm not quite sure how yet.)
• Buy more than one plant.
  
• Actually attempt to pollinate the plant by following these instructions.
  
• Try pickling?