My Cukes This Year

[rnewste]

First time ever growing cukes in EarthTainers. I selected 2 varieties: Burpee Burpless and Diva (Duane, thanks for the seeds!).

The plants are doing really well, producing multiple cukes per week. Here are the Burpless:



And the Divas:



They seem to be getting larger as the Season progresses:



Overall, while both are great, I do prefer the taste and crispness of the Divas:



Divas are now weighing in at 17 to 18 ounces. I'm really looking to make some B&B pickles later this Fall. So far, no pest or disease problems with the cukes.

Raybo

[Mischka]

Ray, I've been a fan of the cuke variety Diva ever since Johnny's introduced it several years ago. It replaced both Marketmores (76 & 97) here and is a reliable producer throughout the season.

I did notice that if I allow them to become very large, the skin does develop a slight bitterness. Have you noticed this with yours at all?

[rnewste]

I am not experiencing any bitterness at all, as others have reported this year. We had the coolest July on record this year, so that may have been helpful in a strange way. I do notice (and you can see it in the cut-away) that my homegrown cukes exhibit a more green flesh as compared with store-bought cukes - - and I am really happy about the more intense flavor of ones just picked off the vine.

I am also amazed how fast cukes grow, compared to my tomatoes and peppers. Seems like 6 inches per week, if I am not imagining things.

Raybo

[duajones]

I try to harvest the Divas at a smaller size usually. The ones that hid from me in the past as well as this years late start version, have never had bitter skin for me. This years were started late and kind of forgotten at times so I ended up with some monsters size wise.
For fresh eating I find the Diva hard to beat. I pickled a few this year and they were good too. Not quite as crisp as pickling varieties but still very good.
Every variety I have grown are so much better than storebought. I like the burpless varieties I have grown real well for fresh eating but Diva is probably my favorite.
County Fair is my favorite variety for pickling so far. Tough plants that produce really well.

[rnewste]

Duane,

Thanks for the recommendation. As I want to pack up perhaps half of my crop into B&B pickles, I'll plant several County Fair plants next Season.

Raybo

[rnewste]

Just visited my CukeTainer this morning, and these are what I found. Both are the Burpee Burpless:



How large are these things supposed to grow?

The 17 inch one weighed in at almost 28 ounces:



They must like the self-watering container environment.

Raybo

[b54red]

If you really want the long large burpless type you might want to try Sweet Success. If you allow them to grow they get huge and still remain sweet. They are also the most productive variety I have ever grown.
My favorite eating cuke is Diva also followed by Sweet Success. I like to pick them much smaller before there is much of a seed cavity.

[rnewste]

b54red,

Thanks for the recommendation. My first year growing cukes, so still on a learning curve. I am looking for a good cuke variety for making B&B pickles. Would Sweet Success work for this purpose?

Raybo

[French-Connection]

I do think mischka has a point if you you let cucumbers grow too big, they do tend to go bitter.
I am growing Telepathy F1 and the one pictured is 20" long but did taste ok, but I like to pick them smaller.
A follower of my blog grew a 23" one and I am trying to beat him, so it is just for fun now to see how long I can grow one. The tip is to hang a jar of water just below the growing tip and gently lower it as the cucumber grows. The one in my polytunnel is now 22" long so I am nearly there.

[KLorentz]

The cucumber I have this year is Burpee Hybrid 2. It has done very well with over 40 cukes on five plants. I am sure these can be used for pickles but also are great for fresh eating.And they are not the least bit bitter even with the skins.



Kevin

[b54red]

I've never had a bitter Sweet Success or Diva. I think the sweet success would be good for b&b pickles because it gets fairly large before you get any kind of seed cavity so they tend to be a little crisper than most.

[geeboss]

Ray

I've been waiting to hear how the Diva's were doing for you this year and it seems that they do very well in SWC! Just got some seeds of Diva and started a few but its quite late here in No Va yet we've had some long indian summers so I'm giving them a trial. The Goose Creek did well up till the blight took down my maters.


George

[John3]

Ray your cucumbers really look great.

Here's an article to grow them like in your taniers.
Here's the first page of the pdf