Cucumbers, What are you growing

[celestina]

Has anyone grown Persian cucumbers? If so, can you point me to a seed source?

[duajones]

Originally Posted by IMISSCOLO

I put a birdhouse right close to the cukes and had cukes all summer long..............I think those birds took care of them.

I guess I missed it, what did the birds take care of?

[feldon30]

Cucumber beetles? Just a guess. I know zilch about growing cucumbers.

[Rena]

yep the bugs!!

[Adenn1]

Lisa:

Don't worry...I will report on how County Fair...fairs in my garden. Last year was the first time I was wiped out by bacterial wilt via CB's. I did not know much about them until I did some research after the plants died. I do remember seeing one of those pests...did not think much about it at the time. I thought it was probably like a lady bug and would do no harm...boy was I wrong.

I think I will try the method Feldon brought up about using a cup with cucumber peel and some Sevin. I don't have the dust...but I suspect that liquid mixed in would do the same.

I was in my seed box last night and completely forgot I had ordered some Chinese Yellow cucumber seeds from Baker Creek this past fall...so I have to find room to toss a few of these in as well.

[Tomstrees]

Mike,

If you can keep us posted about that new variety you're growing would be great ... Always looking for good cukes & zukes !!!

~ Tom

[rubylune]

Originally Posted by feldon30

Have you tried buying some yellow plastic cups and mashing up some cucumber peels (especially at the blossom end) with some Sevin dust?

That was a remedy that was posited over at GW. I don't know what results there were.

Pardon my slowness, but then what do you do with it? Just leave the cup in the garden?

The past two years i've ended up with 0 cucs after starting with 15 plants. It's a serious battle with the cucumber beetles no matter how much i spray/kill/wash off. One of the downsides with gardening in a community garden - your neighbors problem is also your problem.

I'll try the County Fair variety.

[feldon30]

Yes, you leave it in the garden as a trap. The beetles will hopefully find it first, go for a swim, and die.

One thing to try is to seed cucumbers every 2 weeks in different parts of the bed to stagger your crop.

[duajones]

As I already mentioned, I dont think I have ever seen a cuke beetle. Have you had any problems with them in Houston Feldon?

[feldon30]

Last year, my cukes got wiped out, but I believe that was from fungus from 7 days of rain. So I won't find out until this year if I have a problem.

[duajones]

I hand pollinated my first female PK bloom this morning. If it worked, it wont be long till I have my first cuke of the season.

[FlipTX]

I'm growing Cool Breeze and Poona Kheera. My first time for PK. Last year I grew Cool Breeze and got some nice fruit, but not I planted them too late and the blossoms dropped off in the extreme heat.

[bugsy]

My family loves cucumbers. This year, I'm growing generic Japanese cucumbers, a Korean variety called "Black Pearl", Amira, Sweet Slice, Piccolo di Parigi, and possibly Chelsea Prize from an old Renees Garden packet.

I really wish I could grow the persian cucumbers that are all the rage nowadays. I've grown just about all the beit alpha hybrids sold for the home gardener and amira was the closest I could get to the cucumbers at the store but now that monsanto has bought seminis out I refuse to replenish my supply. And no, that Armenian snake "cuke" is nothing like what my family wants.

Supposedly redwood city has persian cucumber seeds but the pic didn't look anything like them. I can't understand why it's so difficult to get seed for persian cucumbers that sell for 99 a pound at the persian store. I know other people have been looking for persian cucumber seed as well.

--correction 49 cents a pound currently at the persian store

[feldon30]

Save seed from the ones at the Persian store?

[celestina]

I'm looking for Persian cuke seeds too--no Persian store in my northern NM town.