Cool as a cucumber

Cucumbers can divide a nation. If you are like me and adore the flavour, then you will agree they are a fantastic crop to grow at home. They are extremely versatile in terms of use. They can be eaten fresh in salads, flavour a cool glass of water on a hot summer day, or they can be pickled and saved for the winter.

Home grown cucumbers are much more flavoursome than shop bought fruit, and they can be grown in a greenhouse or polytunnel or if you are lucky enough to have a very sheltered sunny spot, they can do well outdoors from late spring onwards. Cucumber seeds should be started off indoors from early March through to April and if you are growing outdoors you can wait until May to sow, but you can also skip sowing and source young plants from garden centres. There are a few varieties that are fun to grow as well as some slight alternatives to the traditional cucumber!

Cucumbers like fertile soil and plenty of water. They can be grown vertically in grow bags, in the ground, or I find they do well in large pots, I keep two plants per pot. Cucumbers grow very fast, once they are getting enough sunlight and heat, so prepare something for them to scramble up, for example a trellis, twine or bamboo canes. The vines send out tendrils, which delicately wrap themselves in a twizzle around the supports.

Depending on the variety of cucumber you are growing, you may or may not have to help with pollination. Some of the newer varieties will produce female flowers – however, if your plant has both male and female, they will need to be blooming at the same time for pollination to take place.

You can tell a female as they are the ones with the small swelling at the base of the yellow flower. Planting with companion plants can help with pollinating if that is the case – otherwise the plant will not produce as many fruits.

Cucumbers ripen from mid-summer to mid-autumn in a greenhouse, with a shorter season outdoors depending on the weather. Fruit sizes can vary according to the variety. When growing cucumbers at home, I generally pick them at a smaller size than you would see in the shop. I find if they are too big, they can be quite bitter. As they grow so rapidly, check regularly to get them at their best. If they turn yellowish, bulbous or soft, they may be over ripe. The smaller varieties of cucumbers are better for pickling but you can use any in theory.

Timely tips for the garden

● Powdery mildew can attack the leaves of cucumbers at any stage when they are planted in the greenhouse or polytunnel. You can use a milk mixture to spray on the leaves as a treatment.

● Tender crops are sensitive to cold temperatures so take care when transferring plants to their homes over the next few weeks. We have been hot with a few cold nights which have done damage to some crops.

● Now is the time to sow some wildflowers in a patch for pollinators. If you sow now you will get the flowers in late summer to enjoy.

● Plot to plate challenge will be getting more exciting in the next few weeks so make sure to get involved. Send your homegrown dishes to @twopeas_inapolytunnel on instagram or email to foodscapedesignco@gmail.com and I can share the images here each week. Looking forward to seeing what you create with your fresh produce from the plot.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

• Tara Kate Linnane is passionate about sustainability and growing all things edible. Together with her husband Barry, she has embarked on a journey of designing edible spaces and getting others started on their gardening adventures.

Follow their journey on Instagram @twopeas_inapolytunnel or visit thefoodscapedesignco.com to make contact for information.

You can email your questions to tarakatelinnane89@gmail.com