13 - Friday, May 1, 1990 - North Shore News

AB SE DOO SF,

Start cukes from seed soon

BUT KEEP THEM INDOORS UNTIL

A COUPLE of weeks ago, | tried to get from asparagus to therefore less likely to have suf-

zucchini all in one article. By the time I got to celery,

I had bitten off more vegetables than I could chew.

This, then, is a continuation of

that ambitious project.
Cucumbers

Like the tomato, this is a ‘must
have’ in the garden. Cucumbers
can produce one of the highest
yields per square foot, especially if
you try growing them on a small
trellis (more on that later). Only
lettuce and tomatoes surpass the
levels of consumption that are at-
tained by the cucumber.

There are three main types of
cucumber. The greenhouse
varieties are by far the best as they
are generally sweeter and less likely
to cause gas; something wind bags
like myself might find useful.
These include English Telegraph
and Pegasus.

Good garden varieties include
Burpee’s Burpless, Sweet Slice,
Straight 8 and the AAS winner,
Salad Bush (good for growing in
containers).

For picklers, try Pioneer and
National Pickling, pick them while
they are still small for gherkins and
big for dills.

If you’d like to try something
different, look for Crystal Apple
or, as it is sometimes referred to,

LN

centre

I knew fered drought.

{tis very difficult for the garden
to prevent its customers

over the

garden gate

the lemon cucumber. The ball-
shaped fruit is delightfully sweet
and flavorful as well as being an
eye catcher in the saiad bowl.

You may elect to purchase seed-
ling plants from the local garden
centre. These are usually sold as
individual plants in small plastic
pots; you should avoid any which
might come as six plants per pack.

Look for healthy plants with a
strong green color and plump,
fleshy leaves and stems. Plants
with no more than two or three
sets of leaves are best as they are

less likely to be rootbound and

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from mixing varieties in the flats.
The end result is you go home with
National Pickling or even a zuc-
chini squash when you thought
you were buying Straight 8.

You can avoid this disappoint-
ment by growing your own plants
from seed; it is not too late if you
get started within the next couple
of weeks. If you do select this op-
tion, start them indoors.

Use three to four-inch peat pots
with two seeds in each and remove
the weakest on the appearance of
the second set of leaves.

You may plant them in the

UNIPAVE

garden once the plants have devel-
oped their third set of leaves and
you have hardened them off with
daytime outings during milder
weaiher. Cucumbers hate the cold!

You can sometimes get a one or
two-week jump on the weather
with the use of a coldframe and/or
‘hot caps’. Hot caps are simply
sheets of waxed paper or plastic,
rolled into a cone shape (some-
thing like a dunce cap) and placed
over the plants during cold nights
and cool days. These could help
you avert disaster, increase yield
and speed up production.

Plant cucumbers 24 to 30 inches
apart, three per mound of
organically rich soil (here is one of
the most productive homes for
your compost).

They are not big on acid soils so
the addition of a little doiomite
lime and bone meal at planting is
recommended. This will both
sweeten the soil as well as unlock
some much needed micro
nutrients.

Cucumbers need sun and must
never dry out as drought-stricken
plants often produce bitter-tasting
fruit. However, there is a dif-
ference between keeping them
moist and drowning them. Make
sure the drainage is good and do
not go overboard.

Even though cucuinbers are

ERS

OVER 60 STYLES
OF CONCRETE
PLANTERS

iT’S WARMER

generally trouble free, ground level
watering earlier in the day is less
likely to spread disease than over-
head sprinklers.

They are not noted for being
susceptible to any particular type
of insect attack. Slugs and snails
can be a problem as can the
various types of cut worms.

The best defence begins with a
regular inspection of your plants.
Occasional visits to the garden at
night with a flashlight can be very
revealing.

Try using the ‘Finger and
Thumb’ brand of insecticide; if
you find ‘em, squish *em. This will
not only avoid the use of toxic
chemicals where possible, but some
of you may find the personal in-
volvement vengefully rewarding.

By the way, the space-saving
trellis trick results from the vining
nature of the cucumber. Lean a
three or four-foot high trellis
against a south-facing wall and
plant your cukes at its base about
two feet apart.

Cucumbers are not normally
upwardly mobile, therefore you
will have to help them along by
threading them through the lattice
here and there and securing them
with a few twist ties.

Well, that’s it, folks. I hope
you’ll excuse me now while I graze

my way through the refrigerator.

OVER 20
STYLES
OF WOOD