We’re trying cucumbers for the first time this year, and so far it’s going pretty well. Cucumbers are one of those crops – like potatoes – that are so cheap to buy in the shops that you have to wonder wether it’s worth the space to grow your own. We said we would, though, as everything we have read indicates that their taste is a world away from the watery batons you can buy in the local supermarket.
Plus, of course, if you’re serious about self-sufficiency, you should look to extend that to as many areas as you can; not only those that are more expensive to satisfy in the shops.
The seeds are cheap and readily available, and we bagged around 250 for 99p in the local DIY store. We planted them up in 8cm pots to get them started, and then chose the four strongest shoots to transfer to 5in pots filled with good compost. This should, hopefully, be where they spend the rest of their productive lives, and the pots from which they produce a healthy crop.
However, they can just as easily be grown out of doors when sown direct into the plot or your borders. Like tomatoes or beans they need some support in the form of canes and strings as they get larger, and they also benefit from a regular drop of tomato food when they start fruiting in earnest.
Assuming all goes well, they’ll join the lettuce, tomatoes, peppers and beetroot we’re growing in the plot and greenhouse for a summer of totally home-grown salads.
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