Difference between revisions of "Cucumber"

From Gardenology.org - Plant Encyclopedia and Gardening Wiki
Jump to navigationJump to search
 
(5 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
−
{{Taxobox
+
__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
−
| color = lightgreen
+
| name = ''Cucumis sativus''
−
| name = Garden cucumber
+
| common_names = Cucumber
 +
| growth_habit = herbaceous vine
 +
| high =    <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->
 +
| wide = 25 square feet{{SSN}}
 +
| origin = India
 +
| poisonous =    <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->
 +
| lifespan = annual
 +
| exposure = full sun
 +
| water = maintain even moisture{{SSN}}
 +
| features = edible fruit
 +
| hardiness =    <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 5°C (40°F), etc -->
 +
| bloom =    <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for its flowers -->
 +
| usda_zones = all zones
 +
| sunset_zones = all zones {{SSN}}
 +
| color = IndianRed
 
| image = Cucumis sativus1.jpg
 
| image = Cucumis sativus1.jpg
−
| image_width = 200px
+
| image_width = 240px    <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
 
| image_caption = Cucumber
 
| image_caption = Cucumber
−
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
+
| regnum = Plantae
−
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
+
| divisio = Magnoliophyta
−
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
+
| classis = Magnoliopsida
−
| ordo = [[Cucurbitales]]
+
| ordo = Cucurbitales
−
| familia = [[Cucurbitaceae]]
+
| familia = Cucurbitaceae
−
| genus = ''[[Cucumis]]''
+
| genus = Cucumis
−
| species = '''''C. sativus'''''
+
| species = sativus
−
| binomial = ''Cucumis sativus''
+
| subspecies =  
−
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
+
| cultivar =  
 
}}
 
}}
 +
Cucumbers are creeping vines that grow on the ground, or up [[Pergola#Trellis|trellises]] fences and other supporting frames.  They have thin, spiraling tendrils that can cling to poles, wires and branches.  They have large leaves which create a canopy over the fruit.
  
−
The '''cucumber''' (''Cucumis sativus'') is a widely cultivated plant in the [[gourd]] family [[Cucurbitaceae]], which includes [[squash (fruit)|squash]], and in the same [[genus]] as the [[muskmelon]].
+
The fruit is approximately cylindrical, elongated, and has tapered ends.  Fruit can reach 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter in some varieties. Cucumbers grown for eating fresh (called ''slicers'') and those grown for [[pickling]] (called ''picklers'') are very similar.  
  
−
==Botany==
+
{{Inc|
−
The cucumber is a creeping vine that roots in the ground and grows up [[Pergola#Trellis|trellises]] or other supporting frames, wrapping around ribbing with thin, spiraling tendrils. The plant has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruit.
+
Cucumber. Plate XXXI. The common cucumbers are derived from an Asian species, Cucumis sativus (see Cucumis), which has long been known in cultivation. The so-called West India gherkin, which is commonly classed with the cucumbers, is Cucumis Anguria. The snake, or serpent cucumber is more properly a muskmelon, and should be designated botanically as Cucumis Melo var. flexuosus (cf. A. G. 14:206). The "musk cucumber" is Cucumis moschata, Hort., which is probably identical with concombre musque1, referred to Sicana odorifera by Le Potager d'un Curieux, known in this country as cassabanana. The Mandera cucumber is Cucumis Sacleuxii, Paill. et Bois. (Pot. d'un Curieux). but it is not in cultivation in this country. None 01 these is of any particular importance except the common types of Cucumis sativus. These are extensively cultivated in all civilized countries as field and as garden crops. They come into commerce as pickles packed in bottles and barrels, and are very extensively used in this form. Of late, the forcing of cucumbers under glass has come to be an important industry in the eastern states.
  
−
The fruit is roughly [[cylinder (geometry)|cylindrical]], elongated, with tapered ends, and may be as large as 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter. Cucumbers grown to be eaten fresh (called ''slicers'') and those intended for [[pickling]] (called ''picklers'') are similar.  
+
Field culture.
−
[[Image:Cucumber leaf.jpg|thumb|A cucumber [[shoot|sprout]] with its first leaves]]
+
 
 +
The common cucumber is an important field and garden crop and may be classed as one of the standard crops of the vegetable-garden. The fruit is used as a table salad, eaten raw, with the usual salad seasonings, and is pickled in large quantities. The cucumber is pickled in both large and small sizes, both by the housewife and commercially on a large scale. The small fruit, of not more than a day or two's growth and measuring from 1 to 2 inches in length, makes the most desirable and delicate of pickles. These are packed in bottles for the commercial trade and bring fancy prices. Larger sizes are pickled and sold by the keg or barrel.
 +
 
 +
The cucumber is a .native of the tropics and tender of frost. It should be planted in a warm location, after danger from frost is past. For the early crop—and earliness is of prime importance to the commercial vegetable-grower—a sandy soil is preferable, supplied with an abundance of well-rotted stable manure. The seed may be sown in hills 3 feet apart with rows 6 feet apart, or may be planted by machine (the common seed-drill) in drills 6 feet apart. In either case, an abundance of seed should be used, for severe injury by insect pests often occurs in the early stages of the cucumber's life. Plants may be started under glass to hasten maturity. The seed is sometimes sown in pots or baskets or in inverted sods and these protected and so managed that the cucumber plant receives those conditions most suitable to its rapid and healthy growth. These conditions are: a temperature between 60° and 65° at night, which may be allowed to rise to 100° in bright sunshine; an ample supply of moisture; sufficient ventilation, without draft, to prevent a soft brittle growth. It is almost impossible to transplant cucumber seedlings and secure satisfactory results if the roots are disturbed. A glass-covered frame may be used over seed planted in the field, and yields good returns on labor and equipment. Any method whereby marketable cucumbers may be obtained a few days earlier, if not extravagant of time apd labor, will pay handsomely.
 +
 
 +
The cucumber, in the field, should yield marketable fruits in seven to eight weeks from seed and continue in profitable bearing until frost. It is customary among commercial growers to allow two or three plants to the hill, and when grown in drills, one plant is left every 18 to 24 inches.
 +
 
 +
During the height of the growing season, which is usually in August when the days are hot and nights moist and warm, the cucumbers need to be picked every day. The fruit is ready to harvest when it is well filled out, nearly cylindrical in shape. When immature it is somewhat furrowed. When allowed to remain too long, it becomes swollen in its middle portion and cannot be sold as first quality. Cucumbers are marketed by the dozen, the field crop often bringing as much as 60 cents a dozen at the first and selling as low as 5 cents a dozen at the glut of the market.
 +
 
 +
The cucumber plant is affected by serious insect pests and fungous diseases. Of the insect pests, the striped cucumber beetle is the most serious and difficult to combat. It feeds on the leaves, usually on the under sides, and appears soon after the cucumber seedlings break ground. This cucumber beetle seems to be little affected by the common remedies for chewing insects. This is probably largely due to its activity, the beetle moving to unpoisoned parts of the plant, and also to the fact that rarely, in commercial practice, is the under side of the leaves thoroughly poisoned. Arsenate of lead applied in more than ordinary strength is the most satisfactory remedy. Hammond's Slug Shot, dusted lightly over the plants, will drive the bugs away, while a teaspoonful of paris green mixed with two pounds of flour makes also an excellent mixture with which to fight the bugs. Or cover the young plants with small wire or hoop frames, over which fine netting is stretched. If the plants are kept quite free from attack till these protectors are outgrown, they will usually suffer little damage. Plants started in hotbeds or greenhouses may usually be kept free at first, and this is the chief advantage of such practices. The cucumber beetles are kept away somewhat at times by strewing tobacco stems thickly under the plants; and kerosene emulsion will sometimes discommode the young squash bugs without killing the vines, but usually not. What is known as the cucumber blight (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) has done much to discourage the growth of cucumbers. This fungus may be repulsed by thorough spraying with bordeaux and the plants should be kept covered with bordeaux throughout their growth. This will require at least three or four sprayings. The growth of the vines, which usually completely covers the ground, prevents late sprayings, which are often necessary to maintain healthy growth and insure maximum returns.
 +
 
 +
The common field varieties most popular in the United States grown for a slicing cucumber are of the White Spine type. Many of the so-called White Spine varieties now on the market are not typical of the original White Spine cucumber, which is a fruit averaging about 6 inches in length, rather blunt on both ends, with white prickles appearing at frequent intervals over the surface. The seed end is light-colored, in mature specimens almost white with whitish stripes extending toward the stem end from one-third to one- half the length of the cucumber. What is often catalogued as the Improved White Spine has become more popular among growers within recent years. This type possesses some of the characteristics of the popular English type of cucumber known as the Telegraph. The improved type has been obtained by crossing the White Spine with the Telegraph or some closely related variety. This cross has resulted in an increased length and darker green color, with a fewer number of spines and seeds and a more common tapering of the ends. All of these changes have apparently been beneficial and have been well fixed by careful selection. This is well illustrated by the cucumber of the White Spine type sold as Woodruff Hybrid.
 +
 
 +
The English type of cucumbers is raised on a small scale in this country but infrequently for market purposes.
 +
 
 +
Farcing of cucumbers.
 +
The commercial production of cucumbers under glass has assumed large proportions. This crop ranks second in commercial importance among greenhouse-grown vegetable crops, lettuce only exceeding it in importance. The cucumber crop is ordinarily grown in the spring of the year after two or three crops of lettuce nave been removed, and it continues to occupy the ground until the vines cease bearing, due either to poor management, pests or some similar trouble. The cucumber should come into bearing six to eight weeks after setting in the houses. It is the customary plan to plant the seed in 4- to 6-inch clay pots about two weeks before the house to be used is ready for setting. These1 pots are often placed over manure heat and should always be in a warm house separate from the lettuce. Two weeks should be sufficient to allow the plant a good start, two or three pairs of leaves being all the development desired before setting in the permanent location. Careful management is essential to a healthy growth, for many pests prove more serious in the glasshouse than in the field. A night temperature not below 60° F. is very essential, while the day temperature may go to 90° I4. without danger in bright sunshine. The appearance of the plants will immediately indicate, to the experienced observer, the conditions under which the crop has been grown. A short stocky growth between joints with dark green foliage is desirable. There are localities in which growers make cucumbers the all-the-year- round crop in the glasshouse, usually growing crops from two seedings during the entire season. It requires more skill to produce good cucumbers during the fall and winter months than from February on, and the yield is much lighter in the late fall and early winter than for the spring crop. All cucumbers require an abundance of moisture and food. It has become a common practice in certain sections to mulch the cucumber vines in the greenhouse with good quality strawy manure to the depth of 3 or 4 inches and apply the water directly on the manure. This practice eliminates the packing and puddling of the soil often caused by direct heavy watering, increases the supply of readily available plant-food and gives the roots a good opportunity to grow near the surface where air is available and still be protected from the drying out which occurs when the soil is directly exposed to the sun.
 +
 
 +
The pruning and training of the cucumbers in the greenhouse is of much importance. A number of methods are in common use, one of the most common and practical of which is: Stretch a wire tightly the length of the house at the base of the plants which may be set in rows 3 feet apart and 18 inches to 2 feet apart hi the rows; fasten at the base of each plant a soft but strong twine known in tobacco-growing sections as tobacco twine, securing this single twine to an overhead wire running parallel and directly over the ground wire, but not stretching the string tight. As the cucumber plant grows, it is twined about this string to which it clings by tendrils. When the plant reaches the upper wire it is either allowed to grow at will over wires provided for an overhead support and from which the cucumbers usually hang down where they can be easily picked, or it is pruned and the encouragement of fruiting along the upright stem continued. In the meantime more or less fruit has been harvested and at each joint a lateral branch has appeared. It is necessary to cut these off. Some growers prefer to take them off back to the maul stem, while others, if a cucumber is obtainable on the first joint of the lateral, nip the lateral just beyond this point.
 +
"In the greenhouse, cucumbers are liable to damage from mite, aphis, root-gall and mildew. For the mite, syringe the plant and pick off the infested Lvs.; for aphis, use tobacco fumigation and pick infested Lvs.; for root-gall, use soil which has been thoroughly frozen; for mildew, improve the sanitary conditions, and then use sulfur."—Bailey, "Forcing-Book."
 +
Yields of twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-five cucumbers have been secured from single plants. The expert growers, under normally good circumstances, may expect to obtain a yield of six to seven dozen marketable cucumbers from a plant.
 +
 
 +
Varieties of cucumber.
 +
There are a great many varieties of cucumbers in cultivation. This means that the group is variable, the varieties comparatively unstable, and varietal distinctions somewhat uncertain. Nevertheless, there are certain dominant types which may be separated, and around which most of the varieties may be conveniently classified. The principal types are the following:
 +
 
 +
Common cucumber, Cucumis aatitus.
 +
I. English forting type (var. anglicus): Fig. 1122. Large-lvd., strong-growing, slow-maturing plants, not suited to outdoor cult.: fr. large, long, smooth, usually green, with few or early- deciduous black spines. Telegraph, Sion House, Tailby Hybrid, Kenyon, Lome, Edinburgh, Blue Gown.
 +
II. Field varieties (hill or ridge cucumbers).
 +
a. Black Spine varieties.
  
−
===Cucumbers are fruit===
+
1. Netted Russian type: Small, short-jointed vines, bearing more or less in clusters, small, ellipsoidal fr. covered with many small, black, deciduous spines: fr. green, ripening to dark reddish yellow, on a cracking, chartaceous skin. Early-maturing and prolific. Netted Russian, Everbearing, New Siberian, Parisian Prolific Pickle.
−
Having an enclosed seed and developing from a flower, cucumbers are scientifically classified as a [[fruit]]. Much like tomatoes and squash, despite the scientific classification their sour-bitter flavor contributes to cucumbers being perceived, prepared and eaten as vegetables.
 
  
−
=== Flowering and pollination ===
+
2. Early Cluster type: Small or medium vines: fr. small. usually less than twice as long as thick, indistinctly ribbed, green, ripening yellow, with scattered, large, black spines. Early Cluster, Early Frame.
−
A few varieties of cucumber are [[parthenocarpic]], the blossoms creating seedless fruit without [[pollination]]. Pollination for these varieties degrades the quality. In the US, these are usually grown in [[greenhouse]]s, where bees are excluded. In Europe, they are grown outdoors in some regions, and bees are excluded from these areas. Most cucumber varieties, however, are seeded and require pollination. Thousands of hives of [[honey bee]]s are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom for this purpose. Cucumbers may also be pollinated by [[bumblebee]]s and several other bee species.
 
  
−
Symptoms of inadequate pollination include fruit abortion and misshapen fruit. Partially pollinated flowers may develop fruit which are green and develop normally near the stem end, but pale yellow and withered at the blossom end.
+
3. Medium Green type: Intermediate in size of vine and fr. between the last and next: fr. about
 +
twice as long as thick, green, ripening yellow, with scattering, large black spines. Nichols Medium. Green, Chicago Pickle.
  
−
Traditional varieties produce male blossoms first, then female, in about equivalent numbers. New [[gynoecious]] hybrid [[cultivar]]s produce almost all female blossoms. However, since these varieties do not provide [[pollen]], they must have interplanted a [[pollenizer|pollenizer variety]] and the number of beehives per unit area is increased. [[Insecticide]] applications for insect pests must be done very carefully to avoid killing off the insect [[pollinator]]s.
+
4. Long Green type: One of the best fixed types, representing, perhaps, one of the more primitive stages in the evolution of the group. Vines large, long and free-growing: fr. large and long, green, ripening yellow, with scattered, large, black spines. Long Green, Japanese Climbing.
 +
b. White Spine varieties.
  
−
==As a food==
+
5. White Spine type: A strong and important type: plants medium large, vigorous: fr. medium large, about thrice as long as thick, green, ripening white, with scattering, large, white spines. There are many selected strains of White Spine. Cool and Crisp, Davis Perfect and Fordhook Famous belong here. G. Giant Pora type: Mostly poorly fixed varieties, having large rather unthrifty vines, bearing large frs. tardily and sparsely, which are white or whitish, smooth or with scattering, deciduous, usually white spines. Chicago Giant, Goli: Wonder, Long Green China.
−
{{nutritionalvalue | name=Cucumber, with peel, raw | kJ=65 | protein=0.65 g | fat=0.11 g | carbs=3.63 g | fiber=0.5 g | | sugars=1.67 g | iron_mg=0.28 | calcium_mg=16 | magnesium_mg=13 | phosphorus_mg=24 | potassium_mg=147 | zinc_mg=0.20 | vitC_mg=2.8 | pantothenic_mg=0.259 | vitB6_mg=0.040 | folate_ug=7 | thiamin_mg=0.027 | riboflavin_mg=0.033 | niacin_mg=0.098 | right=1 | source_usda=1 }}
+
Sikkim cucumber, Cucumis sativus var. sikkimensis. Plant small and stocky, much like the common cucumber: fr. large, reddish brown marked with yellow. (The Egyptian hair cucumber, of Haage & Schmidt, as we have grown it, is apparently an odd form of Cucumis sativus, and may belong here. It has a medium-sized white fr., densely covered with soft, white hair. The plant resembles the Sikkim cucumber.) Not in general cult.
−
The fruit is commonly harvested while still green, though generally after the fruits outgrow their spines. They are eaten as a [[vegetable]], either raw, cooked, or made into [[pickled cucumber]]s. Although less [[nutrition|nutritious]] than most fruit, the fresh cucumber is still a source of [[vitamin C]], [[vitamin K]], and [[potassium]], also providing [[dietary fiber]], [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin B6]], [[thiamin]], [[folate]], [[pantothenic acid]], [[magnesium]], [[phosphorus]], [[copper]], and [[manganese]]. Cucumbers are used in the decorative food art, [[garde manger]].
 
−
[[Image:PicklingCucumbers.jpg|thumb|150px|left|Pickling cucumbers]]
 
−
===Pickling===
 
−
{{main|Pickled cucumber}}
 
−
Cucumbers can be [[Pickled cucumber|pickled]] for flavour and longer shelf life.  As compared to eating cucumbers, pickling cucumbers tend to be shorter, thicker, less regularly-shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white- or black-dotted spines.  They are never waxed.  Color can vary from creamy yellow to pale or dark green.  Pickling cucumbers are sometimes sold fresh as "Kirby" or "Liberty" cucumbers. The pickling process removes or degrades much of the nutrient content, especially that of vitamin C. Pickled cucumbers are soaked in vinegar or brine or a combination, often along with various spices.
 
  
−
===Varieties===
+
Snake or Serpent cucumber. Cucumis Melo var. flexuosus. Vines resembling those of muskmelon: fr. very long, twisted, ribbed- cylindrical, green, tardily yellowing, covered with dense, woolly hairs.
−
*English cucumbers can grow as long as 2 feet.  They are nearly seedless and are sometimes marketed as "Burpless," as the seeds give some people gas.
+
West India gherkin, Cucumis Anguria. Figs. 1127, 1128. Vines small and slender, somewhat resembling a slender watermelon plant: fr. very abundant, small, ellipsoid, covered with warts and spines, green, tardily whitening. Good for pickles.
−
*Japanese cucumbers (''kyūri'') are mild, slender, deep green, and have a bumpy, ridged skin. They can be used for slicing, salads, pickling, etc., and are available year-round.
 
−
*Mediterranean cucumbers are small, smooth-skinned and mild.  Like the English cucumber, Mediterranean cucumbers are nearly seedless.
 
−
*Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have a tougher skin. Slicers in other countries are smaller and have a thinner, more delicate skin.
 
−
*In [[North America]] the term "wild cucumber" refers to [[manroot]].
 
  
−
== History ==
+
These varieties are mostly all good for one purpose or another. The small sorts are naturally preferred for pickling, the medium sorts for slicing, and the large, late varieties for ripe fruits. The White Spine varieties are great favorites for slicing, and only less so for pickling. F. A. Wauqh. H. F. Tompson.
−
The cucumber has been cultivated for at least 3,000 years in Western [[Asia]], and was probably introduced to other parts of Europe by the Romans. Records of cucumber cultivation appear in France in the 9th Century, England in the 14th Century, and in North America by the mid-16th Century.
 
  
−
===Earliest cultivation===
 
−
The cucumber is believed to be native to India, and evidence indicates that it has been cultivated in Western Asia for 3,000 years.  The cucumber is also listed among the products of ancient [[Ur]] and the legend of [[Gilgamesh]] describes people eating cucumbers.  Some sources also state that it was produced in ancient [[Thrace]], and it is certainly part of modern cuisine in Bulgaria and Turkey, parts of which make up that ancient state.  From [[India]], it spread to [[Greece]] (where it was called "vilwos") and [[Italy]] (where the [[Ancient Rome|Romans]] were especially fond of the crop), and later into [[China]].  The fruit is mentioned in the Bible (Numbers 11:5) as having been freely available in Egypt, even to the enslaved Israelites: ''We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely/the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick''. The Israelites later came to cultivate the cucumber themselves, and Isaiah 1:8 briefly mentions the method of agriculture - ''The Daughter of Zion is left/like a shelter in a vineyard/like a hut in a field of melons/like a city under siege''.  The shelter was for the person who kept the birds away, and guarded the garden from robbers.
 
  
−
===Roman Empire===
+
{{SCH}}
−
The [[Roman Empire|Roman]] Emperor [[Tiberius]] had the cucumber on his table daily during summer and winter.  The Romans reportedly used artificial methods (similar to the greenhouse system) of growing to have it available for his table every day of the year.  They would be wheeled out in carts to sit in the sun daily, then taken in to keep them warm, stored under frames or in cucumber houses glazed with oiled cloth known as "[[Greenhouse|specularia]]." 
+
}}
  
−
Pliny the Elder describes the Italian fruit as very small, probably like a [[gherkin]], describing it as a wild cucumber considerably smaller than the cultivated one.  Pliny also describes the preparation of a medication known as "elaterium", though some scholars believe that he refers to Cucumis silvestris asininus, a different plant from the common cucumber.<ref>Pliny the Elder, Book XX. Remedies Derived from the Garden Plants Chapter 2. (1.) -- The Wild Cucumber; Twenty-Six Remedies.</ref>  Pliny also writes about several other varieties of cucumber, including the Cultivated Cucumber,<ref>Pliny the Elder, Book XX, chap. 5, the "Anguine or Erratic Cucumber" (Book XX, Chap 4. (2.))</ref> and remedies from the different types (9 from the cultivated, 5 from the "anguine", and 26 from the "wild".  The Romans are reported to have used cucumbers to treat scorpion bites, bad eyesight, and to scare away mice.  Wives wishing for children wore them around their waists.  They were also carried by the midwives, and thrown away when the child was born.
+
==Cultivation==
 +
Plants often need at least 25 square feet, though they can be grown on walls and trellis' to save space. Along fences they can be planted 1-3 feet apart, allowing the main stem to grow to the top.  Bush varieties are much more compact, and don't require much space.
  
−
===In the Middle Ages===
+
Covering cucumber rows with a protective row cover while they're seedlings will reduce pests like the [[cucumber beetle]] and [[flea beetle]].  Covers must be removed when flowering begins to allow pollination.
−
Charlemagne had cucumbers grown in his gardens in ninth-century France.  They were reportedly introduced into England in the early 1300s, lost, then reintroduced approximately 250 years later. 
 
−
The [[Spaniards]] (in the person of [[Christopher Columbus]]) brought cucumbers to [[Haiti]] in [[1494]].  In 1535, [[Jacques Cartier]], a French explorer, found "very great cucumbers" grown on the site of what is now [[Montreal]].
 
  
−
===Post-Enlightenment===
+
Warm air is needed for pollination{{SSN}}.  Most cucumbers require pollination, which is is more than adequately provided by various bees.  Some varieties, like English cucumbers, must not be pollinated, which is detrimental to the fruit.  They are usually grown in greenhouses to avoid bees. Misshapen fruit is usually due to poor pollination, or uneven watering{{SSN}}.  Some varieties are all or mostly female flowers, producing more fruit.  These may either require other varieties interplanted for pollination, or be self-fertile like 'Sweet Success'.
−
Throughout the 1500s, European trappers, traders, [[bison]] hunters, and explorers bartered for the products of Native American [[agriculture]].  The tribes of the [[Great Plains]] and the [[Rocky Mountains]] learned from the Spaniard how to grow European vegetables. The best farmers on the Great Plain were the [[Mandan Indians]] in what is now North and [[South Dakota]].  They obtained cucumbers and [[watermelons]] from the Spaniards, and added them to the vegetables they were already growing, including several varieties of [[corn]] and [[beans]], [[pumpkins]], [[Squash (fruit)|squash]], and [[gourd]] plants.  The [[Iroquois]] were also growing them when the first Europeans visited them.
 
  
−
In 1630, the Reverend [[Francis Higginson]] produced a book called, "New England's Plantation," in which, describing a garden on Conant's Island in Boston Harbor known as "The Governor's Garden," he states: "The countrie aboundeth naturally with store of roots of great varietie and good to eat. Our turnips, parsnips, and carrots are here both bigger and sweeter than is ordinary to be found in England.  Here are store of pompions, cowcumbers, and other things of that nature which I know not..."
+
Harvest cucumbers while young to encourage fruit production{{SSN}}.
  
−
William Wood also published in 1633's New England Prospect (published in England) observations he made in 1629 in America: "The ground affords very good kitchin gardens, for Turneps, Parsnips, Carrots, Radishes, and Pompions, Muskmillons, Isquoter-squashes, coucumbars, Onyons, and whatever grows well in England grows as well there, many things being better and larger."
+
===Propagation===
 +
[[Image:Cucumber leaf.jpg|thumb|A cucumber [[shoot|sprout]] with its first leaves]]
 +
Grown from seed.  Seeds require warm soil to sprout{{SSN}}.  Sprout indoors to get a head-start on the growing season outdoors, and extend the fruiting period.  Outdoors plant seeds 1 to 2 weeks after the average date of the last frost{{SSN}}, 1 inch deep in the soil{{SSN}}.
  
−
In the later 1600s, a prejudice developed against uncooked vegetables and fruits.  A number of articles in contemporary health publications state that uncooked plants brought on summer diseases and should be forbidden to children.  The cucumber kept this vile reputation for an inordinate period of time:  "fit only for consumption by cows," which some believe is why it gained the name, "cowcumber."
+
===Pests and diseases===
 +
Cucumbers are prone to cucumber beetles, flee beetles and [[whiteflies]].
  
−
A copper etching made by Maddalena Bouchard  between 1772 and 1793 shows this plant to have smaller, almost bean-shaped fruits, and small yellow flowers. The small form of the cucumber is figured in Herbals of the sixteenth century, but states, 'if hung in a tube while in blossom, the Cucumber will grow to a most surprising length.' 
+
==Varieties==
 +
*Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have a tougher skin. Slicers in other countries are smaller and have a thinner, more delicate skin.
 +
*Novelties
 +
**Armenian - up to 3 feet long, curving, pale green, ribbed, thin skin (no need to peel), technically a melon.  Best when under a foot long.
 +
**Orientals - long, slim, very mild
 +
**English cucumbers can grow as long as 2 feet.  They are nearly seedless and are sometimes marketed as "Burpless," as the seeds give some people gas.
 +
*Mediterranean cucumbers are small, smooth-skinned and mild. Like the English cucumber, Mediterranean cucumbers are nearly seedless.
 +
*In [[North America]] the term "wild cucumber" refers to [[manroot]].
  
−
Samuel Pepys wrote in his diary on September 22, 1663:  "this day Sir W. Batten tells me that Mr. Newhouse is dead of eating cowcumbers, of which the other day I heard of another, I think."
+
Bush cucumbers are varieties the are compact, and need relatively little space{{SSN}}.
  
−
[[Fredric Hasselquist]], in his travels in [[Asia Minor]], [[Egypt]], [[Cyprus]] and [[Palestine]] in the 1700s, came across the Egyptian or hairy cucumber, ''Cucumis chate''.  It is said by Hasselquist to be the "queen of cucumbers, refreshing, sweet, solid, and wholesome." He also states that "they still form a great part of the food of the lower-class people in Egypt serving them for meat, drink and physic." George E. Post, in Hastings's "A Dictionary of the Bible," states, "It is longer and more slender than the common cucumber, being often more than a foot long, and sometimes less than an inch thick, and pointed at both ends."
+
===Pickling===
 +
[[Image:PicklingCucumbers.jpg|thumb|200px||Pickling cucumbers]]
 +
Cucumbers can be pickled for the taste, and to extend their shelf life.  While pickling cucumbers can be eaten fresh, and often are (like 'Kirby' or 'Liberty'), they usually tend to be shorter, thicker, less regularly-shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white- or black-dotted spines.  They should never be waxed, but color is not important.  They are often harvested very young, like the tiny gherkins used for sweet pickles.
  
−
== Industry ==
+
==Gallery==
−
In the United States, consumption of pickles has been slowing, while consumption of fresh cucumbers is rising.  In 1999, the consumption in the US totalled 3 billion pounds with 171,000 acres of production across 6,821 farms and an average farm value of $361 million. Worldwide, production is highest in China, followed by Turkey, Iran and the US, which produced 4% of the world's cucumbers.<ref>[http://usda.mannlib.cornell.edu/reports/erssor/economics/ao-bb/2000/ao277f.asc Economics lecture on US cucumber production.]</ref>
+
{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery -->
  
−
==Image gallery==
 
 
<gallery>
 
<gallery>
 
Image:Mediterranean cucumber.JPG|A Mediterranean cucumber, whole and cut open, with AA battery for size.
 
Image:Mediterranean cucumber.JPG|A Mediterranean cucumber, whole and cut open, with AA battery for size.
Line 90: Line 130:
  
 
==References==
 
==References==
−
* {{ITIS|taxon = Cucumis sativus|ID = 22364|date = January 30|year = 2006}}
+
<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
 +
<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
 +
<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
 
==External links==
 
==External links==
−
* [http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=CUSA4 Plant profile] at the Plants Database ([http://plants.usda.gov/ http://plants.usda.gov/]) - shows classification and distribution by US state.
+
*{{wplink}}
−
* [http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~bcohen/cucumbers/history.html A very brief history of the cucumber in America]
+
 
−
* [http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=42 Cucumber as health food]
+
{{stub}}
−
* [http://www.wineiscool.com/purple/food/ingredient/ingredient_cucumber.shtml Ancient history of the cucumber]
+
[[Category:Categorize]]
−
* [http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=917&letter=C A brief article on cucumbers in Palestine]
 
−
* [http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/publications/vegetabletravelers/cucumber.html A brief article on cucumber history]
 
−
* [http://www.innvista.com/HEALTH/foods/vegetables/cucumber.htm Specifics, including history, on cucumbers and their varieties]
 
−
* [http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/history/lecture19/r_19-5.html Several plants listed from a work by Pliny the Elder]
 
−
* [http://www.adbio.com/science/agri-history.htm Source noting cucumbers in Ur in 3000 BC]
 
  
−
[[Category:Cucurbitaceae]]
+
<!-- in order to add all the proper categories, go to http://www.plants.am/wiki/Plant_Categories and copy/paste the contents of the page here, and then follow the easy instructions!    -->
−
[[Category:Vegetable-like fruits]]
 
−
[[Category:Plants and pollinators]]
 

Latest revision as of 08:09, 15 August 2009


Cucumber


Plant Characteristics
Lifespan: ⌛ annual
Origin: ✈ India
Cultivation
Exposure: ☼ full sun"full sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water: ◍ [[Water::maintain even moisturesn]]
Features: ✓ edible fruit"Edible fruit" is not in the list (evergreen, deciduous, flowers, fragrance, edible, fruit, naturalizes, invasive, foliage, birds, ...) of allowed values for the "Features" property.
Sunset Zones: [[Sunset zones::all zones sn]]
Scientific Names

Cucurbitaceae >

Cucumis >

sativus >


Cucumbers are creeping vines that grow on the ground, or up trellises fences and other supporting frames. They have thin, spiraling tendrils that can cling to poles, wires and branches. They have large leaves which create a canopy over the fruit.

The fruit is approximately cylindrical, elongated, and has tapered ends. Fruit can reach 60 cm long and 10 cm in diameter in some varieties. Cucumbers grown for eating fresh (called slicers) and those grown for pickling (called picklers) are very similar.


Read about Cucumber in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Cucumber. Plate XXXI. The common cucumbers are derived from an Asian species, Cucumis sativus (see Cucumis), which has long been known in cultivation. The so-called West India gherkin, which is commonly classed with the cucumbers, is Cucumis Anguria. The snake, or serpent cucumber is more properly a muskmelon, and should be designated botanically as Cucumis Melo var. flexuosus (cf. A. G. 14:206). The "musk cucumber" is Cucumis moschata, Hort., which is probably identical with concombre musque1, referred to Sicana odorifera by Le Potager d'un Curieux, known in this country as cassabanana. The Mandera cucumber is Cucumis Sacleuxii, Paill. et Bois. (Pot. d'un Curieux). but it is not in cultivation in this country. None 01 these is of any particular importance except the common types of Cucumis sativus. These are extensively cultivated in all civilized countries as field and as garden crops. They come into commerce as pickles packed in bottles and barrels, and are very extensively used in this form. Of late, the forcing of cucumbers under glass has come to be an important industry in the eastern states.

Field culture.

The common cucumber is an important field and garden crop and may be classed as one of the standard crops of the vegetable-garden. The fruit is used as a table salad, eaten raw, with the usual salad seasonings, and is pickled in large quantities. The cucumber is pickled in both large and small sizes, both by the housewife and commercially on a large scale. The small fruit, of not more than a day or two's growth and measuring from 1 to 2 inches in length, makes the most desirable and delicate of pickles. These are packed in bottles for the commercial trade and bring fancy prices. Larger sizes are pickled and sold by the keg or barrel.

The cucumber is a .native of the tropics and tender of frost. It should be planted in a warm location, after danger from frost is past. For the early crop—and earliness is of prime importance to the commercial vegetable-grower—a sandy soil is preferable, supplied with an abundance of well-rotted stable manure. The seed may be sown in hills 3 feet apart with rows 6 feet apart, or may be planted by machine (the common seed-drill) in drills 6 feet apart. In either case, an abundance of seed should be used, for severe injury by insect pests often occurs in the early stages of the cucumber's life. Plants may be started under glass to hasten maturity. The seed is sometimes sown in pots or baskets or in inverted sods and these protected and so managed that the cucumber plant receives those conditions most suitable to its rapid and healthy growth. These conditions are: a temperature between 60° and 65° at night, which may be allowed to rise to 100° in bright sunshine; an ample supply of moisture; sufficient ventilation, without draft, to prevent a soft brittle growth. It is almost impossible to transplant cucumber seedlings and secure satisfactory results if the roots are disturbed. A glass-covered frame may be used over seed planted in the field, and yields good returns on labor and equipment. Any method whereby marketable cucumbers may be obtained a few days earlier, if not extravagant of time apd labor, will pay handsomely.

The cucumber, in the field, should yield marketable fruits in seven to eight weeks from seed and continue in profitable bearing until frost. It is customary among commercial growers to allow two or three plants to the hill, and when grown in drills, one plant is left every 18 to 24 inches.

During the height of the growing season, which is usually in August when the days are hot and nights moist and warm, the cucumbers need to be picked every day. The fruit is ready to harvest when it is well filled out, nearly cylindrical in shape. When immature it is somewhat furrowed. When allowed to remain too long, it becomes swollen in its middle portion and cannot be sold as first quality. Cucumbers are marketed by the dozen, the field crop often bringing as much as 60 cents a dozen at the first and selling as low as 5 cents a dozen at the glut of the market.

The cucumber plant is affected by serious insect pests and fungous diseases. Of the insect pests, the striped cucumber beetle is the most serious and difficult to combat. It feeds on the leaves, usually on the under sides, and appears soon after the cucumber seedlings break ground. This cucumber beetle seems to be little affected by the common remedies for chewing insects. This is probably largely due to its activity, the beetle moving to unpoisoned parts of the plant, and also to the fact that rarely, in commercial practice, is the under side of the leaves thoroughly poisoned. Arsenate of lead applied in more than ordinary strength is the most satisfactory remedy. Hammond's Slug Shot, dusted lightly over the plants, will drive the bugs away, while a teaspoonful of paris green mixed with two pounds of flour makes also an excellent mixture with which to fight the bugs. Or cover the young plants with small wire or hoop frames, over which fine netting is stretched. If the plants are kept quite free from attack till these protectors are outgrown, they will usually suffer little damage. Plants started in hotbeds or greenhouses may usually be kept free at first, and this is the chief advantage of such practices. The cucumber beetles are kept away somewhat at times by strewing tobacco stems thickly under the plants; and kerosene emulsion will sometimes discommode the young squash bugs without killing the vines, but usually not. What is known as the cucumber blight (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) has done much to discourage the growth of cucumbers. This fungus may be repulsed by thorough spraying with bordeaux and the plants should be kept covered with bordeaux throughout their growth. This will require at least three or four sprayings. The growth of the vines, which usually completely covers the ground, prevents late sprayings, which are often necessary to maintain healthy growth and insure maximum returns.

The common field varieties most popular in the United States grown for a slicing cucumber are of the White Spine type. Many of the so-called White Spine varieties now on the market are not typical of the original White Spine cucumber, which is a fruit averaging about 6 inches in length, rather blunt on both ends, with white prickles appearing at frequent intervals over the surface. The seed end is light-colored, in mature specimens almost white with whitish stripes extending toward the stem end from one-third to one- half the length of the cucumber. What is often catalogued as the Improved White Spine has become more popular among growers within recent years. This type possesses some of the characteristics of the popular English type of cucumber known as the Telegraph. The improved type has been obtained by crossing the White Spine with the Telegraph or some closely related variety. This cross has resulted in an increased length and darker green color, with a fewer number of spines and seeds and a more common tapering of the ends. All of these changes have apparently been beneficial and have been well fixed by careful selection. This is well illustrated by the cucumber of the White Spine type sold as Woodruff Hybrid.

The English type of cucumbers is raised on a small scale in this country but infrequently for market purposes.

Farcing of cucumbers. The commercial production of cucumbers under glass has assumed large proportions. This crop ranks second in commercial importance among greenhouse-grown vegetable crops, lettuce only exceeding it in importance. The cucumber crop is ordinarily grown in the spring of the year after two or three crops of lettuce nave been removed, and it continues to occupy the ground until the vines cease bearing, due either to poor management, pests or some similar trouble. The cucumber should come into bearing six to eight weeks after setting in the houses. It is the customary plan to plant the seed in 4- to 6-inch clay pots about two weeks before the house to be used is ready for setting. These1 pots are often placed over manure heat and should always be in a warm house separate from the lettuce. Two weeks should be sufficient to allow the plant a good start, two or three pairs of leaves being all the development desired before setting in the permanent location. Careful management is essential to a healthy growth, for many pests prove more serious in the glasshouse than in the field. A night temperature not below 60° F. is very essential, while the day temperature may go to 90° I4. without danger in bright sunshine. The appearance of the plants will immediately indicate, to the experienced observer, the conditions under which the crop has been grown. A short stocky growth between joints with dark green foliage is desirable. There are localities in which growers make cucumbers the all-the-year- round crop in the glasshouse, usually growing crops from two seedings during the entire season. It requires more skill to produce good cucumbers during the fall and winter months than from February on, and the yield is much lighter in the late fall and early winter than for the spring crop. All cucumbers require an abundance of moisture and food. It has become a common practice in certain sections to mulch the cucumber vines in the greenhouse with good quality strawy manure to the depth of 3 or 4 inches and apply the water directly on the manure. This practice eliminates the packing and puddling of the soil often caused by direct heavy watering, increases the supply of readily available plant-food and gives the roots a good opportunity to grow near the surface where air is available and still be protected from the drying out which occurs when the soil is directly exposed to the sun.

The pruning and training of the cucumbers in the greenhouse is of much importance. A number of methods are in common use, one of the most common and practical of which is: Stretch a wire tightly the length of the house at the base of the plants which may be set in rows 3 feet apart and 18 inches to 2 feet apart hi the rows; fasten at the base of each plant a soft but strong twine known in tobacco-growing sections as tobacco twine, securing this single twine to an overhead wire running parallel and directly over the ground wire, but not stretching the string tight. As the cucumber plant grows, it is twined about this string to which it clings by tendrils. When the plant reaches the upper wire it is either allowed to grow at will over wires provided for an overhead support and from which the cucumbers usually hang down where they can be easily picked, or it is pruned and the encouragement of fruiting along the upright stem continued. In the meantime more or less fruit has been harvested and at each joint a lateral branch has appeared. It is necessary to cut these off. Some growers prefer to take them off back to the maul stem, while others, if a cucumber is obtainable on the first joint of the lateral, nip the lateral just beyond this point. "In the greenhouse, cucumbers are liable to damage from mite, aphis, root-gall and mildew. For the mite, syringe the plant and pick off the infested Lvs.; for aphis, use tobacco fumigation and pick infested Lvs.; for root-gall, use soil which has been thoroughly frozen; for mildew, improve the sanitary conditions, and then use sulfur."—Bailey, "Forcing-Book." Yields of twenty-five to one hundred and twenty-five cucumbers have been secured from single plants. The expert growers, under normally good circumstances, may expect to obtain a yield of six to seven dozen marketable cucumbers from a plant.

Varieties of cucumber. There are a great many varieties of cucumbers in cultivation. This means that the group is variable, the varieties comparatively unstable, and varietal distinctions somewhat uncertain. Nevertheless, there are certain dominant types which may be separated, and around which most of the varieties may be conveniently classified. The principal types are the following:

Common cucumber, Cucumis aatitus. I. English forting type (var. anglicus): Fig. 1122. Large-lvd., strong-growing, slow-maturing plants, not suited to outdoor cult.: fr. large, long, smooth, usually green, with few or early- deciduous black spines. Telegraph, Sion House, Tailby Hybrid, Kenyon, Lome, Edinburgh, Blue Gown. II. Field varieties (hill or ridge cucumbers). a. Black Spine varieties.

1. Netted Russian type: Small, short-jointed vines, bearing more or less in clusters, small, ellipsoidal fr. covered with many small, black, deciduous spines: fr. green, ripening to dark reddish yellow, on a cracking, chartaceous skin. Early-maturing and prolific. Netted Russian, Everbearing, New Siberian, Parisian Prolific Pickle.

2. Early Cluster type: Small or medium vines: fr. small. usually less than twice as long as thick, indistinctly ribbed, green, ripening yellow, with scattered, large, black spines. Early Cluster, Early Frame.

3. Medium Green type: Intermediate in size of vine and fr. between the last and next: fr. about twice as long as thick, green, ripening yellow, with scattering, large black spines. Nichols Medium. Green, Chicago Pickle.

4. Long Green type: One of the best fixed types, representing, perhaps, one of the more primitive stages in the evolution of the group. Vines large, long and free-growing: fr. large and long, green, ripening yellow, with scattered, large, black spines. Long Green, Japanese Climbing. b. White Spine varieties.

5. White Spine type: A strong and important type: plants medium large, vigorous: fr. medium large, about thrice as long as thick, green, ripening white, with scattering, large, white spines. There are many selected strains of White Spine. Cool and Crisp, Davis Perfect and Fordhook Famous belong here. G. Giant Pora type: Mostly poorly fixed varieties, having large rather unthrifty vines, bearing large frs. tardily and sparsely, which are white or whitish, smooth or with scattering, deciduous, usually white spines. Chicago Giant, Goli: Wonder, Long Green China. Sikkim cucumber, Cucumis sativus var. sikkimensis. Plant small and stocky, much like the common cucumber: fr. large, reddish brown marked with yellow. (The Egyptian hair cucumber, of Haage & Schmidt, as we have grown it, is apparently an odd form of Cucumis sativus, and may belong here. It has a medium-sized white fr., densely covered with soft, white hair. The plant resembles the Sikkim cucumber.) Not in general cult.

Snake or Serpent cucumber. Cucumis Melo var. flexuosus. Vines resembling those of muskmelon: fr. very long, twisted, ribbed- cylindrical, green, tardily yellowing, covered with dense, woolly hairs. West India gherkin, Cucumis Anguria. Figs. 1127, 1128. Vines small and slender, somewhat resembling a slender watermelon plant: fr. very abundant, small, ellipsoid, covered with warts and spines, green, tardily whitening. Good for pickles.

These varieties are mostly all good for one purpose or another. The small sorts are naturally preferred for pickling, the medium sorts for slicing, and the large, late varieties for ripe fruits. The White Spine varieties are great favorites for slicing, and only less so for pickling. F. A. Wauqh. H. F. Tompson.


CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

Plants often need at least 25 square feet, though they can be grown on walls and trellis' to save space. Along fences they can be planted 1-3 feet apart, allowing the main stem to grow to the top. Bush varieties are much more compact, and don't require much space.

Covering cucumber rows with a protective row cover while they're seedlings will reduce pests like the cucumber beetle and flea beetle. Covers must be removed when flowering begins to allow pollination.

Warm air is needed for pollinationsn. Most cucumbers require pollination, which is is more than adequately provided by various bees. Some varieties, like English cucumbers, must not be pollinated, which is detrimental to the fruit. They are usually grown in greenhouses to avoid bees. Misshapen fruit is usually due to poor pollination, or uneven wateringsn. Some varieties are all or mostly female flowers, producing more fruit. These may either require other varieties interplanted for pollination, or be self-fertile like 'Sweet Success'.

Harvest cucumbers while young to encourage fruit productionsn.

Propagation

A cucumber sprout with its first leaves

Grown from seed. Seeds require warm soil to sproutsn. Sprout indoors to get a head-start on the growing season outdoors, and extend the fruiting period. Outdoors plant seeds 1 to 2 weeks after the average date of the last frostsn, 1 inch deep in the soilsn.

Pests and diseases

Cucumbers are prone to cucumber beetles, flee beetles and whiteflies.

Varieties

  • Slicers grown commercially for the North American market are generally longer, smoother, more uniform in color, and have a tougher skin. Slicers in other countries are smaller and have a thinner, more delicate skin.
  • Novelties
    • Armenian - up to 3 feet long, curving, pale green, ribbed, thin skin (no need to peel), technically a melon. Best when under a foot long.
    • Orientals - long, slim, very mild
    • English cucumbers can grow as long as 2 feet. They are nearly seedless and are sometimes marketed as "Burpless," as the seeds give some people gas.
  • Mediterranean cucumbers are small, smooth-skinned and mild. Like the English cucumber, Mediterranean cucumbers are nearly seedless.
  • In North America the term "wild cucumber" refers to manroot.

Bush cucumbers are varieties the are compact, and need relatively little spacesn.

Pickling

Pickling cucumbers

Cucumbers can be pickled for the taste, and to extend their shelf life. While pickling cucumbers can be eaten fresh, and often are (like 'Kirby' or 'Liberty'), they usually tend to be shorter, thicker, less regularly-shaped, and have bumpy skin with tiny white- or black-dotted spines. They should never be waxed, but color is not important. They are often harvested very young, like the tiny gherkins used for sweet pickles.

Gallery

If you have a photo of this plant, please upload it! Plus, there may be other photos available for you to add.

  • A Mediterranean cucumber, whole and cut open, with AA battery for size.

  • A Marketmore Ridge cucumber.

  • An English cucumber, ready for consumption.

References

External links


Retrieved from "http://gardenology.mywikis.net/w/index.php?title=Cucumber&oldid=31872"