Cucumber

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 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.

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.

Cultivation

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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 pollination^sn. 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^sn. 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 production^sn.

Propagation

A cucumber sprout with its first leaves

Grown from seed. Seeds require warm soil to sprout^sn. 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^sn, 1 inch deep in the soil^sn.

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 space^sn.

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

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

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  A Marketmore Ridge cucumber.

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  An English cucumber, ready for consumption.

External links

• w:Cucumber. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
• Cucumber QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)