The Buy Nothing Project

YourRabbitGirl

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I can't grow cucumbers to save my life. Feel free to send some my way šŸ¤£
It's always nice to have cucumbers. I hope I can plant some at my backyard so I can just trim some for my own consumption.. any easy tips on growing cucumbers around the house?
 

Lazy Gardener

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Cucumbers should be a super easy crop for you. They are heat lovers. i plant them every year. Some years, I get a bumper crop, other years, I get just enough for fresh eating. My favorite variety is Suyo Long. It grows about 12" long, though best harvested at 10" or less. Tender, never bitter, open pollinated. Cukes do best if given a sturdy trellis to grow on.
 

baymule

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I only grow cucumbers every 2-3 years. I can spicy sweet pickles that we love. Cucumbers over produce so many, that I donā€™t have to grow them every year.
 

Lazy Gardener

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I still have pickles from 2018. but, I plant cukes every year b/c I so love fresh cucumbers. My lament: They don't come on strong until after the lettuce has bolted. My yearly challenge: have both lettuce and cukes that are at their prime at the same time in the growing season. Even when lettuce is not available, thinly sliced cukes take up the slack on the dinner table.
 

wyoDreamer

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When I grow too many cucumbers, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. I just toss it in the chicken pen. Feathered pigs is what they are. I like the idea of taking an excess and getting something else in return. Plus, it reduces the feed bill. Turn them into eggs!
 

wyoDreamer

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I would love a good pickle recipe. No-one seems to have a recipe around here that turns out good pickles.
 

baymule

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I would love a good pickle recipe. No-one seems to have a recipe around here that turns out good pickles.
Here is a link to my favorite pickle recipe, I have made these since I was in high school. These make the best deviled eggs, I add a little of the syrup to the egg yolks and minced pickles. On a hamburger, they are fantastic. I love these pickles and even people who don't like pickles, like these.

 

YourRabbitGirl

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Cucumbers should be a super easy crop for you. They are heat lovers. i plant them every year. Some years, I get a bumper crop, other years, I get just enough for fresh eating. My favorite variety is Suyo Long. It grows about 12" long, though best harvested at 10" or less. Tender, never bitter, open pollinated. Cukes do best if given a sturdy trellis to grow on.
[/QUOTE
]I believe that would be a different variation compared to what we have here in the Philippines.. I hope someone can send me some seeds so i can start planting different kinds of plants in my backyard garden.
 

flowerbug

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we don't usually have any trouble growing pickles reliably here, we used to grow the large Burpee kind but decided we don't really like them so we just grow a smaller pickling cucumber that is very productive. the problem is that they do take up a fair amount of space as they sprawl. i'm hoping this year we don't plant so many. my brother is our largest pickle eater so this coming year we may downsize enough if he decides he doesn't want pickles any more. already we've stopped doing a lot of Bread and Butter pickles because he can't have those any longer so we've only put up a dozen pints of those for our own cooking (Mom uses them as part of her sweet and sour meatball recipe).

these grow for us through the entire summer no matter how hot or dry it gets as long as we keep them watered. the bugs don't seem to bother them much either. i love seeing all the native bees and the bigger bumblebees working on the flowers. i may continue growing some just for that reason alone, but we do like to eat some fresh cucumbers and make some salads with them.

4-5 5 gallon buckets every 5-7 days though is way more than i want to scrub or put up. we gave so many away last year nobody wanted them by the end of the summer. i was ready to pull the plants out by the end of July. i could have had a whole nother pea crop or bean crop in that space!
 
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