I'm taking the Great Cucumber Challenge from Mother Earth News: I hope to grow five different kinds of cucumbers, three or four plants of each variety, in our tiny urban garden, among all the other plants we already have going there. Here's the plan:
- Photo #1 shows two of the lemon cucumber plants coming up from seed at the bottom end of the garden, along the edge of the herb&flower bed. We may just allow these cukes to sprawl off the edge of the raised bed and along the undeveloped grpund, if they can do so without getting trampled by feet and by cars (the raised bed garden is right beside the parking lot). Or, we may put up a trellis for them, as long as a good amount of sun still gets to the rest of the plants. We may begin to harvest little round yellow "lemon" cucumbers about August 8.
- Photo #2 shows the older cucumber plants that we got from the nursery, interpsersed among the tomatoes. So far, tomato cages for the three biggest tomatoes and stakes for the three smallest have been sufficient for them and for the nastrutiums twining among them. As the cucumbers grow bigger, we will probably put up additional trellis for them, and for new nasturtiums.
- Photo #3 is a closer look at one of the nursery cucumbers: the healthiest and glossiest of the bunch. That health may be partly due to the surrounding companion plants: nasturtium, borage, and marigold. This baby already has a trellis behind her, ready for her to climb when ready. God willling and the creek don't rise, we should start harvesting green slicing cucumbers from the nursery plants about July 25.
- #4 is a wide shot of the whole "veggie patch" portion of the garden, including Guardian Rabbit (a donated statue) and the worm bin. (I will write more about worms later!) You can see our first mesclun greens bolting enthusiastically. These are all coming out on Wednesday (June 6) to go into one big dinner salad, flowers and all. I will then work a whole lot of compost into the soil in a space off to the left, halfway up, and on June 13, plant a hill of "Diva" cucumbers there. We will hopefully begin to harvest Divas about August 22.
- On June 20, I will plant a hill of Suyo Long cucumbers at the upper end of the garden, to the left of Guardian Rabbit. The can then trail off the edge of the raised bed area; or we may rig up an arching trellis to carry them over a walkspace to the lot fence. I estimate that we can begin harvesting Suyos about September 5.
- July 18 (the day after my birthday!) I will put in the fifth cucumber, a hill of "H-19 Little Leaf" from Johnny's Seeds, at the lower right corner of the "veggie bed." These are supposed to be compact plants. They may have enough room to sprawl among the strawberry plants one bed down, because it's the first year for those plants and they haven't spread very far. Or, again, we may rig up an arching trellis over the walkway to the lot fence. "Little Leaf" cucumbers should begin to ripen by September 19, for several weeks of harvest before our first real frost.


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