"Preserving the future,
one seed at a time." |
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| Cucumbers Cucumis sativus
Cucumbers are heavy feeders so work well composted material into the area you are planting in. Sow after the soil temperatures are above 70 to 95ºF. Plant seeds ½ to one inch deep, six inches between plants and and in hills or rows four to six feet apart.
-- More Information --
Each packet contains one gram or approximately 25 to 30 seeds.
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Other Issues:
Cucumbers will cross with one another but not with other plants in the Cucurbitaceae family. For instance, 'Lemon Apple' will readily cross with 'Homemade Pickles' but it will not cross with 'West Indian Gherkin'.
If you are planning to save seed and growing more than one variety of cucumber (Cucumis sativus), you will need to isolate them from one another by about ½ mile or hand pollinate to insure seed purity.
Cucumbers are also slightly day length sensitive. That is they produce the most female flowers when the days are about eleven hours long. This is why it is common to have a shortage of cucumbers in midsummer in some areas.
This day length phenomenon is not to be confused with a problem that some hybrids exhibit. Some hybrid cucumber varieties are what are known as gynoecious. That is, they only produce female flowers. How the seed companies get around this problem is by placing a small number of seeds from a standard-type, but similar cucumber into the pack. The odds are usually good that if you plant the packet and everything grows, you will get both male and female flowers so that pollination will occur and you will get fruit.
The older, standard varieties that we offer are not unstable hybrids. They are open-pollinated (e.g. will breed true to type if not crossed with another variety) and the same vines will produce both male and female flowers.
 for a recipe for Grandma D's sweet dill pickles.
for a recipe for Grandma Eda's sweet pickles.
Information Sources:- Vegetable Cultivar Descriptions for North America
- "Vegetables of New York - Vol. 1 Part IV - The Cucurbits" - New York A. E. S., 1937
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