Article by Trevor Dalley
Cucumber Growing, When You Cut Me From The Vine Please Dont Squeeze Me.
The chief needs of the Cucumber are light, heat, moisture and a rich growing medium. The best structure we have found for growing the perfect Cucumber Plant in at the present time is a fairly low poly-tunnel or Spanish tunnel.
The high humidity in these structures is very beneficial to the young Cucumbers as they are developing. Most hybrid Cucumbers are self-pollinating, this means that the aid of insects is not required. The tunnels can be kept closed and only ventilated when the temperature starts to rise in mid-summer.
Cucumbers succeed best when the growing medium in which they are planted is placed on a foundation of good vegetable compost.
If the plants are to fruit in the winter, add 2 to 3 feet of vegetable compost to the greenhouse floors, we find that a raised bed made from old wooden pallets cut in half and then lined on the inside with black polythene is perfect for the job.
This structure remains warm as the compost continues to decompose, so none or very little artificial heating is require. The frame is situated down the centre of the tunnel and the Cucumber Plants are grown and tied up strings, that are anchored to the ridge of the poly-tunnel.
It is possible to grow Melon Plants in the same way, but the black polythene should also cover the top of the compost pile as well.
The hotbed of vegetable compost will as the year moves on start to sink as the bacteria breaks it down, this is not a problem, just top it up with good Potting Compost or well rotted vegetable compost, straw can be used as the season moves on and the plants are coming to the end of there useful productive life.
It is possible to use farm yard manure at the very base of the pile, but it must be very well composted beforehand, the debate about manure will go on for years, we are still not convinced that farm yard manure is safe to use where the growing of edible crops is concerned. There is still to much uncertainty about pesticides used, and animal drugs to risk them being transferred to the crops we eat.
Trevor Dalley has been growing and preserving his own fruit for 40 year, most of the preserves are sold in his Organic Farm Shops in Herefordshire England. Did you find those tips on Gardening If So Click Here
There are lots of sources out there that say to grow your vining fruit and vegetables vertically when you are working in a small space. I wondered if this was possible. Would the vine agree to climb up rather than spread out along the ground? Would the vine be able to support the fruit as it grew if it was just hanging there without the ground to carry most of the weight? Would the fruit fall off too soon? Well, since we are working in a small space, we decided to try growing vertically as best we could. We very easily trained the melon vines to climb the curly tomato stakes and now we have young melons growing. Are they proving to be too heavy? What are your suggestions for us at this point to ensure we get to see these melons reach their full maturity? Also, check out www.gettingtheregreen.com for more urban gardening discussions.
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Thanks for the comment. Love the idea of the polytunnel. We live where there is a lot of wind and my early vines, especially cukes, get dried out quickly. I think this will be my next adventure.