Arch O' Gherkins?

[zeezeezed]

My OH and me love gherkins so I was thinking about growing some to pickly myself, and planning where in the allotment at the same time.

I have read they grow pretty big and can be trained and be outside - do you think they will grow happily up an old archway I have kicking around?

Are there any varieties anyone can recommend looking out for when I get seed please? And how many plants should I aim for without having so many I turn into a gherkin

Sooooo many questions ..........

[binley100]

OK .........ten plants is definately a few too many .........I grew mine up wigwams and they also escaped and trained themselves along the wire netting around the bed. I was worried at first that I was only going to get a few at a time and then all of a sudden they went beserk. Haven't a clue what sort they were just Gherkins from Kings Seeds. We were picking them right up till October , everytime I thought they'd stopped they produced more. They hide under leaves as well and all of a sudden there's a monster there. I have a nice indian type pickle recipe for if you want to try something different.

[zeezeezed]

Ooooo thanks Binley! Ill look out for the Kings Seeds ones .... they are based here in the village so finding the seeds shouldnt be a problem and it sounds like an arch would be ideal?

Indian pickle - that sounds interesting indeed if you wouldnt mind sharing the recipe. Ill keep the recipe away from my OH though, he isnt known for his culinary skills. Just this week he made a ginger cake to impress me but forgot to put the ginger in!

[binley100]

But the thought was there.........
I found that the gherkins were better if they were big enough to pickle as slices they fit in sarnies ......Also pickled some using the pickled courgette recipe that's on here.
I think the plants are heavy feeders, the bed they were in had been heavily manured and I also gave them regular drinks of comfrey tea.....

[binley100]

Recipe done.........

[zeezeezed]

Thankyou Binley!

Well have plenty of old horse poo and I got some comfrey root cuttings last week so Im going to be sorted on this one!

Cant wait to get started now .........

[OverWyreGrower]

Mind if I jump in??

Is there a limit to how high they grow/how far they'll spread??

Just thinking they might grow well up the side of the chicken run next to my veg patch, and provide some shade etc in the summer for the chooks?

[grenhouse]

I had some which I grew from lidl seeds last year. I trained mine up a fence and the crop was OK. They do grow quite large but did taste pretty good!

Can't see why you couldnt grow them up a chicken run, be careful of the gherkins growing through the mesh though cos they'll have em!

Steve

[duggie]

I grew Lidl gherkins last year and they were great. Tried training them up netting but they kept escaping and trying to sprawl accross the ground. Just fed them with comfrey and they produced loads of little bite sized fruits.

[zeezeezed]

Excellent Duggie, I want to grow them even more now I know that I can

My local Lidls doesnt have seed though so I might have to try the one in town. Do you know what variety they were?

[duggie]

Sorry Zeezeezed, I no longer have the packet. I'm not sure they actually specified a variety. Still waiting for our local Lidls to bring out this years seeds (been checking desperately every week!) but when they do I'll have a look and post a message.

[teakdesk]

Gherkins are from the cucumber family and can be treated in the same way.

They like warmth and hate wind !!

After success outside in previous years I had two poor years (the first due to me putting them outside too early; the second due to late, cold wind) so I reverted to the greenhouse last year.

Three plants in pots neglected in the greenhouse was plenty for us.

[snakeshack]

I grow hocus and piccolo de paris for pickling.we grow over an arch 7 ft high and they never fail to meet at the top .I grow 6 plants every year and get enough pickled to last the year,grow dill in the same bed,its a great companion plant in the bed and when pickled.

[susieq100]

Me too - grew some Lidl ones and some dill together - some in pots on a sunny patio but the most successful ones were up a wigwam in a sunny flower bed - they were cropping until well into October. Some hid and grew huge (like cucumbers) - I used them for pickling, to put in piccallili, in chutney, you name it ... I used them. My home pickled ones still aren't quite as nice as the Lidl ones (my faves) but I'm getting there. I've got an arch down the plot that I used to grow pumpkins over last year. They were such a disappointment in flavour that I shan't be bothering with them again ... it might be a really good place to grow either gherkins or climbing beans. A really prolific crop - plenty of return for your investment.

[kernowyon]

we grow tons of gherkins each year, both indoor and outdoor, we use a variety called Fantasy F1 which are fantastic and prolific. as for pickling them, we go to a polish/slovak deli and buy vinegar from them, they also get hold of packets of pickling spices to use as well (our local shop gets them in if you can give them a two or three week heads up)

last year we pickled about 40 jars of gherkins and 10 jars of green toms & cherry peppers, which is about right for us as OH eats them with everything (even roasts)