Gherkins turning into Triffids!

[susieq100]

This is my first year with a greenhouse and I have never grown cucumbers or gherkins before. My mini cucumbers are already cropping and are lovely and don't seem to have gone quite as mad as the gherkins although they have put on a growth spurt in the last week or so. I have had to take 2 of the gherkins out of the g/house as they were growing madly - it seemed like 6 inches a day! The last gherkin is still in there as it has twined itself around the staging, the tomatoes, the pallet that some containers are standing on ...in fact anything available really. I have picked out the growing tips (I think I got all of them) - now what? There are lots of flowers.

Should that stop it growing any bigger? Should the flowers now develop as fruits? If I pick the gherkins when they are small (like cornichons) will that encourage the others to fill out?

Sorry if these questions seem stupid to those of you who know what you are doing.

[sarraceniac]

On tomatoes Suzie (don't know the gherkin answers). The reason for pinching out is to stop the plant producing more trusses. If you don't pinch out then tomatoes will still be produced (assuming fertilisation) but if you allow your plant to produce hundreds of tomatoes that all have to be fed by the plant then they will be the size of peas. So you need to pinch out so that the plant can concentrate on feeding just a few fruits. My father used to show tomatoes and never allowed more than 4 trusses on a plant. For everyday use on indoor toms then about 6 is the norm.

[susieq100]

Thanks for that - I have learned that about tomatoes the hard way from last year! I spoke to a chap at the allotments yesterday about the gherkins (he is fount of knowledge) and he tells me that all cucurbits are like that - if you don't pinch out the growing end of pumpkins apparently they will grow for yard and yards!