Cucumber help

[chickbob]

anyone know what's happening to this crystal lemon cucumber plant? Weird green flower looks like sprouting from plant tip? Plenty of fruit and yellow flowers on rest of plant. Please help!!

[Moopmoop]

Well hello, I'm afraid that I can't be of any help to you but I wanted to say hello as you live so near to me. I'm very envious of your cucumbers, mine aren't coming along at all and I obviously can't just blame it on the weather in my neck of the woods!

[Vince G]

Looks just like mine, but I think it's just how the leaves at the top of the vine start off before they get bigger

[chickbob]

Well that's reassuring, but having grown this variety for a number of years, they've never grown like this!?

[chickbob]

Hi Moop Moop - we got zero last year, so even an obscure mutation is an improvement. This one however, belongs to a relative in Sunderland, but I have lots forming too, same batch and mine look 'normal'. - friend from Amble gave us variety 'picalo' and I have 7 mini cucumbers ready already and only planted them around 3 weeks ago. Everything around 4 weeks behind, but this pic is of crystal lemon, slow to start, but look like apples and taste lovely, cross between melon and a cucumber. Highly recommend except this weird mutation I thought was occurring ha! Nice to meet someone relatively close, as struggle to find people from Northumberland. Love to hear what varieties work well / or not for u being so close by.

[Vince G]

Well that's reassuring, but having grown this variety for a number of years, they've never grown like this!?

Only the second year I've grown cukes myself but they seem to turn out OK. There will be an expert along in a while.....

[Moopmoop]

Hi Chickbob. Last year was alright in some respects, I grew marketmore cucumbers and I got a reasonable harvest from them, I lost one plant early on in the season but the two plants I had left kept me in enough cucumbers to feed myself through the summer. I'm trying marketmore again this year, although they seem to be sulking this time around. I did sow some crystal lemon seeds this year but they didn't germinate, I have crystal apple seeds for next year, if you would like to try any of those let me know and I will post a few to you. I will certainly have another go at crystal lemon again sometime in the future as they do look interesting.

I've hardly seen anyone on here that lives in the North East, although I am starting to see veg growing in more and more gardens around where I am, it's catching on slowly and it's nice to see.

I don't have a greenhouse, just blowaways so I am grateful to get a harvest from anything. Last years winners were leeks, runner beans, carrots, potatoes, cucumbers, chillies, peas, broad beans, broccoli, onions and a few tomatoes although not many ripened on the plant (most were ripened on kitchen windowsill). Last years losers were peppers, squash, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, spring onion, beetroot and sweetcorn to name but a few. This year I have quite a bit on the go, mangetout are looking good, rhubarb isn't up to much and I don't know what's going on with my potatoes, no harvest now or any time soon from the looks of it. I agree about the 4 weeks behind, I'm nowhere near having anything ready to eat and in 4 weeks time I still don't think I'm going to have anything. I'm trying kohlrabi this year and mooli too so I can't wait to see how they come on. I am only a few streets away from the sea front so I do think that has in impact on my garden.

How about you? What do you grow and what can't you grow? Do you have an allotment or garden, and a greenhouse? How long have you been growing for? This is only my fourth year or so, I tend to grow a little of everything rather than have a lot of a few things. I'm really the only person who eats veg in my house so it makes more sense to have 20 small harvests of different veg than a few huge harvests of the same thing. It'll be interesting to see if your harvests were similar to mine or not.

[Vince G]

Actually Moop, I don't really like cucumbers but the wife loves em so I make space for them in the poly. Last year I bought F1 Baby seeds. I figured that they are not too big (pick em at 9") and wifey could pretty much eat one at a sitting. In fact during summer evenings last year, I got quite used to the sound of cucumber munching in my earhole!!

They were really prolific plants, so much so that when we went on holiday for 10 days, I told my dad to go to the lottie and help himself to them. Came back and picked 12 9 inch cukes and had a bit of a go at the old man for not taking any, whereupon he said he'd taken 6 and given 4 more to his neighbour!!

So as a "little and often fruiter", these might be a good variety for you to try next year if it's only you that eats em.

So I'm just growing 1 plant this year, but am also growing a gherkin for the first time for pickling. Strangely I'm not a fan of cukes but love a pickled wally! Variety is Venlo, so guessing it's Dutch. A few 2 inch fruit on there already so looking forward to a pickling session in a month or so.

[Moopmoop]

Vince G I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how your gherkins come on. I plan on growing them next year, not the same variety as yours, I think mine are Cornichon de Paris or something similar. I love gherkins too and I'm looking forward to pickling my own. I'm trying mouse melon this year, any idea if they can be pickled?

[Vince G]

Imagine your Cornichons will be the smaller "cocktail" type gherkins, as I've bought these to chop up for tartare sauce, but I guess you can let them grow as big as you want.

Have to admit, I wasn't sure what a mouse melon was, so googled it and it came up with an old Vine thread for pickling!

http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...lons_2808.html

[veggiechicken]

Mouse melon puzzled me too until I found it was another name for Cucamelon a la Wong, or Melothria Scabra a la Realseeds. I'm growing the latter
Realseeds say they pickle them like gherkins http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cucumbers.html

[Moopmoop]

I like to call them mouse melons but yes they are cucamelons (I didn't get them from JW though). I had fancied pickling them anyway so I will do that. Thanks as usual peeps.

[Tripmeup]

Vince G I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how your gherkins come on. I plan on growing them next year, not the same variety as yours, I think mine are Cornichon de Paris or something similar. I love gherkins too and I'm looking forward to pickling my own. I'm trying mouse melon this year, any idea if they can be pickled?

Moop,

I am growing these type of pickling cucs "Cetriolo Piccolo Di Parigi (Gherkin) Parisian" and have harvested a few already to eat with salads....Very nice so far and will have plenty as I have 3 plants and then other larger sized cucs too, so hopefully I will have a few left for pickling later on..

[Vince G]

Vince G I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on how your gherkins come on. I plan on growing them next year, not the same variety as yours, I think mine are Cornichon de Paris or something similar. I love gherkins too and I'm looking forward to pickling my own. I'm trying mouse melon this year, any idea if they can be pickled?

Moop, gherkins are not looking very well. Have got just 3 sizeable fruit off them and the others seem to turn a bit yellow and drop off, not sure why. Leaves look a bit sickly too. Strange because the cuke next door is fine and producing fruit at a rate of knots. Any thoughts welcomed.

[s.penny91]

How are everyone's cucamelons doing? Mine have several fruits on now but don't want to pick before they are ready! Any advice?