Planting Cucumbers/A Visit From Turkey Vultures

Welcome back.  I hope your garden is growing well.  So far this year mine is coming along nicely, as the weather has been favorable so far this Spring.

On May 23, 2014, I started my gardening adventures with planting cucumbers from seed.  We use a fair amount of them during the summer in salads and pickles.  So this year I planted 4 varieties.

The first is an heirloom variety called lemon cucumber from Burpee (also available from other sources).  I have grown these for several years and I keep returning to them since they are so good.:

Lemon Cucumber (www.burpee.com)

Lemon yellow cucumbers are tender and sweet, excellent for salads and pickling.

Don't be fooled by this heirloom's unusual shape—these bright yellow balls are excellent for salads and pickling. They have a clean, crisp taste and are never bitter. Normal-sized vines yield heavily and for a long time.

The other 3 varieties I purchased at a local farm store (seeds).  They included Marketmore, White Spine, and a burpless cucumber.

Marketmore

A favorite slicer for the home garden. These long, slender, dark green cucumbers have been the standard for American slicing cucumbers in the Northeast.  Resistant to scab, cucumber mosaic virus and mildews.

White Spine

White Spine Cucumber is a classic slicing variety from which many other newer slicers have been bred; this variety was developed and grown before 1800. Fruits are medium green, often lighter at one end, with white spines, and are usually around 7-8 inches in length. May be used for pickling if the fruits are picked very small.

Burpless 

Burpless cucumbers, both American and Asian types, contain low or no cucurbitacin, the compound that causes bitterness and increases one's susceptibility to 'burping' after eating the fruits

I normally plant cucumbers in hills, however this year I decided to try using a fence to allow them to climb. The fence I am using is about 30 inches high which should be adequate.  This will actually save space in the garden, compared to the traditional hill planting method since the plants will climb as opposed to crawl:

Cucumber Fence

I prepared the area by loosening the soil with a hoe.  Of course I previously had rototilled, some areas more than once since the soil over time begins to compact again.  I then added a layer of composted cow manure which I am using more extensively this year.  I talked about this in more detail in my post on May 17, 2014 (http://dansgardening.blogspot.com/2014/05/transplanting-onion-and-leek.html).

Then I used a rake to level the area and partially mix the compost with the soil.  The fence simply pushes into the soil and is hinged so it can be installed straight or at various angles.  I chose the angled approach to fit even more plants in the same amount of space.

I then laid the seeds on top of the soil making sure to remember which varieties are planted along each section of fence.  I can usually remember, but it also is a good idea to label which plants are which.

Cucumber Seeds Ready to Plant

Cucumber Seeds Ready to be Covered

Finally, simply press the seeds into the soil to a depth of about one inch, making sure that they are covered properly,  Usually, gently tamping the soil with your hand will ensure this.

As promised, last weekend we were visited by some turkey vultures in our neighbor's field.  He had just finished the first cutting of hay and the vultures discovered a treat there.  For those of you who have never seen these birds, they are definitely creepy, although they are fascinating in their own right.  I manged to get a few photos, although they are not the best due to the distance from our house and the size of my zoom lens:

Turkey Vultures

Turkey Vultures

Until next time.