cucumbers - what have i finally done right??
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cucumbers - what have i finally done right?? 0tterbot 12-31-2007
Posted by 0tterbot on December 31, 2007, 9:55 pm
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 i know - weird question <g>

i love lebanese cucumbers, but they've never cropped well for me. last year
i spent every morning hand-fertilising the flowers (which gave a much better
result than previous years, but still fairly unimpressive i suspect).

this year, i had been ignoring them in the pre-xmas kerfuffle, only to
discover they're cropping a treat without me!! (as are the pumpkins (Cucurbita mixta Pang.) next to
them, which have about as many baby pumpkins (Cucurbita mixta Pang.) already as we harvested
entirely last year for the whole season).

my first idea is that we've many, many bees & bugs now. i planted "bug
flowers" such as queen anne's lace & whatnot to bring more bugs, which seems
to be working. the bees were active all winter, too & are now present in
large numbers, yay. still, last year we seemed to have plenty of bees
anyway, but not many cucumbers. (?)

i'm growing them up a fence this time, which i believe is recommended. does
anyone know what the difference might be with growing them upwards instead
of along the ground? (more bee action?)

the last thing is i spread compost all over the cucurbit bed about 10-20cm
deep before transplanting. iirc, last year they were in dirt with manure in
it. have they a particular passionate love for compost? my compost is still
mostly pretty lumpy & weird, but i guess it does the job!

the armenian cucumbers have only just begun to flower. interestingly, these
did quite well last year, probably because i don't like them very much <g>.
dh really likes them though, so one of us was happy. i look forward to
finding out if the armenians crop better this year, too. i'm letting those
go on the ground though (i just don't have that many fences to indulge
myself with ;-)

look forward to your thoughts in my quest for the perfect lebanese cucumber
plant!
kylie



Posted by Jonno on January 1, 2008, 12:12 am
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 0tterbot wrote:
> i know - weird question <g>
>
> i love lebanese cucumbers, but they've never cropped well for me. last year
> i spent every morning hand-fertilising the flowers (which gave a much better
> result than previous years, but still fairly unimpressive i suspect).
>
> this year, i had been ignoring them in the pre-xmas kerfuffle, only to
> discover they're cropping a treat without me!! (as are the pumpkins next to
> them, which have about as many baby pumpkins already as we harvested
> entirely last year for the whole season).
>
> my first idea is that we've many, many bees & bugs now. i planted "bug
> flowers" such as queen anne's lace & whatnot to bring more bugs, which seems
> to be working. the bees were active all winter, too & are now present in
> large numbers, yay. still, last year we seemed to have plenty of bees
> anyway, but not many cucumbers. (?)
>
> i'm growing them up a fence this time, which i believe is recommended. does
> anyone know what the difference might be with growing them upwards instead
> of along the ground? (more bee action?)
>
> the last thing is i spread compost all over the cucurbit bed about 10-20cm
> deep before transplanting. iirc, last year they were in dirt with manure in
> it. have they a particular passionate love for compost? my compost is still
> mostly pretty lumpy & weird, but i guess it does the job!
>
> the armenian cucumbers have only just begun to flower. interestingly, these
> did quite well last year, probably because i don't like them very much <g>.
> dh really likes them though, so one of us was happy. i look forward to
> finding out if the armenians crop better this year, too. i'm letting those
> go on the ground though (i just don't have that many fences to indulge
> myself with ;-)
>
> look forward to your thoughts in my quest for the perfect lebanese cucumber
> plant!
> kylie
>
>
Had much rain? They love rain compost, chicken manure a hot spot and
lots of sex (fertilising of flowers) Alos the more I garden to more i
realise its a co dependent eco system to get the birds and the bees to
co operate and make them all happy, to attract bees and pant the right
things so they have food. Its about food really...

Posted by Jonno on January 1, 2008, 12:30 am
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
Had much rain? They love rain compost, chicken manure, a hot spot and
lots of sex (fertilising of flowers). Dont let the mdry out too much...
Also the more I garden, the more I realise its a co dependent eco
system. To get the birds and the bees to co operate and make them all
happy, to attract bees and plant the right things so they have food. Its
about food really... Our food and their food, and survival.


0tterbot wrote:
> i know - weird question <g>
>
> i love lebanese cucumbers, but they've never cropped well for me. last year
> i spent every morning hand-fertilising the flowers (which gave a much better
> result than previous years, but still fairly unimpressive i suspect).
>
> this year, i had been ignoring them in the pre-xmas kerfuffle, only to
> discover they're cropping a treat without me!! (as are the pumpkins next to
> them, which have about as many baby pumpkins already as we harvested
> entirely last year for the whole season).
>
> my first idea is that we've many, many bees & bugs now. i planted "bug
> flowers" such as queen anne's lace & whatnot to bring more bugs, which seems
> to be working. the bees were active all winter, too & are now present in
> large numbers, yay. still, last year we seemed to have plenty of bees
> anyway, but not many cucumbers. (?)
>
> i'm growing them up a fence this time, which i believe is recommended. does
> anyone know what the difference might be with growing them upwards instead
> of along the ground? (more bee action?)
>
> the last thing is i spread compost all over the cucurbit bed about 10-20cm
> deep before transplanting. iirc, last year they were in dirt with manure in
> it. have they a particular passionate love for compost? my compost is still
> mostly pretty lumpy & weird, but i guess it does the job!
>
> the armenian cucumbers have only just begun to flower. interestingly, these
> did quite well last year, probably because i don't like them very much <g>.
> dh really likes them though, so one of us was happy. i look forward to
> finding out if the armenians crop better this year, too. i'm letting those
> go on the ground though (i just don't have that many fences to indulge
> myself with ;-)
>
> look forward to your thoughts in my quest for the perfect lebanese cucumber
> plant!
> kylie
>
>

Posted by 0tterbot on January 2, 2008, 5:44 pm
If you were  Registered and logged in, you could reply and use other advanced thread options
> Had much rain?

had a cool, rainy period just before xmas - it must have helped, by the
looks of things! & clearly they've been having sex amongst themselves ;-)

They love rain compost, chicken manure, a hot spot and
> lots of sex (fertilising of flowers). Dont let the mdry out too much...
> Also the more I garden, the more I realise its a co dependent eco system.
> To get the birds and the bees to co operate and make them all happy, to
> attract bees and plant the right things so they have food. Its about food
> really... Our food and their food, and survival.

i agree - & i do think we have more bugs than last year.

when i go to my neighbours' place, it's like a dead zone in terms of birds
and bugs, whereas our place is quite noisy & busy with them. these are
people who give us horse poo, grass clippings, dead leaves & whatnot,
because they apparently Don't Approve of such things (& aren't gardeners
anyway). it boggles my mind, but there you are. if i were not a gardener,
i'd still leave clippings & leaves on the grass & things like that. oh well.
:-) i'm certain they find _us_ to be mind-boggling in many ways, too. <g>
kylie




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