Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
bonate of soda (see Chapter 7, page 58) or one part milk to ten parts water will
help to slow it down and you will still get plenty of fruit. Take off any really badly
affected leaves and spray the plant every few days as it grows. Try not to get the
leaves of other plants wet in the process.
Cucumber
Varieties: 'Cumlaude' (F1), 'Burpless Tasty Green' (F1), 'Tamra'
Cucumbers are hot-weather plants, and need a soil temperature of at least 16°C
and preferably 18-20°C for planting, or the seeds may rot. Despite what is often
written they are not difficult to grow, but they are very susceptible to chilling
injuries. Although there are varieties that will cope with conditions outside in
Britain in a reasonable summer, they will all do much better in the cosy environment
of the polytunnel, where they will happily grow up a string support (see Chapter
6, page 51) and produce right up to the first frosts. They can be astonishingly
prolific, producing more than 20 fruits per plant, and so, as for courgettes, the
standard advice is 'plant two and hope one dies'.
Preparation
Cucumbers are among the largest and hungriest plants that most tunnel gardeners
will grow. Site them right up against the north side of the polytunnel to avoid
shading other plants, and enrich the soil by forking in some manure or rich com-
post as far ahead as you can manage. To avoid the traditional fuss of having to
nip out male flowers, choose a female-only F1 hybrid; one with good resistance
to mildew that will fruit well into late autumn. When you finally take the plants
out, winter peas are an ideal following plant, both in terms of crop rotation and
habit.
Sowing
F1 hybrid cucumber seeds are some of the most expensive seeds you will plant in
a vegetable garden, and hate being transplanted because their roots are fragile
and brittle. For both these reasons, plant them singly into biodegradable pots
(see Chapter 4, page 35). Sow a couple of weeks before the last frost date for your
area. Place the seed on its edge, lengthways, 1cm deep so that the first leaves can
slide up through the earth with minimum effort. The compost must be nicely
damp as the seeds have a very hard casing, but pre-soaking is not necessary
unless the seed is past its best. To keep the compost moist put the pots in a
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