THE CHINESE CUCURBITS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 38

Asian cucumbers are very slim. The long, slim cucumbers sold as burpless have the typ-
ical Asian cucumber shape.
The appearance of Asian cucumbers depends on how they're grown. Some grow
curved on the ground but straight if grown on a support that allows them to hang free.
Some will grow curved even on a fence, but the curve will be less pronounced. The
serpent types may really startle you the first time you see one nestled under the leaves.
They can grow curled around with the “head” raised inquiringly; others seem to be un-
curling, ready to slither away. Even hanging free on the vine, they persist in curling into
snakelike shapes. They are sweet, crisp, and delicious as well as fascinating to look at.
Children love them.
How to Grow
Getting started. Like so many garden “rules,” those for planting cucumbers can be
stretched quite a bit. As long as you wait until the ground is completely warm, you can
start them quite late and still get a good crop. I never have the patience to start cucum-
bers indoors. I sow them in the garden as soon after June 1 as I can manage, and my
cucumbers seem to ripen just as fast as those of my friends who set out month-old seed-
lings at the same time.
Cucumbers want the same rich, fertile soil as their relatives, so dig in abundant com-
post and a balanced fertilizer before planting. (See page 23 for my method.) Test the
soil pH and add lime as needed to correct acidity.
Planting. Sow seeds about 3 inches apart and ½ to ¾ inches deep. When the seedlings
are 4 inches high, thin to about 12 inches apart; you can transplant if the best seedlings
are not naturally spaced this way.
Growing needs. Cucumbers must be picked frequently. Grown on a trellis or a fence,
a vine is much easier to scan for cucumbers and harvest. Vines grown on a fence also
form an excellent windbreak.
DID YOU KNOW?
The origin of the cucumber is so ancient it's unknown; some think it first grew in India. It was introduced
to China well before written history and was found in Egyptian tombs dating from the Twelfth Dynasty.
The Romans were inordinately fond of it. Charlemagne gave it a favored place in his fabulous garden,
and it is one of the vegetables mentioned in the Bible.
If your cucumbers are bitter, you've let them get too dry; it's as simple as that. Al-
ways water copiously. Cucumbers sometimes worry new gardeners when the leaves wilt
dramatically in hot weather, but well-watered plants recover fully by the next morning.