THE CHINESE CUCURBITS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 39

Water regularly in hot weather — every three days is not too often if rain is scarce. The
moisture content of the soil deep down around the roots is more important than the sur-
face moisture content. Once plants reach a foot tall, a thick mulch helps to conserve soil
moisture.
If your cucumbers are bitter after a dry spell, pick off all the ones maturing at that
time, then water well and regularly. Your new batch of cucumbers will be sweet and
back to normal.
A midsummer side-dressing of compost and fertilizer will keep your vines produ-
cing generously.
Pest and disease potential. If you have trouble with insects, hand-picking is the best
recourse. You can keep insects away early in the season with row covers, but remove
them as soon as plants begin to flower. I've never had a problem with diseases on cu-
cumbers, perhaps because I grow them on a support. The best way to deal with diseases
is to grow resistant varieties, but don't worry about this unless you or your neighbors
have had a problem.
How to Harvest
You can pick cucumbers at any stage in their growth before maturity. You must pick the
cucumbers before they mature or the vines will relax, work done, and stop producing.
If you miss a cucumber and it turns yellow, that vine may stop forming new cukes.
It's not easy to spot all the cucumbers. Daily harvesting is your best bet, especially
as Asian cucumbers are so slim they're easy to overlook. Any small cucumber can be
pickled, so pick them young if the harvest is beginning to swamp you with more cu-
cumbers than you can manage.
Varieties
Unlike some Chinese vegetables, cucumbers offer a wide choice and are carried by
many suppliers. Not all catalogs identify them as Asian, but any burpless cucumber is
basically Asian, and any long, slim type probably is, too. Cucumbers called “Armeni-
an,” “Syrian,” or “Turkish” share the characteristics of Asian cucumbers.
To learn about the different varieties quickly, grow several next season. I grew five
different kinds one year and had a wonderful time. Some are early, some a little later,
but all are prolific and delicious. Have fun!
Varieties to look for: Hybrid Crisp Winner, Hybrid Malai, Hybrid White Star.