CUCUMBER KITCHEN MINI QUICK SNACK

Producing handfuls of small, cocktail-sized, deliciously crisp and sweet Cucumbers over a few weeks. Will set fruit without a pollinator and are perfect for growing indoors or on a balcony. If grown on its own, the fruit will be seedless. Plants benefit from being trellised to keep upright and pinched when the plant reaches the top of the trellis. Grow in a well lit position and keep well watered to allow the fruit to mature. For best flavour, pick when the fruit are 5-6cm long.

Cucumbers are a summer essential in sandwiches, salads and even in drinks. Home grown cucumber has a flavour and texture that supermarket bought fruits simply can’t match.

Growing cucumber at home is really quite as easy; they grow well in containers, gro-bags or vegetable beds, and you don’t necessarily require a greenhouse, as long as you choose the right varieties, both indoor and outdoor types are readily available to grow from seed. Always check whether you have selected indoor or outdoor cucumber seeds before you sow them.

Indoor cucumber plants typically produce the familiar, long, smooth fruits. Greenhouse cucumbers don’t need pollinating - in fact male flowers, with a short, thin stalk behind the petals, should be removed to prevent pollination happening as this results in bitter tasting fruits. Many F1 hybrid varieties only produce female flowers and therefore avoid this issue.

Outdoor, or ridge, cucumber varieties tend to be shorter with a rougher skin, but do have the advantage of being able to crop outdoors, making them perfect for growers without a greenhouse. Outdoor cucumbers often produce both male and female flowers, which need to be pollinated. Avoid growing ridge cucumbers too close to greenhouse ‘all-female’ F1 types as this will lead to cross-pollination, which can produce bitter fruits.

For a little more variety in your salad you might like to try white, yellow or even ball shaped cucumbers.

Cucumber seeds can be sown indoors from early March through to April, outdoor varieties can be direct sown from May to June if necessary.

Sow cucumber seed on its side, 1cm deep, in 3 inch pots filled with moist, free-draining seed compost. Place the pots in a propagator or seal them inside a plastic bag to retain moisture until the seed germinates. Germination usually takes 7-10 days at a temperature of 20C or 68F

Cucumber seedlings can be prone to scorching so take care to shade them from direct sunlight when growing on. Cucumbers are sensitive to root disturbance so take care when potting on.

Plant greenhouse cucumbers at a spacing of 2 plants per grow bag or 45cm (18"") apart. Outdoor cucumbers should be hardened off for 7-10 days before transplanting into warm, well drained, humus rich soil in a sunny position with shelter from strong winds. Outdoor cucumbers should be spaced 36 inches apart.

Both indoor and outdoor types will require some support. Pinch out the growing point at the top of the plant once it reaches the top of its support, support heights will vary according to type. Once the fruit begins to develop, pinch out the end of each side shoot, leaving two leaves after each fruit. This helps to encourage more side shoots to grow and will result in bigger crops of cucumbers.

It is essential to keep cucumber plants well watered and to feed with a high potash mix every two weeks once the fruits begin to develop. However, cucumber really objects to having water around its neck, position the plant on a raised mound to prevent water from pooling around it, water from below rather than above and aim to keep the neck dry at all costs.

Harvest your cucumbers while they are young and tender as older fruits can become bitter, use secateurs or a sharp knife or removed the fruit from the plant, ideally in the morning when temperatures are cooler.

Regular harvesting will encourage a longer production period - outdoor cucumbers can continue producing fruit until September, while greenhouse cucumbers can fruit into October if temperature remains high enough.