Cucumber questions

[T]

Hi All,

This is my first year growing regular cucumbers. Prior years I grew lemon cucumbers, but they were a complete loss

1) How do I know when they are ready to pick?

2) they are planted in a row of ground pots. I move their vines perpendicular to the row of pots but they keep move back towards each other. Is this by design? Cross pollination needs? Should I just let them do their thing?

Many thanks,

-T

[songbird]

when they reach a size you like to eat. i'm not sure what variety you are growing. we have been using a pickling cucumber which doesn't get much more than a foot long even at full size. but they are usually much better eating at a smaller size about 8 inches long and 1-2 inches across.

i don't care what they do and right now ours are starting to grow through the fence and up the fence and into the neighboring tomatoes.

pick every 4-5 days or check for ones you want to pick about that often.

keep them watered well.

we have four plants and they produce 1-2 five gallon buckets of cucumbers per week.

last year we had 15 or more plants. we sure didn't need that many...

almost all we're growing are for my brother and nephew and to give away. i've eaten maybe one or two small cucumbers so far this season. i should be eating more of them since they have so few calories and can be used to fill up on and to lose a few more lbs.

i am not making any pickles this year. we have enough.

for pollination purposes the things that help the most are the native bee species you have around. if you have been able to get squash and melons to grow ok you probably have the bees around you need.

songbird

[T]

That is easy. I will wait until they stop growing, then see if they are too though

Yikes With my black thumb, maybe 1/10 that much

They are also ketogenic and perfect for my diabetes. I adore this in salads and straight with my Blue Cheese salad dressing. Sometimes just straight with salt.

I have planed holly hocks in the garden's unused ground pots this year in hopes of attracting more bees

[Pavel314]

Pick them when they get to the size you see at the grocery store. Don't let them go too long as they will turn yellow as they ripen. I planted some ye ars ago and didn't know how productive they were; we ate all we can and pic kled some. There were so many that even my daughter's pony got tired of the m and refused to eat any more.

My wife currently grows them in cages, like tomato cages. The plants seem t o like it and it keeps them from spreading all over the garden.

After a very dry month, we finally got a good soaking rain here. It rained all day today. More is expected as that hurricane is supposed to track up t he east coast this week.

Paul

[T]

I picked a bunch of them of various sizes, about what you said and the pickle section of the grocery store.

Unfortunatly today is my fast day (I am ketogenic) and I can not taste them till tomorrow. Dang! I will have to take my wife word for it when she get here. Hope she leaves me some. She gets away with anything because she is sweet/pretty/cute.

[T]

am ketogenic) and

 Dang!  I will have

she get here.  Hope

?with anything because

She left me a bunch. She love to share things, so I got lucky. Her eyes sparkled when she tried her first one.

And oh my goodness: crunchy and yummy!