The Great Cucumber Challenge

Enlarge Image Image Gallery Cucumber variteties come in many shapes, sizes, flavors and growth habits. RICK WETHERBEE

Cucumbers are easy to grow, but coaxing your version of a perfect crop from the garden takes strategy and organization. The exuberant vines are prone to producing all at once, so planting dates must be carefully planned, and you will need a way to preserve the cukes you don’t eat fresh. Most gardeners must defend their plants from yellow and black cucumber beetles, and when the fruits are ready, it’s best to gather them every day.

In the kitchen, you’ll need to courageously match cucumbers’ cool, crisp flavors with bolder herbs and spices, and the end of the season should find you with plenty of homegrown pickles and a nice stash of saved seeds.

Think you can do it? Sure you can! We’ve divided the features of a fantastic cucumber season into 10 steps, and outlined the surest routes to success within each one. As the season progresses, fill out the scorecard (see Image Gallery), then send it in for your chance to win a $100 gift certificate to Johnny’s Selected Seeds. You don’t have to grow your own to play, but you will have to make salads and pickles! (You can buy fresh cukes from farmers markets.) So on your mark, get set, go!

STEP 1: TRY VARIOUS TYPES

You can stick with old favorites or try something new, which is easy when it comes to cucumbers. Characteristics of the five main types are summarized in the “Choosing Cukes” chart below. The main point is to diversify in terms of cucumber size, shape, color, growth habit and flavor. A word to the wise: pickling cucumber varieties can do double duty in salads and sandwiches, but slicing varieties often make second-rate pickles.

Score 1 point for each type you grow, keeping in mind that your score will go up if your choices include picklers (see Step 8) or open-pollinated varieties (see Step 10).

STEP 2: MATCH SUPPLY TO DEMAND

You want to grow enough cucumbers, but not too many. With most varieties, you will need at least three plants of each variety to ensure good cross-pollination and fruit set. And, because cucumbers decline after they’ve made their main crop, you will probably want to do multiple plantings, several weeks apart. Here’s your cheat sheet on the numbers:

• Healthy pickling cucumbers will produce about 5 pounds of cukes per plant over a two-week period. About 6 pounds are needed to make an 8-pint batch of pickles. So, three plants should produce enough cukes to make two batches of pickles, plus more for eating fresh.
• Slicing American cucumbers should produce about six 10-ounce fruits per plant, usually over a period of two to three weeks. On average, that’s a cucumber a day from three plants. Middle Eastern cucumbers follow a similar productivity pattern, but the fruits are smaller.
• Long-vined, large-fruited Armenian or Oriental cucumbers often produce 10 1-pound fruits per plant over a four-week period, or three to four per week from three plants. That’s a lot of cucumbers!
• Heirloom varieties are generally not as prolific as other cucumbers (which can be a good thing). Plan on 2 to 3 pounds of cucumbers per plant under good conditions.