Cucumbers 2023 SE Texas

[karstopography]

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Suyo Long, Monika, Aonaga Jibai, Green Finger all up. The 2024 cucumber season underway.

[karstopography]

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Transplanted one suyo long and one Monika cucumber today. Might do a couple of more soon.

[karstopography]

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Monika and Suyo Long in a race up the bamboo.

I planted yesterday six seeds for Poinsett cucumbers from 2024 MMMM swap. Looks like a squirrel has been digging around in there, hope the tree rat left me a couple.

[karstopography]

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Monika and Suyo Long blooming.

[karstopography]

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Monika looking good this season. It’s parthenocarpic and nearly gynoecious. All the cucumbers are looking better than ever. Having a lot of carpenter bees on them for the ones that need pollination.

[karstopography]

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The cucumbers have been great this year. Three suyo long, one Green Finger and two Monika. Wife is taking them all to work to share with her crew.

[karstopography]

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The various cucumbers are still growing and producing. Best year I’ve had for cucumbers.

[AKgardener]

Awsome

[karstopography]

Grated two squeezed of moisture and tightly packed cups of grated cucumber for tzatziki sauce. That’s enough grated cucumber for 4 cup, the whole container, of greek yogurt. The key to thick tzatziki is to drive out all the moisture from the cucumber, I do this by forming a tight ball of the grated cucumber and squeezing the hades out of it. Fage 5% milk fat greek yogurt is a bit thicker than Aldi brand of 5% milkfat greek yogurt.

https://www.loveandlemons.com/tzatziki-sauce/

Tzatziki sauce goes well with pita chips and pretzels. Recipe in link mentions using mint as an addition to the fresh dill and I like it with the mint. We like tzatziki with fish also. Almost as a replacement for tartar sauce.

Growing cucumbers has become a priority since I’ve discovered I like them as much as I do. Homegrown cucumbers are way better than any store bought versions I’ve tried although I didn’t like the flavor of Straight 8 when I grew that one. I use whatever cucumbers I have fresh for the tzatziki sauce. Suyo Long is great for tzatziki, but so is green finger or Monika and then the other Asian types I’m growing.

I’m going to try a different dill next year as bouquet dill didn’t hang in there very long this year. Buying dill isn’t the worst thing, but I’d rather have my own available. Leafy diana in 2023 did better than bouquet did in 2024. Who knew dill was variable on how it handles weather?

Don’t know how long I’ll be able to keep the cucumbers going. Doing two plantings weeks apart was a good idea, although the first bunch are still producing. I side dress a mix of fertilizer every two or three weeks and that perks them up every time, but there’s likely a limit on how many times that will work.

Zero pickle worms this year and I did have them last year in a limited amount. No complaints about the missing pickle worms.

[karstopography]

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Cucumbers still going strong.

[GoDawgs]

Looking good, @karstopography! You're way ahead of me. My National Picklers (12' of trellis) are up the trellis about 3' so far and I'm seeing blooms and wee 1/2" long babies forming.

I'm also doing some 6' worth of trellis on each of those I got in the swap this year: Suyo Long, Tokiwa and Glorie de Paris. Also the same amount of Indian Snake (one of my sister's toys) and a pot of short vined Bushy. The cukes wiped out last year so by golly, I want a bunch for pickles and relish this year!

Thanks for the tip on making tzatziki.That's something I've been wanting to make but have never gotten around to. Have you ever tried using a ricer to squeeze out the water? I use one all the time to get the water out of defrosted frozen spinach. Works like a charm. In fact, ever since I got it a long time ago, that's about the only thing I've ever used it for. That and getting water out of shredded potatoes for hash brown patties.

CORRECTION: I use one all the time to get the water out of defrosted frozen spinach, NOT broccoli!

[karstopography]

@GoDawgs we don’t have a ricer, but maybe we need to get one. I form the grated cucumber into about tennis ball sized balls and squeeze them. A ricer might be even better.

[GoDawgs]

@GoDawgs we don’t have a ricer, but maybe we need to get one. I form the grated cucumber into about tennis ball sized balls and squeeze them. A ricer might be even better.

You don't need an expensive one. I might have gotten mine at Walmart once upon a time. I don't use it often but it's really handy to have when needed.

CORRECTION! I see I said squeezing frozen broccoli. NOT! Brain fart. I meant frozen SPINACH. Duh.....

You can also squeeze shredded summer squash for making fried squash and onion patties.