Monday, February 15, 2010

Veggies 2009: The Cucumber Story

Our tale begins on May 23rd with these freshly transplanted seedlings I grew myself: two swiss chard 'Bionda Di Lyon', one cabbage 'Caraflex', one lime basil, and cucumber 'Tasty Jade'. This planter was not protected by wire.... ...an obvious mistake on May 31st! Rats!
The deer visited several planters, so I got out the seed packets to sow new seeds for damage control.

By June 12th we have germination....
....even the poor cucumber victim is showing signs of recovery. I added another cabbage plant and a 'Volcano' pepper too, as the other victims didn't fare so well. With the help of this wire cover, the plants are making progress until June 29th...
...when a digging varmint found its' way in! Sheesh! Oh well, cover the holes and carry on...
....alright! This is more like it!
D'Oh! Poor cucumber gets trimmed where the wire ran out. Will it keep growing ok? Yes! Way to rally!

I forgot to mention that I'd also sown a cypress vine in here too, and it grew very nicely...

....taking up so little space and providing these cute "hummer magnet" red flowers. Nice!

First cuke harvest is August 18th, and there were many other veggies ready then too...
...nothing like your very own homemade salad! Fresh, well-washed, chemical free-all the things a restaurant salad is NOT.
And the cuke goes on.....

....until the final harvest on August 29th...

....just a few this time. Add a jalapeno and some sweet juice from making slaw....
...and I have some "fridge slaw hot pickles"!


I took them out a couple weeks later, and all I can say is that I need to make that again! There will be MORE cukes planted this year for sure! (All the other veggies in this planter were successful too, and the wire made all the difference-lesson learned :)

7 comments:

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

I've grown zucchini in a pot and didn't have problems (knock wood) with my local pest, the groundhog. I love the idea of growing up a cypress vine in the same pot--I will do that this year! :)

Anonymous said...

All of that lush goodness out of an old tub and you didn't even have to pick up a hoe!

I grow cyress vine too and you just gave me an idea for this spring - I think I'll sow the seed on the opposite side of my cucumber trellis. :)
v.

lisa said...

Monica-Well my main problem was deer, I think the digger was just a chipmunk burying food. Luckily he didn't really hurt anything. I hope your groundhog never gets wise, I've seen those buggers climb trees! That cypress vine really is a cutie, this is the first year I'd grown it.

V-Hey I'm all about low maintenance, easy food! The cypress vine/cuke combo worked out well for the hummingbirds too, they rested in the shade of the cuke leaves after feasting on the cypress blooms. Win win!

Eliza said...

WOW! Congratulations to you for your persistence! I think that is the most impressive bowl of salad I've ever seen, I'm delighted to know the history of it. :)

lisa said...

Heh, why thank you! After eating my own salads last summer, I don't think I'll ever order one in a restaurant again. Home grown is just too much better.

MrBrownThumb said...

So glad to see someone else growing cardinal climber. My favorite vine, although, it hasn't brought any hummers to my garden.

lisa said...

It's such a cute, demure little vine. I grew it in a few spots, and it was a lovely accent that never interfered with the growth of the pot-mates.