Saturday, June 5, 2010

Curlicuke

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So, I had to look through my plant tags when I noticed this cucumber start to go all spiral on me. It's a suyo long, something Great Outdoors nursery had in stock (I think they do well with heat). It's different (and a bit nibbled by someone), but probably not a great pickling shape.

This is the second year I've tried cucumbers in my shady backyard, and I just found out from Travis Co master gardeners that the reason I'm not getting more is a lack of pollination. I knew which flowers were female, but I didn't realize that the mini-cucumber on them still needed pollination. Here's the link they sent me for hand pollination, helpful because my backyard is green with only a few flowering herbs. All the pollinators are in front on the flowers. You learn something new everyday you garden. Especially when you ask questions.

2 comments:

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Perhaps your curlicue pickle could be the latest gourmet craze. :) Are they supposed to curl? I kind of like the look of that...

Amy Farrier said...

When I looked them up online, it suggested using a trellis for straight cucumbers (they get to be 15 in), so I'm guessing they curl if they run into an obstacle, like the ground or, in my case, the edge of the fence.