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Cucumber question

nicd38nicd38 Posts: 23
in Fruit & veg
hi 
so. 
As I mentioned before it’s my 1st year growing so I have a query 
how do I know when my cuke are ready to eat 
this is a passanda 
do I have to look for something particular ?? 


Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    If it's Passandra, they're a mini-cucumber and should be picked when about 4" long. If you leave them on the plant the crop will be reduced.
    Pick them when 4" and you'll get masses.

    I have one Cucino mini-cucumber in a 22L pot. I picked the 1st cue on 15 June and have so far harvested 31.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Wow Pete doing well. Mine were late in so only an inch long yet but lots on the plant so looking forward to picking.😁
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I'm very pleased to be getting so many, but the neighbours are already declining them and I don't know what to do with so many. I eat 3-4 a week, the rest are given to a neighbour's tortoises. At least they don't go to waste.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    How about cucumber soup ready for the winter months.  Found this last year on Google. Works really well and very tasty, comes out like a chunky veg soup or can be pureed . See if you can find it . 😁
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Sweet cucumber pickle

    2lb cucumber
    1 large green pepper
    2 large onions
    2 oz salt

    ½ pt cider or wine vinegar
    8 oz soft brown sugar
    ½ tsp ground turmeric
    ¼ tsp ground cloves
    ½ tsp celery seeds
    1 dsp mustard seeds


    Wash cucumber but do not peel.
    Peel onions.
    De-seed pepper.

    Thinly slice all prepared vegetables and place in a large bowl.
    Add salt and mix well.
    Cover and leave to stand for at least 3 hours.
    Rinse vegetables well, in a colander, under running, cold water.
    Squeeze out as much liquid as possible.

    Place in a large pan, add vinegar and bring to the boil.
    Simmer until vegetables are soft, about 20 mins (well, I found it a bit longer).

    Add sugar and spices to the pan, stir to dissolve and boil for a further 10 mins.

    Pour hot pickle into hot, sterilized jars and cap immediately with sterilized lids .... then  hide it or your OH will eat it with every meal  chops

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Thanks pa. and Dove
    I used to love pickled 'anything' but I had duodenitis and gastritis a few years ago, so I'm not allowed anymore :( Looks like a lovely recipe Dove, I can almost taste them, maybe I'll suggest to my neighbours that they make some from my cue's and let me have just a little jar :)

    I'll have a google for cucumber soup, sounds like the sort of thing to have chilled on days like today and I do like Gazpacho 

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Oh Pete ... what a shame ... I love pickles  :'(

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,287
    Here is a soup recipe 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I love pickles too Dove! but there's too much pain involved after eating them :(
    Even an orange can set it off. 

    Thanks pa - I'll give that soup a go, nice n easy.
    I'm just coming to the end of last year's home-grown soups.
    I turned 17 butternut squash into roasted bn soup and it's lovely. It has a hint of chili and could easily be used as a substitute for a coconut-based curry sauce in a Malasian or Indonesian curry with the addition of a few spices and a lot of garlic.
    Roast pepper soup and tomato soup (and numerous variations and combinations) all recently gone, but I see the first Sungold tomato is almost ready in the greenhouse, so the cycle is about to repeat.


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Find a neighbor with kids.. my family goes through 3-5 cucumbers a day in the summer.  My two boys love them.. and as one of the few veggies they enjoy, I load them up.  The neighbors chickens get any that I miss, and have grown too large to enjoy.  I just slice them in half and chuck them over the fence (with their permission, of course).  
    Utah, USA.
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