The Hmong Red Cucumber

The Hmong Red cucumber is what I would call an Asian storage cucumber. Like the Poona Kheera and the Sikkim, the thick dark skin and firm flesh allows the cucumber to store for weeks to be eaten after the plant is past its prime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This cucumber variety is relatively interesting in that it did quite well despite the lack of water it had later on in the season. I had two seed sources for this cultivar. While both produced cucumbers with a nice yellow-orange skin, one produced a cucumber with white clear flesh and the other produced a cucumber with darker orange flesh. The lighter fleshed cucumbers were more juicy, the orange fleshed fruit were a little sweeter. Upon inquiring, the lighter-fleshed variety did turn out to originate from Baker Creek seeds. As the lighter-fleshed Hmong Red Cucumbers had a more cylindrical shape, I believe I will probably keep the lighter-fleshed line for further cultivation, but I am grateful that I did grow them side-by-side so that I can continue to develop traits of both varieties in my future population. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Hmong red only produced green fruit on an occasional basis. Most of the time it would begin white, then turn a little darker until it was yellow, then almost orange. While I did take a whole lot of pictures of this variety, I had a mishap with some of my Google photo pictures in which I lost almost a month of my gardening pictures.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Altogether, I would say that the Hmong Red would make a good pickling or storage cucumber variety, but is probably not the best fresh picking cucumber variety around. While I am sure that they can be enjoyed when slightly young, I would not want to eat many of these cucumbers in salads once they harden up and reach over a pound in weight.