Customer Pictures

With a very large increase in individuals interested in growing their own little vegetable gardens has come a very large increase in cucumber seed sales. A few customers have shared some of their beautiful cucumber pictures that I would like to, in turn, share with you.

Making the Raised Bed Garden

With Covid in full swing by the end of March 2020, my seed business required an expansion. Along with expanding my seed selection, I needed to add a garden.

A nearby family friend had a front yard that would be perfect for our use, except for the fact that they had no garden in the front yard. After talking with them about an idea, we settled on the idea that I could use a little area in front of their porch to build two small raised bed gardens in. The supplies would be easy to acquire from the local hardware store. So I went to the sites, measured things, priced supplies at the local hardware stores and brought the raised bed supplies to the front yard. The raised bed garden is made out of blocks and wood that are set into place with metal rebar going through the center of the blocks.

One of the funny parts of the whole experience was when I purchased the wood frame. For the frame, I purchased long 2x6 cuts of lumber. The cuts (probably 8’ long) were too long to fit in my van, so I used some seatbelts, along with some of the raised bed cement blocks to hold the back door of my van down so that I could transfer it to another friend’s home so he could cut the wood for me. Fortunately, by the time I purchased the wood I had already measured how tall a two blocks was, so I knew that the beds would have to be at least three blocks tall in order to support healthy summer plants.

The first raised bed I filled up with mostly bagged compost from the hardware store. After recognizing how expensive that was and how quickly it would degrade (mostly decomposed wood chips), I purchased 3 cubic yards of garden soil from a local supplier. They brought it in a truck and dumped in onto the driveway, where I slowly worked to fill in the raised beds until I had no more room. Then I used a wheelbarrow to transfer the rest of the compost the half block back to my backyard. 

 

By the time everything was said and done, I had spent a lot of money, but then I had the whole season of sun to work with.

 

Complimenting Covid Coverings with Completely Creative Cucumber Clothing

After months of wearing masks that didn’t reflect much about myself, I decided to work with a nearby friend to make a mask that was more like me. I wanted something that said cucumber while at the same time having enough of an element of fun to ensure that others understood that I enjoyed them. So, after finding the perfect material online, a friend created masks like this one, that she made for me right before Christmas.

What to give the man who is really into gourmet cucumbers? That is something which my wife often struggles with. This is probably a struggle that many couples have, when one spouse is really interested in something so specific that it doesn’t really relate with everyday life. But lo and behold, this last December my wife found the perfect shirt for me. Though some may view it as questioning or inappropriate, it happens to fit me perfectly.

Long Dark Armenian Cucumber 2020

So – this will probably need to be filed under the “wasn’t successful because I started too late” category. In order to ensure a successful harvest, plants that require a longer growing season should be started earlier. Because of the previous issues I had with squirrels and the results that this had on the timing of planting out my Carosello Massafra, I was delayed in planting out this crop.

The plants grew alright, but by the time I got them in, the summer was beginning to wane. They grew alright for a little while, but as the days grew shorter and the nights grew colder, powdery mildew became more and more apparent. I attempt to fight the problem with a couple bacterial fungicides – with mixed results. Eventually, I just cut down all but the most mature cucumber and tossed the bulk of the vines in the yard waste bin.

After growing out this variety several times I now know that I need to try this variety one last time early in the season and provide it with ample opportunity to thrive. Hopefully, I will then be able to harvest vigorous seed that can outgrow most of the problems that I have encountered with this cucumber the last two times I have grown it.