tntiger
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Post by tntiger on Jul 15, 2014 20:44:31 GMT -5
I'm growing Marketmore cucumbers this year and most are shaped like you would expect but I'm getting some that are little balls. Any idea why some of my cucumbers are blowing up like little cannon balls?
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Post by daylilydude on Jul 15, 2014 21:18:00 GMT -5
Oooo... I noticed that on a few of mine too...
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Post by spacecase0 on Jul 15, 2014 23:40:38 GMT -5
I had all the lemon cucumbers I planted do that, just figured it was something that kind does...
save seeds from the round ones for more round ones next year, that is if you like the round ones, I thought they were fun
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 16, 2014 7:11:50 GMT -5
tntiger and daylilydude : I get that every year. The lemon ones are indeed supposed to do that, and crystal apple cucumber too. I have heard three things blamed: hot, dry conditions during fruit set, soil that's not fertile enough to support the plants, or poor pollination. For me I will say hot and dry conditions because that is when I notice this happening the most.
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tntiger
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Posts: 33
Joined: July 2011
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Post by tntiger on Jul 16, 2014 11:29:20 GMT -5
Maybe it's the hot and dry or poor pollination. I don't have too many shaped this way but enough that it made me wonder!
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Post by spacecase0 on Jul 16, 2014 23:40:21 GMT -5
it is hot here (100F is common), and very dry (single digit humidity in the day), my cucumbers are doing just fine, I just made sure the soil could hold lots of water, and I water it quite a bit.
they are second generation at this location if that makes any difference, the first year most did not do well here.
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 17, 2014 8:28:07 GMT -5
If you are watering and the soil is holding water then it is not the dry I meant. I mean hot air and dry soil. It is very humid here but the sandy soil just doesn't hold water. But of course it doesn't hold much in the way of nutrients either. And there are bumblebees here but really no honeybees, so I don't know which of the three might be responsible. Maybe a combination. I am very glad to hear that your cucumbers are doing so well. What did you say your address was? And do you have any large dogs roaming about the place? heee.....
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Post by bestofour on Jul 17, 2014 19:23:22 GMT -5
I'm growing Marketmore too. I got the seeds from Patriot Supply. They're great producers and so far mine look fine. I've had some weird shaped squash though.
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Post by spacecase0 on Jul 17, 2014 23:36:56 GMT -5
If you are watering and the soil is holding water then it is not the dry I meant. I mean hot air and dry soil. It is very humid here but the sandy soil just doesn't hold water. But of course it doesn't hold much in the way of nutrients either. And there are bumblebees here but really no honeybees, so I don't know which of the three might be responsible. Maybe a combination. I am very glad to hear that your cucumbers are doing so well. What did you say your address was? And do you have any large dogs roaming about the place? heee..... have you tried mixing straw and leaves into your sand ? straw helps quite a bit for holding water the first year and a bit more the second year, it is what made things work well here, 2 dogs here, but the garden plot is to far away for them to care what happens out there. all the way in CA, sure you can find some closer, but if anyone wants to stop by I will give them fun things from the garden
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 18, 2014 11:15:38 GMT -5
California? Durn. I was about to recon over there tonight and make pickles and cucumber salad tomorrow. I know you'll think I am daft but there is NO straw available here. I have called and checked all over. Only hay and pinestraw. And I have no trees that give me rake-able leaves. When I had the home built in 2004 the lot was covered with trees. They were scrubby and crowded. Just after the roof went on hurricane Ivan hit and everyone had trees on their roof (through their roof) except me. What a close one! I hired a guy to come and take the trees down. The very next year hurricane Dennis ran flat over Milton and I was VERY glad I had the trees taken down. Anyhoo, I have a green ash that is about 30 ft tall and it sheds its leaves very slowly, they never seem to accumulate on the ground. The others are all very small fruit trees. Don't want to ask my neighbors for their leaves...they all use quite a bit of chemicals on their lawns and sometimes trees for the tent caterpillars and I don't really know what I'd be getting. I thought about newspaper shreds but I don't buy the newspaper. (I can read the news online) So I am still rooting around in my head for ideas. I am adding organic matter in the form of my bunny's aspen bedding enriched with his pellets. I just get a little at a time but it is improving things, I can tell.
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Post by spacecase0 on Jul 18, 2014 12:05:30 GMT -5
have you thought about growing barley or alfalfa (or anything), they grow on very horrible soil quite well, and then, cutting that and using it in your soil ? I have done that with amazing results, even if you have to grow it on all your extra area and just add it to a small plot, takes some planning and a while to do it, but pays off well,
once you get enough carbon in the soil your land is so much more productive that getting more carbon out of the soil is easy,
newspaper sounds like a great idea, I suggest talking to a local news paper and telling them you want extra paper, at least the ones I use to work for would have given you all you wanted.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 18, 2014 16:35:51 GMT -5
how about growing red clover as a winter cover crop and oats. I did that one year.
Wish you were close enough to get some of my leaves.
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Post by bestofour on Jul 18, 2014 16:37:19 GMT -5
Think we got off topic. Sorry.
Gathered a bunch of Marketmore cukes today and they look like cukes. Has TN weather been more hot and dry than in previous years?
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 18, 2014 20:32:00 GMT -5
We got some rain and the cukes are looking very nice now. I have noticed this year that the variety Paris, a cornichon, turns yellow/orange VERY quickly in the heat. It does not like the heat at all. I even have one growing in the shadiest part of the garden...and the little cukes growing in are yellow at the stem end before they are 2 inches long. Of course, cornichons are meant to be picked small, but they weren't doing this at the start of the season. I have to say, so far my best performers in quantity and quality are the hybrid parthenocarpics. But I have more new ones to trial next year!
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tntiger
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Post by tntiger on Jul 22, 2014 5:59:54 GMT -5
Our weather has been all over the place . . . just coming off another cool/wet stretch and heading into hot/humid. I'm starting to get more cuke shaped cukes and fewer cannon balls. I have no idea what is different or if it's just plant maturity. elliemater: Come to TN and get some cucumbers from me! I'm covered up and don't have time to make pickles - yet! We eat them fresh but the real reason I grow them is for pickles but my pickle making team has been very busy so we haven't gotten started yet.
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elliemater
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Post by elliemater on Jul 22, 2014 20:47:14 GMT -5
PICKLES!!! I am a pickle addict. One of my favorites is a fresh Chinese pickle...not cooked at all. Doesn't stay in the fridge long. I had these at Epcot and asked the chef for the recipe.
When I was pregnant I craved real food. hahahaha!
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tntiger
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Post by tntiger on Jul 23, 2014 10:11:53 GMT -5
I'm actually not a huge pickle fan - I can take'm or leave'm. My husband on the other hand . . . loves the "briney snacks!" I enjoy making them though and our friends love them too.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 23, 2014 23:57:33 GMT -5
I'm actually not a huge pickle fan - I can take'm or leave'm. My husband on the other hand . . . loves the "briney snacks!" I enjoy making them though and our friends love them too. Same here. I'll eat a few dill slices on a burger but that's about it. My husband likes dill spears with sandwiches. He goes through a jar a week sometimes. I have some dill growing and if a get enough cucumbers (Boston Pickling) I'll be making him some pickles. As far as round cucumbers, it does seem to happen when it's dry and I haven't watered them enough. This year I'm trying to give them extra water when it's hot and dry. Which hasn't been too many days so far this summer.
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tntiger
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Post by tntiger on Jul 25, 2014 9:01:22 GMT -5
I think it is water related. I have 2 raised beds and one drip-line system that is divided to service both. I tend to hold back using it because the tomatoes don't need as much water so the cucumbers probably get too dry. The irrigation system has been a work in progress and this year I discovered that modifications aren't that difficult. Consequently, I will probably make more changes for next year to add a manifold at the split so I can turn one zone off when I need to water the other zone. Until then, I'm hand watering the cucumbers every 36-48 hours (when I water my container plants).
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Post by bestofour on Jul 25, 2014 22:52:18 GMT -5
Glad you've figured it out.
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