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Post by daylilydude on Apr 23, 2016 2:55:32 GMT -5
There are so many out there that make great pickles... what's you favorite one to grow just for making pickles?
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Post by bluelacedredhead on Apr 23, 2016 7:21:40 GMT -5
I used to grow Wisconsin SMR 58. Then I tried a (hybrid) variety from the Middle East, the name of which escapes me at this moment. They were small in size and compact vines. We visited Baker Creek during that timeframe and Jere Gettle encouraged me to try something different, and of course, Open Pollinated. I should have taken his advice, but resisted. Beit Alpha is what BC sells now. In 2006, I believe it was Poona Kheera. Beit Alpha looks like a great cucumber, although I have not tried it.
Once we moved back to the city and now have limited space for viny plants, I've experimented with a few bush varieties. Spacemaster was a decent cucumber but poor germination. A friend with a seed company and CSA near me, recommended Bushy variety. It has worked well in my garden. Good germination, short vines and prolific fruit.. Two others that she recommends are AC Pickling and Double Yield.
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Post by spacecase0 on Apr 23, 2016 21:33:08 GMT -5
maybe I am lazy, but I only grow straight 8 cucumbers, now i have other kinds of seeds here, just can't bring myself to go experimenting if what I have already works well
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whistech
Pro Member
Posts: 300
Joined: April 2013
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Post by whistech on Apr 24, 2016 8:26:05 GMT -5
I grow calypso pickling cucumbers for pickles. Super productive.
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Post by krazykangaroo on Apr 27, 2016 1:58:10 GMT -5
I haven't tried it yet but I always thought that mouse melons would look great as whole pickles in a fancy jar.
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Post by Laura_in_FL on May 5, 2016 16:24:02 GMT -5
...Once we moved back to the city and now have limited space for viny plants... I trellis cucumbers. Just a few square feet of ground space can grow a surprising number of cucumbers. For example, a few years back I planted Cool Breeze, a hybrid parthenocarpic pickler; if memory serves, it's very similar to the Calypso variety that Whistech mentioned. I planted 10 plants in a 1' x 4' section of my raised bed. They gave me me over 33 lbs of cucumbers in just that 4 square feet. They yielded like mad until the heat took them out. The vines were about 6' long/tall. I had similar results with Sweet Success. That's another hybrid parthenocarpic cucumber; technically it's a slicer but I made good bread and butter pickles from them. One Earthbox with 8 or 9 plants trained up a tall trellis yielded over 30 lbs in the spring. One lone plant struggled through the Florida summer and then took off and and made several more fruits in the fall. My point is that trellises are great for increasing the number of plants you can grow in a small city garden, and cucumbers do great on them. I can't think of many crops that will give you yields of 8 lbs or more per square foot of ground space.
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