Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Persian cucumbers


To recap: the roof farm was planted late. Mid July. And I tucked these seeds in last, as an afterthought. Persian cucumbers, the kind I snap up almost every week at Mr Kim's on Atlantic. Small and smooth - I love them. And of all the plants on the roof, they are doing the best (with an eggplant exception; I think those may take over the world).


I picked the first ones last night. We ate them very simply, sliced lengthwise, in a salad.


 And perhaps there was one in my Pimms. It's traditional.


11 comments:

  1. i have no idea what is traditional (i am american, after all) but my english friend looked at me aghast when i offered persian cucumbers for Pimm's.

    your plant looks very healthy; i have given up on cucumbers. too many yellow stripey bugs around.

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    1. Well, the English were the orginal racists :-)

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  2. Well done, Marie! I can't seem to get my lemon cucumbers to grow at all -- I have lots of flowers, but nothing is developing into a fruit (vegetable?). It's very frustrating. Do you have any idea why I can't get my cucumbers to grow? And do you have any suggestions for me?

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    1. One of my Bushmaster cucumber is doing the same thing. It may be that the flowers are all male. Or that pollination is an issue. Apparently male flowers can be the first ones to appear, and females follow.

      I am still waiting.

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  3. Male first, but also often if temps are above 85 degrees pollination drops off dramatically. Misting for a couple hours as the flowers open might help.

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  4. Most English people, like myself, don't like cukes in their Pimms as they often take on a slimey quality in the alcohol. Eschewing racism and tradition, peaches seem to be a popular choice with many.

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    1. Are you English, G? How did I miss that.

      Take my comment with a spadeful of salt. I am a white South African, you know.

      And we're still cross about the British concentration camps in the Boer Wars.

      I don't find the cucumber slices slimy at all, though. Maybe it depends on the cucumber. And on how fast one drinks!?

      Peaches are appealing.

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    2. Yes, half English, half Italian, and still unsure which half is which. Transplanted to Canada for decades now. Your tug between homeland and adopted land resonates with me.

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  5. My Kirby cucumbers, bought as seedlings in Astoria and planted in our NYC backyard in late May, have begun to finally conk out and die back in the last two weeks. It was a good summer: they produced like mad.

    Looking at your Persians planted in July, I'm wondering if I should have planted a second crop. Or if I were a more adept gardener, do you think I could have kept the vines producing longer?

    I take some comfort that the old Greeks next door, who are serious gardeners, also have cukes that are giving up the ghost. (Is that schadenfreude? I use them as a benchmark for success, even though I know they use chemicals)

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    1. Hi Christopher- I think yours lived, produced, and died after a valiant effort. The Greeks', too. They just do that. But a second crop could have been sown, yes. I have now twice planted them far later than one would usually, and it really does extend the season.

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  6. Thank you, Marie. Next year there will be two sowings.

    And BTW, I was in your foraging class this summer at the BBG, and much to my delight I keep spotting wild lettuce and lamb's quarters now in my neighborhood. It's amazing when things underfoot suddenly come on the radar.

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