This plant is a great producer of 10-12 inch long, dark green slicing cucumbers. The skin is tender and easy to peel and the flesh is crisp and not bitter. This slicing cucumber can be pickled or eaten raw. The vines produce vigorously and can benefit from a trellis. If the vines are trellised, the fruit will grow straight. If grown on the ground, the fruit will be curled.
Planting/Harvesting Notes
- Plant in full sun with well draining soil
- Plant vines 4 to 5 feet apart.
- Trellis up the vines for easier harvest once they start to grow
- Plants should be ready to harvest 50-60 days after planting
Seed Saving
This plant is a hybrid so it may not breed true if the seed is saved. You can still save the seed, but it is not guaranteed to have the same characteristics as the plant you saved the seed from.
Cucumbers must grow past the point of edibility in order to have mature seed. So you should save seed at the end of the season since once the seed matures, the vine will stop producing new fruit. Choose a disease free plant that has desirable fruit to save seed from. Be sure to either hand pollinate any blooms or only grow one variety of squash/cucumber in order to ensure you get the same type of plant as the plant you are saving from.
To save seed, harvest the cucumber after it has turned a deeper yellow or orange. Then cut the squash and scoop out the seeds into a container. Then fill the container with water so the seeds float (1/4-1/2 cup water) and allow the seeds to ferment for 3 days or so. Stir the container daily. This fermentation process allows the seeds to remain viable for 3-4 years if stored correctly. Once the seeds are fermented, the good seeds should sink to the bottom of the container and the bad ones should float. After 3 days, skim off the floating seeds and scum. Dump the sunken seeds into a strainer to wash and then dry on a screen or a paper plate. Be sure to label seeds! Once the seeds are dry, store in a labeled paper envelope.
Lay seeds out to dry on a drying screen, paper plate, or similar flat surface. Label these seeds so you remember what they are. Then once the seeds are dry, store in a labeled paper envelope in a cool, dry place. Dried cucumber seeds will remain viable for up to 6 years if properly stored.