Question about growing cukes and when to harvest (tomatoes, cucumbers, planting)

[cstleddy]

I'm growing Spacesaver cukes and was wondering how do I tell that it's time to harvest? One is 6" long by 2" diameter and was green and is now starting to get a little white. Also, I have some that are dangling (not resting on a surface) and they are upside-down teardrop shaped (like a v-cone). The they are about 2" diameter at the stem end and taper down dramatically to a point.

Thanks

[Okiegirlfriend]

It depends on how big and tough you like them. If you like them tender with no need to peel the skin, harvest when smaller. Look at cukes the next time you are in a grocery store to compare.

[NCN]

The smaller the better for me. They will grow so fast when they get started that you will probably have to eat a lot of them to keep up. When you want a cucumber, just pull one or two off the vine. If you are thinking about preserving, I really don't know much about the kind you mentioned.

Cucumbers taste better before the seeds get so big. The white one sounds as if it is about to go to seed.

[paperhouse]

The teardrop shape indicates irregular watering. They need consistent moisture to grow properly. It doesn't affect the taste, just the shape. I like big cucumbers with lots of seeds for slicing, so I wait until mine are about 8" long and 3" in diameter. My dad would be picking the ones in my garden yesterday since he likes them smaller. It's all a matter of taste. Once they get about 4" long, try one that way and see it you like it better than a larger one.

[Okiegirlfriend]

My folks were just the opposite-----------the bigger the better. All you could do with their zucchini was use it in bread.

[gwynedd1]

Originally Posted by cstleddy

I'm growing Spacesaver cukes and was wondering how do I tell that it's time to harvest? One is 6" long by 2" diameter and was green and is now starting to get a little white. Also, I have some that are dangling (not resting on a surface) and they are upside-down teardrop shaped (like a v-cone). The they are about 2" diameter at the stem end and taper down dramatically to a point.

Thanks

Hi cstleddy,

With cukes they can at times suffer bad years with mildew or pests etc. However when all goes well they often go into the zucchini class of give away crops. If you have a lot, pick them young since the skin is where the good nutrients are. If you have fewer and are having poor fruit set for some reason then perhaps bigger. You really can eat them anytime, its just a preference.

[GarlicGuy]

I always preferred to grow pickling cukes nice size and smaller seeds.

[cstleddy]

Originally Posted by paperhouse

The teardrop shape indicates irregular watering.

Thanks, I'll try to pay closer attention to the watering. My neighbor said he plants cuke seeds under his tomatoes, however he's planting them in the ground and I'm container gardening. I've found that the tomatoes took off and shaded the cukes before they really began vining.

[cstleddy]

thank you all for your suggestions! Growing cukes this year was just a whim so I wasn't paying close attention to what I was doing. I only have a few plants and each only has about 3 cukes so I didn't want to waste a single one by picking too early (thought it would be bitter) or to late (too full of seeds).