People do plant a second crop although I myself have never had much success that way. The cukes simply come down with all sorts of diseases right on.

I try to succession plant but have germination problems in later summer. Not sure why. I currently have a couple of old plants still delivering an occasional cucumber and two new plants which are blooming. I grew Homemade this year and have had the longest and best production. The vines grew up the tomato cattle panels which may have helped both pollination and production.


@FrugalGramma ~ sadly I don't think later season planting would change the bacterial wilt problem. Have they thought about what they will do about it at your community garden?

My Summer Dance cucumbers bore good end of June and beginning of July, then took a break end of July which let me catch up using the cucumbers I had picked. Now they've started bearing again. One plant has a little leaf spot but the rest of the foliage is looking good.
We have always planted fall cucumbers here (zone 5 midwest USA), Mom planted on the 4th of July, I plant a little later since I am in a slightly warmer growing area. We have usually gotten a good crop before frost, at least enough to eat fresh, and sometimes enough to can a few more pints of pickles. I soak the seeds either overnight, or start soaking in the morning if I plant that evening. My fall cucumbers (Bush Champion) are growing nice, but with my Summer Dance doing so well, I might not need them.

@pod- No one communicates with us at the community garden. But I have tried some experiments with planting some extra Diva and Spacemaster seeds in places all over the garden using different scenarios. A few planted right in the midst of mint, 2 planted closely between a tomato plant and a marigold, 2 planted right in the root of a nasturtium, and 2 planted right up on lavender. All of them have germinated...so far...so good. I think the idea is to fool the darned cucumber beetle which is really bad there. I hope this works since I just can't get enough of cukes and sour cream!!! (crossing fingers...)

@cybrczch- Thank you for those types of cukes that did well. That info is like gold to me. I wrote them down to look up those seeds in the catalogs next year. I really wanted to try Diva, but all the plants had to be pulled up.

I would hope the growers have some input at the community garden. Both sides could benefit. It will be interesting to hear how your different plantings work in for those conditions. On the Diva, you may have to resort to a container to give them a try. Good luck!

Please tell me how you fix your cucumbers and sour cream? Sounds yummy!

@FrugalGramma, I'm not sure how dedicated you are to using open-pollinated seed, but last year I planted Ashley cucumbers (OP) and got nailed with Downy Mildew and wire-worms. Being here in the deep south we tend to grow monster bugs and disease.<sigh> Anyhow, this year I opted to go with General Lee cucumbers which is a hybrid and has a good list of disease resistance attached to it. I'm very pleased with the production from these. I had plans of saving the seed from the OP plants last year, but I decided this year I'd try stacking the cards against disease...it appears to have helped in my pestilence riddled garden!!! The General Lees are basically ready to be pulled from the garden, but compared to last years OP cucumbers they are superstars!!!!!! Just thought I'd mention these. Oh, and they taste good, too!!! :drool:

Oh, and tomatoes... Last year I did not harvest a single edible tomato from around 15 BIG plants that was loaded with them. All open pollinated and *every single one* ROTTED. This year I planted hybrids and what a difference...we ate tomatoes and gave buckets of them away...we still had bad ones and blemished ones, but we made lots of them that were good. I do believe the "hybrid vigor" and bred-in disease resistances really made the difference!!!

But this is my garden here in the hot, humid south and it seems my garden gets nailed by many things. Growing further north you don't have quiet the disease and insect pressure but being in the middle of a lot of other growers I can see how you have to deal with nearby disease. I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other...just sharing what my brief gardening challenges have shown me so far. In searching for hybrids to plant I did pay close attention to what was said about them regarding taste...if it produces good but tastes like cardboard what's the use, eh?

So, I decided rather than trying to save seed that I'd rather have some good vegetables to eat. As I said, seed is cheap.

As for the cucumber beetles...I dunno. It will be interesting to get your report on how your plantings worked.

Oh, and I'm just a second-year gardener that just kind of bumbles his way along, so take what I say with a grain of salt (and lots of pepper if you're having a 'mater sandwich!).

Best wishes,
Ed

@pod- I am very disappointed with the community garden, but I won't be taking the plot again next year.
So simple to make: I peel and slice thinly using a grater, add salt and pepper and cider vinegar just to coat them when tossed. I leave them out at room temperature for a few hours mixing a couple of times, then drain it all really really well and try to get the moisture out. Add sour cream and enjoy. Sometimes I add onion. Oh so good, and the dogs won't leave me alone when I eat it either! They love it, that is why I mostly avoid the onions.

@intheswamp- (love that image!) First of all, I am having 3 minutes of silence over last year's failed tomato crop that you suffered........ Okay, all better. Thanks for the cuke advice, too. I have that variety on my list now also. It sounds like you are a great gardener! And 'mater sandwiches make me drool. I started having a 'mater toast sandwich for some breakfasts. You probably have alligators sneaking in to eat your cukes? I know, I know, you probably think grizzlies get mine!

@frugalgramma, I used to grow Diva cucumbers, the plants always grew well and they did not seem to attract cucumber beetles, but they did not set fruits well for me most years. The only wilt resistant variety I have ever grown is County Fair hybrid, but it's a pickling variety and I don't make pickles that often. One other variety to look for is Marketmore 76, it is open pollinated and has a lot of disease resistance (but not wilt). I haven't grown it but friends have and they like it.

FrugalGramma said:
@intheswamp- (love that image!) First of all, I am having 3 minutes of silence over last year's failed tomato crop that you suffered........ Okay, all better. Thanks for the cuke advice, too. I have that variety on my list now also. It sounds like you are a great gardener! And 'mater sandwiches make me drool. I started having a 'mater toast sandwich for some breakfasts. You probably have alligators sneaking in to eat your cukes? I know, I know, you probably think grizzlies get mine!

Now you're giving me some ideas...alligators might be just what I need for the deer problem....

Thanks for the info on the cucumbers & sour cream. Sounds yummy! I bookmarked it for the next meal.

cybrczch said:@frugalgramma, I used to grow Diva cucumbers, the plants always grew well and they did not seem to attract cucumber beetles, but they did not set fruits well for me most years. The only wilt resistant variety I have ever grown is County Fair hybrid, but it's a pickling variety and I don't make pickles that often. One other variety to look for is Marketmore 76, it is open pollinated and has a lot of disease resistance (but not wilt). I haven't grown it but friends have and they like it.

I have grown Marketmore 76 many times. It does come down with all sorts of cucumber diseases crap. But holds out longer than most around here.

I grew an experimental cucumber from 7rowseeds.com. It was just called 7082. It is the most prolific cucumber I've grown, and the taste is great. I've grown Marketmore 76 (a good producer),, lemon, and bush spacemaster. The 7082 is by far the winner.... I picked 12 cucumbers on Sunday night---I had to give them away to neighbors because I had so many (not a bad thing at all).

I planted lemon and Marketmore in a different location this year and although the plants are big and healthy (and there are bees all over them) I've not gotten a single cucumber off of them. Sigh.......

Marketmore 76 is what I am growing at home with good results this year. It found the pole beans planted a few feet away and have left home. I planted them on both sides of crib rails attached in a tent like shape. Still growing and producing though happily enjoying the new company they keep as they climb the poles. Oh I want to try the 7082...the name alone is interesting!

FrugalGramma said:Marketmore 76 is what I am growing at home with good results this year. It found the pole beans planted a few feet away and have left home. I planted them on both sides of crib rails attached in a tent like shape. Still growing and producing though happily enjoying the new company they keep as they climb the poles. Oh I want to try the 7082...the name alone is interesting!

I would definitely recommend the 7082 .. This weekend, we picked 12 cukes in one day, The flavor is great and they hold up well. We ended up giving some away in our neighborhood because we had so many.

I also grew the potatoes from row 7. Still waiting to harvest them, but am very excited.

I plan on trying the experimental butternut squash 898 next year. They look so cool!

Ed Intheswamp- You get a big gold star for trying again after the total tomato disaster in your first year (did you say?..wow !)

sallyg said:Ed Intheswamp- You get a big gold star for trying again after the total tomato disaster in your first year (did you say?..wow !)

<chuckle> You remember, eh? Nah, I didn't say "Wow!"...my mouth was too full of tomato to say anything!!!
Yeah, it was really a good feeling to be eating tomatoes this year after watching the horror of last years crop. They might've been bug-bit and bird-pecked but they sure looked good to me!!!! I'm already plotting and planning for next year!!!

And, just to keep on thread topic , my cucumbers were much better this year. I moved from OP to hybrids with them, too. General Lee hybrids. They were more productive and have just recently succumbed to the ravages of the petri dish I apparently live in...but, they made lots of nice cucumbers with a really good taste. Many more and better cucumbers than the Ashley did last year. Also, I'm not sure how they did it, but they dodge wire worms this year...I don't think that could be bred into them, could it?

It has been kind of a strange year. My cowpeas and okra were the stars last year, this year they didn't do the greatest but the tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and watermelons did!!!

Oh, and I'm not sure how it will work out, but I have four pints of bread-n-butter pickles pickling. But, wanting a little spice to them I added a few pieces of hot pepper (I didn't add too much because of a fear of ruining them by making them too hot). Around the middle of September we'll be opening a pint to see how they are!!!!

General Lee cucumbers...they'll be a permanent guest in the garden!!!!

The years seem to have their own personalities, at least to this casual gardener. And certain bugs wax and wane.. it all seems very unpredicatable. You do have to try new things to know if you can do better. (Celebrity tomatoes are declining and I thought they went gangbusters till fall last year.)
This year I ditched National Pickler and planted 4 'burpless' starts bought in a local greenhouse, and they did well, but it was a horrible year for leaf disease. I did stick some Pickler seeds in for a second crop, ate one fruit before they very quickly got the leaf disease and croaked. All my cukes are gone now.

Ed, cucumbers even in the best of circumstances, are not long lived. They always end up a ratty mess by the time they need to be pulled out. But as long as one gets a good crop of cukes before that happens then it's a win.

Some of the better more disease resistant varieties last longer than others.

I have vines that I pulled two weeks ago, I have vines that should have been pulled already but I don't get to it cause of the heat, and I have cukes that are doing great and still going strong.

Rita, do you plant those cukes in succession?

sallyg said:Rita, do you plant those cukes in succession?

No, I just plant all my spring cukes more or less at the same time. Might be a few days in between.

I have tried also doing a later second planting in early to mid July but that has never worked out for me. The plants seem to come down with all the cucumber diseases way before they have set a crop. So I don't try that any longer.