I keep my cucumbers under a row cover when they are young. The cucumber beetles around here can be vicious. And wilt is common. So it gives the cucumbers a head start all safe and sound. Eventually the beetles will show up as will the wilt they carry, but for their early life they are protected. I took the covers off on Monday. Some of the cukes were starting to run. I like to grow mine up a trellis, so that had to be constructed.
In past years I've had a very vertical trellis, but this year I built it on a bit of a slant. I'm hoping it will be easier to find the cucumbers amid the foliage. I know it is a futile effort. I will miss picking some cukes. But it can't hurt.
The zukes behind the cukes were trying to burst out of their row cover, but it is still squash vine borer season, and I've seen several of them recently. So I rearranged them and added a separate row cover for the biggest one.
I had peas blooming in two spots, but since I can't eat peas and I want more greens, I've decided to rip them out. This spot mostly was done with its first flush. The harvests all went to my townhouse mates.
The other spot was near the parsley and celery. Since I had planted two extra celery plants and they were in the way, I harvested them. I'm surprised at how well they are doing now. I've never had such nice celery so early in the season. The beds were seeded with amaranth, both a green and red variety. I also started just a few upstairs under lights. The red ones have already sprouted, but not the green ones.
While I was near the parsley I noticed that the plants were getting huge. If I don't pick the leaves they turn yellow and die, so I picked the oldest ones and dehydrated them. I use a lot of dehydrated parsley over the winter. It isn't as good as fresh, but it isn't bad. I'll freeze some too later on.
I assume that's curly parsley? Never been a fan myself, I always grown the flat leaf style. But yours certainly looks healthy! I guess if it's dried, it's not much different. My winter squash are inundated with striped cucumber beetle (assuming I've identified it properly - black body with yellow stripes or maybe it's yellow with black stripes?). I only have one cuke plant, not looking great but still alive.
ReplyDeleteYes it is curly parsley. I like the flat better too, but I've tried a couple varieties of it and it doesn't seem to like my garden. This variety grows well, which none of the others did, so for now I'm sticking to it.
DeleteYour celery looks really great. That's something I have yet to have success with. And I like your slanted trellis. Good idea.
ReplyDeleteThat looks like a huge basket of peas in the first picture of your cucumber trellis. Everything looks so beautiful and so green and healthy.
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping the hard winter will decrease the bug population. Except that obviously hasn't happened with the flea beetles and mosquitos here.
Yes it is a big basket of peas. I was in the middle of taking the pea trellis down when I took that photo. And picking all the peas as I was doing it.
DeleteYour squash are looking great! Other things seem to be taking off in the garden with all this rain, but the squash is just sitting there. I'm guessing we are not having enough heat for it's liking, but maybe it's just my inability to grow it well once again.
ReplyDeleteYour cucumbers are looking very good. I suspect the cover was useful for the cool spells here as well as the bugs. My squash are still covered as well and will remain so until they start blossoming.
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