July 25, 2024
Did you know that not all cukes are created equal? To simplify, there are two main types of cucumbers, American and English. Both can be used for pickling and slicing. This year I decided to try the English variety in my raised garden bed. Also, to save space, I used a trellis type support system for growing it vertically. That proved to be a very good decision.
After about two and a half months in the ground, my little cucumber transplant has covered the trellis and produced over a dozen cucumbers. English cucumbers generally grow thinner and straighter than their American counterparts and can grow in the range of 12 to 24 inches long. So far, I’ve been harvesting them at around 12 to 14 inches in length.
English cucumbers have a sweeter flavor and delicate skin that is less bitter than that of other cucumbers. Many sources say that English cucumbers tend to have very few seeds but, as you can see from the photo, mine had a generous amount.
Tips for growing:
*Plant in an area of the garden that receives a minimum 6 hours of sunshine daily.
*Prepare the soil by tilling well while adding aged compost to a depth of 6 inches.
*On average, cucumbers require: 1 inch of water per week in moderate conditions, twice per day when temperatures exceed 90°F.
*Add a 4-inch layer of organic mulch around base, but not touching the stem.
One of my favorite cucumber recipes is from a place in the Texas hill country where my husband and I, for over 35 years, always enjoyed having lunch. It was an absolutely charming restaurant in Fredericksburg known as ‘The Peach Tree Tea Room’. The Pedregon family opened their new venture in the fall of 1984. It brought in diners from all over the United States and internationally, as well. Sadly, it closed a few years ago leaving a void in the Fredericksburg culinary scene. Thankfully, over the years, I purchased all three of their wonderful cookbooks. The recipe I’m sharing is from their first cookbook, published in 1990. It is the recipe for ‘Chilled Creamy Cucumber Soup’.
Making the recipe over the weekend brought back cherished memories from those early days in Fredericksburg. It was especially rewarding to use three of the ingredients called for in the recipe from my garden; English cucumbers, parsley and garlic that was curing in my pantry.
Hope you will be inspired to take a cool and refreshing break with ‘Chilled Creamy Cucumber Soup’. In the meantime, chill out with these tasty, sliced cucumber appetizers.
And, just in case you were curious about the title…’Cool as a Cucumber’. I did a quick online search and learned something new. First, the inside of cucumbers are approximately 20 degrees cooler than the outside air. And the phrase ‘cool as a cucumber’ first appeared in a poem by the English author John Gay in 1732. It expresses the narrator’s angst regarding a woman with unreturned love! Today, that phrase is used to describe someone who tends to remain calm, assured and composed in any situation.
Linda Alexander, Dallas County Master Gardener Class of 2008
