It's Cucumber time!!!

A couple of weeks ago, I noticed that our cucumber plants were growing mighty big. Every year that this happens, I mean to trellis them, but forget.   Cucumbers don't necessarily need to be staked.  They grow happily on the ground just like pumpkins.  This is fine if you remember to check on them and harvest your cucumbers.... I never remember to check on them.  I often find cucumbers that are the size and shape of dinosaur eggs.  This is ok, sort of.  When they get huge, they are not as tasty as when they are smaller, and they tend to be overwhelming.

So, I asked my husband to do it for me.  He likes to build stuff!  He just made a simple T frame by lashing together bamboo stalks.  After adding a couple of horizontal stakes, he added twine so that I could just lay the quickly growing plants over them.  This serves 2 purpouses.  The first is that I can see when cucumbers are ripe and ready to be picked, and the second is that it saves space, oh and the third is that the cucumbers don't get dirty... but I still wash them.

This picture was taken July 12

After a very short period, the cucumbers almost seem to explode with growth, and today this is what the trellis looks like:

the cucumbers on July 20

Notice, We have our first ripe cucumber!

When the boys were sleeping, I pounced on it, sliced it, added a little ranch dressing and some kalamata olives for an afternoon snack. The first cucumber of the season is always the most tasty.  In 2 weeks, when 3 or 4 are ripening a day, I may not be as in love with cucumbers, but for now I am in heaven!