by Tammy Taylor
Today’s topic is timely since most of us are just enjoying the last veggie rewards of our gardens for the season. If you’re wondering what to do with those last few cucumbers from the garden, BOY do I have a treat for you! Now of course I’ve made my own pickles many times in the past using garden cucumbers but never to my satisfaction… until NOW. Oh yeah, there’s a secret weapon to whipping up delicious homemade pickles quickly AND easily. Check it out…
Few tips for growing cucumbers come next year.
Plant With Sunflowers
Cucumbers are sweeter when you plant them with sunflowers!
Cucumbers do very well off the ground. Grow them against fences and on a trellis. It keeps the cukes cleaner and straighter and seem to have less trouble with powdery mildew. If they are too out of hand already, try to stuff some mulch like straw or newspaper under the vines so they stay off the ground. Note: moldy hay might have powdery mildew so I would not recommend that solution.
Remember cucumbers are heavy feeders so be sure to feed them often. Use a weak solution of miracle grow or the generic/store brand weekly and you will get more cucumbers than ever before. Cucumbers need lots of rich soil, lots of manure and heat and water.
Your canned pickles look wonderful. I remember my mom canning many jars of pickles; dill, sweet, as well as Bread and Butter pickles; of which where my favorite.
Your cucumbers look like they where on Steroids. :}
Have a fun and enjoyable weekend
LOL – yeah Colleen, those cucumbers were shared with me from the garden of a sweet friend and they were picked a little large for making pickles, but I made ’em work and they were still delicious. I’ve used them in ham salad as well as egg salad and anywhere chopped pickles add a little taste punch. ~TxH~