Armenian Cucumbers
Seed Count: Approx. 20 seeds
Days to Maturity: 50-75 Days
Description: The Armenian cucumber looks and tastes like a cucumber, but botanically it is a muskmelon. It is very different from the Snake gourd, and they should not be confused with each other. Its tasty flesh is crisp, crunchy, burpless, and never bitter. The light green, heavily ribbed fruits grow to up to 3 ft. long, but taste best when harvested between 1-2 ft. The skin is very thin and bumpless, so it's rarely peeled, and the seeds stay pretty tender, regardless of its big size. It even has a pleasant cantaloupe like aroma once sliced. The flesh has mild cucumber flavor, and is denser than other varieties, with less water content. It's crispness is perfect for salads, sandwiches, dips, sushi, and makes great pickles. If grown on a trellis, they will be nice and straight, however, if grown on the ground, it'll twist into unique shapes. The vigorous vines are productive, and high yielding, and definitely a must try.
How To Grow
Sowing: Cucumbers don’t take well to transplanting, so either start them early in peat pots or sow them directly. When 2 or 3 leaves appear on each plant, cut off all but the strongest plant with a scissors. If you are planting them directly, sow 2-3 seeds, 1 inch deep, about a foot apart. Thin your plants to one plant every foot, once they are about 3-4 inches tall. Make sure you give you're plants lots of room. Since the vines are vigorous, they can easily take over your garden. Providing a trellis will save space in your garden, and produce straighter cucumbers that are easier to pick. However, you can grow them on the ground if you want the twisted look. Planting several radishes with cucumbers seems to repel damaging cucumber beetles, but they don't like being planted near potatoes or aromatic herbs.
Growing: Cucumbers have a shallow root system, and mulching will help retain soil moisture and maintain even soil temperatures. This variety's heat tolerance, is its number one attribute, so high temperatures will not stress it. However, keep plants well watered; they need 1-2 inches of water per week, or your cucumbers will be bitter. Avoid wetting leaves to prevent mildew issues. Also, watch out for cucumber beetles, and remove them immediately to prevent too much damage. Try not to move the vines too much because they get easily injured. Other companion plants for cucumbers include bush beans, peppers, eggplants, tomatoes, and corn.
Harvesting: Like most vegetables, cucumbers are tender and tastiest when harvested young before their seeds are fully developed. These cucumbers taste best when harvested between 1-2 ft. long, but you can harvest them at any time, since they tend to remain bitterless and tender. To avoid damage, cut fruit from the vine rather than pulling them. Don't allow the fruits to become overripe on the vine as this signals to the plant that the seed development process is nearly complete, and it will shut down. Keep mature cucumbers picked to encourage further production. During hot weather cucumbers grow very fast, you may need to harvest every day. Harvest the cucumber fruits early in the morning before the sun hits them for the best flavor and texture. Cucumbers store very well in the fridge. Allow the them to mature past the eating stage for seed saving. It will be very soft and the skin will turn either white, brown, yellow, green, or orange, depending on the variety. This may take up to 5 weeks. Remove the cucumbers from the vine and allow them to cure in a dry, cool place for another two weeks. Cut open the cukes and scoop out the seeds into a bowl; add an equal amount of water and let ferment for 36 hours. Remove the water and debris, and spread out the good seeds on a flat surface to dry for about two weeks. Store in a cool, dry place for up to 8 years.
