GrowLog
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Crystal Apple Cucumbers in a Farm

Grow log by serri588 · Original thread

6 visual updates7 photos24 replies
View recap
CropCucumber
VarietyBurpee Crystal Apple
MethodAeroGarden hydroponics
EquipmentAeroGarden Farm
Plants1
AudienceAdvanced

What you can learnA complete cucumber grow covering space allocation, nutrient-ratio experimentation, pruning, harvest quality, and total yield.

Actions:2 Harvest2 Pruning1 Nutrients
Useful practices
  • giving one cucumber an entire Farm side
  • adjusting Flora-series ratios for magnesium
  • pruning heavily to access flowers
  • harvesting fruit while small and tender
Problems encountered
  • low pH
  • yellowing after a missed feeding
  • dense foliage blocking flower access
  • decline near the end of the cycle

*The days were calculated automatically and approximately.

Day 68
UPDATE#6
Grower update

Update #6

Actions taken

HarvestReported having harvested approximately twelve cucumbers during the grow.

S By serri588

These are starting to wind down. I might leave them in to see if I can get one or two of the remaining babies to grow, but I doubt they'll make it. I got probably a dozen cucs out of this grow, so not bad.
Conversation
S
Shawn

For your first try not bad, not bad at all.

M
MaryL

I agree that’s a pretty decent yield.

Day 49
UPDATE#5
Grower update

Update #5

Actions taken

PruningPerformed another major pruning.
NutrientsFed the yellowing plant after missing a scheduled feeding.

S By serri588

Did a big prune today. There are a bunch more fruits coming. I missed a feeding so it is looking a little yellow. Got fed today so hopefully it will start to perk up.
Conversation
S
Shawn

I can see them all.

M
MaryL

You’ve inspired me to plant cukes. I planted 2 types, 2 seeds each in my starter 2 day ago. Varieties I’ve never grown before, so who knows wrt size and pollination issues.

S
serri588

Nice! I have a couple varieties I haven't tried yet either, but I'm loving these little babies too much right now. I'm excited to see how yours do.

Day 29
UPDATE#4
Grower update

Update #4

Actions taken

HarvestHarvested five small Crystal Apple cucumbers.
PruningCut the plant back substantially to improve access to flowers.

S By serri588

I harvested 5 tiny little cucumbers off the bush today. I also had to hack it back quite a bit because I was having trouble getting to the flowers.The flavor is pretty good. The fuzz goes away as the cucumber matures, and the skin is thin enough you don't need to peel them. I think the one I opened was a little over because one end was a bit bitter, but it was a flavorful cucumber other than that.
Conversation
M
MaryL

They look pretty sizeable. And I love the different pale skin.

S
Shawn

They do have that apple appearance. Glad they taste good too!

U
Unknown

On the outside they look just like little melon-ettes! Too cute! I have never tasted an apple cucumber..it is fun to grow something different!

K
Kate

They're really cute!

M
MaryL

Agree!

Day 20
UPDATE#3
Grower update

Update #3

S By serri588

I wasn't going to post another pic this week, but comparing them, there does seem to be a significant amount of growth, especially for a non-food week. I'm also starting to see little bulges at the base of some of the flowers, so I hope that means that fruit is on the way. It's also starting to grow up into the broccoli- as long as the tendrils don't start choking the leaves I'm just going to leave it and see what happens. If they get along, that might end up being a nice symbiotic pairing. Stick one of the broccoli plants on each end of the farm with the cucumber vine in the middle. I would certainly help the broccoli plants that are currently crowding each other.Tomorrow I'm going to switch my Flora series mix to see if that will have the same effect that Corinne's having with her Epsom salt. If not I'll have to buy some. I have been using 3 parts Gro, 2 Micro, and 1 Bloom. The majority of the magnesium is in the Bloom solution, so I'll do 2/2/2 instead.
Conversation
M
MaryL

That is a great garden!!!

S
Shawn

Impressive

K
Kate

I agree, I'm impressed! It's exciting to see them doing REALLY well. I can't wait to see the cukes form!

Day 14
UPDATE#2
Grower update

Update #2

S By serri588

Explosion time! Apparently this variety does have both male and female flowers, so I will need to be very diligent in pollination in order to get fruit. I think giving the cucumber the entire side of the Farm (first batch shared with a tomato to start with) is clearly the correct choice. I can also let the vines crawl along the sides of the broccoli for some additional space. Perhaps in the next planting I'll choose something skinnier than the broccoli to give them even more space. The leaves on these also seem to be smaller, which is better suited to the hydroponics.
Conversation
U
Unknown

I spy lots of flowers! Hopefully that will bring lots of success! You don;t seem to need it now, but will you be considering the Epsom Salts if you have a problem up the road?

S
serri588

I saw your post about it. If you have success with that I can probably get a similar result by changing my nutrient mix- I use the Flora series nutrients so I have some flexibility there.

Day 1
UPDATE#1
Grower update

Update #1

S By serri588

Variety: Burpee Crystal AppleFor some reason I've been buying quite a few different types of cucumbers. I'm hoping that the smaller fruits, along with what I've learned from the previous crop will improve yields this time around. I've also discovered that I'm probably not going to eat enough for two plants to be fruiting at once. Pretty soon I'll start training this one to be a little flatter so as to not run out of vertical space. As you can see, it's only using half the deck.
Conversation
M
MaryL

I miss having a cucumber plant, even though mine didn’t do as well as yours. I’ll be following this different type of seed.

K
Kate

Me too! I love growing cukes in my greenhouse. The varieties I've grown are far too large to grow in an AG though. I'd love to find one that could be maintained in an AG, and thrive.

U
Unknown

Following

S
serri588

I've been bad and not checking, but this variety seems to also have the low ph problem I had with my salad slicers. That and underfeeding them the plant is doing just fine, but the spotty leaves tells me it is a bit grumpy with me.

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