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The Right Time When to Pick Cucumbers and How to Store
Have you ever known the right time when to pick cucumbers? How to pick cucumbers and how to store cucumbers? For you to experience the pickling, crisp and juicy perfect flesh for salads due to its texture and distinct flavor.
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Cucumbers come in two types. Pickling types which are rough, bumpy and slicing varieties which are to be taken fresh. Any variety you want to grow, you have to know the right times when to pick cucumbers and how to store them.
Look For Size and Colour When Picking Cucumbers
Size
Some people forget or leave cucumbers on vine up to it become 10 to 16 inches long in size.
Nothing is wrong in this, but cucumbers have great tastes when 5 to 8 inches long as well.
Picking cucumbers often and early encourages vines to produce longer or more.
I prefer getting 20 small in size cucumbers during the entire season than getting 8 to 9 large in size cucumbers in a month.
Colour
If gently squeezed, the cucumber should seem firm with a dark green color. The color of your cucumber depends on the variety you are growing.
Harvesting mature cucumbers at a mature time guarantees sweet fruits without any bitterness.
Over matured cucumbers left for too long on the vine will have a bitter taste this ruins the sweet fresh flavor.
Read the Seed Packet
When the vines are been planted make sure you read the seed packet or plant tag that you made use of. It will give you the extent of how much time your cucumbers will take.
The plant tags also tell how long or how many days it will get to harvest your cucumbers after germination.
For example, I’m about to plant the straight eight cucumbers which after germination will be ready for harvest for about 68 days. So if your seed was germinated around March 22nd, they will be ready for harvest around May 28th.
How to Pick Cucumbers Once Ready
Picking the ripe cucumber is so easy and it just takes a snap or a snip. Most gardeners grab a cucumber from the vine and give a gentle twist, the grabbed cucumbers sometimes pulls off with the vine.
I use the word sometimes because I’m part of the few gardeners that tried giving a twist a few years back and pulled off the vine accidentally.
After the incident, I now use a sharp scissors or garden shears and snap or snip the cucumbers from the vine. If you are now ready to pick a cucumber, put the scissors or garden shear to about ¼ inch below the cucumber and snap or snip the cucumber off the vine.
When cutting make sure you support the matured cucumbers with your other hand. Removing fruits using sharp implement prevent injury on the vine. The stem of cucumbers is usually or mostly very easy or soft to cut and require no much force. Your cucumber is picked and rinsed off and ready to be used in your homemade picks, and favorite salads.
How to Store Cucumbers
Cucumbers are the best when fresh but can be stored in crispers for three days and consume them. You can place the cucumbers in perforated bags or loose plastic.
Avoid putting them on each other and move them away from the side of the crisper drawer. You can also make use of wax coatings to avoid moisture loss.
Cucumbers are very sensitive when it comes to a temperature below 50⁰F. Cucumbers are meant to be stored at room temperature to avoid accelerated decay, pitting, and water-soaked areas.
An important thing to note cucumbers are very sensitive to ethylene, a gas (natural) which cause foods to ripen very quickly. Keep them away from melons, tomatoes, and bananas, all this is ethylene producers.
Here is a quick video on how to keep cucumbers fresh.
Summarily
In conclusion, when to pick a cucumber and how to store cucumber should not pose a problem to you if you take your time to follow the instructions given, understanding that cucumbers are harvested based on their firmness, size, and color. And remember to pick cucumbers with scissors to avoid hurting the vine and store in a cool place at room temperature.
I hope you really had a nice time going through this article; and you have gained enough knowledge to know the right time when to pick cucumbers and how to store them.
I would like to know your thoughts and comments towards the article as they will help to serve you better in subsequent posts. However, if you did enjoy the article, do not hesitate to share it with your friends and on your social media accounts as well.
About the Author Laura Bennett
Hello, I’m Laura Bennett. I love nature especially when it comes to flowers and different kinds of plants. I started a very small garden behind my house and I named it Humid Garden. So, I created this blog to provide aspiring and inspiring thoughts about gardening for gardeners and anyone who has the intention of keeping a garden.
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