Thursday, March 11, 2010

An early start


The cucumber variety I am going to grow this season is Telegraph Improved. The seeds were purchased last fall and they have been in the freezer since then.


Placed between layers of moist paper towel on a heat mat the seeds began to germinate in less than 24 hours. The above photo was taken about one week after the seeds were started, and it should be evident that they are progressing nicely.

When searching for seeds for greenhouse cucumbers I found this type of seed to be pricey. Fortunately, at rareseeds.com, I located this heirloom variety at an affordable price. The description from the vendor follows:

"60 days. Smooth, straight, dark-green fruit, to 18" long. Flesh is very crisp, tender and mild, superb flavor. Very few seeds, vigorous high yielding vines, great for greenhouse production; also good cultured outdoors. This is an excellent English heirloom variety, intro. around 1897.
"

As a lot of people will be starting seeds about now, I thought I would pass on another money saving tip. The plant identification markers in the photo were cut from a gallon bleach bottle, rescued from our recycle bin. Labeled with a laundry marker, they will last the entire season.

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