Cucurbit Growing 2018

[Thelma Sanders]

Playing catch-up because of the weather - so cukes, courgettes and squash will wait til I've finished planting the main crop potatoes and sown all the peas and other hardy veg.
Here, the tender stuff doesn't get planted out til after mid-May so I'm not in any hurry tbh

[1Bee]

I would, Cycling.

Eric, I've grown Crown Prince. Lovely, flattish, big round blueish squash with delicious flesh. It's a proper rambling vine of a plant so you may need to persuade it to head in the right direction. I love the mad, exuberant growth of squashes, so I like that it does that. I've had decent crops up here, on indifferent soil at the time, so I'd say it's a reasonable performer, weather permitting.

[nickdub]

The squares I plan to plant them into are currently taken up by autumn sown broad beans. I expect these won’t be done until mid June, so should I hold off on sowing my cucumber seeds for a few weeks?

I'd get them sown, then as they get bigger they can just go in larger pots ending up in the garden when you have space. Or you could compromise and sow a few now and a few in a month's time, so with a bit of luck you'll get peak crops at different times.

[Jungle Jane]

I haven’t even started planting my main crop potatoes,I’m really behind this year. Cucumbers get planted outside in June here,I start them around the last week of April.

TCP when the beans have finished you could cut them down,leave the root in there to feed the soil,there might be enough space between beans to put a cucumber plant in early if you have to,you don’t need to dig much of a hole to plant the cucumber they like being on a little mound so they don’t have water round the stem,half bury a little water bottle with the end cut off next to it,then you can water into the bottle so water gets to the base of the roots you know

[bikermike]

my cukes are coming right on, third sets of leaves, and thirsty! I need to re-water them almost every day.
Problem is I need to put the tomatoes in first in the greenhouse. Oh well, that's next weekend's activity sorted - trip to the greenhouse.

[Scoot]

Sowed 2 Courgette seeds on saturday. I normally only grow 1 but this year im going all mental haha.

[Penellype]

I have just one cucumber seedling (at the seed leaf stage) at the moment. End of April is courgette planting time and the rest of the cucumbers will go in then too. Melons wait until mid-May.

[Eric44]

1Bee, thanks for the info. I'm looking forward to growing them.

[bario1]

Sown my two cucumber seeds for the year today! 'Swing' new one for me.

[bario1]

^^^ and they're up! ^^^

[rambleberry]

I sowed a Natsu Fushinari cucumber on the 4th April, and only today did the seed leaves finally appear. Hoping this isn't an ill omen and just reflective of how cold the last 2 weeks were!

[Snowwhyte]

My early sown squash are doing well. Some have produced their first flowers and I even have the tiniest patty pan starting to grow. They've been enjoying some time outside in the sun but since the warm weather is only temporary they are not going out yet. I might move them to the greenhouse though.

[Small pumpkin]

Small sugar pumpkin, Tromboncino courgette, Femspot cucumber have all germinated
It's a start.

[veggiechicken]

I sowed Beth/Beit Alpha cucumbers and Zucchini courgettes on 20th January.

Here's one of the Beth's today.

[HoneyChild]

Hi VC, Beth is a pretty girl did you grow her under lights? I've only just put my cucumber seedlings under basic led lights a week ago so obviously only just starting to produce true leaves. With such dull days I don't think they would've grown at all without lights.

Thanks