Lemon cukes and other non mainstream cukes

sprtsguy76 · May 1, 2012

I was at Home Depot today looking to pick up some lemon cukes, a garden friend recommends them. so I purchased 2 plants. After getting home and doing some browsing on the SSE website I saw they have a true lemon cuke. The picture looks a little different from the HD plant. I went ahead and purchased some of the true lemon cuke seeds from the SSE website along with Armenian and Boothby's Blonde. I thought I would try these as well come fall. Whats your experience with lemon cukes and what are some of your favorite non mainstream cukes????

Damon

biscgolf · May 1, 2012

i like lemon cukes- they are somewhat slow to start yielding but once they do they seem to deal with extreme summer heat better than traditional cukes.

fortyonenorth · May 1, 2012

Lemon and Boothbay were good performers for me, but more seeds than I prefer. I grew Poona Kheera last year and liked it very much.

livinonfaith · May 1, 2012

The only two unusual cukes I've grown are Armenian and Mexican Sour Gherkin and both are actually melons that taste like cukes.

I liked both, but the Armenian was clearly the most useful. It has a lovely slightly ribbed skin that I didn't even bother to peel if they were not too ripe. That gave the slices a pretty almost scalloped look. Even if it got too big, I would just peel it, scoop out the seeds and use the rest in salads. It didn't get bitter like a lot of overripe cukes.

The tiny Mexican sour Gherkins were adorable and quite tasty when eaten just before they ripened, but I didn't find them to be that practical. They were strictly "garden grazers", stuff you eat as you walk the garden. My son did like them, though, and wasn't too happy that I didn't plant them this year.

This year, I'm trying Poona Keera, in addition to the Armenians. That's plenty for us!

tjg911 · May 2, 2012

i grew lemon cukes 2 or 3 seasons back in the early 90's, they were the 1st 'odd' cuke i ever grew. i preferred long thin cukes so i never grew them again. they were ok no big deal. i let them sprawl on the ground.

tom

Tracydr · May 2, 2012

Armenian and lemon. The lemon is a nice, "real" cuke. More heat hardy than most cukes, more hardy, period. Sweet, good for fresh or pickling.
The Armenian is my favorite. Not quite a cuke but once you get past that it's not quite cucumber, it's so womderful!
Sweet, juicy, never, ever bitter. Tender skin that is totally edible. Eat them about 18". They love heat, the more heat, the better.

feldon30 · May 2, 2012

Lemon Cukes are ok, but if you want more production, a long cuke (7-8") rather than an 8-ball and even better flavor, Poona Kheera.

stonysoilseeds · May 2, 2012

i like te suyo long cuke it is sweet and productive also the mid easten cukes do well for me

lakelady · May 29, 2012

I have double yield growing and am thinking of starting some seeds also of the Mexican Sour Gherkins and something else I got at Seeds from Italy...Cucumber Carosello. I like planting cukes, just toss the seeds in soil and voila, no pots and indoor messes to deal with

May 1, 2012	#1
sprtsguy76 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2007 Location: Santa Clara CA Posts: 1,125	Lemon cukes and other non mainstream cukes I was at Home Depot today looking to pick up some lemon cukes, a garden friend recommends them. so I purchased 2 plants. After getting home and doing some browsing on the SSE website I saw they have a true lemon cuke. The picture looks a little different from the HD plant. I went ahead and purchased some of the true lemon cuke seeds from the SSE website along with Armenian and Boothby's Blonde. I thought I would try these as well come fall. Whats your experience with lemon cukes and what are some of your favorite non mainstream cukes???? Damon

May 2, 2012	#5
tjg911 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: zone 5b northwest connecticut Posts: 2,570	i grew lemon cukes 2 or 3 seasons back in the early 90's, they were the 1st 'odd' cuke i ever grew. i preferred long thin cukes so i never grew them again. they were ok no big deal. i let them sprawl on the ground. tom __________________ I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the end of the night He’s gotta be strong And he’s gotta be fast And he’s gotta be fresh from the fight I need a hero I’m holding out for a hero ‘til the morning light He’s gotta be sure And it’s gotta be soon And he’s gotta be larger than life

May 2, 2012	#7
feldon30 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2006 Location: Rock Hill, SC Posts: 5,346	Lemon Cukes are ok, but if you want more production, a long cuke (7-8") rather than an 8-ball and even better flavor, Poona Kheera. __________________ [SIZE="3"]I've relaunched my gardening website -- [B]TheUnconventionalTomato.com[/B][/SIZE] * [I][SIZE="1"]*I'm not allowed to post weblinks so you'll have to copy-paste it manually.[/SIZE][/I]

May 29, 2012	#9
lakelady Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: northern NJ zone 6b Posts: 1,862	I have double yield growing and am thinking of starting some seeds also of the Mexican Sour Gherkins and something else I got at Seeds from Italy...Cucumber Carosello. I like planting cukes, just toss the seeds in soil and voila, no pots and indoor messes to deal with __________________ Antoniette

May 1, 2012	#2
biscgolf Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Virginia Posts: 353	i like lemon cukes- they are somewhat slow to start yielding but once they do they seem to deal with extreme summer heat better than traditional cukes.

May 1, 2012	#3
fortyonenorth Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: NW Indiana Posts: 1,150	Lemon and Boothbay were good performers for me, but more seeds than I prefer. I grew Poona Kheera last year and liked it very much.

May 1, 2012	#4
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	The only two unusual cukes I've grown are Armenian and Mexican Sour Gherkin and both are actually melons that taste like cukes. I liked both, but the Armenian was clearly the most useful. It has a lovely slightly ribbed skin that I didn't even bother to peel if they were not too ripe. That gave the slices a pretty almost scalloped look. Even if it got too big, I would just peel it, scoop out the seeds and use the rest in salads. It didn't get bitter like a lot of overripe cukes. The tiny Mexican sour Gherkins were adorable and quite tasty when eaten just before they ripened, but I didn't find them to be that practical. They were strictly "garden grazers", stuff you eat as you walk the garden. My son did like them, though, and wasn't too happy that I didn't plant them this year. This year, I'm trying Poona Keera, in addition to the Armenians. That's plenty for us!

May 2, 2012	#6
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	Armenian and lemon. The lemon is a nice, "real" cuke. More heat hardy than most cukes, more hardy, period. Sweet, good for fresh or pickling. The Armenian is my favorite. Not quite a cuke but once you get past that it's not quite cucumber, it's so womderful! Sweet, juicy, never, ever bitter. Tender skin that is totally edible. Eat them about 18". They love heat, the more heat, the better.

May 2, 2012	#8
stonysoilseeds Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: cincinnatus, new york Posts: 341	i like te suyo long cuke it is sweet and productive also the mid easten cukes do well for me