Cucumbers

Cucumbers are a wonderfully versatile vegetable. Of course they are great in salads, but I also like them peeled with fruit like watermelon. Or you can slice cukes into rounds and dip in hummus. Karen also likes to put sliced cucumbers in a pitcher of water for a cucumber taste in water.

Cucumbers like rich soil, with some liquid organic fertilizer every three weeks or so. I like to trellis cucumbers to allow the vines to climb up rather that on the ground. There are two advantages to this method of planting. First, it gets the fruit off the ground, which keeps them from yellowing and rotting. Second, it saves space in the garden. By growing the vines horizontally rather than vertically, you can fit more plants into each square foot of the garden. More plants means more cucumbers. And more cucumbers means more cucumber salads.