Cucumber Long English

'Long English' Cucumber is a productive and hardy heirloom variety, ideal for growing outdoors. The long, dark green spiny fruits have firm, crisp flesh with excellent flavour. Sow from March to May and harvest from July to October.

Cucumber is one of the most popular summer vegetables. Both refreshing and low in calories, it is perfect added to summer salads and cocktails, sliced in sandwiches and blended into smoothies. Cucumber comes in an array of colours, shapes and sizes. Classic slicing varieties are long and dark green, lunchbox varieties are short and bumpy, Armenian cucumbers are light green and lemon cucumbers are round and yellow! Some are suitable for growing outdoors, others need to be grown under cover in a polytunnel or a greenhouse.

Cucumbers do well in light, loose, nutrient-dense soils with plenty of sunlight and temperatures ranging from 18 to 22°C. Cucumbers are moisture-loving plants that need watering regularly.

Harvesting: Cucumbers are harvested when they are full-sized, before they start to turn yellow and bitter. Regular harvests will stimulate fruit production. They are generally ready to harvest about 3 months after sowing, from June to September.

Storage: Cucumbers will stay fresh for several days in the refrigerator. They can also be pickled or lacto-fermented for later use.

Good to know: Cucumber plants are prone to powdery mildew (a fungal disease that causes a white down to form on the surface of the leaves). When watering, try to avoid getting water on the leaves or flowers. When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse or polytunnel, make sure it is well-ventilated. Good companion plants include lettuce and beans. Avoid growing your cucumbers too close to potatoes and tomatoes.

Even if the vegetable garden is first and foremost a place for growing great quality veg, it’s always a good idea to leave a bit of room for flowers. Growing flowers alongside your vegetable plants will make your general gardening experience more enjoyable and is a great way to attract pollinators and repel garden pests! Flowers such as gaillardia, marigolds, zinnias, cosmos or nasturtiums can be sown in and around the rows of vegetables. Herbs such as dill can be very useful also. Bear in mind that some companion plants self-seed easily and can be a bit invasive (borage, chives, lemon balm etc.)