How to grow, harvest and store cucumbers and summer squash – East Idaho News

Cucumbers and summer time squash might be canned or processed for consuming out of season, however they’re greatest when eaten recent. New cultivars have been developed to enhance each illness resistance and the consuming expertise. Listed here are another pointers in addition to cultivar choice that may enhance your cucumber and summer time squash consuming expertise.

Rising

Since cucumbers and squash are already within the backyard, listed here are some rising suggestions as we end out the season.

A problem for cucumbers proper now could be excessive temperatures. Many cultivars will abort feminine flowers when day and evening temperatures are excessive. This normally occurs as a result of pollen high quality is poor at excessive temperatures, so pollination doesn’t happen. The most effective you are able to do is to cowl them with a 20% shade fabric. A heavier shade will sluggish development and scale back yields.

Excessive temperatures don’t appear to have as a lot impact on summer time squash pollination.

If in case you have cucumber or squash fruit which are misshapen, such because the flower finish being pointy, it’s one other indication of poor pollination. This happens continuously towards the tip of the rising season.

Keep in mind that these crops are very tender and can categorical chilling injury with temperatures under 42F and the slightest frost will kill the leaves or the crops. So, if you’re nonetheless making an attempt to reap cucumbers and summer time squash within the fall, take measures to guard them.

Harvesting

Pickling cucumbers will attain a harvestable dimension about 4 – 5 days after pollination. This largely will depend on how giant you need your pickles.

Harvest dimension of slicing cucumbers will depend on the cultivar. For quick, recent consuming they are often harvested at any small dimension. If they are going to be saved in a fridge for just a few days, they need to be harvested at simply the purpose the place the pores and skin has crammed out and the cucumber is at the usual market dimension for the cultivar. This ought to be completed earlier than the seeds begin to mature.

Summer season squash could catch you without warning. If you happen to don’t harvest them recurrently you might discover ”baseball bats” rising in your squash crops. Older fruit has a tricky pores and skin, whereas the fruit of a small recent squash shall be tender and effective for consuming. The big fruits are effective for processing and zucchini bread, however recent consuming is a lot better when the fruit is picked simply because the blossom turns dry.

Take care when harvesting that you simply don’t injury the vine. Don’t pull the fruit straight out or up as this may occasionally break the vine or pull up the plant.

• For cucumbers it’s higher to make use of a twisting movement, scissors/pruners, or I like to make use of my thumb to separate the pedicel (blossom stem) from the fruit as I twist the fruit down.
• With summer time squash the twisting movement could break the fruit—I like to make use of a knife to chop the pedicel.

Brief-term storage

For the very best high quality, get cucumbers and squash out of the sphere and to a fridge as shortly as attainable. High quality can be greatest if they’re pickled or eaten inside 24 hours of harvest.

Identical to the plant, the fruit might be broken if uncovered to temperatures under 42F. Fridge temperatures are normally set round 38F, which can trigger chill pits on the fruit inside a few days. The most effective storage for cucumbers is 45 – 55F with excessive humidity. They need to final 10 – 14 days beneath these situations.

Get pleasure from your cucumbers and summer time squash.