slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748 
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Post by slw on Aug 29, 2023 16:57:55 GMT -5
Hello to the veterans of cucumber wars. As many of you know, I recently murdered a perfectly healthy Iznik cucumber vine so decided to start some of the AeroGarden pre-seeded cucumber pods. Since some of you have already grown these cukes, do you have any advice at this point?
I put a single pod in my Farm 12XL and now I'm wondering if I should put another one in there. Will the Farm handle 2 cucumber vines, or would it be better to focus on a single plant?
If you have pics of your AG cukes I'd love to see 'em.
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Post by lynnee on Aug 29, 2023 17:28:49 GMT -5
I have two vines going in a Farm 12XL, and both seem happy. They've been slow to grow, due to gardener neglect (late nutrients, late pruning, light raised too high) and room conditions (hot in afternoons). So far they've produced about 5 small cukes. I'm switching one to a Bounty tomorrow and terminating the other because I need the Farm for the slicing tomatoes project. This photo was taken on 8/17/23. Both vines have now reached the max height for the light, so I pulled the growing tips forward yesterday to the front of the AG. Prior to 8/17/23, I pruned the vines to take off all the branches. The branch vines were pulling a lot of energy for leaves, and were spreading across the grow deck. The branches were all at the bottom of the main vines.  EDIT: Just now I took out the vine on the right, which had plenty of flowers but wasn't developing the tasty cocktail-sized cukes. Then I discovered the reason why: it was hiding this cuke, which is 4" long and 4" around! You mustn't allow a vine keep a growing cuke for very long, because the vine will concentrate on making a BIG cuke. The big ones are perfectly edible, but tend to be bitter. This one was bitter, and somewhat watery, too.  |
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Post by agnoob on Aug 29, 2023 20:01:28 GMT -5
Slw, welcome to the club! I’m on day 41 on my AG cukes. I originally had two in a bounty but this past weekend I moved one of them to another bounty cause the roots were starting to get crowded in the grow bowl. My first flower also bloomed last weekend. I’m starting to get quite a lot of female flowers. I’m also training the main vine on the trellis - just added my second plant clip today. Hopefully I can keep on training the vine on 2-3 trellises to keep the plant from hitting the light hood.
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Aug 29, 2023 22:39:45 GMT -5
lynnee -- Ugh, I hate bitter cucumbers. I hope they aren't all like that. I had a bumper crop of pickling cukes in my outdoor raised beds this season so I usually have pretty good luck with cucumbers. Of course outdoor plants don't get all the "micro managing" that the AG ones, do. None of that fussing, pruning, etc.
When you say, "cocktail" cucumbers do you mean tiny? I'm not sure I want to bother with that. The few Izniks that I grew were in the 4" range and about 1.5-2" wide. I'm sure I'll be trying those again before long.
agnoob -- I think you did the right thing to go with one cuke in a Bounty. My Iznik was doing fine in a Bounty until The Accident.  I like the method of training a vine around the Bounty trellises, I I think I'll try something similar in the Farm. That way they seem to stay under the lights longer.
Are y'all using AG nutes or are you adding other stuff?
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Post by lynnee on Aug 30, 2023 13:04:33 GMT -5
slw, the AG cukes are "mini" cucumbers. They should be harvested at 2.5 to 3.5 inches in length, or before they start getting big around the middle. At that point they are crisp, delicate in flavor, and amount to a two- to three-bite snack (not bitter at all). 
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Post by agnoob on Aug 30, 2023 15:57:37 GMT -5
It’s my first time growing cucumbers (well, anything for that matter) and my plant hasn’t gotten to the stage of fruiting yet so I can’t tell if I’m doing it right. So far, I’ve been doing AG nutes as directed and then adding Cal-Mag (with suggested amount on bottle) in the in-between week. The plants look to be doing quite well. I’m probably going to start adding Kool Bloom once it arrives in the mail.
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Post by scarfguy on Aug 30, 2023 16:03:48 GMT -5
It’s my first time growing cucumbers (well, anything for that matter) and my plant hasn’t gotten to the stage of fruiting yet so I can’t tell if I’m doing it right. So far, I’ve been doing AG nutes as directed and then adding Cal-Mag (with suggested amount on bottle) in the in-between week. The plants look to be doing quite well. I’m probably going to start adding Kool Bloom once it arrives in the mail.
You're doing everything right in my opinion.
My only comment is don't be concerned when your beautiful green cucumber leaves start turning yellow on the edges. Cucumber leaves on healthy plants usually look terrible. That's normal.
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Post by agnoob on Aug 30, 2023 16:06:33 GMT -5
Thanks, Scarfguy! Getting the approval from the in-house expert means a lot to me!
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Post by lynnee on Aug 31, 2023 20:02:30 GMT -5
agnoob, When your AG cucumber develops flowers, there will be baby cukes between the flowers and the stem. Before long you will see some of these getting bigger and becoming edible cukes. Many of babies behind the earliest flowers never mature at all, and will eventually dry up and fall off. However, you need to keep a sharp eye out for developing cukes, because the cuke likes to hide them behind foliage. You never know which babies will start to mature, but you want to catch them all before they get really large. 
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Sept 1, 2023 14:24:54 GMT -5
One of my cukes has "cleared the label," so here we go!!
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 5, 2023 15:23:35 GMT -5
According to the AG App, this is Day 37 of my cucumber adventure. I have a couple of cukes that are a pretty good size already, and there are TONS of babies!! The two biggest cukes...
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 5, 2023 15:27:00 GMT -5
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 5, 2023 15:28:26 GMT -5
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Post by scarfguy on Oct 5, 2023 16:10:55 GMT -5
Ya got some good lookin' pickles there, Sarah! 
Keep up the good work!
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Post by lynnee on Oct 5, 2023 18:38:01 GMT -5
The leaves on your cukes look so pretty, slw! They'll start looking ratty before long, so expect that and don't take them off unless the connector stem starts to yellow and shrivel.  |
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 5, 2023 22:17:59 GMT -5
Thanks, lynnee . I have no intention of taking any leaves off unless they are totally brown; I'm not much of a pruner. I really hate the way plants look after a heavy pruning and I'm not convinced that it's necessary. I do pinch off the side shoots, though!! |
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 8, 2023 16:37:55 GMT -5
Day 40 and time to add another trellis to the Farm!!
Front plant (I harvested 2 largest cukes yesterday)...
Rear plant. This one has grown/developed slower than the plant in the front, but it's catching up...
So far, these have out-paced the two Izniks I have tried. I'll be a repeat customer for the Aerogarden Cucumber Pods.
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slw
AGA Bounty
Posts: 748
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Post by slw on Oct 8, 2023 16:39:58 GMT -5
Forgot to say that I have only used AG nutes in this cucumber garden so far.
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Post by lynnee on Oct 8, 2023 17:27:33 GMT -5
Forgot to say that I have only used AG nutes in this cucumber garden so far. You are a cucumber whisperer! I'm impressed that you have all those cukes developing at the same time. Is your room temperature cool? My vines always want to develop one great big cuke, and they are skilled at hiding their activities under leaves or alongside the trellis. I just harvested another giant this morning--almost as big as a commercial dill pickle. |
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Post by scarfguy on Oct 8, 2023 17:46:07 GMT -5
slw, how do the AG cukes taste compared to the Izniks?
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I like the method of training a vine around the Bounty trellises, I I think I'll try something similar in the Farm. That way they seem to stay under the lights longer. 
