Start simple they said. Well, I don’t give up easily. Cucumbers can be a fickle plant to grow in Florida, but every once in a while you achieve success.
Growing up as a child summer dinners included freshly cut cucumbers every night. I miss those days! I try to adapt to the climate but I love cucumbers too much so I thought I would try again this year or I should say my husband thought I should try again. He bought me Russian climbing cucumber ”Beam charm F1” seeds at least that is what I think they are – the package was not in English.
In the past I have tried store bought plants, started them from seeds, and I even tried growing them upside down which was successful until a late hurricane took the plants out.
Finally success! The cooperative weather had a lot to do with it. Cucumber plants do better in a colder climate. I must have timed it just right this year. It was interesting to see how much the heat affected their growth. I got a nice batch then it warmed up, and the plants started to die, but then it got colder the plants grew back, reflowered and formed some new fruit. Not sure if the second batch will be successful as now they are just plain confused with the daily hot and cold changes. I will definitely try these seeds again next year but start earlier.
C&R's Kitchen 