Growing Cucumbers the Rock Spring Farm Way

Cucumbers, like most crops, start with the seed. Unlike most crops, however, greenhouse cucumber seeds come at quite a high price, nearly fifty cents each (that’s if you buy a thousand; at small quantities, they run almost a dollar). Cucumber plants, like everything in the melon family (cucumbers, squash, zucchini, melons, watermelons), have both male and female flowers, and require pollination to set fruit. The cucumber plants we grow are gynecious, meaning that they have no male flowers, and parthenocarpic, meaning they can produce fruit without pollination; the parent plants have to through very specific growing conditions and treatments to produce a viable seed.

To grow great cucumbers, we produce all of ours in the greenhouse. Once upon a time, we grew normal outdoor cucumbers, but we were so infatuated with the greenhouse type that the outdoor cukes simply got left in the field. Indoors, we can produce slender, seedless, thin-skinned cucumbers with outstanding flavor that never get seedy.

Our cucumber season starts in mid-April, when we sow the seeds in 2-inch pots, and place the pots in a germination chamber in the greenhouse. As soon as the seeds begin to sprout, we move them to the warmest spot in the greenhouse. About 24 days after we sow them, we transplant the cucumbers into one of our unheated greenhouses, where we cover them with a light fabric for additional warmth and protection. The cucumbers are extremely sensitive about transplanting, so we always make a point of singing to them as we set them out; our success rate increased by about twenty percent when we first adopted the song, “Sweet Caroline,” as our transplanting theme.

Most greenhouse cucumbers are grown in a hydroponic system, one that uses a sterile growing medium and provides a fertilizer mixture to the plants through a water-based nutrient solution. I just don’t think we’re smart enough to know everything the cucumber wants, so we grow ours in the soil. I think you can taste the difference.

By early June, we remove the fabric and tie strings from pieces of rebar laid across the rafters down the base of the cucumber plants. We used to tie the string onto the plants, but then we discovered these nifty little plastic clips that grasp the twine and encircle the plants. Cucumber plants are trained to one stem by pruning out any side shoots (we call them “suckers”), and continuing to clip the plants to the twine; this pruning must happen every week, or things can get out of control in a hurry.

Once the cucumber vines reach the rafters, we turn them around and encourage them to grow back down. This is the fun part, because the work gets done while standing on drywall stilts in the greenhouse. Most drywallers I talk to can’t believe we use them on the uneven soil of the greenhouse, which just adds tough points to the whole process. Each plant now gets to have two stems.

Cucumbers are harvested between three and five times each week, depending on the weather, using a pruners to cut the fruit from the vine, and quickly moved to the cooler in plastic-lined totes so that they retain their moisture and flavor until we are ready to put them in your CSA box.

Goings on on the Farm

Rain. Rain. And more rain. I keep wondering when or if it will stop. We have had the good fortune here to have missed most of the worst weather; our friends to the south and the north of us have really been hit hard. Reports from friends traveling in southern Iowa indicate plenty of ground sitting underwater. Our farm is situated quite high in the watershed, less the three miles that divides the Middle Bear Creek watershed from the next watershed over.

We have done pretty well when dry weather has come along, getting in to seed, transplant, and control weeds. And we’ve taken advantage of the wet weather to refurbish the barrel washer, repair our harvest wagon, and catch up on email.

While I was lying with my feet in the creek on Saturday afternoon, a hummingbird checked out my ear. A few minutes later I opened my eyes to see a blue heron soaring just a few feet over me, feet trailing out behind. Later in the week, while I scoped out the harvest in the upper fields, a beautiful, white snowy egret flew over me, chased by a slightly overzealous redwing blackbird.

In this Week's Box

When you get this box home, put everything except the tomatoes in plastic bags in the crisper drawer of your refrigerator. Tomatoes don’t ever go in the refrigerator. The tart taste that gives tomatoes their characteristic flavor results from a chemical reaction that gets disrupted by the cold. I like to store tomatoes out on the counter, or in a fruit bowl, and I would definitely recommend opening the cherry tomato clamshell to get more air circulation (although this creates the hazard that opportunistic grazers – such as small children and grandparents – will soon eliminate the tomato population).

Broccoli Raab - Leafy green broccoli raab is not actually a broccoli, and it has lots of other names, like rapa, rapini, turnip broccoli, and Italian turnip; these other names actually hint much closer at its genetic history, being more-closely related to turnips and rapeseed (canola) than it is to broccoli. Its appearance and flavor remind me of a disheveled cousin of broccoli. It has a somewhat more intense flavor than broccoli, and is very popular in Italy and many parts of Asia. It can be cooked in a number of ways, but my favorite is to braise it with a sweet Italian sausage and serve over pasta, as in the recipe below.

Carrots with their tops - We did our first carrot harvest this week, in the mud. Green Top Carrots are a holdover from our farmers market days, when we used their enhanced presentation to announce the start of our carrot season. After a winter of stored carrots, the fresh carrots are almost shockingly tender and crisp – I tried the fresh harvest alongside some of last fall’s carrots that I had leftover in the crisper drawer in my refrigerator, and the difference in mouth feel brought home just how much the eating experience goes beyond mere flavor.

Red Crisphead Lettuce - I have been loving the red crisphead lettuce this week, and I think you will too. Its bold flavor and firm texture holds up nicely under a heavy blue cheese or Roquefort dressing.

Escarole - Escarole has milder and sweeter leaves than many of its chicory cousins, and can be cooked or used raw in salads. The paler, inner leaves have a more delicate flavor.

Greenhouse Cucumbers - Greenhouse Cucumbers surged into production on the farm this week. Because we grow them inside, they don’t need the thick protective skin normally found on cucumbers, so you can just slice them and use them with no preparation at all. Unlike the kind you usually see plastic-wrapped in the grocery store, we grow our cucumbers in the soil, which gives them a fantastic flavor. Sliced and served sprinkled with sea salt (I like to use a red Hawaiian salt for dramatic color), it is hard to beat these cucumbers for summer time simplicity and flavor.

Green Garlic

Lettuce Mix

Sungold Cherry Tomatoes

Greenhouse Cucumbers

Fennel

Recipes You Can Use

Escarole and Shaved Fennel Salad with Olives, Bacon, and Dried Tomatoes

1 head escarole
1/2 cup shaved fennel (that just means, cut thinly)
1/4 cup chopped fennel fronds
1/4 cup Kalamata olives
1/4 cup cooked bacon or pancetta, drippings reserved
1/4 cup dried tomatoes, rehydrated and chopped
1/4 cup bacon drippings and olive oil, combined
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper

Slice escarole cross-ways into strips, rinse thoroughly, and dry. Place in a large bowl and add fennel, olives, bacon, and tomatoes. Vigorously mix drippings, oil, and vinegar until oil is emulsified. Toss with escarole. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

Roasted Baby Carrots

a bunch of baby carrots
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 Tbsp thyme or parsley
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the carrots with the olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet in one layer and roast in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes. Toss the carrots with herbs, and serve. (You can use larger carrots for this recipe—just cut into large chunks.)

Broccoli Raab Pasta

This is also great with italian sausage, pieces added. Cook the meat ahead and toss all toghether at serving.

1 bunch Broccoli Raab, in 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 small carrots, finely chopped
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 lb pasta (we like Penne)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta and drain. Heat the oil over medium-low heat. Add garlic and carrots and cook until garlic is golden. Add broccoli raab and cook until the raab is soft, being careful not to overcook (about 3 minutes). Add salt and pepper to taste, and red pepper flakes. Toss with pasta and serve.