Cukes worth knowing

By now, although lemon cucumbers are still listed as specialties in some catalogs I get, I count them as "regular" cucumbers. They're all over the farmer's market in our town, so that makes them mainstream in my eyes. And I never managed to start a single Marketmore nor purchase one. I think I expected Denise to take care of that, then the pickling cucumber thing happened and it all got away from me.

However, two fun new cucumbers that hover on the edge of novelty did make it through the early spring, and deserve some mention here.

First is "Rocky," a fingering cucumber, perfect for kids, or so the Territorial catalog said. I have seen some of the other homeschooled kids munching on slender baby Persian-style cucumbers, and decided to give this one a try.

Getting them started was a bit of a stretch. Small, touchy, easily killed, I ended up starting them in two rounds. Ultimately, I only ended up with two plants, and those aren't what I'd call overly vigorous. In their defense, they were behind the jungle of pickling cucumbers until last week. I think they are at about 24" tall right now.


Apparently I'm picking them a tad late, since they are supposed to be best at 2-3" and I'm usually hitting 3-4". The little cucumber eater isn't complaining, though, as she yells, "Rockyyyy!" and eats them whenever I point them out.


Next year, more plants, more babying earlier, and more sun. Then I'll have enough to make the other kids eat them for snacks, too.

More on the novelty end are the Mexican Sour Gherkins I first heard about from Mr. H. They have been a lot of fun, and are the perfect treat to offer garden visitors. I say, "Would you like an elf watermelon?" and then explain that they taste like a slightly citrus cucumber before they bite them and are disappointed in not getting a sweet melon!

The vines are delicate in appearance, and I think the fruits are most beautiful when they're teensy:

They aren't enough to make a meal of, and I do have one experimental jar of them on the pickled shelf to try eventually, but six or eight plants, started in February, have kept up a small but steady stream of fun. And that seems like plenty to ask of any vegetable.

Have you tried any "novelty" vegetables? Did you like them?