Monday, June 15, 2009

White Cucumbers


These heirloom cucumbers where from seed saved by Clyde Faggart over the years. I have been saving these for about 6 years. My grandmother grew some that were very similar genetics and I think the ones offered by Johnny's Select Seeds are the same. These are not the same as the White Wonder sold in local stores. The simplest way to tell the difference is that these have black spines and the white wonder doesn't. Compared to regular cucumbers, these have a thinner skin and seldom have bitterness. They will have a slightly larger seed cavity than the newer hybrids but that isn't a problem particularly when picking them small. I use them fresh as snacks and also in salads. I also make Bread and Butter pickles with them. My uncle will freeze cucumbers but I just try to get a bait of them during the season and eat pickles the rest of the year.

3 comments:

B. Knox said...

These look yummy. We picked our first cuke yesterday - Tendergreen.

Elizabeth said...

Can you please tell me how you pick the seeds and store the seeds of white cucumbers to plant for next year's crop? Is there a special way to de-seed the cucumber? Are the cucumbers supposed to be large and yellow when you cut for seeds?

Thank you.

Gardening Guru Goforth said...

The cucumber has to be mature. I generally wait until it is orange which is beyond the yellow. I then cut it apart, scoop out the seeds and wash it. After washing, I let the seeds dry a few days and then place them in a freezer bag. I either label the bag or place a label inside the bag with date and variety. An alternative is to ferment the pulp. Put the scooped out pulp in a bucket, add that much water and wait for about three days. Skim off the top layer and wash the seeds.