Sow True Seed Marketmore 76
Time for the final report on the Sow True Seed Cucumber Reporting @ Large project!
Tipper:
Our entire garden suffered this year because of the hot dry weather. It was not the year for anything! I’m positive all my Sow True Seed Cucumbers would have done better with more of the wet stuff and less of the above average temperatures.
Slicing Cucumber Muncher: While this one was a great producer-I don’t think I would grow it again. It just didn’t taste much like a cucumber.
Richmond Green Apple: I’ve been growing this one for a few years and will probably continue to grow at least one or two plants each year.
Marketmore 76: The one was similar to the muncher above. Probably would not plant it again either.
Boston: I really liked this one and plan on growing it again.
Bush Pickle: I grow this one every year because it produces great and tastes great. The bush pickle came through as it always does for us.
Another cucumber that is a must plant for us is the Arkansas Little Leaf from Sow True Seed. The variety wasn’t part of the reporting project, but its hands down my favorite cucumber to grow. And as always it’s did great in the garden this summer.
Quinn who grew the Sow True Seed Suyo Long:
Since it seemed all seven seedlings were likely to survive, I thinned them by – why not? – moving four plants to a raised bed by the goat barn, to see which conditions the cucumbers might prefer. All seven plants have done well all summer! As they grow, those strange, spiky-looking bright green things become strange, spiky-looking little white nubs. They may look sharp, but they aren’t. I’ve even seen them described as “thorns” but I guess those people have never encountered an actual thorn! These little nubs just brush right off when you run a hand over the cucumber. The suyo cucumbers certainly earn their “long” title, and most of mine were grown on a trellis and have been quite straight. I love the texture of the suyo peel; it is crisp and not bitter at all. A few of the cucumbers got so big the seeds developed so I scraped out those cores as a treat for the hens. LeShodu, my Matriarch doe, greatly enjoys eating the strips of rind, one by one. I think her teeth may not be as strong as they used to be, so this is a nice way for her to get some soft “bark” without actually having to gnaw on a tree.
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Linda:
Our season started out with heavy rains; at one point some of the plants were under water. Once the ground began to dry a little, they started to recover and were on their way. I tried the Suyo and the Muncher along with Marketmore seeds I had saved previously.
The Suyo is a real garden wonder. Not only a prolific producer, but tasty as well. It stays crispy for days after picking. It has earned a spot in my garden in the future.
The muncher did not bear well. The plants were beautiful, but didn’t have a lot of cucumbers. I probably would not plant this one again.
The marketmore continues to put on fruit. It continues to be my favorite, the flavor is good, it produces a lot, and stands up to the weather well.
The only pests we had this year was the Mexican bean beetle. They seemed to favor the muncher more than the others.
Even though the recent drought has been hard on the garden, we have harvested a lot of cucumbers. Thanks for including me in the cucumber trials.
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If you signed on to be a Cucumber Reporter @ Large leave a comment with your final report so that everyone can see how Sow True Seed Cucumbers did at your place.
Tipper
Tipper, mine and Truman,s cucumbers vines were so pretty but we were not getting any cucumbers we got two is all come to find out our Norwegian Elk Hound Buttons was getting them . Truman found another one and she tried to get it from him . Never knew a dog to love cucumbers.
Mary Lou McKillip
My Bush Pickle cucumbers went gang buster all summer long. They finally gave up about a week ago. The last 2 cucumbers didn’t have any flavor, but all the other ones were really good. I made 2 runs of bread and butter pickles and gave lots of fresh ones away. Of course I watered them all summer, so that made the difference.
Wow that sure is a long cucumber! Thank you for listing which ones were the best.
Pam
scrap-n-sewgranny.blogspot.com
Tipper,
Our cucumbers, Suyo, Specialty Richmond Green Apple, Marketmore 76 all started out with a “bang”. Germination rate exceptionally good. The garden was beautiful. We got several good tasty cucumbers from the Marketmores and really grow well for us. They were in the big garden that had evening shade starting after 3:00 PM with only morning to midday sun but still approximately 6 hours. However, the heat and drought still caused the plants to die early. The Suyo, which I was absolutely looking forward to producing, did well but only got one long cucumber from them. They begin to “prickle up” and curl in the heat, disfiguring the cucumbers as the vines began to die. I was just sick as we worked hard making the beautiful trellises for them. I am sure it was the crazy drought and extreme heat. The specialty Green Apple never made a cucumber at all even though they kept blooming, mostly because they had some light shade from the one trellised plants. They soon began dropping blooms and leaves curled and turned brown. All plants would wilt completely down during the day. It was sickening. We tried watering at night and early in the mornings but even mulch didn’t help that much. When you have above 95 degree temps for days on end with no clouds or sign of rain, there is not much one can do. We are on a well and also were leery of using too much water on outdoor gardens, so we would pick and choose. I am thoroughly pleased with the seed and the great germination of the seeds, the look of the gorgeous plants and growth. That is until the extreme temps and drought hit them and all our gardens. Early on we basically saw no insect damage until the plants started to weaken from the weather, so that is out of the picture!
Thanks for all you do Tipper and thank Sow True Seeds for their seeds. I will try these seeds, God willing, next year and pray for more consistent late Spring and early Summer rains and moderate more normal heat for our area.
Thanks again, Tipper
Tipper,
I enjoyed Quinn’s story and picture of the long cucumber. This has been the dryest I’ve ever saw in my lifetime, no wonder folks had so much trouble. My garden is right beside a creek and I believe it would’ve been moist enough, but I only grew weeds this time. (back problems)
I heard our Radio Gal playing lots of The Wilsons songs yesterday. You all are such a blessing and to have 4 groups in one holler is another of God’s Wonders. Thank you all. …Ken
I planted the Boston. They sprouted quicikly and grew to nice large plants. Then the hot dry weather arrived. We have had nearly no rain all summer. I watered for a while but just gave up. We pay for water so just not pracital to keep it up. The cukes that grew were very nice, large and good flavor. I planted a few seeds in a pot late in July. They are now growing and blooming. Not sure if we will keep the warm weather long enough to actually get a cuke to eat. I would certainly grow these again. I grew them in hills but would grow on a fence or trellis. Barbara