Each year the National Garden Bureau selects one annual, one perennial and one edible that are easy to grow, genetically diverse with a lot of new varieties to choose from. For 2014, it is the Cucumber, Echinacea and Petunia.
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| August 14, 2013 |
I used to grow cucumbers in my traditional garden, but with varied success each year. I would do my best to weed, water and watch, but invariably I'd over water, under weed and forget to look under every leaf. By the time I would find some of my cucumbers, they had turned into "yellow submarines".
Last year I grew "Boston Pickling" cucumbers from Bakers' Creek. I planted four seeds to a box. Once they were up and vining, I trained them up on a tomato cage. Training them up helps a lot when it's time to harvest. They are very prolific, beautifully marked and taste great.
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| July 17, 2013 |
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| September 9, 2013 |
With succession planting, I was able to grow cucumbers from June to September.
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| Cowgirl Candy |
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| Tomato, Lettuce and Cucumber |
I made "Cowgirl Candy." The recipe was really called Cowboy Candy and used jalapenos. It was too hot for me, so I substituted cucumbers in the syrup. I also did not cook my cucumbers. I just made the syrup and sliced the cucumbers directly into the jars. I also added a few sliced red onions for color and a sliver of a habanero and jalapeno. I put it in the fridge. It only lasted a couple of days before it was gone and I'd have to make some more. It was SO good. I'm definitely making that again this year.
One other creative way we preserved our cucumber bounty was by juicing. We would juice the the cucumbers, freeze the juice and then add the cubes to our smoothies. We really enjoyed our strawberry cucumber smoothies last summer.
Really want to try your Cowboy Candy this year. I love that you don't cook it.
ReplyDeleteReally want to try your garden box!
ReplyDeleteI'm intrigued by the cowboy candy. Was it truly good? I can't quite wrap my head around candy sweet cucumbers, but I guess sweet pickles have a lot of sugar, too.
ReplyDeleteHazel, it was really good! Last year I read where people make this for Christmas gifts. I didn't make that much. I preferred to eat the raw cukes or juice them. I did like adding some Cowgirl Candy to my tuna sandwiches, though. Yum! The recipe only makes about three pints,so if you don't like it, no harm done. I liked it and since I was picking out the cucumbers and still had some "candy" left, I kept slicing and adding cucumbers to the leftover syrup. That way I got a couple of uses out of it.
DeleteI would love to grow things in one of these boxes.
ReplyDeleteI saw your Post on entering to win a GAB box on facebook, but thought I live in Utah so how I would so love to have one sent to my Nephew and his wife who live in Moore Oklahoma. They are fostering 4 children under the age of 6 and have already started their seedlings in their laundry room and are hoping to grow all the vegetables they can for the "family". My Nephew gave his wife one for Christmas she was so excited she posted on Facebook about it, but they could use and deserve another box. They are an amazing couple, one of the Foster children was diagnosed with Luekemia in December and is under going treatment so in support of her loosing her hair my nephew shaved his head and his wife almost shved her head it is so short I bet it isn't 1/2" long. So I think they would be an amazing surprise and gift to them. I first heard of the garden box from her when she posted about it on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteMy contest entry! :)
ReplyDeleteWhy would I like a GAB? Hmmm. I don't want just one. I want six, or at least three, and a pet waterer. I want a more reliable way to grow the things that are most special to me and my husband, with a good chance of success. I did not bother to try to plant tomatoes or peppers last year because our soil is horrid. Did not even grow potatoes well. I still plan to have a normal garden, and have been composting every scrap to come out of my kitchen since we moved in a year and a half ago. But to be able to grow the fussier things, I feel sure a GAB would make me successful without all the work and weeding. I did grow two kinds of cucumbers in a very large container last year, and they did very well. I have a friend in mind who might be willing to host a party if you ever get on a trip that takes you out to western Colorado. If you find enough people out this direction to make a trip, I will guarantee that I will buy as many as I can afford.
ReplyDeleteI live in Arizona and our dirt is HARD, compacted and hard to grow in. The amount of work it would take to get a small area ready for planting is more than I can handle with my fibromyalgia. I would love a GAB so I can save money and grow healthy good food for my family. It is the only way I can really garden right now.
ReplyDeleteReally would like to see how much time this cuts off..... i love the garden and growing my own but dont have as much time as i would like to work on it.
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