optimistic gardening

[redbird]

Because hope is a virtue, I just ordered two more cucumber plants, which might produce cucumbers before the season ends, based on the nursery's information about "time to harvest."

I was looking at nursery websites to get an idea of when I'd want to order plants for next year, and saw "now shipping" on these, as well as on tomatoes that wouldn't have time to grow and ripen in this climate. I decided to spend the money and hope it works, rather than sit around thinking "but I could have" and even "well, since I didn't do it when I saw the option, it's too late now" over the next couple of weeks.

Shipping will be the week of August 10, so I have a few days to think about which container to put the plants in: there's one small container I'm not using (though the plant I tried there a couple of months ago failed), or I could put them in with the existing cucumber plants, which are close to done I think, or the cherry tomatoes.

I think I'm likely to get flowers if not fruit, and I was remarking a few weeks ago that cucumber is a fine ornamental with all those bright yellow flowers.

Comments

[ranunculus]

So far my cucumbers have way more flowers than fruit.

[redbird]

I got more flowers that fruit, but the flowers are almost done and I'm not going to get much more fruit.

[joseph_teller]

Our growing season is getting longer, as our winters are getting shorter, so its not impossible.

We've basically gained a day to the growing season each year over the past 20 years here in New England.... but our winters have become more unpredictable with a general trend towards more snow most years in all the major cities (except apparently Manchester NH) adding about 4 inches annually over the same time period on average to the winter. Our temperature extremes are also getting more severe (hotter summers and earlier).

[redbird]

All true, and I haven't been here long enough to have a feeling for what it "should" be.

And if all I get is the flowers, well, I'd rather look at cucumber flowers than a lot of plants that are sold for the flowers.