Geoff McCabe

Giant Cucumbers

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Giant Costa Rica Cucumbers

Cucumbers seem to grow very easily here, and to tremendous size. And contrary to popular belief, we’ve found that even the largest cucumbers till taste great.

Did you know that cucumbers are covered with prickly little spines before being picked? They are easily knocked off and aren’t too sharp, but they give a bit of a sting when you first handle them.

How to grow cucumbers

Ours grow very quickly and we are trying to have them growing vertically as well as horizontally, to hopefully keep bugs off them. We do this by planting living “madera negro” posts in rows and then string galvanized (rust-proof) steel wire between them and then tie the vines on as they grow up.

But, they seem to run out of steam, yellow, and dry up after producing a few of the cucumbers. We’re trying to figure out why, and my current guess is that they’re simply using up all the available nutrition in the soil and they need a lot more compost. If anyone can help with this, please let me know!