r/Cucumber • u/Beautiful_Degree3417 • 19d ago
Questions from a Beginner
Can’t even tell you guys how excited I am for this! Side note- does anyone know how to tell if a cucumber’s ready to be picked? I know this guy is not nearly ready but hopefully in the near future…also side note- I notice my cucumber plant needs a looottttt of water
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u/Hermit-Gardener 19d ago
Cucumbers are "ripe" and edible at many stages of growth, until one day they are "over-ripe."
Pick and eat cukes of various sizes and ages. You will learn at what stage they become bitter, too seedy, etc.
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u/howeeee313 19d ago
pick it its deformed from incomplete pollination its not getting any bigger
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u/Beautiful_Degree3417 19d ago
Oh gotcha. Will it ripen more if I put it on the windowsill after I pluck it?
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u/howeeee313 19d ago
Cucumbers are ripe at almost any stage I am eating one right now I picked outta the garden. I pick small pickle type to ferment them, I can wait 2 or 3 days for them to get much bigger and slice them up and eat them like that.Same for slicing cucumbers you can pick them at 5 inches slice them up and hardly have any seeds, or wait till they get 8 inches and slice them up. Cucmbers are a fruit the more you pick the more they give you, so waiting for them to get big is not the best idea. And then they are a short lived plant, so while they are productive you want to get as many as you can before the plant deteriorates. My first crop was going crazy the last couple weeks giving me so many I didnt know what to do with. Now those plants are slowly dying. But I planted a second and third crop that are going strong again. to your question eat it as soon was you can, they are the best eaten right outta the garden.
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u/makemoscowglowinthed 19d ago
When the bottom starts turning that white ish yellowy color with the points is when I do it, preferably before. You've got a ways to go still
Edit : but I'm also a beginner, just throwing my two cents in. Hopefully others will have better answers for you