A seed variety to try

By Jennifer

What ARE those?

That's the question I got all summer when I shared these prickly yellow orbs from my garden with family and neighbors.
So let's slice one open, shall we?

What do you think now?

If you guessed cucumber, you're right on the money. "Lemon cucumber" to be exact, an heirloom variety dating back to the 1800s -- and we prize heirlooms here at Backyard Farming!
A lover of all things lemon-flavored, I plucked this seed packet from the store display just for the name. Even though I soon learned lemon has nothing to do with the cucumber's flavor, just its size and color, I will definitely plant it again this season. It is easy to grow and produces crisp, crisp, crisp flesh in abundance.

The cucumbers start pale green and mature to their namesake yellow when full size, about 3 to 4 inches. The picture of my bowl full of them represents one picking, and all this from one plant! I grew the plant on a trellis. At first I'd get a handful of cukes per harvest, then as summer continued I could get this many cucumbers at once, about every two weeks. 

A cucumber variety this prolific is perfect for pickling, and that's just what I did. I picked up a bread and butter pickle mix from the canning aisle at my grocery store, and it was a breeze. The package directions were to slice, combine mix with vinegar and sugar, heat, then can. No peeling required in that recipe. If you venture into pickling this summer, have all your ingredients and supplies on hand, THEN head to the garden. Cucumbers can lose their freshness quickly, so for best results make pickles as soon after harvest as possible.

Follow your recipe precisely.

As eager (practically stir-crazy!) as I am to start my garden again this year, I actually appreciate the season of evalulation and planning that winter offers. I'd love to learn from all of you. So tell us, what are some of your favorite seed varieties? 

Give me something else that will make people say, "What ARE those?" I get a kick out of that.