How to Grow Apple Cucumbers
The apple cucumber is a variety of vining cucumber that produces small, apple-shaped fruit. The flesh of the apple cucumber is yellow, so it is also known as a crystal lemon cucumber. The apple cucumber grows best in full sun during the warm months of late spring and summer. It requires well-drained soil. While you can trellis the apple cucumber vines, it is easiest to lay down straw to keep the fruits off the ground. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Select a planting site that receives a full eight hours of sunlight daily and has well-draining soil. Apply a balanced, all-purpose fertilizer to the soil before planting. Follow the package directions for application instructions. Apply the fertilizer in late spring, when the soil warms to 70 degrees F.
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Create mounds in the planting site by pushing the soil up with your hands. Make each mound 12 inches across and 2 inches high. Space the mounds 16 inches apart. If you have more than one row, space the rows 3 feet apart. Water the mounds until the soil is moist.
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Push five apple cucumber seeds into each mound, blunt end downward, until they are just covered by the soil. Cover the soil between the mounds with a layer of straw. The straw will keep the fruits off the soil and prevent them from rotting.
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Wait for the apple cucumbers to germinate. Remove all but the two biggest plants from each mound. Reapply the fertilizer once a month, or as directed on the package.
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Prune the apple cucumber vines as they grow. When the main vine begins making side shoots, pinch them back so there are just two leaves beyond the first flower bud on the shoot. If any shoots grow that produce no flowers, remove them once they reach 2 feet in length.
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