1. Cucumber Cultivars and Cultural Practices for Patio Gardening Melisa Crane and Todd C. Wehner Department of Horticultural Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7609 Abstract Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) is one of the most popular vegetables grown in U.S. home gardens. The objectives of this study were to identify suitable cultivars and proper plant density for use with container-grown cucumber. Additional objectives were to determine the value of field trials for predicting cucumber performance in containers, and to evaluate different plant types (dwarf vs. tall, gynoecious vs. monoecious, pickling vs. slicing) for container use. Fourteen cultivars and breeding lines were tested at three densities in two seasons using a randomized complete block design with six replications. Pickling cucumbers were M 21, M 27, NC-74, 'NC-Danbury', 'NC-Dixon', 'Sumter', 'Vlaspik', and 'Picklebush'. Slicing cucumbers were 'Bush Whopper II', 'Spacemaster 80', 'Bush Champion', 'Marketmore 76', 'Dasher II', and 'Cherokee 7'. Plant densities were one, two, or three plants per container. For both the spring and summer container trials, there were corresponding field trials run at the same time for comparison. Best performance was obtained using three plants per container, or 4 L of soil volume per plant. There was a strong, significant correlation between patio and field trials, permitting gardeners to choose cucumber cultivars with high yield, high quality, and disease resistance using data from field trials. Pickling type cucumbers have thinner skin than slicing-type cucumbers that were bred for shipping. Gynoecious types must be planted with monoecious cultivars to assure fruit set. Monoecious types can self pollinate, and have the additional advantage of longer harvest period. Thus, home gardeners may want dwarf, monoecious, pickling types for best performance in containers. The best cultivar of that type was 'NC-Danbury'. Introduction - Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) ranks as a major vegetable crop around the world - Many people in the U.S. have small yards, with limited vegetable gardening space - Container gardening is increasing rapidly in the U.S. - There are limited extension recommendations for cucumber production in containers - There are some cultivar recommendations, but they are not consistent (Table 1) - Objectives: determine best conditions for container production of cucumber determine best types of cucumbers for use in container production recommend some cultivars suitable for container production References 1.Bass, L. 1999. Container vegetable gardening. North Carolina Cooperative Extension Service. Raleigh, NC. http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/hil-8105.html http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/hil/hil-8105.html 2.Bennett, P.J. Growing cucumbers in the home garden. Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet. Columbus, OH. www.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1608.html www.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1608.html 3.Bowman, D.P. 2002 Container gardens: everything you need to know to plan, plant, and care for a beautiful, low-maintenance garden. Michael Friedman Publisher Group, Inc. New York, NY. 4.Crandall, C. and B. Crandall. 1996. Planters, containers, & raised beds. Sterling Publishing Co., Inc. New York, NY 5.Cantliffe, D.J. and Phatak, S.C. 1975. Patio cucumbers, p. 10. In: A.A. Smith (ed.). All About Cucumbers. Harvard Press, New York, NY. 6.Demboski K., A. Swanberg, J.C. Martin. 2001. Container vegetable gardening. Ohio State University Extension Fact Sheet. Columbus, OH. www.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.htmlwww.ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1647.html 7.Guerra, M. 2000. The Edible container garden: growing fresh food in small spaces. Simon & Schuster. New York, NY 8.Gurney’s Seed & Nursery 2005 catalog. Greendale, IN. www.gurneys.comwww.gurneys.com 9.Harlan, J.R. 1975. Crops and Man. Amer. Soc. Agron., Madison, WI. 10.Harrison, H.C. 1996. Container gardening. University of Wisconsin-Extension leaflet A3382. http://www1.uwex.edu/ces/pubshttp://www1.uwex.edu/ces/pubs 11.McGee, R.M.N. and M. Stuckey. 2002. The Bountiful container. Workman Publishing Company. New York, New York. 12.SAS Institute. 2005. SAS/STAT User's guide, Release 9.1 edition. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC. 13.Sanders, D.C. 1997. Vegetable crop irrigation. North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service. Raleigh, NC http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-33-e.html http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-33-e.html 14.Schultheis, J.R. 2002. Fresh market production cucumbers. North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension Service. Raleigh, NC http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-14.htmlhttp://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-14.html 15.Southern Exposure Seed Exchange 2005 Catalog & Garden Guide. www.southernexposeure.comwww.southernexposeure.com 16. U.S. Census Bureau. 2002. Population profile of the United States: 2002. Ch 7: The places people live: housing, 1999. http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/2000/chap07.pdf http://www.census.gov/population/pop-profile/2000/chap07.pdf 17.U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2005. Agricultural statistics. U.S. Department of Agr., National Agricultural Statistics Service, Washington, D.C., http://www.usda.gov/nass/pubs/agr05/05_ch4.PDFhttp://www.usda.gov/nass/pubs/agr05/05_ch4.PDF 18.University of California at Davis. Home vegetable gardening. Vegetable and Information Center. Davis, CA. http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/commodity/garden/crops/cucumber.pdf http://vric.ucdavis.edu/veginfo/commodity/garden/crops/cucumber.pdf 19.W.Atlee Burpee & Co. 2005. 2005 Seed Catalog. Warminster, PA. www.burpee.comwww.burpee.com 20.Wehner, T.C. 1989. Breeding for improved yield in cucumber; in: J. Janick, ed. Plant Breed. Rev. 6: 323-359. 21.Wolford, R. and Banks, D. University of Illinois Extension. http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/cucumber1.html#5http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/veggies/cucumber1.html#5 22.Wright, R. 1934. The History of gardening. Garden City, NY. Table 1. Recommended cucumber cultivars for patio production (number of recommendations based on literature recommendations). No.Cultivars being recommended 6Spacemaster 4Bush Champion, Salad Bush 3Picklebush, Pot Luck, Salad Bush hybrid 2Burpee Hybrid II, Bush Crop, Bush Pickle Hybrid, Fanfare 1Burpee Hybrid, Burpee Pickler, Bush Whopper, Cornichon de Bourbonne, Marketmore, Patio Pik, Pickalot, Sweet Success, Victory Methods - Location: Horticultural Crops Research Station in Clinton, NC - Design: 14 cultigens, 3 plant densities, 2 seasons, 6 replications, 8 harvests - Spring season planted 9 May; summer season planted 11 August - Pickling cucumbers: M 21, NC-74, M 27, 'NC-Danbury', 'NC-Dixon', 'Sumter', 'Vlaspik', 'Picklebush' - Slicing cucumbers: 'Bush Whopper II', 'Spacemaster 80', 'Bush Champion', 'Marketmore 76', 'Dasher II', and 'Cherokee 7' Patio Trial - Container size: 12 L, with 1, 2, or 3 plants - Spacing: 1.5 x 1.5 m on raised beds covered with black plastic (Figure 1) - Irrigation: 1 hour per day in the morning (flow rate of 12 L/hr) Field Trial - Plots were single 6.1 m rows with 1.5 m alleys at each end - Rows were 1.5 m apart (center to center) Figure 1. Field layout of containers for cucumber experiment showing black plastic mulch, drip irrigation, and electric fence, spring 2005, Clinton, NC. NC STATE UNIVERSITY Figure 2. Fruit and vines of 'NC-Danbury' (dwarf-determinate pickling type) and 'Dasher II' (tall-indeterminate slicing type) cucumber hybrids. Table 2. Fruit yield and vine data for 3 cultivars and 3 densities tested in patio containers. PlantsYieldEarlyMarketableVine len.GynoecyPMDM Cultivar/potg/potg/pot%mm1-90-90-9 Dasher II11478488787337.31.03.2 21695503747047.41.03.0 32036625776667.11.03.0 Vlaspik11628649825678.01.03.3 21383593854557.61.03.3 32082726844758.01.03.8 NC-Danbury11381305729694.91.04.0 21665431919954.81.03.5 31799435869734.71.33.5 z Data are means of 2 seasons and 6 replications summed over 8 harvests. Table 3. Fruit yield and sex expression data for 14 cultivars and 2 seasons tested in patio containers vs. field plots. z Total yieldEarly yieldMarketable fruitGynoecious rating Cultivar or(g/pot)(Mg/ha)(g/pot)(Mg/ha)(%)(%)(1-9)(1-9) breeding linePatioFieldPatioFieldPatioFieldPatioField Pickling type NC-Danbury232139.54614.491893.75.0 NC-Dixon240455.950710.691913.76.0 M 21167142.35528.985793.87.0 M 27179226.43481.182874.34.0 NC-74239733.16505.193943.84.0 Picklebush259353.77648.088903.84.0 Sumter201149.16887.986853.55.0 Vlaspik282064.388515.695818.29.0 Slicing type Bush Champion225350.34016.680823.55.0 Bush Whopper II199625.23780.093824.33.0 Cherokee 7266165.577124.978845.84.0 Dasher II255563.679419.480927.07.0 Marketmore 76234433.24012.290965.23.0 Spacemaster 80304761.475622.183767.56.0 r (patio vs. field)0.93**0.73**0.68**0.51* z Data are means of 2 seasons and 6 replications summed over 8 harvests. Results Patio Trial - Yield in the spring was 300% higher than the summer season - Yield was highest at 3 plants/container (Table 2) - Pickling type would be a good choice for the thin skin on the fruit - Slicing type would be a good choice for longer keeping ability - No increase in powdery or downy mildew with increasing plant density - Monoecious type has longer harvest season; does not require a pollenizer - Dwarf type takes less patio space - Best monoecious dwarf cultivar was 'NC-Danbury' (Figure 2) Patio vs. Field Trial - Strong correlations between patio and field (Table 3) - For total yield (r=0.93), early yield (r=0.73) - For % marketable fruit (r=0.68), powdery mildew (r=0.74) - Patio gardeners can get good information from field trial publications