The Star: November 16, 2017

36 Thursday November 16 2017
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
The Star
Gardening
Nothing beats home-grown cucumbers
• By Henri Ham
I OFTEN hear gardeners
say nothing beats eating
home-grown fruit and vegetables.
In fact, I say the same thing
myself. And if I had to pick one
plant that this really rings true for
– I would pick cucumber.
The cucumbers we have grown
in the last few seasons have been
crisp, juicy, cool, delicious and
would, no question, beat storebought
cucumber by miles any
time.
So, if you only plant one
vegetable this season, though
technically a fruit, I strongly recommend
you consider cucumber.
And don’t stop with just telegraph
cucumber (the long, skinny one
most commonly found in the
supermarket), try growing a
selection of cucumbers. Lebanese
has tender, edible skin with sweet,
mild-tasting flesh.
Short-green is great for growing
in smaller gardens as it produces
a lot of fruit but only requires one
third of the space of other cucumbers.
And apple looks much
like an apple (opposed to the long
look of a telegraph cucumber)
and it grows really nicely along
the ground.
Once you’ve got your plants, it’s
time to find a place to plant them.
They like a warm, dry and sunny
spot to grow in. And most varieties
will need a bit of space.
SUCCULENT: Apple
cucumbers will grow along
the ground and are a good
companion plant. Telegraph
cucumbers (right) will need to
be staked.
Telegraph and short green
cucumbers will need to either be
staked or grown next to something
they can grow up – like
a trellis. Plant these varieties
around 1m apart so each plant
has its own trellis/area to spread
over.
Apple cucumbers will happily
grow along the ground and
are a good companion plant for
zucchini as they like the same
conditions.
For a regular-sized bundle with
three seedlings you’ll need an area
around 2m x 2m and each seedling
should be planted about 1m
apart. I like to imagine I’m planting
them in the shape of a triangle
and each seedling goes on one of
the points of the triangle, this way
the plants are grouped together
but have enough room to spread
out.
Dig in some compost or
leftover potting mix into the soil
to ensure its friable (breaks up)
before you plant.
To encourage fruiting it’s a
good idea to plant your cucumbers
(and zucchini) near some
bee-attracting plants like lavender
or borage. Doing this will help
ensure the bees pollinate your
plants and as a consequence the
fruit develop.
If the plants aren’t pollinated
properly the flowers will fall off
and no fruit will develop. If you’d
like to be really sure they’re pollinated,
try touching the pollen
on each plant with a paintbrush
– this will spread the pollen from
one flower to the next.
I was once told by someone
that you could do the same with
an electric toothbrush, minus the
toothbrush head. I’m yet to try
this approach but would love to
hear from anyone who has.
In around 10 to 12 weeks you
should be able to enjoy the cool
and juicy taste of home-grown
cucumbers.
Many different varieties of tasty basil
• By Henri Ham
THERE ARE a couple of plants
where growers regularly report
that they find a little tricky
to grow. Coriander is one.
Watermelon is another. And the
one that always surprises me is
basil.
Basil is such a great plant to
have on hand. And there are so
many different varieites available
to try, I thought this month I’d
share my advice on how to get the
best out of your basil and move it
off that ‘tricky to grow’ list.
Basil loves the heat. So my first
piece of advice, is look for the
sunniest spot in your garden and
that’s where you should put your
basil.
If the sunniest spot at your
place is in your home (for example
by a kitchen window), then
try growing your basil there. Basil
grows really well in pots and can
easily be kept inside.
When you’ve found the right
spot to grow it just dig a little hole
and plant. If you’re growing it in
a pot I recommend using a good,
general potting mix.
My second tip for successful
basil is, pick it regularly. If
you don’t pick it quick enough
it might start to go to seed. If it
does, just pick off any developing
flower heads to encourage it to
stick to leaf growing.
Next, basil needs water but its
very important you don’t overwater
it. Water it when you plant
it and then water it regularly to
encourage lots of leaf growth. But,
and here’s the important advice,
let it dry out between waterings –
don’t let it stay wet.
And my last piece of advice is,
don’t just stick to sweet basil – try
growing cinnamon, Thai, lemon,
or one of the other varieties. A
good way of sampling the other
varieties is by getting a mixed
basil bundle which will include a
selection of some of the different
basil varieties.
If you do all of the above, basil
will quickly move to your list of
favourite, low-maintenance, easycare
plants.
EASY-CARE: Cinnamon basil
has a distinctive taste.
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