These cordon plants are sometimes called greenhouse cucumbers or English cucumbers. When mature, they can be 12 inches/30 cm long and up to almost 1 kg / 2 lb in weight. That would be too much for these small plants to grow and that’s why I’m pruning them in the way you see.
For how the plants look by late July, in two months time, see this video from 2024.
Filmed 30th May 2025 by Carly Dutton Edwards, iPhone 14, helped by the cat.
At Homeacres, Somerset UK.
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in my tunnel here I’m cropping a fantastic range of summer fruits including tomatoes and cucumbers And I want to show you the early stages of uh pruning them and how it’s good at this point when the plants are still small These are cordon cucumbers by the way So that’s not the same as ridge cucumbers which you grow on the ground and you don’t need to prune those at all nor take any fruit off or anything So that’s ridge cucumbers usually outside sprawling on the ground These are different type They’re called cordon or greenhouse cucumbers And I’m actually Look there’s a baby cucumber I’m taking it out This might seem crazy but at this stage these cucumbers can grow really big Like as long as 30 cm 12 in Yeah the first one’s maybe not quite so big but if you leave them on at this point this stage of growth the cucumber then puts a lot of energy into growing that fruit and it reduces the growth of the actual plant So I want to keep this plant growing really strongly and I won’t allow any cucumbers to develop because I’m taking another one out there now You know you could even go right there This one is a real tiddly little cucumber you know that’s a very baby cucumber Uh I when they’re about waist height that’s when I let the first ones grow And always the plants pulling down a bit on these strings The strings buried in the planting hole with the knotted on the end And and so the first cucumber will be probably about this level And you know that even that then the bottom end is not that far off the ground So you’ll get a lovely straight cucumber doing it this way And it’s a variety called Carmen was planted two weeks ago and it’s now warm So they’re growing like crazy
34 Comments
que comoda esta mintie mister charly ❤️los pepinos tienen el mismo cuidado de los calabacines?
Minty!!! Long time no see. ❤️❤️❤️
Good cucumber video too.😁
Good evening!
Does this also apply to tomatoes, or paprika, plants from the cucurbit family ? As far as I know, for example strawberries are often pruned in a similar manner..
Now I love you automatically more for having a cat❤❤️❤️❤️
Beautiful cat 😉
Thank you for this advice
I thought Minty made some excellent points too 😁👍🏻
I got my first okra today 😊
Thank you. Love for sweet Minty. 💚
I just watched this for the cat and was not disappointed
I grew gherkins last year & now have a dozen jars of pickles.
This year I'm back to Marketmore, Burpless & another variety which escapes me.
Minty's the twin of my late mother's 'pet' feral who we're gradually turning into felis domestica
🤣 gotta love minty 🤭 makes perfect sense with the wee flowers 👍
There's something incredibly pleasant about watching these videos
I’ve got a Green House this year and brought cucumbers on From seeds they’re coming on nicely. Is it best to keep them in the greenhouse or outside?
I just wondered about your cat. I do like cats, but I don’t like them when they poop in my garden. What can you recommend? 😏 I’ve got two recycle buckets that I’m going to try and do my own soil with this year. Do you recommend that I put the bucket with a hole in the bottom on soil area?
It's nice to that your cat does exactly what mine does when I'm on zoom calls with people. Must be in frame and on camera every time.
Buena técnica, yo la hago en pimientos e incluso tomates, no sabía que en otra variedad de pepinos también, lo primero que cosecho en primavera son los pepinos y calabacines, ahora están en plena producción.Este fin de semana, 45 grados 🥵
The cat 😂😂😂😂❤
I am in love with this guy
I love that literally every comment mentions Minty. Edit: haha I had to come back because I forgot to ask what kind of twine that is? I used jute because that's all I could find but I'm worried it will break.
Thanks charles first year for me growing cucumbers and its carmen im growing so these nuggets of good info are great. Thanks.
Thanks for the content, does the same principle stand for squash also?
Hi Charles, its been awhile since I watched you, during lock down etc I found such joy and calm in learning from you as I had access to a little garden, Nature and animals and art are what I love and I hope I can create my own life set up to do those things.
Now kitty always love to be involved in any gardening, I am sure they sniff lots of interesting things as we fidget about..😅😅 ..who knew that kitties are also very much gind benefit in being in the garden ..heavens she is so lovely, the way she perched on your lap, mid squat 😅❤ ..Thank you for all you do and share ..I will share videos with the kids I teach english/art ..we watch together😊😊Lia
Loved seeing the cat .will watch it again 🙏thank you for sharing
Loving your videos! Can you do a demo on how to tie up support for tomatoes please ❤
Greetings Charles!! I have a Calico cat Garden companion, too🐾🐾🌱💚 Her name is Lyric,,, found her (as a MuddyKitten) trapped in a tipped-over Tomato pot😂😺Thanks for CukeCare insights, Charles, BeWell🌱🌱🌞
Its hilarious that in the time it took to record this, the cat just HAD to be on your lap 😂
For some reason, whenever I crouch to do stuff in the garden, mine needs to get up on my shoulders (I suspect bc it did so regularly as a kitten… except back then I was sitting on the couch, and it wasn't 3ft tall and 16lbs 😂)
Can you do this with squash and courgettes?
I never had a grandpa, so I pretend you’re mine and are teaching me all about gardening. I’m soaking the knowledge up like a sponge. My girls and I now have a huge garden and I am passing what you taught me down to them. Thank you for sharing your experience with the world. ❤
I just want to know is your cat a boy or girl, so affectionate and pretty 😊
My little tuxedo girl sits on me like that every time I crouch down, haha. It’s wonderful. I can’t get anything done. 🥒 🐈⬛
The cat is like, “ Yeah, I think we have time for this.”
Kitty 🐱 ❤
Your cucumbers don’t seem to have those tendrils that reach out to grab onto things for support. The variety I’m trying this year, a yellow Dutch variety ‘gele tros’, is resisting me wrapping the cord around the stem by making numerous tendrils that wrap around the cord instead, and anything else nearby. It’s at knee height now. I’m thinking to just give it bamboo supports and let it do what it wants 😂
Beautiful cat. It may have undercut your lesson a bit.