Cucumber Long de Chine is a very attractive, long, slender, bright dark green cucumber with a strange bend in the neck of the fruit. It has a deliciously mild flavour. Long de Chine is very easy digestable. It's also known as Chinese Snakes.
Cucumber is a very healthy and versatile vegetable. Cucumber contains a.o.: vitamin A, B1, B2, B6, B11 and C. And the minerals: sodium, calcium, potassium, phosphor, iron, magnesium, copper and zinc. It also contains a lot of fibres and nutrients and very little carolies. You can cook, fry, bake, stir-fry, stew, steam and use it raw and as a healthy snack. You can also make a cooling soup with cucumber in the summertime. Cucumber is delicious in combination with: lettuce, sweet pepper, cheese, chicken, salmon, appel, carrot, mint, chives, onion, eggs, rice, pasta, prawns, potatoes, paprikapowder, beef, radishes and nuts. Non hardy annual.
Indoor sowing: end of March - middle of May
Outdoor sowing: May - June
Germination: 5 - 10 days
Germination temp.: 20 - 22 °C
Sowing depth: 1 - 1½ cm
Transplanting seedlings: At least 3 weeks after sowing soiltemp. 15 - 18 °C
Plant spacing: 80 - 100 cm
Plant position: sunny (greenhouse)
Harvest period: July - October
Sow indoors from March on in separate pots filled with moist potting soil. Sow 1 seed per pot approx. 1 - 1½ cm deep and sow the seed sideways to prevent rotting. Cover the seed with a layer of potting soil. Keep the germination temperature at a minimal of 20 °C. Put the pots somewhere warm. Keep the temperature as even as possible and don't let the temperature drop during the night. Keep the soil moist in the pot, but not too wet to prevent rotting.
Transplant the seedlings on a warm, sheltered, well-manured spot with freedraining soil, after approx. 3 weeks. Cucumbers are sensitive for root damage, so be carefull with their vulnerable rootsystem when you plant them out. Put your cucumberplants in a greenhouse or outdoors on a very sunny and sheltered plot.
Sow outdoors from the beginning of May, when there's no longer any danger of nightfrosts. Sow on a very sunny, sheltered spot with freedraining soil. Sow 2 seeds per hole approx. 2 cm deep and cover the seeds with a layer of soil. Thin the seedlings, when they're large enough to handle to 1 strongest per hole. Keep them 80 - 100 cm apart. Keep weedfree.
Cucumbers need a lot of space, sunlight, water, fertilizer and time to prosper. Give them a good amount of compost about 2 months prior to sowing. Give your plants a sturdy and large support. Harvest your cucumber by cutting them of the plants with a knife. Harverst regurlarly to ensure the growing of new cucumbers. You can store your cucumber for a couple of days outside the fridge on a cool spot. Give the plants, when the fruits are starting to grow some liquid tomato fertilizer every week. Give them every couple of days enough water. Water extra during dry-spells.
