See update 1/30/12 below
I started growing an heirloom called Lemon Cucumbers this spring. My seed package did not have a picture. I thought the cucumbers would have a hint of lemon, hence their name lemon cucumbers.
In the last month, my cucumber plants have been going wild with flowers and these yellow tennis balls have been emerging. Thinking that they will eventually turn green and elongate, I just left them on the vine.
Week after week, these tennis balls with facial hair kept getting bigger, but did not turn green. I finally picked on and cut it open. The rind was a little tough and there was a lot of seeds like a melon. The cucumbers did not have a particular taste. I thought they were kind of bland. Plus, they made me burp.
Thinking that I left these cucumbers on the vine too long, I looked up what should the cucumbers look like. There on the internet, plain as day, was my yellow hairy tennis balls.
Did I let them stay on the vine too long?
Again, I went back to the internet and found different stories of when to pick them. Some blogs said pick them when they are green and small. Others said yellow and small.
What should they taste like? Some said sweet but the skin will be tough if you leave them on the vine too long. Mine were definitely not sweet.
Readers, I need help. When should I pick these lemon cucumbers and how should they taste?
Update 1/30/2012: I have now been growing them for over 3 years and they are far the easiest cucumber to grow. You have to pick them when they are smaller or they will be too seedy. (See comments below.) For some recipes see here. I even pickled them. See here for the recipe.
{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Pick them when they are small and yellow. Their great with just a sprinkle of salt… Oh and they taste like a cucumber.
Hi Paul-thanks for the comment. How small is small? Mine are usually tennis ball size with a five o’clock shadow. I was told that they were supposed to taste a little lemony. Did you taste a lemon flavor?
Paul’s website is http://www.sustainablefoodservice.net/, which provides “product information, resources, news and operational assistance to foodservice operators interested in sustainability.”
Come back and visit often so that you can share your knowledge on sustainability and help me with my plant mysteries!
I think they are better when they are smaller than a tennis ball because you don’t have so much of the mooshy, seed part, but they are definately edible at tennis ball size. Thats actually about the size I’ve been picking them because I didn’t get to them soon enough. I don’t think they are supposed to have a lemon taste, just look like lemons. My plants have been going crazy and we have way too many of them…
Thanks for the plug of my site. I need to get to work on it and finish it up…
Cheers
Paul
Thanks again, Paul for your comments. Did you find that you had a problem with powdery mildew, and the leaves became brown as soon as the cucumbers started to grow? I was wondering if this was the nature of this cucumber or all cucumbers.
Are you an experienced gardener or like me, my vegetables grow despite my mistakes? I hope you will come back again and comment, and good luck with your website. Keep us informed when it is finished.
Readers, I write alot about organic gardening in addition to green living content. Alot of time I need help and post questions about my garden. Could use the help from fellow gardeners!
This was very helpful. We just started to garden in containers in Tucson, Ariz. and bought some lemon cucmber plants. Much like your experience – we have these yellow globes about the size of a fist and were wondering if they should get bigger before picking them. I’ll go harvest them this morning and see how they taste for dinner tonight. Thanks again for providing this information to “new” gardeners who are learning as we go.
WEW, if you let them get too big they just get seedy. Tell me what you think compared to regular cukes.
Learn from my mistakes! I have lots of gardening posts. Just check the category, gardening, which is listed on the far right hand side column. Anna
hi
i have lemon cucumbers, can you tell me please if you have to take the male flowers off? they are growing in a green house
JAN
.-= JAN´s last blog ..WS: Trip to FeilongShan =-.
Jan, I don’t recall if I get flowers. You may have something different than me. I am growing them now, so I will pay attention. Anna
Yep, as it has said within this blog, if they get bigger than a tennis ball, the seeds become hard and BIG! And the rind is rather tough. As for the taste, they taste very similer to a green cuke, but I believe there is a slight hint of a “lemon taste without the sour.” I know, crazy, for what does a lemon taste like without the sour? But I think this will enlighten you… Put two or three drops of lemon in an eight oz. glass of water, then picture that taste coupled with a cucumbers taste.
So, as for texture, if you’re not looking for a good colon cleansing, pick them when they’re about the size of a ripe meyer’s lemon rather than the size of a ripe eureka lemon.
Interesting Note…
Did you ever hear that fruits and vegatables mimic the shape of what God intended them being good for? ie. carrots=eyes, brocolli=lungs, avocado=ovaries, etc… Lemon Cucumbers= well, I’ll let you figure it out, LOL…
Happy Gardening
Joe, I love your comment about how veggies look like the parts of our bodies. Thanks for the comment about when to know when a lemon cucumber is ripe for eating. Anna
Hello, wow thanks for all the info from everyone. They grow great in the green upside down thing. Happy Gardening I can’t wait to try one.
.-= Glenna´s last blog ..16 months old Jaxie =-.
Glenna,
That is good to know in case I run out of room in my garden. This cuke is so hearty. It keeps growing and growing. Anna
I prefer to eat them when they are tennis ball sized. If your seeds were hard you definitely left them on the vine to long. I usually pick them at just about tennis ball sized. They generally have a milder cucumber taste for me. Still better than what you get in the store.
.-= Lucynda Riley´s last blog .. =-.
Lucynda, thanks for the advice. I think mine get too big. Anna
I’m not an authority but I think you should pick them small ; a little larger than a lemon. Much larger and they get seedy. They’re not supposed to taste lemony,just grow yellow and relatively small, hence the name “lemon”. Art
Hi,
I was wondering what is the average growth time on the lemon cucumber? I have a container garden and planted them in early June. I have three large vines and many blossoms that have some forming at the base but they are not getting any bigger. I am new to gardening and in the past had a black thumb killing everything in my path. I am really surprised to see everything still very green and anxious to taste my success. Any information would be great.
Angela, about 55-65 day. I am zone 5, and I plant cukes 2 weeks after frost date which is Memorial Day for me. You planted a little later so you cukes will come later. Anna
Lemon cucumbers are very susceptible to powdery mildew and I seemed to get it every year, which usually ruined my plant and fruiting! This year, I used an organic spray for powdery mildew and sprayed BEFORE the plant was infected, and it worked! No powderly mildew, just lots of flowers and new lemon cucumbers! I also give it plenty of breathing room and no overhead watering in the evening!
Mine get powdery mildew too. I found spraying them with 7 parts water to one part milk seems to keep it at bay. Which spray do you use? Anna
I’m in Illinois, and while I planted in late June, I picked my first lemon cuke just this morning. It was the only mature one, but I now have dozens of ‘gestating’ cukes to come, if an early frost doesn’t get them first.
As to when to pick, I follow the guidelines that say ‘light green with just a hint of yellow’ rather than pay any attention to size. I understand that the full yellow color signals the beginning of the cuke’s cycle change into preparing the seeds for the next generation.
I guess I never noticed that they are ever light green. Shows you how much I pay attention to the cukes:) Let me know what you think of them. I made a cucumber yogurt sauce with them and sweet pickled them. Anna
Anna@Green Talk´s last [type] ..Recycled Leather Tiles. Just What the Green Designer Ordered
I discovered them when I lived in California, before moving to Illinois. I can’t find them here, so the last resort was to grow my own. I just love them, and really missed them a lot.
My favorite uses are in salads of any kind; cut fairly thick to use with a dip; and just eating like an apple with just a wee pinch of salt.
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