The Cucumber family, properly known as the Cucurbitaceae (cu-cur-bit-A-cee-ee), provides a wide variety of vegetables popular in the summer home vegetable garden.
Members of the Cucumber family that can be planted now include summer squash, winter squash, mirliton, pumpkin, gourd (edible and ornamental), musk melon, honeydew, cucuzzi, watermelon, cantaloupe, cushaw, luffa and, of course, cucumber.
All of these vegetables produce vines that run along the ground or climb. Summer squash vines are rather short and thick and so are more bush-like than other commonly grown members of the family.
Members of the Cucumber family produce separate male and female flowers, but they occur on the same plant (monoecious is the botanical term for this). This habit of producing separate sex flowers on the same plant has led to some confusion.
Take mirlitons. Each fruit contains one large seed, and the seed sprouts while still in the fruit. So we plant the entire fruit, generally with the sprouted seed growing out the bottom end.
Many gardeners insist that you need to plant two mirliton fruits, a male and a female, to ensure production. There is no such thing as a male or female mirliton fruit. Remember, each plant produces both male and female flowers on the same plant.
Male flowers produce the pollen that fertilizes the eggs in the ovary of the female flowers, leading to fruit formation (insects transfer the pollen). It is the fruit of these vegetables that we harvest to eat.
It's important to understand that only the female flowers actually develop into fruit. Cucumbers, for instance, produce enormous numbers of male flowers compared with female flowers.
I have talked to many a gardener who thought they were about to see a bumper crop of cucumbers, only to watch in stunned disappointment as all of the flowers fell off without producing cucumbers.
To distinguish the male flowers from the female flowers in members of the cucumber family, it is necessary to look at them closely.
The showy part of the flower is often very similar between the sexes; it is behind the flower where the differences can be observed. The female flower possesses an ovary that looks like a miniature version of the fruit that will eventually form.
The female flower of a cucumber, for instance, is connected to the vine by what looks like a tiny cucumber. The ovary of a female squash flower looks like a tiny squash.
Squash are among the most popular and productive of the warm-season vegetables. Most households need only a few plants to supply them with an abundance of squash, and now is an excellent time to plant seeds or transplants into the garden.
The short-vine, bushy summer squash plants are rather large (24 to 36 inches across), so make sure you space them properly in the garden.
The fruit is harvested immature while it is young and tender (your thumbnail easily penetrates the rind). Commonly grown summer squashes are yellow crookneck, yellow straightneck, zucchini, scallop and cocozelle.
Winter squash usually have a more vining growth habit and need more room to grow than summer squash.
Their fruit is allowed to remain on the vine until fully matured, when the rind is hard (you cannot penetrate the rind with your thumbnail).
The name winter squash does not refer to when they are grown, but rather to the fact that the fruit store well, and may be stored and consumed during the winter. Examples of winter squash locally grown are butternut, acorn, Turk's turban and Hubbard.
Cucumbers are generally an easy vegetable to grow. Plant seeds or transplants into your garden now.
Most gardeners allow cucumber vines to grow along the ground, but it is highly recommended that you trellis them. Provide a sturdy trellis 3 to 4 feet tall, and space plants along the base about 6 inches apart.
Tests conducted at LSU AgCenter Research Stations show substantial yield increases for trellised cucumbers as well as fewer disease problems and better-quality cucumbers.
One of my favorite members of this family is the luffa gourd. This vine does triple duty in the garden. With dark green leaves that stay healthy all summer and large, bright yellow male flowers, it is attractive enough to be used as an ornamental annual vine.
In addition, the fruit is edible when 6 to 8 inches long and can be sliced, breaded and fried like okra. Indeed, two old common names for this gourd, climbing okra and Chinese okra, refer to its similarity to okra in flavor when fried.
When the gourds are mature and the skin turns brown, it can be peeled away to reveal the most remarkable aspect of this plant -- a tough network of fibers which make an excellent sponge.
When a plant will provide beautiful flowers, edible fruit and a sponge to clean up with, well, you can't ask much more than that.
Dealing with pests
As with all vegetables, there are pests that must be dealt with on occasion. Early planting of summer squash will reduce problems with squash vine borer, a caterpillar that bores into the stem of the plant, causing it to lose vigor and stop producing.
Leaf-eating caterpillars are also an occasional problem on members of this family. Control these pests with BT insecticides.
Beetles also may chew on the leaves and can be controlled with pyrethrin, permethrin, carbaryl or other labeled insecticides.
Powdery mildew causes a white, powdery appearance to the foliage and can damage leaves. There are also a variety of leaf spots. These fungus diseases can be controlled, if needed, with a broad spectrum fungicide labeled for use on vegetables, such as copper or chlorothalonil.
Other vegetables that may be planted from seeds in early April include collards, corn, lima beans and snap beans.
Plant seeds of okra, Southern peas and yardlong beans in late April.
Plant transplants of tomatoes, peppers and bell peppers in early April, and plant transplants of eggplants and slips (rooted cuttings) of sweet potatoes in late April.
DAN GILL'S MAILBOX
I have an extra small bed that is not planted yet, but it only gets maybe four or so hours of sun per day. Is there any vegetable I can plant there so the space won't be wasted? I have planted onions and turnips there in the past, but they are winter crops. Any suggestions are appreciated.
Summer crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, beans and cucumbers, are generally fruiting crops and need full sun for best production. Vegetables grown for their leaves or roots are generally more reliably productive in less than full sun. There just aren't that many summer vegetables grown for leafy greens or roots (Malabar spinach and amaranth come to mind, neither very popular). Reduced sun will cause reduced harvests of fruiting vegetables, but you might still get something if you want to give it a try.
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I am considering the purchase of an avocado tree. Is that wise for our area? I live in Kenner. Will I really have decent-size fruit? Will it freeze easily? I have several citrus trees, and they all did just fine this winter.
Avocados are not as hardy as citrus, but many people have grown and harvested avocados for many years on the south shore (north shore gardeners take a big risk planting avocados). Traditionally, avocados were only grown from pits because local nurseries did not commonly carry the trees. These days, grafted, named varieties of avocados are available at area nurseries. These trees will generally be hardier and produce superior fruit to seed-grown trees. So, there is some risk from cold, but there is a reasonable expectation of enough success to make it worth planting these trees on the south shore.
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We have some crape myrtles we would like to replace for no reason other than aesthetics. We have been thinking of a Japanese cherry because we like their appearance. Some of the Web sites we are looking at indicate that they should do well here. A local seller, however, said that they would not, because they are not tropical and are susceptible to borers. The area we are planting in has full and direct sun. Please give us your opinion on the feasibility of Japanese cherry trees in the New Orleans area. Thank you very much.
When thinking about a type of plant that will be reliable here, it's a good idea to look around and see if it is widely planted in our area and has a reputation of doing well. Japanese cherries are amazingly beautiful spring-flowering trees that are very popular in the United States. However, no matter how hard you look, you will find few, if any, growing in New Orleans. That should be a red flag right there. As to researching plants like the Japanese cherry on the Internet, if the Web sites that indicate Japanese cherries should grow well in south Louisiana are created by people in south Louisiana and show pictures of Japanese cherries growing in south Louisiana (or at least the Gulf Coastal South), then you can take them at their word. Otherwise, they don't necessarily know what they are talking about and may steer you wrong. As it turns out, Japanese cherries have been a dismal failure in south Louisiana despite repeated planting. Two varieties are sometimes recommended for the Deep South, Kwanzan and Okame. Both have been planted on numerous occasions in the New Orleans area and tended to do poorly. The only flowering cherry that performs consistently well in the area is the Taiwan cherry, which is native to a mild winter climate. New Orleans, despite the local seller's comment, has a mild, temperate climate, not a tropical or sub-tropical climate -- as, I think, the January freeze reminded us.
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Dan Gill is extension horticulturist with the LSU Ag Center.
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