Cucumber - Poinsett 76

Grow straight, white-spined slicing cucumbers with crisp white flesh for the table or pickle jar.

Straight fruit with crisp flesh

Poinsett 76 makes straight, dark green cucumbers with white spines. Mature fruit averages about 8½ inches long and 2½ inches across, with crisp, tender white flesh. Use it as a slicer for sandwiches, salads, or fresh spears. The firm fruit also suits a pickle batch when you want one variety to cover both jobs. Plants reach harvest in about 75 days, giving you a clear planning point for the first picking.

Give the vines a warm start

Cucumbers are warm-season plants. Wait until frost danger has passed and the soil is warm before sowing outside. Sow seed half an inch deep. In suitable conditions, germination takes about eight days. Choose a sunny location with soil that drains well. Vines need room to run, or a sturdy support to lift them off the ground. If you train them upward, guide young growth gently so the stems do not snap.

Keep the basket moving

Once the vines set fruit, check them often. Cucumbers can hide beneath large leaves, so lift the foliage carefully and look along each runner. Frequent picking encourages continued fruit production. Use a knife or pruners to cut each cucumber from the vine rather than twisting the stem loose. Pick while fruit remains dark green and firm. If a cucumber grows much larger, the seeds can harden and the flesh can lose the tender texture that makes it useful for slicing.

Slice some and pickle the rest

The clean white flesh makes a crisp slice for a sandwich or a quick cucumber salad. Cut spears for a chilled snack, or use similarly sized fruit when preparing pickles so the pieces fit the jar together. For pickles, use fresh fruit and trim a thin slice from the blossom end before packing. Store the rest cool and use it while the flesh still has its snap. A small bowl of freshly sliced Poinsett 76 beside lunch is an easy way to use the first ripe fruit before a larger picking comes in.