First Cucumbers

We are very excited at here at the farm...........it is very close to cucumber season.  Our family can literally eat a 1/2 bushel of these yummy little guys a day at the peak of the growing season.  No matter how many we have or for how long, the kid's (or our) hunger for them does not wane.  I have considered putting an electric, kid proof fence around the cucumber patch in past years but my husband and I are as bad as the kids.  From the time someone notices that first little cucumber to the long awaited bite (since cucumbers grow so fast), all six of us tend to check on that little guy at least twice a day hoping to be the one to pick it and have it all to ourselves.  This is where character training comes in handy.  By character training I mean learning to share.  Since the kids usually beat me out to the garden, I am very glad that I taught our kids to share.  The unsaid rule has always been that we share the first cucumber of the season but the rest are up for grabs.  I must confess that there have been tussles over cucumbers if the patch isn't producing fast enough.

I planted 10 hills of cukes this spring thinking that we would have enough.  Since seeing the first little cuke last week, my husband suggested that we find another place to plant a few more cucumbers in case we run short.  Personally I think he is hoping to have his own secret patch to himself.  I know it won't work because I swear the kids can smell them, in fact I know they can since I have tried to hide a few here and there and I am always found out.  All kidding aside, we have found a couple of little guys and hope to have some cucumbers to eat maybe by next week.  Unfortunately, two of the kids are going to stay with their grandparents for a couple of weeks and may not get to help us eat the first one but I am sure that by the time they come home, there will be plenty to plunder in the garden.