Plus, no caterpillars (unlike the %&@$#* tomatoes)!

Before last summer, I thought cucumbers were largely pointless. They’re boring. Salad makers substitute them for Perfectly Good Vegetables That Actually Taste Like Something. They are often in large enough chunks that they hurt my too-sensitive teeth if they (the cucumbers, not my teeth) haven’t been out of the fridge long enough. They’re crunchy… but that isn’t sufficient. They are essentially cucumber-flavored-crunchy-water. Meh.

Except… now I love them. I started canning again a few years ago, and after my first batches of applesauce and raspberry sauce were met with approval, I wanted to make pickles. I loooooove dill pickles.

Unfortunately, it turns out the way to make decent dill pickles is to pickle the cukes no longer than 24 hours after they’ve been picked. And if you live in a big urban city, even a city with a fabulous farmer’s market, it’s not easy to find just-picked cucumbers.

So last summer I planted a pickling cucumber (that’s a variety as it turns out – who knew?) from a seedling. As anyone with more gardening experience than I have will tell you in a heartbeat, one plant does not equal a batch of pickles. The cucumbers are not all ready at one time and you can’t just pick one early and stash it until its siblings are ripe because of that 24-hour rule that got you gardening in the first place.

Once I realized the pickle plan was out, I tried eating one. My first reaction was “Wow, this peel is really tough.” I peeled it. Gingerly. Turns out right-off-the-vine cukes fight back: they’re covered with little spines.

Once it was defenseless, I tasted it again. What a revelation! Cucumbers are amazing! Sweet and crunchy and full of Genuine Summertime Vegetable taste! And when you pick them off the vine, they aren’t even tooth-chilllingly cold! I’m a convert.

This year I planted three seedlings. The Japanese cucumbers are mellow and have a mild peel that I can leave right on them thankyouverymuch, the pickling cucumbers are just as wonderful as they were last year, and the lemon cucumbers look good but I won’t be able to report on them until tomorrow or maybe the next day. It’s okay though – I can wait. I have high hopes.