I'm a newcomer to this food-growing lark, so please forgive any inane
questions. I'm trying to grow gherkin plants in a very limited amount of
space - I've got 3 plants per 25-cm diameter pot, and they seem to be doing
OK, despite warnings on the seed packet that they need 10 square feet per
plant. Does anyone else have any experience with growing gherkins in pots,
and if so do they have any useful advice? Also, they've been growing for
about a month and a half now, and I was wondering if I should be pruning. I
found a website saying I should just cut off the very tip of the growing
plant - is this sensible advice? Or should I just leave them to grow?

Any help would be gratefully received - I've become obsessively attached to
my little gherkins and want to see them grow big and strong.

Best wishes,

Mike

I've never grown gherkins, but I do grow other other types of cucumbers in
pots.

I currently have three 3-gallon pots, each with 3 young cucumber plants
(about 18" tall) in them.

This is actually my second round of cukes this year. The first ones got big,
produced like crazy, then got diseased and died. I can never seem to keep
cucumbers alive all season, so I just plan on planting more at midsummer.
I'll plant one more crop (of parthenocarpic cukes) in September and see how
long I can keep them going in my greenhouse this fall/winter.

Cucumbers don't seem to have a very extensive root system. The reason they
need lots of room is so their vines can climb and spread. I *think* that if
you keep them fed and watered (which may be require twice-daily waterings in
such a small pot), they will get big enough to produce. But I don't think
they will get as big or produce as much as they would in the ground or in a
larger container.

Good luck,
Laura
NW FL, USDA Zone 8b



"Mike Le Pelley" wrote in message
...
I'm a newcomer to this food-growing lark, so please forgive any inane
questions. I'm trying to grow gherkin plants in a very limited amount of
space - I've got 3 plants per 25-cm diameter pot, and they seem to be
doing
OK, despite warnings on the seed packet that they need 10 square feet per
plant. Does anyone else have any experience with growing gherkins in pots,
and if so do they have any useful advice? Also, they've been growing for
about a month and a half now, and I was wondering if I should be pruning.
I
found a website saying I should just cut off the very tip of the growing
plant - is this sensible advice? Or should I just leave them to grow?

Any help would be gratefully received - I've become obsessively attached
to
my little gherkins and want to see them grow big and strong.

Best wishes,

Mike

3 gherkins in a 10" pot is way too much! One in a 10" pot is pushing the
limit. Gherkins produce many small fruit (larger if you forget to pick) but
the plants are not small. More appropriate would be a 5 gal tub/plant. With
proper fertilization and watering, they will grow big and strong and
productive.
Gary

"Mike Le Pelley" wrote in message
...
I'm a newcomer to this food-growing lark, so please forgive any inane
questions. I'm trying to grow gherkin plants in a very limited amount of
space - I've got 3 plants per 25-cm diameter pot, and they seem to be
doing
OK, despite warnings on the seed packet that they need 10 square feet per
plant. Does anyone else have any experience with growing gherkins in pots,
and if so do they have any useful advice? Also, they've been growing for
about a month and a half now, and I was wondering if I should be pruning.
I
found a website saying I should just cut off the very tip of the growing
plant - is this sensible advice? Or should I just leave them to grow?

Any help would be gratefully received - I've become obsessively attached
to
my little gherkins and want to see them grow big and strong.

Best wishes,

Mike

Thanks very much for this info. I realize I've probably overdone it with 3
per pot, but thought I might get away with it. When you say it's "way too
much" is that because the roots will interfere with one another, or because
the plants will shade each other (the post above favours this second idea)?
They don't really seem to be competing for sunlight too much at the moment,
and they've started flowering, so I was wondering if it might be OK to leave
them.

The thing I was really after advice on was pruning. Given that they've
started flowering, should I be cutting the growing tips off each plant? And
when people say "pinching out" do they mean "cutting off"?

Thanks again for your help,

Mike


"V_coerulea" wrote in message
...
3 gherkins in a 10" pot is way too much! One in a 10" pot is pushing the
limit. Gherkins produce many small fruit (larger if you forget to pick)
but
the plants are not small. More appropriate would be a 5 gal tub/plant.
With
proper fertilization and watering, they will grow big and strong and
productive.
Gary

"Mike Le Pelley" wrote in message
...
I'm a newcomer to this food-growing lark, so please forgive any inane
questions. I'm trying to grow gherkin plants in a very limited amount of
space - I've got 3 plants per 25-cm diameter pot, and they seem to be
doing
OK, despite warnings on the seed packet that they need 10 square feet
per
plant. Does anyone else have any experience with growing gherkins in
pots,
and if so do they have any useful advice? Also, they've been growing for
about a month and a half now, and I was wondering if I should be
pruning.
I
found a website saying I should just cut off the very tip of the growing
plant - is this sensible advice? Or should I just leave them to grow?

Any help would be gratefully received - I've become obsessively attached
to
my little gherkins and want to see them grow big and strong.

Best wishes,

Mike