Remember our experiments last year with the indoor tomatoes?
You might recall that they were a great success in the end, and we ended up harvesting several dozen delicious toms from the plants growing in our north-facing enclosed verandah (which subsequently became known as the conservatory).
This season, Pete thought we’d try with Lebanese cucumbers. I wasn’t convinced they’d grow indoors, and if they did, that they wouldn’t take over the entire room! Undeterred, my husband planted three seedlings into a large self-watering pot in the corner. We had been fastidiously hand-pollinating the flowers and…
…all of a sudden…
…we had cucumbers! I took this photo a week ago – at the time, this was our largest one. It was just 6cm (2½”) long and as thick as my finger…
There were also several tiny babies starting to develop…
Fast forward a week, and the first one had grown to a very respectable size…
The babies we had managed to pollinate were growing as well…
These plants are extremely thirsty – they’re consuming about a litre of water a day!
We picked the largest cucumber this afternoon to see how it tasted. We were probably a little too early, as the fruit was still a touch under-ripe, but it was very nice nonetheless – extremely crunchy with a mild, fresh flavour, and not the least bit bitter (which had been my main concern).
Best of all, we were eating just picked, homegrown cucumbers at the beginning of winter. How cool is that!
PS. In case anyone is thinking of trying this out, Pete thought we should let you know how we pollinate the plants. We remove the male flowers, strip off the petals, and then push the little brush of stamens that remains into the female flower and give it a twist. There isn’t a huge amount of pollen produced by the male flowers, so we usually try and repeat the process a couple of times with each female flower. In the absence of bees and other insect pollinators, this is an essential process – the flowers we missed haven’t developed any fruit at all.
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I keep reading north and forget that you are opposite us- your north window is my south – the one with all the sunshine! :)
I’m glad you explained how you were pollinating- I had visions of paintbrushes and you hard at work going from stamen to pistil- as busy as – well- bees!
Well done- I’m watching my cucumbers – still quite tender plants- being chewed up by a resident Peter Rabbit. My husband gave me the bb gun and told me to do rabbit patrol. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!
Heidi, we tried with a paintbrush, but the male flowers actually produce surprisingly little pollen, so it didn’t work. I hope the rabbits don’t get your cucumbers!
Clever! Have you got any pics of the different male and female flowers? I am just about to belatedly sow some cucumber seeds and see if I can get them to go, I have Danish ones and some Parisian ones to try, hope they come out as well as yours, though mine will probably have to be brave and go outside :)
Thanks for the pic! I can clearly see the difference now. Just showed to B who remarked sweetly that his Dad used a chicken feather (!). I want home grown cucumbers :)
Homegrown cucumbers are wonderful – we find it hard to eat the ones we buy from the markets anymore! We haven’t quite figured out how to keep ourselves in a constant supply, though. I hope they grow well for you! I still haven’t figured out why we can manage to grow cucumbers but not zucchinis… :)
Oh my dear Celia, sounds and seems so lovely and so nice… You are doing great. How exciting to plant them and to wait for to eat… Thank you, I wished to plant too… Love, nia
Thanks Nia! These have been fun to grow – because they’re inside, I can get up on cold mornings and wander into the conservatory to see how they’re going without getting out of my dressing gown! :)
So you can still eat out of season without all the foodmiles. Cool. Husband says we should do this with tomatoes. I don’t like them but maybe, one day.
Barb.
Barb, we had fun growing tomatoes inside last year! They worked well, although they probably weren’t as good as they would have been in full sun. Having said that, we have a terrible problem with fruit fly in our area, so huge toms won’t survive outside anyway!
In case it’s of use, here are our posts on the tomatoes:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/10/28/indoor-tomatoes/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/11/06/now-about-those-tomatoes/
Fantastic! Super cool Celia, well done to you and Pete!
:-) Mandy
Thanks Mandy! It was a great experiment! I’m still amazed they’re growing.. :)
Celia, I am with Joanna. What is the difference between the male and the female flowers?
Glenda, I added a photo to the post for you. The female flowers make juvenile fruit, which won’t grow unless the flower is pollinated.
You and Pete sure have lots and lots of patience. Congratulations on your first indoor cuke, sure looks sweet and crunchy.
Norma, it’s not really a lot of work, and it’s so nice to have something growing inside when it’s so cold outside! :)
Awesome. Yes, please can you show pics of the male and female flowers? Well done Celia and Pete.
Lizzy, I uploaded a photo to the post! :)
You give a whole new meaning to growing your own! Well done both of you :)
Tandy, it’s just so nice to have fresh cucumbers in winter! I don’t know that we’ll get heaps, but even one every couple of days is a treat!
That’s great news! What lovely cucumbers! growing your own veggies is the best way to live: indoors or outdoors!
Sophie, I think if Pete had his way, the entire room would be turned over to growing things! But I need it for a sewing/storage/guest room as well! :)
What a great idea, lovely to be able to have fresh organic cucumbers during the winter months. :)
Shirley, thank you, it has been a real treat!
that’s so cool celia..you and pete are great pollinators..:)
Thanks Jane! We have been..(ahem)..busy little bees.. ;-)
Well done Celia and Pete! It looks so beautifully fresh.
Thanks Claire! Weather has turned bitterly cold here all of a sudden, I hope they survive!
This is brilliant! I take it this window has a northern aspect Celia? How many hours sun would it admit each day?
Rose, yes, it is a north facing window, but it only gets maybe four or five hours of sunlight in winter, and it’s quite gentle light. But it seems to be enough for the cukes! :)
I’m super impressed Celia. That is so clever. I would not have thought you could pollinate your own plants. I guess your north-facing conservatory is a bit like a glass house. When I was growing up we had a glass house and I used to love hanging out in there and watching everything grow. We grew grapes, tomatoes, capsicum and cucumbers! xx
Charlie, it’s not nearly as warm as a glass house, which is a shame in winter, but a great relief in summer. :) I would love to have a proper glass house!
Well done to both of you!! Enjoy t he cucumbers ! :-)
Thanks Sponge! :)
Awesome work guys! I’m suitably impressed indeed! Isn’t it exciting to achieve something like this totally out of season, what will you tackle next?
Thanks Becca! It IS exciting. I wonder what else we can grow inside? Hmmm…
Fabulous to have cuc’s at this time of year, and they don’t seem to have tried to takeover. I’m just about to plant ours out, and I can’t wait to start munching on them again – so tasty!
Oh and I love the conservatory, we now have a library :)
Claire, the “conservatory” is also the sewing/storage/guest room and the cucumber is the only plant in there at the moment! It may start to take over, we’ve cleared some space for it if it does! :)
you guys are so cool and have so much passion in the things you do. I love this idea and it’s actually perfect idea for our small space here :)
Tes, thank you! We’ve now been able to grow tomatoes and cucumbers inside! :)
Brings a new meaning to cool as a cucumber – eating them in winter that is! I’ve been doing the same hand-pollinating-hanky-panky with my pumpkin vine down along the back fence. I always check to see if the neighbours are watching before I get into it! Seems a little not right sometimes… lol
Shelley, it is all a little risque, isn’t it? ;-)
Wow That is impressive. I have been hand pollinating my zucchini that are growing in the garden as we just have no bees around – I’d need a lot more room for them inside though but I might try cucumbers
nearly forgot – the male flowers have long boy bits and the female don’t and the females (as per the picture) have the starting of fruit. I often make the mistake of thinking I have fruit but then if they don’t get fertilised they just drop off or rot.
Katie, we made that mistake too! We thought we would get fruit from the female flowers, but the ones we didn’t pollinate just fell off. I don’t know that I’d be game to try growing zucchinis inside, they might take over the house… ;-)
Your indoor cucumbers are much farther along then our outdoor cucumbers. We do have zucchinis and tomatoes almost ready. Maz
Maz, I’m always amazed at how easy everyone finds it to grow zucchini! Everyone but us, that is! :)
Where there is a will there is a way. It is terrific that you are able to grow vegetables inside. A job well done.
Thanks Karen! We had another one last night, and it was the sweetest cucumber I’ve ever eaten!
Thanks for the photo, Celia
That is possibly the most impressive gardening related project I’ve ever seen, indoor cukes in winter! I really must start hand pollinating some of my cukes, zukes and pumpkins to see if I have more luck. Our garden just never seems to have bees at the right time.
Barbara, thank you! The indoor tomatoes last year actually did better, but they were heaps more work and seemed to perpetually need staking and tying up. The indoor cukes have been absolutely delicious, the best we’ve ever tasted actually, but we didn’t get a huge crop from them, maybe only a dozen or so cucumbers. And zucchinis we just can’t seem to grow well no matter how we try! :)
Here are the posts from last year on the tomatoes:
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/10/28/indoor-tomatoes/
https://figjamandlimecordial.com/2011/11/06/now-about-those-tomatoes/