Well, gardenman, I thought I might try a plant or 2 but I still haven't gotten all my tomatoes in the ground with all this rain, behind on seeding the 50-day squash (I bought Raven from Fedco, never even looked at the okra this year!), I have 13 cukes (I don't know how I ended up with 3 seeds in 1 cell) in flats that will probably have to go in 4" pots while I transplant maters during the few days of dry weather this week. I can't believe we've already hit our average for this month and it's just over halfway through, with more rain in the forecast! So not likely to start okra, though I might try it instead of edamame if I have time/room, since it's a shorter season. Have to see what Ace carries for seed, I'll look at Fedco next year.

Great ideas and pictures everyone! Vegetable gardens are just the prettiest things, aren't they? And gardening in the air is a space saver and necessity for intensive gardening. My little plot of dirt is so small I need all the aerial gardening I can get! Anney, thanks for the website ideas. I've grown other crops under and with my cucumbers with great success. Salads, beets, beans, onions, carrots, even strawberries have done very well under a canopy of cucumbers. I planted Moon Flowers on one side too. So pretty and fragrant at night and attracts more pollinators, too. I love the inverted "V" trellises Grandad and Karl. Very sturdy, practical, and functional for heavy cucumbers and vines, especially the kind that grow 20+ ft. long vines! Very neat and tidy too. fostina, I like your rustic teepee. I made a teepee for my Lemon Cukes out of cane poles and string, but I like yours better. However, I may have to change it out for a metal support as Lemon Cucumbers grow to be monster vines and the yellow balls of fruit are heavy. Last year my Lemon Cucumber vines grew up the fence and then on up into the tip-tops of the plum tree and when it ran out of tree, it hung down like Spanish Moss. Those vines had to have been well over 30 feet long and covered with lemon cucumbers! Nope, I don't think my little teepee will be adequate support for such a cuke as that. Thanks for the images and ideas. ~ sweetannie4u

I have a cucumber called "Super Zagross Middle Eastern Slicing", which is from Iran(Persia) and I did a google search and they appear to look the same, I got mine from Fedco seeds. Super Zagross are my favorite cucumber as they are great tasting, burpless and I eat the skin and all. I will try to connect you for a trade. Dean

I'm so much more comfortable chronicling what i do than giving instruction on how to do something for someone else. For example this batch of pickles got off to a very fast start because of high summer temps. 85° instead of the 75°-80° that I would have preferred. Should be no matter as will just put in cooler basement temps a day or two sooner. (yesterday) Will watch at 65° for a day or two and then put into a 45-50° fridge for finishing. Maybe a month. I want the fast start for sure. If temps are cool then I'll just put in more starter to speed things up at the start. This fast start takes the place of weighting down the cukes beneath the brine with weight to prevent contaminated air from causing scum and mold. It works. I wedge the cukes into the jar so tightly that they stay below the brine. If you prefer to weight the cukes below the brine in the conventional way, you can buy glass beads at a craft store and put in nylon tule bags to weight down. Inexpensive and efficient. And the conventional salt brine in a plastic bag is hard to beat. I don't use but most people do I think. So buy hard cukes (gherkins, kirbys etc) Wash them and punch holes at 3/4" intervals maybe 1/2" deep and nip 1/4" off each end of cuke. Eliminates the blossom end enzymes and allows the salty LAB to penetrate and feed. Make sure a nice bubbly start is going on before moving to temps in the 60s for a few days & then more even cooler after a few days if is possible. I have a 45-50°f fermenting fridge, but a colder one in the upper 30s will work albeit slower.