Anney, Here is a link to the MSU publications on Downey Mildew. The August 2, 2006 and August 7, 2006 Newsletters are the ones that laid out the spray program for this. It sounds like you have to be really contientious about spraying, but as far as I'm concerned, it will be worth it. http://www.ipm.msu.edu/downymildew.htm I haven't even tried to look for these fungicides -- last year, I used some different ones I had already, including Daconil, Bordeaux mixture, Ortho Funginex, and Maneb. They did buy me some time, but eventually, the fungus got the vines anyway. I had a crop for about 5 weeks, should have gotten another 4 weeks or so out of them. I know that none of the recommended fungicides are probably going to be sold at your typical garden center or chain store. I figure I'll run out to a farm supply place and try to get these (unless they're something like $50 each for a little bag -- then I might have to reconsider). I have one other plan I am going to try -- a sort of non-traditional approach. I was actually a horticulture major 20 some years ago at Michigan State. We used bleach extensively to surface sterilize plant tissue prior to propagation. First time I did it, I thought, "wow, this is nuts, it's going to burn this stuff up and kill it." But, 10% or even 20% bleach solutions didn't hurt the plant. I'm going to try spraying just a couple of my plants every day, top and bottom, with a fine mist of 10% bleach solution to try to kill the spores as they land. I might try alternating with a solution of something like lysol as well, to provide an alternate type of sterilant. Jerry Baker used to use lysol, mouthwash, and similar household products to treat diseases. Hydrogen peroxide might work, too. Just an experiment, the worst I can do is kill the plants.

I planted my seeds about a week and a half ago here in Albuquerque, New Mexico and my plant is just beginning to flower. My experience with Armenian cucumbers is that they produce lots of very large cucumbers on an almost daily basis. The first time I planted them, I made the mistake of planting 9 plants. I had my own little rain forest of vines with fruits I couldn't even find until they were almost 3 feet long. From then on I only plant 1 plant and enjoy the fruit that comes in regularly. Best of luck with your planting.

Not having grown Armenian cucumbers recently, I do recall that I did not let them grow longer than 12 inches as most of us do not like cukes when they get too many seeds. However, I did enjoy them and in the beginning with little experience growing cucumbers, they did grow very long and resembled a short baseball bat LOL. This year I am growing picklers, Fanfare, Tasty Green, Sugar Crunch cukes and they are doing very well.Typically, I pick cukes when they are about 7 inches long depending upon the variety. However, I still have Armenian cucumber seeds but do not have enough room to grow them this year. Good luck. Vicki

Great fresh and for salads. Pickling, no they have very tender skins and usually will not hold up to pickling or canning. They are similar to the English type which has a plastic wrapper, as they tend to dry out too quickly. The best cuke for pickling is a pickling variety like Northern, Alibi, Diamant, County Fair, Heinz, and a few other types that yield smaller crisp cukes. You could chop or slice it up, add a bit or salt and vinegar and maybe some dill and make a refrigerator type relish or slices. Let it sit in the fridge for a couple of days before you eat them.