Early Fortune - Cucumber
Cucumis Sativus
Story: This is a ‘real’ cucumber with great flavour and thicker skin than supermarket varieties which means it stores better. It was bred in 1900 by a farmer called George Starr who selected just one plant that fruited early from a whole field of cucumbers.
When to sow: March - April indoors
Requirements: nutrient-rich soil, regular watering, and a lot of sun.
When to harvest seed: July-Oct
Need to isolate: Yes, they cross readily and are insect pollinated, the require isolation and hand pollination of flowers or only grow one kind of cucumber to prevent crossing.
Seed Grown: Omved Gardens
Seed harvested: 2023
Saving seed: Cucumbers cross readily with other cucumbers so either need to be isolated (Eg: grown in a polytunnel or greenhouse far away from other varieties). Or the flowers need to be hand pollinated so that they do not cross pollinate (Video coming soon). Once hand pollinated, allow the pollinated fruits to grow way beyond eating size, they will change colour (depending on variety). Once the vines begin to die back, bring the hand pollinated fruits inside and store them in a cool, dry place for two weeks (this helps the seeds fully mature). Cut the fruits open, scoop out the seeds (watch our video on this), wash and dry fully. Package, label and date. Save as many seeds as you can to share with friends, family and of course seen networks.
How to send seed back: Please label all seed with variety, type, date and your contact, if you didn't get a chance to fill out our online data collection form, you can also send us a few lines about how it grew for you/flavour etc. Please aim to send back 1 tablespoon of dried seed or more so that we can continue to share with network members. Send to: Omved Gardens, 1 Townsend Yard, N6 5JF.
Please remember, if you’re an individual grower you can order up to 3 packets of seeds. If you order more than this, you will receive just three packs to begin with. This is to ensure we get plenty of data in return and to keep our stocks sustainable for years to come.*
*Community groups and Experienced Growers can order larger quantities, please email us if this is the case.
If an item is out of stock we will send a close alternative.
