Cucumber Margarita
Home - Cucumber Margarita
Home - Cucumber Margarita
In the warmer months, basil is the perfect addition to your windowsill or vegetable patch, and packs fantastic flavours for summer dishes.
Read on below for tips on growing basil from our friends at BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine and to find out more about a delicious one-pan lemon sole recipe, using your basil, from the BBC Good Food Show Summer in 2022.
To kickstart cucumber seed germination, ensure a minimum temperature of 20°C. Optimal spots include a greenhouse, heated propagator, or a sunny windowsill. Use 5cm pots filled with peat-free compost, sowing seeds vertically or on their sides, 1-2cm deep. Expect sprouting in 7-10 days, then thin out to one seedling per pot. Transfer them to 9cm pots once they sport their first set of large leaves.
For outdoor planting, wait until late May or June when frost risk diminishes. Warm the soil by covering with a cloche or fleece post-planting.
In the greenhouse, ensure regular watering and mulch soil for moisture retention and weed control. Maintain humidity by damping down or misting plants. Consider partitioning sections for enhanced humidity.
Feed flowering cucumbers weekly with high potash fertiliser. Remove male flowers to prevent bitterness in fruits. Pinch out growing tips for side shoot development and bigger yields. Outdoor varieties also require ample watering but retain both male and female flowers for natural pollination.
For outdoor cucumbers, pinch out growing tips after seven leaves and train side shoots upwards or allow them to trail. Trim flowerless tips once they reach seven leaves.
Harvest cucumbers around 12 weeks after planting, starting in midsummer. Pick regularly to encourage more growth. Outdoor types yield until September, while greenhouse varieties can last into October in warm conditions. Fruit length varies by type. Harvest as needed to avoid bitterness and tough skins. For best results, pick in the cool morning hours. Use secateurs or a sharp knife. Some longer varieties can be halved on the plant for later use.
New year, new garden, new trends!
We’re through the garden gate into 2023, with a host of gardening trends blooming throughout the country. From house plants reaching dizzying heights of popularity, to the colour of the year ‘Viva Magenta’, read on for our full list of trends.
To get up close and personal with fresh garden inspiration, new plants, the latest gardening kit and more, join us in 2023.
Hand-picked by Pantone, the colour of the year has been named as ‘Viva Magenta.
Pantone describe the colour as ‘brave and fearless, and a pulsating colour whose exuberance promotes a joyous and optimistic celebration, writing a new narrative.’
Discover a world of colour and scent in the stunning Floral Marquee, bursting with award-winning nurseries and display.
Whilst your garden might seem to already be very green, it can always be greener!
Discover ways you can make gardening more sustainable, like upcycling common items to make stylish features. What was a pallet, hessian bags, bits of pipe, and tin cans, could become a planter, grow bags, water features, and wildlife habitats.
Be inspired by the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine editorial team as they’re joined by experts to give tips and advice.
Looking to go from soil to supper this year? Get brilliant advice from the National Allotment Society at the event.
Learn about the latest peat-free compost from exhibitors who can offer face-to-face advice.
Foliage doesn’t just belong outside – bring nature indoors and be inspired by the Houseplant Hub.
Beautiful Borders returns with this year’s theme ‘My Garden Escape’ to give you space savvy ideas. |
Discover different ways you can let your garden bloom under a tighter budget, with advice from expert gardeners.
Visit the BBC Good Food Summer Show (with free entry with your ticket!) and discover the latest foodie trends.
Feeling inspired? Find out what else is happening at BBC Gardeners’ World Live this June!