Overview

This document is a detailed seed catalog from Seeds By Design Inc, focusing on various cucumber varieties. It provides descriptions, characteristics, and growing information for multiple cucumber cultivars suitable for different climates, garden sizes, and uses.

Sections and Content Summary

1. Variety Descriptions

The catalog lists numerous cucumber varieties, each with specific traits, including fruit size, color, plant type, disease resistance, and ideal growing conditions. Varieties include heirlooms, hybrids, burpless types, pickling cucumbers, and novelty types.

Key Varieties and Characteristics:

• Lemon: Small (2-3 inch) heirloom fruits ripening bright yellow with sweet white flesh, drought and rust resistant vines, suitable for novelty pickles or fresh use.
• Spacemaster 80: Dwarf bush vines (~24 inches) producing 7-9 inch uniform fruits, never bitter, disease resistant, ideal for small gardens or containers.
• Armenian: Light green, almost white ribbed fruits up to 2 feet long, sweet flavor, prolific and vigorous vines, can be trellised or ground-grown.
• County Fair F1: High-quality pickling type, 5-6 inch blocky dark green fruits, bitter-free, resistant to bacterial wilt, performs well in northern climates.
• White Wonder: Ivory white, 7-9 inch fruits with crisp firm flesh, mild flavor, highly productive even in hot weather, good for pickles or slicing.
• Homemade Pickles: Medium green, 5-6 inch fruits with small spines, semi-bush plants, good for pickling and baby gherkins.
• Suyo Long: Asian cucumber with 10-12 inch glossy dark green fruits, crisp flesh, few white spines, vigorous and space-saving when staked.
• Calypso F1: Vigorous, widely adaptable commercial variety with medium green skin and white spines, disease resistant, suitable for hand or mechanical harvest.
• Garden Sweet Burpless F1: Long cylindrical burpless slicer, 10-12 inches, bitter-free, smooth, high yielding, great for home gardeners.
• Hartley F1: Adaptable to hot and cool climates, dark green slicer with few white spines, disease resistant, 6-7 inch smooth tasty cucumbers.
• Green Dragon F1: New hybrid sweet burpless cucumber, 8-10 inch dark green smooth fruits, multiple disease resistance, matures in 55 days.
• Early Spring Burpless F1: Matures in 58 days, pale green 10-11 inch fruits, smooth with white spines, excellent for home gardens.

2. Plant Types and Growth Habits

The catalog specifies plant types such as vine, bush, semi-bush, and dwarf bush, indicating their growth habits and suitability for container gardening or space-saving cultivation.

3. Disease Resistance and Climate Adaptability

Many varieties are noted for their resistance to common cucumber diseases (e.g., bacterial wilt, rust) and adaptability to various climates, including northern and hot regions.

4. Fruit Characteristics

Details include fruit length (ranging from 2-3 inches to up to 2 feet), color (white, green, dark green, yellow), spine presence (spiny, smooth, or spineless), flavor (sweet, bitter-free), and texture (crisp, firm).

5. Usage Recommendations

Varieties are recommended for specific uses such as fresh eating, slicing, pickling, novelty pickles, or baby gherkins. Some are highlighted for mechanical harvesting suitability.

6. Additional Notes

Descriptions emphasize unique features like dwarf vines resembling watermelon, heirloom status, and multiple disease resistance making certain varieties winners in any growing area.

Extracted Data from Tables

The document includes a table with parameters such as maturity days, fruit length, spine presence, fruit color, plant type, and descriptions for each variety. Key data points include:

• Fruit length ranges from 1 inch (miniature) to 30 inches (Armenian type).
• Spine presence varies: some varieties are spineless or have very few spines, others have unique spiny fruits for specialty pickles.
• Plant types include vine, bush, semi-bush, and dwarf bush, affecting space requirements and growth habits.
• Maturity ranges mostly between 50 to 70 days depending on variety.

Critical Information and Best Practices

• Choose varieties based on garden size and climate: dwarf and bush types for containers and small spaces; vigorous vines for larger gardens.
• Consider disease resistance traits to reduce crop loss and improve yield.
• Harvest timing varies; some varieties are suitable for baby pickles when harvested small.
• Many varieties are bitter-free and suitable for fresh eating or pickling.
• Staking vigorous vines like Suyo Long helps save space and maintain fruit quality.

Contact Information

Seeds By Design Inc is located at 4599 McDermott Rd., Maxwell, CA 95955. Phone: 530-438-2126, Fax: 530-438-2171.