When I was growing up, my grandfather had a vegetable garden and my sister and I would frequently be sent out to pick the tomatoes and cucumbers when we stayed with them, which was frequent. We hated it. We were spoiled children and it was hot and scratchy and the cucumbers had those little spines and I could not see why on earth youād grow cucumbers when you can just get them at the store.
We bought a house late last summer that came with raised garden beds and a few months ago I planted a bunch of herbs and 3 cucumber plants. Set up drip irrigation and then left them completely alone.
To my complete and utter shock, I noticed a few days ago there were a bunch of cucumbers growing.
If you are reading this in the future, I must tell you that there is currently a significant outbreak of a parasite whose name I cannot spell, and it is primarily affecting bagged lettuce.
So tonight for dinner, rather than buying something that may make us all sick at the store, I went out to the backyard and picked two cucumbers. It was hot and scratchy and they were covered in those little spines.
There is something deeply Slavic about thinking that the world is horrible and trying to make you sick and miserable, but youāve got cucumbers, so itās going to be okay for the moment.
Which is why, I suppose, you grow them in the first place.

















