The Great Cucumber Experiment (cont)

Deeay 4 in the Cucumber House (sponsored by IKEA)

I've been inundated with literally one request to continue with this seemingly pointless quest to solve the "severed cucumber" question. (one request to continue & one rather obscure twitter comment "that way madness lies" from a Mr. Buckland)

It would seem churlish not to continue, however the degree of change from one day to the next is, to put it mildly, minimal.

So here goes.

Neither the cut end of the cucumber nor the main part have changed.

Introducing some "metrics" into the experiment at this stage may be a little tardy but better late than never. With help from IKEA (& if that doesn't get me a complimentary Billy bookcase nothing will) the circumference and length of the stub have been measured; coincidentally both came in at 16cm.


to be continued.

The Great Cucumber Experiment

Deeay 3 in the Cucumber House

Well, I'd like to report a dramatic change but this is becoming more a "watching paint dry" exercise. The only significant change has been to the two cucumbers next in line, both of which are showing worrying signs of withering.

A coincidence ? Maybe. Anyway the cut end of the severed cucumber has dried perfectly but only time will tell. Judgement reserved

to be continued

The Great Cucumber Experiment

Perhaps "Great" is pushing it a bit but in essence what kicked this off was a comment made by Toby Buckland in a recent BBC Gardeners' World programme. (Fri 27th Aug)

I quote
"a natty trick; instead of cutting off a whole (cucumber) fruit, is to cut half at a time.....the cut end will develop a new skin & heal. After a week or a fortnight you can enjoy a fresh cucumber all over again..."

The GW world programme is available on BBCiPlayer here for those who would prefer to listen to Mr.B's dulcet tones (around the 20min30sec mark.)...and from a previous GW presenter (the Lord of Cord), covering a very similar topic here

....anyway back to the experiment
Instinctively, it just doesn't sound right. If you wound a plant in a hot & humid atmosphere which, after all, is what cucumbers love, the last thing you expect the cut end to do is heal over. Go rotten and putrify, yes, but heal over no way.

So armed with an unhealthy disdain for TB's advice and a very sharp knife, the only way to prove GW wrong (or maybe right - ED) was to try it.

The following pics show the whole & the dismembered on day1 and update on day2
Day 1 - The whole

Day1 (severed)

Day2 (severed)

Day2 (cut end)

...to be continued