by Sam Philips, Lisa Giroday and Maxim Winther | Let’s talk about cucumbers. Botanically known as Cucumis sativus, they’re technically not a vegetable but rather a fruit. We absolutely love these juicy summer staples almost more than its cousin, watermelon (which, yes, you can also grow here). Cucumbers are also in the same botanical family as melons and squash.

One very beautiful and insanely prolific cucumber variety is the much-coveted lemon cucumber. Small and round with lemon coloured skin, it was introduced to us from Australia by Samuel Wilson in 1894. They’re about the size of a tennis ball with deep yellow skin when fully mature.

Lemon cucumbers, contrary to their name, are mild and sweet. Some say to pick these beauties when they still have a little bit of green, before they develop the deeper yellow and are the size of a tennis ball – when this size, they become less crisp and seedier. Frequent picking also increases production of new fruits.

Acorn sous chef Brian Luptak thinly slices his lemon cukes and uses them as a base for chanterelle and corn tarts (see mouth-watering pic at the top of the page).

Right now, gardeners who grow cucumbers are pickling like mad, making Greek salads, cucumber raita, and juicing them like nobody’s business. And yes, lemon cucumbers are great for pickling.

Next season, if you want to grow lemon cucumbers, here are a few things to keep in mind. They need full sun – 8 hours per day. Trellising is a good idea and great use of vertical space, and because cucumbers require more phosphorus (macronutrient responsible for fruit and flowering development), be sure to add in some organic granular fertilizer specifically for this purpose. Lemon plants can get mega sprawly, but they’re vigorous and produce a serious amount of cukes.

While cucumbers are not highly regarded for their nutritional value, they nevertheless contain a unique combination of nutrients. Their top phytonutrients are cucurbitacins, lignans, and flavonoids, which provide us with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer benefits — and one cup of cucumber has 19% of your daily vitamin K intake. Bonus: they’re also delicious.

THE VICTORY GARDENS ARCHIVE