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Shintokiwa Cucumber
75 days to harvest
Cucumis sativus
Friends! What an extraordinary cucumber!
Shintokiwa Cucumber’s smooth-skinned fruit, long & slender, has an impressively small seed cavity & a sweet flavor we’ve never tasted in another cucumber. She’s outrageously crunchy with plenty of juice, resisting becoming bitter even as she lengthens past 12 inches. Wow! We’ve found between 6 and 8 inches long to be the magic length of optimum sweetness. If you’d love Shintokiwa straight, train her up a trellis; if you love to let cucumbers spiral as we do, along the ground you’ll be delighted.
It’s true, we loved ‘Suyo Long’ for many years and now love to sow Shintokiwa Cucumber for her incredible flavor and productivity as well as resistance to Bacterial Wilt.
Organic Shintokiwa Cucumber
Planting Method: Direct Seed Recommended
To Direct Seed: Sow after last frost, 2 seeds every 3 feet (thinning to 1).
For Transplanting: Sow indoors 2-3 weeks before last frost in peat pots (plant entire pot) or soil blocks to minimally disturb roots when transplanted
Seed Depth: 1/2 inch Days to Germination: 10 at 70°F (21°C); 3 at 80°F (26°C)
Sun Needs: Full
Spacing (after thinning/transplanting): 3 feet; 30-36 inches between rows
Trellis for easier harvest, straighter fruits & less disease pressure.
Days to Harvest: 75 Height: 5-foot+ vines
Harvest: We’ve found between 6 and 8 inches long to be the magic length of optimum sweetness.
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Yaeko (verified owner) –
No cucumbers beat Japanese cucumbers that are crispy, tasty, and… you don’t have to peel skin off remove seeds. Shin-Tokiwais (meaning New Tokiwa) is one of the popular Japanese cucumbers, and they can be grown trellis or on the ground. When I go hiking, I pack a couple of Shin-Tokiwa in my back pack. Cucumbers are made up of around 96% water, and they are lighter than water bottles! Yes, I’m a big fun of Fuition Seeds because their seeds always germinate and grow well.
Sylvia –
Thank you for being part of our community Yaeko & we love that you take these cucumbers hiking! -Sylvia and the rest of the Fruition Crew
zerozerotwo (verified owner) –
Prolific and crunchy! Shintokiwa grows horizontally, but can be grown up on a trellis. I let ‘em left sprawl out on the ground because I have a windy garden. Since early July (in PNW) my two vines have been producing one cucumber per day. TIP TO GROW SPRAWLING CUCUMBERS: After having 6 〜8 true leaves, cut the top of the main stem to encourage side shoots to grow as side shoots produce cukes. Give plenty of water. Warts on the skin are a sign of freshness, but you can scrape off with a back of a knife. No need to remove skin and seeds for Japanese cucumbers. SIMPLE RECIPE : Thinly slice one cuke. Sprinkle a pinch of salt and let stand for 5 min. Squeeze the salted cuke (not too hard). Add bonito flakes and a bit of soy sauce. Goes well with warm Rice.