Cucumber ready to be plucked

trellis for the cucumber
the tall papaya has gone with cut stems at the far end.

the cucumber

close-up of cucumber.
The rough skin eventually smoothens itself
as the fruit inches towards maturity

The leaves lack the smoothness and exotic look of bitter gourds even though they seem to share the same family line. Beetles love to crawl along the leaves and bite the edges. It must be tasty to them. I tried to get rid of them once, but new ones come to replace. I saw them getting into the flower as well. They probably suck the nectar like bees. For the moment I consider them helping with pollination and therefore friendly beetles . A click here [Taxation on cucumber] will bring you to the earlier post dated 15th June 2010 on those beetles.

The plant must be pumping water to fill up the ever increasing cucumber. It is said that cucumber is 90% water. The cucumber seems to be gaining size each day. Judging by the length and size, the cucumber is about to be cut and sliced into lovely salad for nasi lemak.  Just wait...