Little Sprouts Learning

When the garden decides to put out cucumbers, it REALLY decides to put them out. You can end up with a ton of excess cucumbers and that can get overwhelming. Are you wondering what to do with excess cucumbers? In a few weeks, there won’t be any available and you’ll be missing them like crazy. Check out some things you can do to get the most of them while they’re here.

And check this article out for ideas for other kinds of excess produce from your summer garden. 

16 Ways to Use Excess Cucumbers from the Garden

I LOVE cucumbers and I love making pickles with my kids. It’s a fun memory we have had for years. I can remember back when my 27-year-old friend was young and here in the summers and we did a garden together. It was much smaller than what we are growing now, but it was fun and she still remembers it.

(That might be because of my irrational fear of snakes. One day we were out tending our little patch and she saw one and screamed and I pushed her down to get leverage to get in the house faster. Not one of my proudest moments, but she’s over it. I apologized for it again the other day and she said she thought it was funny. I digress)

Back to the excess cucumbers. When our little plant started putting on cucumbers, it went like crazy. Once the heat hits them, they explode with growth. We did a fun science experiment that year using water bottles. We took a tiny cucumber on the vine and placed it in an empty water bottle. Then we let it grow until it filled the bottle.

Too many cucumbers, what to do

We then picked the cucumber off the vine and put the lid on the bottle. Then we asked all the daycare parents if they could figure out how we got that big cucumber in that bottle. It was really fun for the kids. I put pickling liquid in the bottle and stored it in the fridge for years so we could keep asking people. No one ever figured it out before we told them.

Do you want to get started gardening, but don’t know where to begin? Click here. 

Using excess cucumbers

Every year we have excess cucumbers and we make a bunch of pickles at least once during the season. Click here to see how we make refrigerator pickles with our excess cucumbers.

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What to do with excess cucumbers in the garden

I love to just slice excess cucumbers and eat them. I like them plain, or with a sprinkle of dill. The kids eat bowls and bowls of freshly sliced cucumbers. They are a favorite here. I also love to make cucumber sandwiches with a toasted piece of bread, a schmear of cream cheese, and then slices of cucumber with a sprinkle of dill. Yum yum. It tastes amazing!

A favorite dish around here is cucumber salad. I used to make it for myself, but the kids were always begging for it. I was like, kids are not going to eat cucumbers in a bowl of vinegar, but I let them try it. They loved it. Over and over again we have made tons of cucumber salad with our excess cucumbers and the kids LOVE it!

What to do with cucumbers

I make a super refreshing spa water with cucumbers and slices of citrus fruits. Click here to check it out. 

Another favorite salad I make often is a chopped balsamic salad. It’s super refreshing. It’s similar to the plain one, but has more vegetable variety and some cheese. Everything is better with fresh mozzarella.

Sharing excess cucumbers

After we eat all we can of our excess cucumbers, we love to share too. I love to set out piles of cucumbers for the kids to take home. I have several kids that will take a sack full and bite them before they even leave the house with their moms. They have the whole sack eaten before they get home. Cucumbers have many health benefits so I love hearing that.

We also like to share with our friends and family. We take excess cucumbers to the local homeless shelter and to families that can use them.

Preserving cucumbers

Here is a list of things to do with cucumbers to use them without pickling or canning them. They sound DELISH! Check it out by clicking here.

Did you know you can freeze cucumbers? 

Want more ways to mix it up and figure out what to make with fresh cucumbers? Here are some great cucumber recipes. 

Half Sour Fermented Pickles

Creamed Cucumbers (can also be blended and used as a delicious dressing!)

Redbud and Cucumber Sandwiches

Cucumber and Onion Salad

Cucumber Lime Smoothie

Watermelon, Orange and Cucumber Aqua Fresca

Cucumber Cilantro Salad

Basil Cucumber Fruit Salad

Shrimp Salad Bites

Cucumber Mint Jam

Cucumber Mousse

What to make with cucumbers

There are so many ways you can enjoy a yummy, bright crisp cucumber that having a ton of excess cucumbers is quite a blessing. There are one of my very favorites from the garden.

More information on how to build raised beds, build a trellis for your plants, and basic gardening information you need is available here in these beginning gardening videos. Click here for more information. You can even download a tour of what types of beds we have in our preschool gardens for free. 

 

Check out these other food preservation articles for your garden produce.

Preserving Peaches from the garden, Preserving Green Beans from the garden, Using Excess Hot Peppers from the garden, Using Excess Tomatoes from the garden.

Storing garden produce to make it last as long as possible

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