Cucumber ‘General Lee’

* Common name: Cucumber ‘General Lee’

* Botanical name: Cucumis sativus ‘General Lee’

* What it is: This is a cucumber that does well in the North or South, cranking out high yields of 8-inch, dark-green cukes for weeks, starting about 2 months after direct-seeding in the ground. Flavor is mild, plants are more disease-resistant than most, and fruits are consistently straight and uniform. It’s my go-to, mainstream cucumber variety.

* Size: Plants will grow 6 to 8 feet up a trellis or netting, which is how they’re best grown as opposed to letting them sprawl over the ground.

* Where to use: Mainly vegetable gardens, but any sunny, well drained spot will do.

* Care: Plant seed directly in garden in May and then every 2 weeks through June for a continuous harvest into frost. Keep soil consistently damp. Work compost into soil at planting, then scatter a balanced organic fertilizer around the base every 3 or 4 weeks. Watch for and control cucumber beetles, which can spread disease.

* Great partner: Surround with carrots, beets, lettuce and/or Swiss chard.