One day in mid-to-late May, a gardener in Liberty Twp. was surprised to find a cucumber vine growing in an unsuspecting spot — it was coming up through a crack in a concrete patio. Now, the vine has three, big cucumbers on it.
“The patio was poured in two different sections, and where the two pieces connect, a cucumber came up in that crack, and it’s just spreading out on the concrete. It’s a beautiful vine,” said Edith Miller, 82, of Allen Estates.
She said the last section of the patio was poured at least 10 years ago. So, it’s not a new patio. This is the first year that the cucumber vine cropped up.
“It just came up out of the blue sky. I don’t know how the seed got there. I don’t know if I could have dropped it when I planted other cucumbers. I have no idea how the seed got there,” Miller said.
She continued, “I went out there one day, and here were these cucumber vines. I just left them alone. I turn the water on, let it run down, and it runs into the crack and waters them. It’s unbelievable to see them. I have planted cucumbers and they are doing much better than the one’s I planted.”
Miller has lived in Liberty Twp. for 61 years. She lived on Cincinnati-Dayton Road for 40 years, prior to moving to her current home about 16 years ago. She has three children and seven grandchildren, three granddaughters and four grandsons.
Miller is a retired schoolteacher. She taught for 10 years at Lakota and retired from Fairfield City School District, where she taught for over 23 years. In all, she taught for more than 33 years, teaching elementary and learning disabilities. She was also a reading specialist. Miller has been retired for 24 years.
In retirement, she enjoys making quilts, quilted Christmas stockings and double-sided, holiday placemats. She also loves to garden and raise flowers. Miller grows cucumbers, sweet peppers and tomatoes along her backyard fence line. She gardens every summer.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Miller was raised on a farm in Kentucky. Her dad, Newton Lovitt, was a farmer and her husband, Charles, loved farming. So, they taught her a lot of gardening skills. She had a cherry tomato plant last year that was eight ft. tall.
“This year, I’ve got one cherry tomato, I bet it has100 tomatoes on it. You wouldn’t believe it. It’s a lot,” she said.
As far as the cucumber vine in the crack of the patio, Miller said she knew it was cucumbers from the start, because she knows the leaf of a cucumber.
“One of the cucumbers is seven inches long, and there are two more that are three or four inches long. They’re beautiful cucumbers. They grow very fast,” she said.
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
Credit: Nick Graham
She said one of the things that surprised her the most is that the cucumber vine doesn’t have any soil around it. It’s growing right in the middle of the back patio.
“The fact that it’s coming out of the concrete is the most unusual thing about it,” Miller said. “With the hot sun landing on the concrete, you would think the vine would wilt. It’s never wilted. It’s just amazing. That’s all I can say.”
Miller describes the vine as being three-and-a-half ft. to four ft. long. Right now, there are three cucumbers, and it’s still in full bloom, so she believes there will be more cucumbers.
“I watch that thing every day. It’s so unusual to have a cucumber growing out of the cement,” Miller said. “Everybody thinks it’s funny. My friends get the biggest kick out of it.”
Miller said she’s kept the cucumber vine watered every day, and she’s been a little worried about it with the heat. With the heat, if it doesn’t have enough water it will wilt, but it’s never wilted. Her other cucumbers have wilted, but this one hasn’t wilted. She’s also taken plenty of pictures to document her amazing story and to share it with friends and family.
“It’s growing normal. It’s just on the concrete. That’s all I can say,” Miller said. “I baby that thing.”
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