LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – July can test the mettle of even the hardiest Northern California resident.

It gets hot, sometimes dangerously so, in our inland regions. Yet it’s also a time for picnics and outdoor living.

And cucumbers are a part of that, often in ways we don’t notice which makes cucumbers perfect as Mendo Lake Farmers’ Markets' Harvest of the Month.

That pungent dill-pickle chip on a burger, or the sweet tang of relish mixed into a tuna (or tofuna) salad sandwich, cool us down while adding flavor and hydration with a crunch people have been enjoying for more than 3,000 years.

Cucumis sativus is considered a newbie-friendly garden plant, though they come with a few caveats: Be watchful for garden pests who will happily devour your crop before you have a chance to enjoy it, and don’t turn your back on the cukes themselves.

Like zucchini, they can grow very quickly when left to their own devices. Set your starts in some fertile, organically enriched soil and start accumulating pickle jars.

If you think of cucumbers as naturally appearing with a layer of plastic wrap, think again. As nice as those English cukes are, the variety available goes way beyond them and the dark green American slicers many of us grew up with.

Lemon cucumbers are little yellow gems, and Armenian cukes have an ethereal pale green skin with a rippled corduroy texture.

Pickling cukes are funny to see out of the jar, but they’ve got the bumpy skin and froggy green color you know from kosher dills.

While it’s fairly obvious once you’ve sliced one that cucumbers are hydrating veggies, they have more to offer than just a salad-friendly Gatorade experience.

Rich in Vitamins C, K, B1, and many minerals including silica and molybdenum, you can see why including them in a tossed salad with lots of other veggies is a great way to nourish yourself while getting your vitamin RDAs in.

At mid-afternoon on one of those “fry an egg on the sidewalk” days, pour yourself a glass of water in which you’ve submerged several cucumber slices and a few fresh mint sprigs; in fact, keep a pitcher of this going during heat waves.

You can add lemon or lime slices, fresh grated ginger or whatever strikes your fancy, but the cucumber base will keep you cool and replenish lost electrolytes.

If it’s one of those evenings when fresh tomatoes and a slice of bread are all you can deal with for dinner, consider adding some sliced cucumbers chilled in apple cider vinegar (or whatever you have on hand; malt and rice vinegar are each delicious here).

Tzatziki is a traditional Greek side salad made from yogurt, grated cucumbers and salt; it’s similar to Indian raita in that both can cool the burn from spicy food and are also great palate refreshers.

Or try this dead simple, stripped-down version of a classic Israeli Salad, from author Nava Atlas’s book The Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet:

2 medium cucumbers, scrubbed and finely diced (you can remove the seeds and peel if you like, but I skip these steps and enjoy the extra juice)
4 medium tomatoes, finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, cored and finely diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
Juice of ½ to 1 lemon, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in a serving dish, toss well, cover and let sit for half an hour at room temperature before serving. Include fresh bread to soak up the liquid.

However you slice them, relish each cucumber you eat this season.

Look for fresh local cucumbers at your favorite Mendo Lake Farmers’ Markets and local retailers. Find more information at http://GrownLocalMendoLake.com .