Boy, I only grew them once, but picked them whenever I wanted. Cukes really don't 'get ripe', they are always 'ripe' so just harvest at whatever size you wish understanding leaving them too long results in deterioration of texture so earlier rather than later is safer.

I let mine turn yellow. I have one hill with 3 or 4 plants and have dozens of lemon cukes. They are fun to give away.

daryljurassic - so you don't use a trellis? My vines are not very nice at all, leaf wilt and all because of the beetle more than likely. But I also wondered if my continued fussing with the vines, to keep them tied and on the trellis caused injury. Some vines were determined to go their own way along the ground, and those seem to be fairing better.
There are three plants about a foot apart.

They are planted on a hill near the corner of my garden. I would say 40% on the ground and 60% spread across a 4' tall fence. A few offshoots are going up some mammoth sunflowers. They can get pretty crazy... This is my second year growing this variety. They are a hit! I may look for an additional exotic cuke for next year. I think there's an orange one out there.

Well, my vines look sick; but there are many little cukes coming on like I said. Truthfully, I don't know if I'm watering too little or too much. Temps are so high right now and no rain. However, new vines continue to trail where they can. Tonight, I thought about tearing all three plants down; but I'll wait and give three nicely formed fruit a chance to mature some more. This may not be the cucumber for my garden. Sigh.