If I recall correctly, "straight eights" are pickleing cukes, yes? If they are, and I think they are what I had last year, I believe you can harvest your cukes when they are the length you desire for the pickles you're making. I took some last year and made baby dills--they weren't even 3 inches long. Others I took at about the length they'd need to be to fit whole in my small jars. Some I let grow a bit longer and then made the infamous Green Pickles out of them. So in my opinion, it just depends on what you want to use them for.