Lunchbox Cucumber

[BigC]

When we go to the supermarket and buy cucumber we would always buy a full one and end up throwing most of it away (such a waste)..Being a trial and error type of gardener I decided to have a go at growing some in the Hothouse...
a small variant, namely Baby F1 from seed (lunchbox size).....well as you can see I haven't killed them off yet lol
Looking forward to watching how these produce.

 

[ReslerMomma]

Looks good so far! I will be interested to see how they turn out.

 

[BigC]

Yes me too...Plan is to transfer into this Growbag medium as soon as they are strong enough, then stake...Hopefully everything will go as expected.

 

[headfullofbees]

They are far too wet, keep young cucumber plants almost dry.
I have been growing this type of small cucumbers (they're mini slicers) for 10 years now, and one thing I would say, is that you're likely to be swapping one surplus for another, as they can be very prolific fruiters.
They have very thin skins, and will go soft quite quickly as moisture leaches through the skin.
Keep them in the fridge in little plastic food bags.
Btw, they're delicious.

 

[BigC]

Thanks HFoB for your comments...I personally adopted the assumption that they are soft fruit like entities and may need lots of water..I now find that this isn't the case....Thank you for pointing this out...I will adjust my regime lol....What would be the expected head height of these plants..??

 

[headfullofbees]

They are quite vigorous vines and will grow to 30ft if you let them. So best train them on a wire around the growing space.
I've got a photo somewhere...

and here's a previous thread...
https://www.gardening-forums.com/threads/increase-your-harvest-of-cucumbers.2036/#post-33125

 

[BigC]

That looks champion.... ....I'd be happy with anything remotely akin to that.
I presume I just self pollinate with my artists brush when the flowers appear??
Do I need to remove any side shoots as in the way you would produce Tomatoes??
Thanks for your replies HFoB.
Regards
C

 

[headfullofbees]

There are three types of cucumber, all female, indoor and outdoor.
I suspect it's an all-female variety, in which case it's unlikely to produce male flowers except under stress.
Indoor cucumbers you have to remove the male flowers before pollination or you get bitter cucumbers. I mean, unpleasant
Ridge (outdoor) cucumbers DO need pollination, but are usually tended to by insects.
I would not expect this to be a ridge cucumber; they usually have quite thick skins, needing peeled, so not ideal for lunchbox, so I'd remove male flowers at first, if they are produced, but feel free to check back.
I have looked at the seed packets online, and I'm disgusted by the lack of growing information, especially since it is so crucial to the fruit.
Is that the only information you have on these cucumbers?

 

[BigC]

I just consulted the Oracle....its an all female variety which negates the question hahahahaha
sorry buddy but at least you gave me another very informative reply
Thanks again
Regards
C

 

[BigC]

Only info I had prior was the Google Encyclopedia....I knew I wanted a small variety and I always had success with Suttons Seeds so this is what I went for.....

 

[headfullofbees]

No problem, the answer is there for others.

 

[headfullofbees]

Sideshoots:
There are two methods of greenhouse growing for all-female cucumber.
One is to let it climb a support to the top, allow two sideshoots to hang down, and to pinch out the growing tip.
The other is to pinch out all sideshoots and just let the stem keep growing. I usually use the second method.
Sideshoots can be used to propagate clone plants in similar fashion to tomatoes, as both are vines.

 

[BigC]

Drying out and growing bigger by the day ........
Looking good HFoB...Yes/No..???

 

[headfullofbees]

Looking good.

 

[Doelman]

I've never grown cucs in a greenhouse, but from my experience with outdoor cucs they will grow until you either prune them or they die. My cucs right now would probably be 20-30 feet long if I stretched out their vines and measured them, and they'll keep growing for months.