In the past I have grown a number of different cucumbers but the ones I keep coming back to and grow each year are Burpless and Marketmore. In 2018 I was introduced to Esmarald from Mr Fothergills as John had started off a load of cucumbers and was looking to distribute the love, by giving his babies to anyone on the plot that was happy to give them room rather than compost them.
I have to say Esmarald out grew Burpless Tasty Greens but I was not able to get hold of the seeds again from Mr Fothergills.
Burpless Tasty Green were grown in 2021 along with Swing F1 which was a cucumber with a nice girth only four slices needed per sandwich one in each quadrant of the bread, and quite a nice taste and texture .
Cucumber 'Mini Muncher F1' is a female flowering outdoor mini cucumber that develops fruits at the size of 10-15cm with 1-2 per node. This variety is ideal for British summer weather, as you can get great fruits even if you live under colder conditions in your area. The mini cucumbers are juicy and crisp with an excellent taste, making them the perfect, healthy afternoon snack or a great lunchbox filler for kids.
This new indoor, “all female” snack type is highly productive, with plants producing three to four delicious fruits at each node, every few days.
Ideal for children, with fruits having a slight crunch. This variety is best grown in an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel and is known for having excellent resistance to powdery mildew.
A remarkable variety that performed very well in trials. Suprina F1 is the first outdoor 'Beth Alpha' type to be predominantly female. Bred to provide an abundance of top-quality flavoursome fruit, which has shiny smooth skin and average 12-14cm in length.
F1 Burpless Tasty Green - 20 Seeds - £2.79 - Suttons - Sow By 7/2024 Packed 2021
Growing in the greenhouse
Start cucumbers off by sowing seeds from mid-February to mid-March if you have a heated greenhouse or similar environment, or in April if you have an unheated greenhouse. Sow seeds on their side, 1cm (½in) deep in pots.
Sowing outdoors
Sow seeds 2.5cm (1in) deep indoors in late April. Alternatively, sow directly outside in late May or early June and cover the soil above the seeds with fleece, a cloche or glass jar. This method can work well in southern regions and in warm summers.
Young plants are also available from garden centres in spring.
Growing indoors
Transfer young plants to 25cm (10in) pots of good potting compost in late March (heated greenhouse), late May (unheated greenhouse). Keep the compost evenly moist – little and often is the best way. You can also use growing-bags but plants will need to be carefully watered and looked after.
Train the main stem up a vertical wire or cane. Pinch out the growing point when it reaches the roof. Pinch out the tips of sideshoots two leaves beyond a female flower (recognisable by tiny fruits behind flower). Pinch out the tips of flowerless sideshoots once they reach 60cm (2ft) long.
Keep the humidity high by watering the floor and, once planted out, feed every 10-14 days with a balanced liquid fertiliser.
Growing outdoors
Either sow seeds or plant out young plants in early June, ideally under fleece or cloches. Any fertile garden soil in full sun is satisfactory.
Dig in up to two bucketfuls of rotted organic matter, such as garden compost, and rake in 100g per square metre (3½oz per square yard) of general purpose fertiliser.
Pinch out the growing tip when the plants have developed seven leaves. The developing sideshoots can be left to trail over the ground or trained up stout netting. Pinch out the tips of flowerless sideshoots after seven leaves.
For the varieties I grow, I don't remove the male flowers, and keep the soil constantly moist by watering around the plants – not over them.
Cucumber seeds if kept in ideal conditions should last between 10 - 15 years.
New for 2022 Hopeline F1 from Dobies
Hopeline is great for growing in the greenhouse or in baskets, where they will happily trial downwards. Harvest short snack-sized fruit of up to 8-10cm.
The fruit is very crispy, with a sweet taste and not too watery like some other cucumbers.
Also resistant to Powdery Mildew, plants will produce an average of around 55 fruit each over the summer months. Perfect for snacking or salads.
Sow - April-June
Sow seeds singly on edge in 90mm (3 1/2 Inch Pots) under glass at 18-21° C in April for a greenhouse crops or April-June for Outdoors. Later pot on plants into larger pots, about 250mm (10") in size, or plant them out in a frame/greenhouse or outdoors. (Do not plant in cold frames until may) Maintain night temperatures of 16-18 ° C. Remove male flowers leaving the female ones (distinguished by swelling on stem behind petals) from which cucumbers will be produced.
Plant Out - May - July
Harvest - July - Oct.
Height - 1010 - 1500mm ( 3' 4" to 5").
New for 2022 Mini Muncher F1 from Suttons
This a unique cucumber to opt for and if looked after well, you can expect vigorous, early plants with high yields. Mini Muncher is tolerant of powdery mildew, downy mildew and cucumber vein yellowing virus, plus cucumber mosaic virus resistance. Therefore, a very disease-resistant crop to grow!
Sow seed singly on edge in 9cm pots under glass at 18–21°C (65–70°F) March-May for greenhouse crops or April-May for outdoors. Later pot on plants into large pots, about 25cm in size, or plant them out in a frame/greenhouse or outdoors. (Do not plant in cold frames until May.) Maintain night temperatures of 16–18°C (60–65°F).
New for 2022 Party Time F1 - Mr Fothergill's
Ideal for children, with fruits having a slight crunch. This variety is best grown in an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel and is known for having excellent resistance to powdery mildew.
5 Seeds £3.55 to me is a little extreme.
Suprina F1 - D.T.Brown - £2.99
A remarkable variety that performed very well in trials. Suprina F1 is the first outdoor 'Beth Alpha' type to be predominantly female. Bred to provide an abundance of top-quality flavoursome fruit, which has shiny smooth skin and average 12-14cm in length.
Plants show good resistance to common diseases including powdery mildew. Pick regularly to encourage further fruits.
F1 Burpless Tasty Green - 20 Seeds - £2.79 - Suttons - Sow By 7/2024 Packed 2021
Shop Quality
Outdoor Variety
Delicious Fruit 230mm (9") in length
High Yielding. Mildew Resistant
Reliable Cropper
Passandra F1 - 4 Seeds - Organic Gardening Seeds - £3.99
Germination 7 - 21 Days
Growing in the greenhouse
Start cucumbers off by sowing seeds from mid-February to mid-March if you have a heated greenhouse or similar environment, or in April if you have an unheated greenhouse. Sow seeds on their side, 1cm (½in) deep in pots.
Sowing outdoors
Sow seeds 2.5cm (1in) deep indoors in late April. Alternatively, sow directly outside in late May or early June and cover the soil above the seeds with fleece, a cloche or glass jar. This method can work well in southern regions and in warm summers.
Young plants are also available from garden centres in spring.
Growing indoors
Transfer young plants to 25cm (10in) pots of good potting compost in late March (heated greenhouse), late May (unheated greenhouse). Keep the compost evenly moist – little and often is the best way. You can also use growing-bags but plants will need to be carefully watered and looked after.
Train the main stem up a vertical wire or cane. Pinch out the growing point when it reaches the roof. Pinch out the tips of sideshoots two leaves beyond a female flower (recognisable by tiny fruits behind flower). Pinch out the tips of flowerless sideshoots once they reach 60cm (2ft) long.
Keep the humidity high by watering the floor and, once planted out, feed every 10-14 days with a balanced liquid fertiliser.
Growing outdoors
Either sow seeds or plant out young plants in early June, ideally under fleece or cloches. Any fertile garden soil in full sun is satisfactory.
Dig in up to two bucketfuls of rotted organic matter, such as garden compost, and rake in 100g per square metre (3½oz per square yard) of general purpose fertiliser.
Pinch out the growing tip when the plants have developed seven leaves. The developing sideshoots can be left to trail over the ground or trained up stout netting. Pinch out the tips of flowerless sideshoots after seven leaves.
For the varieties I grow, I don't remove the male flowers, and keep the soil constantly moist by watering around the plants – not over them.
Cucumbers In My Seed Box And That I Have Grown Include:
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