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Burpless cucumber plants

LynLyn Posts: 23,190
in Fruit & veg
I can’t find any information on the net as to picking off males, or do you leave them for pollination.
I remember my dad saying that leaving the males on would make the cucumbers bitter.

I will be growing them inside the GH, if that makes any difference. 

Can anyone give me some info please, the flowers have formed and some baby cucumbers, should I pick them off until the plants bigger.
Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

Posts

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    *bump*. Somebody, anybody 🙂
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    I've not grown that variety Lyn, but from the T&M site - 
    https://www.thompson-morgan.com/how-to-grow-cucumbers

    It says not to remove flowers from Burpless (though they class it as an Outdoor variety) as the flowers require pollination by insects.

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    I don't know @Lyn, but my NDN gave me one of the plants two years ago which I grew here and got a decent crop which tasted fine to me. And I've never been diligent at taking flowers off (or small fruit). So I didn't and it was fine. Whether I should have done, I can't tell you for certain.
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Now I’m completely confused, grown in the GH, take the males off, outside, leave them on. I can see I should have bought GH seeds, nothing grows well up here unless it ground hugs.
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Found this at the Sarah Raven site - where it also says no need to remove flowers....
    https://www.sarahraven.com/veg_fruit/seeds/veg_seeds/cucumber_burpless_tasty_green.htm


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Your post interested my Lyn so I done some digging - around the internet.

    From what I've read I think the problem with male flowers causing bitter fruits only occurs with varieties that have been bred to be all female plants.
    If an all female plant produces a male flower (which they occasionally do) and the pollen from that male flower gets to the female flowers, then you'll get bitter fruits.

    I've read that it's unwise to grow the 2 different varieties (Greenhouse and Outdoor) close to each other for that reason. If the pollen from the outdoor variety gets to the female flowers of a greenhouse cucumber the fruits will be bitter.

    So called all female cucumbers are     parthenocarpic meaning virgin fruit, and therefore contain no seed
    So I think in your case, you can leave the flowers alone.

    Mind you a couple of hours ago I didn't know any of the above - so it aint gospel  :D


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • raisingirlraisingirl Posts: 7,093
    I grew it indoors
    Gardening on the edge of Exmoor, in Devon

    “It's still magic even if you know how it's done.” 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Thank you all for the info,  I will just leave them to do their own thing, there’s lots of babies on there now and the plants are only about 6” tall, if it were a perennial flower I would have pinched them out, so ok to leave them on such a small plant? 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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