I have started to pick cucumbers and this variety is huge. The fruit averages ten to fourteen inches in length and there are a lot of cucumbers on only three plants.
You must share your secret as I am having a bad bad time. I am only on my 3rd one and have seen about 50 or so rot and die. I am growing straight eights and have eaten one already and have only 2 on the vine that will be ready in a few days. 1 on each plant. Yours look like I could just take a nibble right through the computer just to try it! Looks great!
It was grown hydroponically in my greenhouse, but other than that I did nothing special. I only planted three plants and there are a few dozen cucumbers coming along. My wife and I are going to have to eat a lot of cucumbers, as these can't be pickled because the skin is too thin.
An easy way to pollinate is to take a male flower stem and all. Remove the petals and holding it by the stem use it like a brush to pollinate the female flowers. Brush the pollen from the anther onto the stigma of the female flower. Each male flower will have enough pollen to pollinate about four female flowers. This works a lot better than an artist brush or Q-tip.
The female flowers are the ones that have a small bulb behind it that will eventually be the cucumber. It is the beginning of a cucumber. The male flowers do not have this. The flower that is male will have a straight stem from the flower back to the main plant. No tiny cucumber on it. As I was told,,,females have the babies,,,males do not.
Another option would be to purchase seeds for a variety that does not need pollination. The variety I am growing is Telegraph Improved. They are a heirloom and can be grown indoors or out. The seeds were a little more expensive. I think I paid almost five dollars for 40 seeds, but it was well worth it. Right now I have more than five dollars worth of fruit, and I only used 4 seeds. The rest are in the freezer for a later crop and next year.
Another good variety that I believe is self pollinating is the Long Green Slicing. Its a pity that seed companies fail to put SP or OP on their seed packets for self pollinating or open pollinating plants. It would help new gardeners. I am trying the Armenian cucumber this year. 12 to 18 inches long, soft skin, fine seeds, we`ll see how they turn out.
