Another Cucumber question

[brooli]

Hi

Its my first time at growing cucumbers and have grown Palermo cucumber which is an all female variety and have placed them in a heated greenhouse. A keen gardener has advised me to remove all cucumbers off the main stem but according to the bbc web site the all female types are grown on the main stem, and to remove laterials altogether, so it has caused some confussion. I suspect the bbc is right but can anyone confirm. Also what do they mean by removing laterials

Thanks in advance for any help

[selfraising]

Hi
As you have an all female variety, I certainly wouldn't remove any and can't see a reason why you would.

[brooli]

Thanks for that I will leave the cucumbers on the main stem but should i remove the laterals. I take it that you remove them like you do on tomato plants between the main stem and a leaf so that all the energy goes into producing cucumbers.

[Scottishnewbie]

i cant thank you enough for this post! i'm growing all female for the first time and i have one teeny wee cucumber (about 1.5inches at the moment) growing from the main stem. i didnt realise any of this and would have just let laterals grow (not knowing any better), so really glad you posted this thread!

[selfraising]

I'm afraid I don't know anything about pinching out laterals. I checked on the RHS site and it doesn't mention doing this either. It may be to do with promoting more fruit growth but I have to say that I've never done it and grow mine outside. Hope someone comes along who can give you further advice about this.

[lyndap]

I need advice on cucs to,cos not grown before.They are marketmore,to be grown outside in pots.How big should pot be,and what do you have to do with plant.Heard something about removing male flowers but not got a clue!!!HELP!!!

[Demeter]

I need advice on cucs to,cos not grown before.They are marketmore,to be grown outside in pots.How big should pot be,and what do you have to do with plant.Heard something about removing male flowers but not got a clue!!!HELP!!!

How you treat a cuke depends on the type. Outdoor varieties like Marketmore should NOT have the male flowers removed as the plant needs to be pollinated to grow fruit. (Indoor varieties may be different, have not grown them so won't pontificate!!)

If grown in a pot it will want something to grow up. Last year I grew three plants up a tripod, they grew to about 5 feet tall and produced a reasonable amount of fruit but then succumbed to powdery mildew. They will also want plenty of food and water (but don't get the stem wet if you can avoid it!) so the bigger the pot the better.

[sewer rat]

Hi

Its my first time at growing cucumbers and have grown Palermo cucumber which is an all female variety and have placed them in a heated greenhouse. A keen gardener has advised me to remove all cucumbers off the main stem but according to the bbc web site the all female types are grown on the main stem, and to remove laterials altogether, so it has caused some confussion. I suspect the bbc is right but can anyone confirm. Also what do they mean by removing laterials

Thanks in advance for any help

All Female varieties produce their fruits from the main stem. At each joint where there is a small fruit forming there will also be a sideshoot (this is what they mean when they talk about laterals). This needs to be pinched out in the same way as you would sideshoot tomato plants.
So whilst your keen gardener may not necessarily be wrong if he or she is referring to open pollinated varieties, if you followed his / her advice in this case you would be left with no cukes at all.

[gojiberry]

Each plant has a limited amount of energy and so the idea is to remove laterals to reduce the amount of cucumbers produced. That way you will get nice sized cucumbers, also it reduces the need to find supports for the laterals. However if you grow the laterals and allow cucumber to form on then then you will get more cucumbers but of a far smaller size. By removing laterals I find I get between 8/14 good sized cucumbers per plant.

Ian

[GardeningMike]

Hi

Its my first time at growing cucumbers and have grown Palermo cucumber which is an all female variety and have placed them in a heated greenhouse. A keen gardener has advised me to remove all cucumbers off the main stem but according to the bbc web site the all female types are grown on the main stem, and to remove laterials altogether, so it has caused some confussion. I suspect the bbc is right but can anyone confirm. Also what do they mean by removing laterials

Thanks in advance for any help

I wouldn't remove anything, fruit, flowerbuds or any buds for that matter! That's my advice. I've been growing the all-female F1 hybrid Restina for 3 years now and I just train its main stem vertically up bamboo sticks on our patio outdoors - that variety has given us 30 to 60 fruits, or up to 4.5 Kg, per plant from June to October.

[Topcat36]

I to am growing cukes for the first time, also outdoor marketmore, it says on packet to remove growing tip when six leaves have formed ok so dumb question do i include the seed leaves or just proper leaves. Can't find much info on net except where to buy seeds from. Will be placing mine in a raised bed so how close together can i plant ?

[lyndap]

How you treat a cuke depends on the type. Outdoor varieties like Marketmore should NOT have the male flowers removed as the plant needs to be pollinated to grow fruit. (Indoor varieties may be different, have not grown them so won't pontificate!!)

If grown in a pot it will want something to grow up. Last year I grew three plants up a tripod, they grew to about 5 feet tall and produced a reasonable amount of fruit but then succumbed to powdery mildew. They will also want plenty of food and water (but don't get the stem wet if you can avoid it!) so the bigger the pot the better.

Thanks for the advice

[tootles]

I grew mine outside last year. I gave each plant a 6 foot cane to grow up (tying at intervals) I didn't remove anything. The varieties were Marketer and Burpless Tasty Green. This year I have constructed a frame. Three sturdy posts (6' above ground) about 2 metres apart and wires strung across at three levels. I hope to get up to 8 plants in.
I am being watched with some interest here, as all the old boys let their cues trail.

[BarleySugar]

I remember my Mum used to remove the laterals from her female cues, but I let mine develop. Then once the ones on the main stem have finished, there are still ones coming on afterwards. (Also the old leaves can be cut off when they get the mildew and the plant still continues producing, or mine did )

[brooli]

Thanks for the great responses. some say remove laterals some say dont so I will try an experiment and remove off one plant and leave on on the other and see which I have most sucess with. I will post results at the end of growing. Once again thanks for all your advice much appreciated.