Help please with info on crossing cucumbers

[Lisasbolt]

I have sick of trailing through the net and re-reading the same stuff about cucumber, squashes, pumpkins, melon etc etc
I don't need to no that.

So i decided to ask my very knowledgeable friendly grapes.

I am growing a few different types this year;
Socrates (all female)
Bella (all female)
Telegraph improved
crystal lemon
Marketmore 76

Also;
Gherkin Hokus (world kitchen)
Cucumber-Gherkin venlo pickling (suttons)

I will not be saving any seed so does not matter what they might turn out like for second year, but if i plant too close together will they cross, e.g my crystal lemon with the long beautiful Telegraph and i end up with a elongated plump cross something. Like how sweetcorn crosses.
I am assuming the female only plants will be fine together, well hope so as they are in the poly.
I ideally want to have a cucumber patch, but can spread if need be.
I would like to grow the specific bought cucumber not a mix.

Last year i had yellow and green courgettes, and i would now and again get a half green half yellow one.

Anybody with any advice will help

Thanks

[sparrow100]

Crossing shouldn't impact on any of the fruit you get in this first generation. As you said, saving seed would be an issue.

I grow marketmore with my crystal lemons and gherkins and there hasn't been any problem with the fruit they have produced.

[Jay-ell]

I've only grown Markemore which is a ridge cuce and apparently needs to be fertilised, but isn't there supposed to be an issue with all female plants and F1 varieties producing bitter fruits if they are pollinated? I've read that you are supposed to remove the male flowers before they open.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^^^^ I would keep my all female varieties away for the rest just in case.

[Guest]

I might be talking cobblers but...... if they are bitter is it not just the skin? If so just peel them

[Kirk]

What grows/develops from this planting will not "cross". It is the seed inside that will cross and so if planted and grown from that next year you will have hybrid results.

If not self fertile they will have to cross in order to produce any fruit.

To be honest the more "mixed up" they are in planting then the more you are likely to get from them all. As they tend to produce more if pollination is crossed.

[TrysHard]

No ............................

[TrysHard]

I get half yellow and green courgettes and they taste great - seeds from my sister - seeds sown that year SHOULD grow to type as long as you know the source,

Any cross pollination affect the seed and subsequent plants

[Alison]

I might be talking cobblers but...... if they are bitter is it not just the skin? If so just peel them

With some types of cucumber the fruits are very bitter if pollinated do you have to pick off the male flowers. Other varieties need to be pollinated (ridge types usually) so you need to leave the male flowers on for them. Best not to mix the two as you can't give both optimum conditions although now I think about it I've grown Crystal Apple and an all female type together without problems.

[Scarlet]

I might be talking cobblers but...... if they are bitter is it not just the skin? If so just peel them

I grew cucumber white one year, they grew hundreds of male flowers...I really couldn't keep up with removing them. I used them for jokes on the kids.they were the most disgusting thing Ive eaten for years. You couldn't swallow them, they dried your mouth out in seconds

[Philthy]

I grew Bella last year.
I'd thoroughly recommend it! Prolific cropping, long, straight fruits, no mildew or other problems, good flavour, no bitterness.

I've only ever grown cucumbers under glass, so I'm afraid that is the limit of my personal knowledge of the plants. But there's plenty to choose from in this category! I can't say I've ever noticed any difference in taste from cucumbers grown in isolation vs those grown alongside other varieties.

My top tip? Water. Lots and lots of water. I grow the plants in pots (so I can position them higher up and train shoots along wires). You can never add enough water from the top allowing it to run through. Far better to use a decent sized pot and sit that in a deep container. Fill the container directly. Last summer during the hot weather in June + July, once the Bella plants were in high gear, I was adding 3-5 litres daily per pot!
I added a high nitrogen feed weekly. And that was it.

The compost was never allowed to dry out. I was rewarded with a glut of beautifully formed, almost ruler straight fruits, each one at least 300mm in length. They weren't watery or bland, quite the contrary.

I'll be growing Bella again this year. I am rather impressed with it.
Also this white variety:
Cucumber 'Long White' - Salad Seeds - Thompson & Morgan

[Lisasbolt]

Thanks all, i feel a lot better now.

Will the gherkins be fine with them also?

[TrysHard]

Fine as others have said bitterness is due to pollination so pick F1 varieties with all female flowers

[skeggijon]

I've been taught never to cross a cucumber - they come back to bite you!

[Scarlet]

Also this white variety:
Cucumber 'Long White' - Salad Seeds - Thompson & Morgan

I'd love to know how you get on with that, mine just threw hundreds of male flowers, I couldn't get them oh quick enough