which cucumber to grow?

We just sold our home after 30 years & have moved to a new home with FULL sun on the garden. So... Now, I want to grow some CUCUMBERS next season and am asking for suggestions for 2 or 3 varieties to try... FOR FRESH, RAW EATING --- NOT pickling. Hope them to be SWEET, disease resistant, and productive. CAN BE either OP or Hybrid...I do NOT care.

Thanks,
LarryD

Hi Larry!

Exciting times for you being able to do a better garden! I am so jealous!!!

Don't know what to tell you, I am still experimenting myself. I can only grow them in containers so that limits me further.

I don't pickle, but I do plant pickling cukes because they are so early, at least 10 days before the other cukes. And because they are smaller in size it is a shorter time until each is ready to pick and eat. They are perfect for snacking on in the garden!

I would start here, select the slicer types, and read the grower comments. There are lots of cultivars out there, but these are the ones that a gardener thought enough of to put a picture in plantfiles. You also have to choose whether you want an American type ( slicer) or Oriental type (burpless). I did not include Armenians because they are actually melons. http://davesgarden.com/pf/adv_search.php?searcher%5Bcommon%5D=cucumber&searcher%5Bfamily%5D=&searcher%5Bgenus%5D=&searcher%5Bspecies%5D=sativus&searcher%5Bcultivar%5D=&searcher%5Bhybridizer%5D=&search_prefs%5Bsort_by%5D=rating&images_prefs=with&Search=Search&offset=40

Straight Eight is prolific and tasty. Two plants have us swimming in cukes.

Hey Larry, my vote is for the Sugar Crunch cuke. They are sweet and very crispy and prolific, every one I send seeds to loves them! Let me know if you would like some seeds and I will send them out to you right away.

kanita

kanita...... THANKS!! for the offer. Would love to try Sugar Crunch
cuke. Am sending my new mailing address thru Dave's Garden Mail.
Larry

kanita,
I've never heard of Sugar Crunch--did you originally buy the seeds? If so, where did you get them? I'd love to try some. Been using Burpee Burpless which are real good but I like to try new things each year.

I've read good things about Sugar Crunch, too. Looking forward to finding the source. I do not like the one I grew this year, which was Double Feature. It's supposed to be almost square, but it's triangular. It's possible that what I'm also seeinmg is the "pollinator" that was included. It gets very fat, but stays short, and the skin is tough at a small size. They also hide very well. Six just appeared out of nowhere this morning. My neighbor made the mistake of leaving her house. I did include two recipes.....

Sugar Crunch cuke is available from Burpee.

LD

Yes, sugar crunch is a Burpee seed I have used for the last 2 years, and everyone that has tried them has come to love them. They have thin skin so I guess they are considered burpless. I made a huge Thai cucumber salad last year because they are really prolific.

Straight Eight is my favorite. Never bitter; crisp even when large; mild flavor.

Thanks everyone for contributing your suggestions for cukes to try!!

LarryD

Cucumber experts:
I need your help! For the last few years, I have planted a variety of cucumber seeds. All I get is vines - very healthy vines - but no cucumbers. Does anyone know what I am doing wrong and what I can do to correct it?
Thanking you in advance for any suggestions you might have.
Elliott

Do you fertilize? Sounds like too much nitrogen. Just because it's easy for me to get while I'm doing my grocery shopping, I always use Wal Marts brand of tomato fertilizer (18-18-21) which is the same as Miracle Grow except cheaper. The balance is fixed so it causes plants to produce more fruit, not more leaves.

Emorss, are you getting lots of flowers as well?

NL1950 So this fert would be good for most veges?Do you just use this or something else with it. Deanna

I am not getting any flowers - just cucumber vines.

In the early spring, I add composted manure to my soil. During the growing period, I spray my garden with the Spray N Grow "cocktail". Could this cause my soil to have too much nitrogen?

Tomatoes and pole beans do fine in my soil as do cucmber vines - just no cucumbers!

Cottonpicker, You didn't say where you moved from, but here in western PA where I live, there is a big problem with bacterial wilt for cucumbers. It's spread by the cucumber beetle. Depending on where you live in the area, some people can grow cukes without problems but others never get one big enough to pick.

Country Fair is the only cuke variety that is bacterial wilt resistant. I'd recommend you give that one a try if wilt is in your area. I've grown it for several years without wilt problems. It's a pickler but gets big enough to slice. Vines are relatively small and tend to only grow one cuke at a time, so pick often.

The other choice would be to grow under cloth until blooming, then remove cover for pollination. I did that one year, but the vines were attacked shortly after removing the covers. You may be lucky enough to not have this problem, but it is something to watch for in PA.

krowten...... Thanks for the tip!!

LD

Hi,

So far Summer Delight is my absolute favorite, rich sweet flavor, crisp texture and very prolific.

Of the varieties I grew this season, it's the only one I'll grow again (and again, and again, and again)

That's good to know. Hadn't heard of this variety until now. Will check it out.

LD

essentialplanet..... Just searched for & found a Korean long cuke, Summer Delight. Is THIS the one you recommended? Evergreen Seeds sells it.
Thanks,
LarryD

Hi Larry,

That is the one. Evergreen Seeds is where I got mine from.

Thanks, "e..planet",

LarryD