Is this normal cucumber growth?

I've never grown cucumbers before -- are these green things normal spikey development of a cucumber, or are they bug eggs or ??

One more photo to follow.

Thanks.

This message was edited Aug 8, 2008 7:14 PM

Another photo.

Well, that's really weird, to say the least. I hope someone who knows will chime in as I'm curious, too.

Karen

THAT, my friend, is a female cucumber which, if pollinated, will become your first cucumber! Congrats!

Oh!!!! Thank you feldon30!!!

I just saw another posting that said "You do not want your developing cucumber to be pollinated by the male flower as the cucumber will taste bitter and not very pleasant. The male flowers should be removed as soon as possible to avoid the possibility of fertilising the female flower on the developing cucumber fruit."

Is that true??

No.

If the female is not pollinated it will never become a cucumber.

feldon30,

Thanks, now I know what to look for, too.

Karen

Can you please tell me who posted this and where? This passes misinformation and almost sounds malicious to me. How could anyone who has ever grown cucumbers think that removing male flowers will give you cucumbers? I think someone is having a little prank at someone's expense.


Early in the season, before the bees show up (others such as Little Black Ants can also pollinate cucumbers sometimes), I will pick off recently opened male flowers, remove the petals, and rub the innards onto female flowers. Hand pollination is a good thing.



This message was edited Aug 9, 2008 9:20 AM

Congrats on your cucumbers, emblue. Aren't they fun?

If some of the little ones turn yellow and die, it just means they didn't get pollinated. But there will be more, so don't worry.

The big one in this picture, I guess I probably should've picked it sooner. Still trying to get a feel for when to harvest some of this stuff.

That posting only applies to the parthenocarpic greenhouse cukes. The seedless kind. I don't grow them so I can't verify whether it makes them bitter or not, but it is a recommendation that usually accompanies those cultivars. There are some like Diva which are grown by home gardeners and those folk frequently ask why they have seeds. They only have seeds when they are pollinated by a male flower.

Indy, it appears that the big cucumber is perfect for picking as long as it hasn't started turning yellow or is soft or some such but of course the small one needs to grow a bit.
If you find that the big cucumber is too bitter for your taste try soaking it in vinegar for a bit or a vinegar based salad dressing. That should take any bitterness out.

Ann

Thanks, plantlady. Great tips!

The message about how the male flower shouldn't pollinate the female flower was on a blog. I'll send to you directly so you can check it out.

feldon 30 - hand pollination may be the NECESSARY thing in coming years if the bees keep on dying off. I have not seen a single honeybee in my garden this summer - bumblebees, wasps of all kinds, moths, butterflies - no honeybees. No fireflies either.
Man as a kid I must have stepped 3 or 4 honeybees a summer (that running through the clover) & spent many evenings catching jars of fireflies to glow in my backyard tent & to feed poor Ladybug, my faithful long suffering wirehaired fox terrier.

I have been given a link to the blog website giving out this information about "picking off all the male flowers before pollination". I have posted a message and will hopefully get a reply or some clarification:

http://completegarden.wordpress.com/2008/07/11/cucumber-how-to-identifying-male-and-female-flower/

If you are growing a parthenocarpic cucumber variety such as the popular Diva ( http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?category=1&subcategory=396&item=2198 ) which is an all-female cucumber and which does not need male flowers to pollinate, then picking off male flowers will not affect your crop. I can't testify about the flavor as I have not grown such a variety. If you are growing an heirloom or standard variety such as my favorite Poona Kheera, you will have a very disappointing season if you pick off all the male flowers!

feldon30,

Thanks for clearing that up. I followed the link. If you are growing indoors varieties (greenhouse types) then you do pick off the male flowers, but if you are growing outdoor varieties (which most of us are) then you need to male flowers for pollination. I didn't know Diva was an all-female cucumber. I planted some of them this year, but alas they did not do well enough for me to find out that piece of information from the plants themselves. I think I'll go back to the old standbys of OP and Heirloom varieties and forget about reading how terrific the hybrids are. LOL.

Karen