Diva Cucumber

I couldn't understand why my cucumbers were bitter & tasteless so I did some research & found out that 1- low moisture, 2- high temperatures, 3- poor nutrition were causes( I know all of you may have known this but for me I'm still learning).My county is on the "extreme" drought list,& having very high temperatures of 100 plus,so now I know what has tribute the bitter taste to my beautiful cucumbers. I may have to give the Earth Boxes a try,to see if that will help?? Learning this I will keep Diva on my grow list for next year.What is your favorite cucumber for slicing?

Mine have been a dismal failure this year except for a volunteer of unknown origin. In years past, I've really liked the long small seeded ones like Sweet Slice and Sweet Success. I also like Straight 8 and Marketmore. May as well say I like them all. I just planted some called Tendergreen which is a new one for me. Lots of water, fertilizer and keeping them picked are my secrets. If you miss picking a big one, the plant will think it has done its' job and quit.

I am wondering about earth boxes and temperature. I would think the soil temp of an earthbox would be higher than the soil temp in the ground, but it would be worth a try.
We don't have a problem with high temps here (summer average temp is 80)

I have some telegraph cutes growing in earthboxes that are doing well. I did go on vacation and had to rely on a neighbor to water and i think she let them dry out. The ones that where developing at the time turned bitter.. The latest have been fine, and I sure enjoy them on my tomato sandwiches! Earthboxes work great as long as you fill ever single day. One stress, and your going to be eating bitter fruit. My greenhouse has stayed under 90 all summer long.

I read on another thread the other day that because Diva cucumbers are an all-female-flower variety if the vines should produce any male flowers which in turn pollinate the female flowers you will get bitter fruit. So, it said to pick the male flowers off if there are any. This was quoting someone's on-line blog. I don't know if it is true or not as I haven't been able to verify this info in other source. I would think it if were true at least one of the seed companies would put that in their plant description, but I can't find a single mention.

Have any of you heard this?

Karen

That is very interesting. Has anybody else heard, or knows about this???

Diva is a parthenocarpic cultivar, when pollinated it does develop seeds, don't know about bitterness. For its best attributes, it is best to avoid interplanting with regular cukes.
http://www.coopext.colostate.edu/4DMG/Whats/Amerslct/diva.htm

The first year I grew cukes they were bitter from uneven watering. Since then I have always grown them in earthboxes (the home-made cheap variety), and never a bitter bite. The earthboxes supply constant water which I think is the key, and the cucumbers seem very happy there.

I grow mostly Persian cucumbers (sarig is the cultivar) because they are so hard to get here in the US, and exceptionally delicious.

Myrrh

myrrh those Persian cucumbers sounds good.
May I ask where you found your seeds?
Diva is the only cucumber I'm growing. I haven't really noticed any male flowers but they could be some. I have seen very small bees working in the vines.

This is a great thread. Here's a good article on cucumber cultivation.

http://www.uga.edu/vegetable/cucumber.html



This message was edited Aug 16, 2008 9:37 AM

My wife just asked the best way to store the fruit. Should they be refrigerated? It's nice to have more then you can eat:-)

The Persian cucumbers come from Paramount Seeds. Unfortunately, the Persians are hybrids which I am in not generally in favor of, but they are so delicious and remind me of my childhood, so I make do. I keep meaning to hunt around and find some OP varieties that I like as much, but I haven't gotten around to it.

Thanks.
I'm going to try to find these & give them a try.

Fourks, when I put cukes in th efridge after a few days the outsides start wrinkling, but love me chilled. They usually last lots longer fo rme sitting on the counter.

Thanks starlight. Guess the secret is to eat right away! I have to keep reminding my wife that soon the snow will be flying, and fresh veggies will be a distant memory.

Diva cukes have grown perfectly in my EBs and they were delicious although they don't seem to like heat. They taste just great and many were eaten while working outdside. I never was very fond of cucumbers before because of the bitterness and seeds but Diva's seeds are soft and the cucumber is sweet and does not have to be peeled . My neighbors enjoyed them also. They were supposed to be the bush type but they sent out vines and this season I will trellis them. Fun to grow!

Mine were vines also are there two different kinds,I didn't know about bush?The EB seens to be the way to grow these.
T, did you use anything else besides lime & 10-10-10?

Just dolomite lime and 10-10-10 is all I ever use except for corn when I use Super Bloom 15-35-15 as corn are gluttons. I tried using 6-6-6 for my peppers but prefer the 10-10-10 this season but always dolomite lime only....

When is the best time to set up an EB,at the time of planting or does it matter?

I always set up my EBs when I am ready to plant.

myrrh,I checked Paramount out I guess they are wholesale only?

They sell smaller pakages, but it looks like their already high prices went to exorbinant since I last bought seeds from them. That is always the danger of the hybrid. I got a pack of seeds from them 3 years ago, and germination was good all three years, but it looks like their proces have gotten much higher ($40 for 100 seeds is too much).

You might try here:
http://www.reimerseeds.com/persian-middle-east-cucumbers.aspx

They don't have the named cultivars that Paramount has, but for $2.50 it is probably worth a try.

Good luck!

I just looked at Parmount , but didnt see any Persian seed?

I think Armenian and Persian cucumber are the same thing (If I'm correct)

Paramounts persian cucumbers can be found here:
http://store.paramount-seeds.com/servlet/-strse-Greenhouse-Cucumber-cln-Mini-Type/Categories

at a bank breaking price

Armenian cucumbers are actually a bit different. Technically they are melons not cucumber, though they have a cucumber taste. They are also long, whereas persian cukes are eaten quite small