Cucumbers.

[zabado]

I would like to grow some cucumbers this year and I've heard that if I don't remove the male part of the flower the cucumbers will taste bitter. Is this true and if so which part of the flower is male ?. I've only just retired and this will be my first year at growing anything edible so any advice would be very welcome. Thank you.

[murraymints]

have never grown them ..look on line google i am sure info is there...loads of watering I imagine

[murraymints]

http://www.google.co.uk/search?ie=UTF-8&source=android-browser&;hl=en-GB&q=growing+cucumbers&gfe_rd=cr&ei=yuUHVZSaGeTL0wXZj4L4Cw


info will be here somewhere

[Ratty2E]

You can buy all female F1 hybrid seeds/plants.

[alavahalf]

I have grown them for the past 4 years with very little difficulty. I started mine off from seed in my lounge window 2 weeks ago. They are now 2 " tall and need re-potting. When they are about 6" tall I will put them outside during the warmer days and back inside overnight. This will harden them so as they are ready to be put in their final growing site (indoors in a greenhouse).
Each one will have a bamboo cane at it's base standing upright. More canes will be tied across the uprights to support the fruit. When the plant reaches the top of the frame at about 4 ft .. I nip out the growing tip. Besides that I don't do anything else other than remove the cucumbers when they are approx. 6-7" long. They will blow the socks off their supermarket counterparts when it comes to taste and last at least a month in the fridge. I end up giving most of mine away to the neighbours (It works both ways because at xmas I get bottles of wine back).
Some varieties can be grown outside, but are more likely to get wind damage. If you have the luxury of a green house or a poly tunnel you will reap the best results growing indoors.
If you do start them from seed now, sow a few spares as well in a months time ... just in case of a failure. Better to have too many.

[Ratty2E]

Some more info here http://www.thompson-morgan.com/how-to-grow-cucumbers

[zabado]

Thanks to all you guys. I'm really itching to go now.