cucumber Advice please

Hi i,ve been growing cucumbers in a container now for the last 2 years and been doing really well from them but my cucumber skin always seems really tough/harder then they are when bought from a shop,

is there a reason for this? is there a type of cucumber i can try this year that has a less harder skin or are they all like this

thanks for any advice

 

What type have you need growing? Sounds like you have grown outdoor / "Ridge" cucumbers, rather than Greenhouse ones - but I'm only guessing.

 

no idea which type they were kristen they had pickles type edge to them though i never knew there were green house types bit new to all gardening to be honest

 

Sounds like the outdoor so called "ridge" cucumber, and they do have a thicker skin.

If you need to grow them outside I think that's the only type you can grow, but if you have a greenhouse then the "greenhouse types" have a thinner, smooth, skin like you get in the Supermarket.

They are a bit of a swine to grow from seed, and as seedlings, so as you are a newbie my suggestion would be to get some plants from the gardcen centre a bit later on, rather than seed. (Seed for most Greenhouse varieties is very expensive, and you only get about 4 seeds).

As the saying goes "Cucumbers wake up each morning thinking of a new way to die" ...

Do you have a greenhouse that you are planning to grow them in?

 

no i dont, i,ve been growing mine in a conservatory but done really well with them

 

OK, well for conservatory you would be better off with a "Greenhouse variety" - the "outdoor / Ridge" ones are better suited to lower temperatures, whereas the greenhouse ones will like the extra heat in the conservatory.

Example of Greenhouse type (skin will be smoohter than it looks in this photo)


http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/...er+F1+Bella+Female+Type+Seed_MH760.htm#162218

Outdoor variety

http://www.suttons.co.uk/Gardening/...Patio+Salad+Seed+Collection_185424.htm#185424

Links are for purchase of seed, which is probably not ideal for a newbie, so just to give you an idea of the difference.

 

right i get it now well only took 2 years but i,ll get there in the end lol

cheers mate

 

My pleasure

Indoor and Outdoor cucumber varieties is definitely confusing. Can't think of anything else that has that sort of issue ... so I'm not surprised that you were confused!

 

I found a variety called Little Leaf that grows well in both the garden and greenhouse, and I even grow them indoors in the winter. They are parthenocarpic and do not need fertilization, and best of all they can be used for pickles, or salads if you let them get slightly larger. They are not hybrids, so seed saving is possible and the seeds are not at all expensive.

 

they look cool will look up some seeds

 

Good find! I might give these a go next year for pickling.