[leeky]

Have been given some conflicting advice over what to do with burpless cukes. Plan on doing a row on a wire fence and string them up.

Any ideas about which flower to pull off? male or female? or even when and what do they look like?? (ok i can google that last one     )

Also are they burpless because they dont have air holes that make folk belch?

thanks!

[DD.]

Err - if you pull off the female flowers you won't have any cucumbers!! The female ones are easily found as they have a small cucumber behind the fruit. The male ones just have a thin stem.

As for burpless have a read of this...

http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/improbable/story/0,11109,1594140,00.html

[WG.]

Also are they burpless because they dont have air holes that make folk belch?

Do doughrings make you belch then?  

He is an acknowledged expert on sex expression in luffa gourds

Wow, what a claim to fame !!

[DD.]

Do doughrings make you belch then?  

Barrrrrrrrrrp - YES!

[BAK]

Without getting embroiled in the technicalities of what might or might not constitute a burpless cucumber:

* I find "normal" indoor grown cucumbers somewhat indigestible, ie I cannot eat very much of the stuff .. and they do not taste of anything

* outdoor-grown varieties, Burpless Tasty Green in our case, have a much meatier texture and are easier to eat .. and they do have some taste.

We grow the outdoor types up a wigwam construction.

Note that the only disadvantage of outdoor-grown cucumbers is that they have a hard skin .. we remove it with a potato peeler - a fairly simple job.

[leeky]

right! so pull off the male flowers.  wigwam sounds a good idea too.


BURRRRRRRPPPPPPPPPPPP!

[helluvatractor]

can i just ask about my marketmore cucumbers that i'm growing outside?  do these need the male flowers taking off.  i've scanned the seed packet and it doesn't mention anything about f1 or all female variety :?

[DD.]

There appears to be conflicting advice re this. It was always said that you should remove the male flowers, but the more I delve into it, the more I find saying that with non-all female varities, the male flowers are essential for pollenation. :?:  :?:  :?:

[beansticks]

Dont know if this is going to confuse the issue even further,but i have grown this variety for the last three years and do not remove the male flower.To my mind the male flower is needed to pollinate the female.When there has been a lack of insects etc to pollinate naturally ,then i remove the male flower and insert it into the female flower to help pollination.Hope the last bit falls into what AUNTY considers respectable.

[sclarke624]

Funnily enough I have a packet of T&M Burpless tasty green F1 Hybrid right in front of me which I was gonna plant today as I lost most of my marketmore cucs.  Two plants out of five left.

Anyways the packet says DO NOT REMOVE the male flowers.  And the packet is up to date i.e not an old one.

HTH