[Elcie]

How big should I let the cucumbers get before I begin to harvest them?

The biggest ones:







They are no where near as big as the ones you would buy but I know not to expect that size.  They are the Telegraph (Frame) variety.  There are still some knobbly bits on the outside of them.  I'm tempted to leave them another week or so but don't want them to get ruined because I waited too long!

Thank you 

[janiejakemum]

Personally i would try one and see what it tastes like.

[DD.]

If it's big enough to eat, cut it off & let the others develop.

[Mitsy]

Omg my plants are only a few inches!

They look lovely, I'd try one. There again I'm not the most patient person 

[peterjf]

you grow them as big as you want , as small as you want , i leave mine to thicken , telegraph f1 , some reached 18 inches by 4 inches last year

[Noodles]

I read in a book last night that they are ready to eat when the end is starting to get round and less pointy.

[sclarke624]

You could leave them another week.  Are your cucumbers prickly?  I grow burpless and you really know it when you touch the leaves or stem, feels like a barb going into your fingers.

[Elcie]

Thanks for the advice everyone.

sclarke624 - they are prickly but the bigger they get they seem to lose their prickles.

Might try one tomorrow, but will wait a few days if I can!

If it is sunny you can literally see the difference in them each day

[Kristen]

I think the fruit in your pictures is a bit "young"

IME the first few fruit form perfectly. But the secondary fruit have to contend with the first fruit having all the lime-light! (and nutrients).

The secondary fruit are more curved, more tapered and more yellow. They don't look like they are going to make it.

When you pick the first fruit, the secondary fruit get all the resources, and sort themselves out.

I pick when they straighten themselves up and fatten up a bit.

I balance that with picking as often as I can - which encourages more fruit to set, and more set-fruit to fatten up.

If the plant thinks it is successfully producing seed (i.e. a fruit is maturing & fattening up) then it will stop flowering, and let existing fruit "drop".

Notwithstanding that, Cucumbers are self regulating, and if there are "sufficient" fruits maturing on the plant then additional fruit will fail to set - the little fruits will just go yellow and drop off

[gawk]

My seed packet for F1 Burpless Tasty Green said harvest at around 20cm so that is exactly what we did on Saturday