[3759allen]

after some advice on growing cucumbers.

my plants have had flowers on now for a couple of weeks. i gather that you you need to remove the male flowers, is this right?

how big do the flowers need to get before you can tell the difference?

i don't want to risk picking the male flowers off too early to find that they were actually young female flowers. it also looks like all the flowers are the same, is this usual for the first/ lower flowers to be male?

sorry for all the silly questions.

[hightide]

Quick answer, it depends on the variety, the packet usually contains instructions about flowering, if you can supply the variety and maybe a picture, someone will have an answer for you.
 

[DD.]

That's correct regarding the variety.

If it's an outdoor (ridge) type you do NOT remove the male flowers, these are necessary for pollination, however, if an indoor variety gets pollinated the fruit can taste bitter. This is why it's not a good idea to grow outdoor types in a greenhouse, along with other varieties.

A lot of indoor types are F1's and will not produce male flowers, unless stressed.

This is a courgette, but the principle behind ID'ing male and female flowers is the same. Males just have a thin stalk, females have an embryonic cucumber. You should be able to tell which is which as soon as you can see them.

[3759allen]

thanks for the help. i got some cheap ones from ebay, as it's the first time i'm growing anything and after everyone saying they are hard to grow i didn't want to waste alot of money. i finally found the listing and it says they're F1 so i'll leave all the flowers.

it does say on the listing that it's a ridge and indoor type combination. i have noticed that there seems to be branches growing from the stem. like the ones you remove from tomatoes. do i need to remove these like tomatoes or can i run them up the string support?

so much to learn about this growing malarky.

[DD.]

F1 does not necessarily mean all female, so keep an eye on them. As I said, they could still produce male flowers anyway.

Don't remove any shoots, just let them run.

Ridge and indoor combination is a new one on me!

[mumofstig]

The one I'm growing, La Diva, says it's indoor or outdoor  but it's listed as all-female, so at least I know to pick off any male flowers it makes by mistake 

[mumofstig]

thanks for the help. i got some cheap ones from ebay,

They must have had a name on the packet and it makes a lot of difference, in whether you pick off the male flowers or not. Some of them need male and female flowers to set fruit.
Have a look through your purchase history and see which variety they were 

[maxibo]

I'm growing miniature whites and they have both male and female flowers.  They are also suitable for both indoor and outdoor growing, according to the packet and the website I ordered from.  I haven't grown cuke's before but you will clearly be able to see the difference between a male and female.  The male will just be a normal flower and the female will have a bulbous bottom ( ) behind the flower which will grow into the full sized cuke.  I can see them forming on mine already.

[DD.]

I think I already said the bit about the flowers - and posted a visual aid!

It's not so much about suitability for indoors and outdoors I'm querying - given the right weather you can do that with any variety, it's this ridge and indoor combination I'm querying - it seems a bit of a contradiction.

[Annen]

I'm growing two kinds, Marketmore 76 and La Diva.  Should I keep them separate when I plant them out?  Will they cross pollinate?

[mumofstig]

I'm growing two kinds, Marketmore 76 and La Diva.  Should I keep them separate when I plant them out?  Will they cross pollinate?

Yes they will - Marketmore needs to be pollinated to set fruit - La Diva doesn't want pollination 

[Annen]

Thanks MoS, I'll put them at opposite ends of the plot.

[J_B]

mine have not come up this year

[compostqueen]

I never touch the flowers or anything and they just get on with it.