Grow Your Own Magazine

I seem to have a male flower on my Fidelio F1 cucumber plant. Should I remove it? I have searched and searched and cannot find anything relating to this on the web - everything says they should be female flowers only, but I deffo have a flower with a skinny stalk behind it.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

If it should only have female flowers and you have got a male, get rid of him! Some are all female but some have both but should have the male flower removed to prevent bitterness after pollination. (Unless they arr ridge type, that is!)

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Earth laughs in flowers. Ralph Waldo Emerson

www.vegheaven.blogspot.com

Updated November 30th - Mr Stinky's Excellent Adventure (and a Christmas Cake)

I read somewhere that 'All Female' cucumber plants sometimes produce a male flower or 2 if they're put under some kind of stress, and they should be pinched off straight away. Have the plants got dry or anything?

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Sarah

“Tell me one last thing,” said Harry. “Is this real? Or has this been happening inside my head?”
“Of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?”

Too dry!!!??!! Chance would be a fine thing round here!!

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Hazel
www.hazelandjanesallotment.blogspot.com
update Tues 02/12/2008......End of year report!.....

They might have been stressed - it was quite cold here for a few days and the greenhouse is unheated. The male flowers were right at the bottom of two of the plants - I have nipped them off now. Was very confused since every bit of info I could find said they were all-female. Can't wait to try a cucmber grown from seeds by me - last year I bought plants

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Hi Shirl
Don't get too strassed by the appearance of a male flower on an all female plant - it happens now and again.

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

Just didn't want bitter cucumbers

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

Shirl
Should have made it clearer that the actual appearance of male flowers happens now and again but that they must be removed as you say, to prevent bitterness. Didn't mean you should just ignore them !!

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Rat

British by birth
Scottish by the Grace of God

Blog updated Wednesday November 13th

all female cukes pollinated by male flowers does not cause bitter fruits.
Also cukes and cantaloupes can not cross and give lackluster taste in current seasons fruit.

Bitterness in cukes is caused by stress due to lack watering,heat stress and other
plant stress caused by bad growing methods.
Certain varieties are more prone to bitterness but i do not know of a list that lists
which are prone bitterness and which are not.

My sincere apologies for believing what I read. I understood that the reason F1 hybrid cucumbers were all-female was to stop the bitter fruit situation. I am however, only in my second year of gardening and believe I have much to learn. I would like to quote from 'The Gardener's Year' by Mr Tichmarsh - under July and Cucumbers " ....Watch out for cucumbers that develop a swollen bulge at one end, because they usually have a bitter taste and hard seeds in the centre, which happnes when they have been pollinated (see box below)" and the 'box below'
"Prevent pollination. If you start to find cucumbers witha swollen bulge at one end, fix net curtains over the greenhouse ventialtors to stop bees pollinating the plants. It can happen even to all-female varieties of cucumbers if there are melons growing within range, which is why it's not recommended to grow the two together in the same greenhouse."

Should I now write to Mr Tichmarsh (a gardener of some standing I believe) and tell him he is promoting 'silly garden related myths'? Or would you like to undertake this?

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk

the reason for growing all female cukes is that they can be grown in a green house or cloche with out the need for pollination since in both case there are no bees to do the job.

shirlthegirl43 as for Mr Tichmarsh's statements some are very wrong and have no basis in fact. But part of your problem are misunderstandings on your part as well.
And yes he is promoting silly garden myths. How do rate him as having any standing except as former TV garden show host.

I get lots of bees in my greenhouse.

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Happy Gardening,
Shirley

http://www.honeyjukes.co.uk