Favorite Cucumbers

[karstopography]

My fall cucumbers were a bust. Seems like I have a nematode issue, one that hit the cucumbers anyway. Going to move them to a different area for the spring season.

[MissS]

[mention]WoodSprite[/mention] My comparisons did not work out too well at all. I only harvested one cucumber for the whole season. I had too many critters and people helping themselves to all that I grew. I really enjoy helping others out but this was just a bit too much... LOL

[jmsieglaff]

That's too bad Patti! Hope you can get a few more next year!

China Jade was another good cucumber for me, seems that Suyo Long produced better however, so probably will return to that next year, along with my every year staple--Sweeter Yet.

[Tormahto]

Every year I trial cukes, I come up with a new favorite, This year it was Summer Dance F1. They do NOT grow perfectly straight and slender, like in the pics on the package. The taste is close to perfect, though.

[guruofgardens]

Trying a few new varieties in 2021 - Dasher II and Poinsett, both look good for salads and pickled cucumber chunks. Also growing Homemade Pickles for spears. I was impressed with these for the many dill pickles we made.

[rdback]

Since I'm always looking for a new cucumber to try, and I value other folks recommendations, I thought I'd run through this thread and do a quick “tally”. Now I know which one(s) I'm gonna try next season. Thanks!

Gold Medal (6 votes)
Sweet Success

Silver Medals (4 votes)
Diva
Sweeter Yet

Bronze Medal (3 votes)
Homemade Pickles

Up & Coming (2 votes)
National Pickling
Suyo Long

Honorable Mention (1 vote)
Arkansas Little Leaf
Baby Fingers F1
Beit Alpha
Boston Pickling
Burpfree
China Jade
Corinto
County Fair
County Fair Improved
Dasher II
Dragon's Egg
Femspot
Garden Sweet Burpless
General Lee
Large White Russian
Monika
Northeastern Pickling
Pepinex
Picolino F1
Poinsett
Richmond Green Apple
Sikkim
Socrates
Spacemaster
Straight Eight
Summer Dance F1
Tasty Green
Tasty Jade
Taurus F1
Vertina
Viridis F1

[karstopography]

Planted my seeds today. Garden Sweet Burpless, “Green fingers” Persian, and “Chelsea Prize” English cucumber. Love planting seeds, let’s see what transpires.

[mama_lor]

I mostly grow pickling cucumbers. Ekol F1 is good. Only female flowers, parthenocarpic, it's so much more productive than classic varieties, it's quite sad really, the OPs will go extinct soon. Also trying now something called Zhongshou 35, an asian type, to see what the fuss is about with these. I hope it stands colder nights, unlike most big cucumbers.

[Ginger2778]

I mostly grow pickling cucumbers. Ekol F1 is good. Only female flowers, parthenocarpic, it's so much more productive than classic varieties, it's quite sad really, the OPs will go extinct soon. Also trying now something called Zhongshou 35, an asian type, to see what the fuss is about with these. I hope it stands colder nights, unlike most big cucumbers.

Please where are you located?

[mama_lor]

In Germany. I got the seeds for Ekol a few years back in a more eastern Europe. There's lots of good hybrids around those parts at good prices.

[MissTee]

I also concur with Summer Dance as my fav.

Last season I grew Progress, Tasty Green and Summer Dance (all long English-type slicers) and did a taste test. All three tasters picked a different variety. I gave the edge to Summer Dance for looks and fruitier taste, but all three are very good. Tasty Green was earliest.

I have also grown Shintokiwa but it has a good year about every one in three. I found the same with Diva - some years are good, some not.

Thanks to reviews here I'm going to give Homemade Pickles a try.

[Donnyboy]

Over the past fourteen years I've tried Homemade Pickles, Eureka, Double Yield, Spacemaster, Wautoma, Muncher, Dar, County Fair, Long Green Improved, Marketmore, Super Bush Slicer, Poinsett, Southern Delight and National Pickling. For about five years in that stretch, Homemade Pickles did pretty good and then it didn't do so well. The one that has consistently done well for me is National Pickling. We use it for pickling and fresh eating. And at the feed 'n weed, 75 cents worth will plant half the county.

I ran across something the other day that said too much fertilizer will contribute to bitterness in cucumbers. Can't remember where I read that but will post the link if I ever find it again. I also know that here the cukes, whatever variety they are, will get bitter in the heat of deep summer.

I used to have a brown lab garden buddy who thought cucumbers were the only reason to grow a garden. When I was slow throwing him one, he would pick his own cucumber with the plant still attached. I knew when the heat of summer arrived, he would no longer eat my cukes. He hated bitter cucumbers.

[Donnyboy]

Chopped up onions with cucumber slices in vinegar water chilled overnight in the refrigerator is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold beer.

[Tormahto]

Chopped up onions with cucumber slices in vinegar water chilled overnight in the refrigerator is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold beer.

That's how I previously made it, until a Japanese woman told me about (rice) vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, sesame oil, and sugar. I don't know if I left anything out. She had no recipe. She said experiment until you like it the best.

[patihum]

A good starting point for Tormato's cucumber salad Asian style -

1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey, or sugar)
1 teaspoon red chili paste (or sriracha, both optional) more to taste

[Tormahto]

A good starting point for Tormato's cucumber salad Asian style -

1 teaspoon ginger, grated
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (or honey, or sugar)
1 teaspoon red chili paste (or sriracha, both optional) more to taste

Thanks, I forgot the ginger. But, on a hot summer day, for refreshment (like in the above post), I'd be leaving out the chili paste, or I'd need the beer. End of growing season cukes, on a cooler autumn day, is when I'd do the hot stuff. Why didn't I think of subbing maple syrup for sugar, living in New England? Maybe because it's summertime when I have that salad.

[Julianna]

Beit Alpha is our favorite. It is a lot like the jordanian cucumbers. They alao have something called githa which is a lot like an armenian cucmber but shaped like a football.

[pepperhead212]

The last two years I grew Wisconsin 58 with the County Fair, and got great results. While not listed as resistant to bacterial wilt, its stems and leaves are prickly, like a lot of squash, and it seems to help keep off the bugs that spread the disease. Still not heat resistant, however. But I'm trying a new one this season - Sambar - from Southern India, and if anything would be heat resistant, this one should be! It's a variety often used for cooking, but also pickling.

[Tormahto]

The same as SMR58?

[pepperhead212]

The same as SMR58?

That's probably the same, and my source (on ebay) just re-named it, to show its original state. I found this name later, when the number caught my eye.