Cucumber - small or no fruit

I've had two cucumber plants all season and no fruit from either. Both plants have started to produce fruits but they rarely get more than half an inch long, half a dozen have reached an inch or so and one got to 2 inches. I feed them once a week and I removed a handful of fruits right back at the start of fruiting.

In the mini heat wave early in the year both plants where scorched but recovered and I tried an experiment of watering one more than the other thinking a cucumber is mostly water and would need lots to develop fruits. This had no effect on the one wwatered more...so I gave it even more and eventually I suffered what I expected from over watering...stem rot so was chucked out.

The other is still growing well but the fruiting remains the same, grow to a small size then stop.

Anyone have any ideas whats going on?

(will get some photos later on today)

Steve...

 

"If they are ridge type they may not be getting pollinated."

Not just Ridge is it? There are also old fashioned indoor Cues that need pollination I think?

 

"You could be right Kristen"

Sadly not, I was having brain-fade :(

You are right that old varieties that produce male flowers should be prevented from pollinating ...

... and it is the Ridge type that need pollination.

Can one see the roughness of the fruit on the little baby cues in order to be able to know its a ridge type, I wonder?

 

Oh no - my baby cues have ridges, my flowers have only opened recently & I tried to polinate one the same way JWK adviced me to with the pumpkin, I identified the female flowers with the baby cucumber behind the bloom but I found it difficult to spot any males. After that a friend said that modern varieties didn't need polination so I've left them to their own devices. Mine are the 'marketmore' variety.

 

"Mine are the 'marketmore' variety"

Marketmore is definitely an outdoor, "ridge", variety.

(I don't think they are called Ridge cucumbers because they have ridges but because it was commonplace for them to be planted on ridges - made by putting lots of manure under the planting trench, and probably to encourage the water to run away from the stem to prevent basal rot.

Could be completely wrong though!)

 

Ah, I learn something new every time I come on this forum :D

I have mine in the greenhouse, are they the type that needs polinated?

 

I'm not certain of the varieties of these plants..both where given to me. But I have not seen male flowers on either. I'm assuming that if no male flowers exist then its not one for polinating?

Can you recomend a variety for greenhouse growing thats a no fuss, easy peasy grower/fruiter that tastes good? <-- Thinking for next year obviously.

Steve...

 

No fruit, just the small cucumbers behind the female flowers, I thought that nothing was going to come of the plants this year but when my greenhouse was cleared out slightly after the tomato blight, the cucumber plants finally started to blossom. The only flowers I can see which could be male are growing out of a small round green thing (sorry for the basic descriptions) I thought they were just smaller baby cucumbers. I'm confused :cnfs: next year I'm going to get an all female variety!

 

"It would be interesting to hear from anyone else that thinks there is any taste difference between cucumber varieties"

Can't say I've noticed.

I have been thinking about growing a mini-cucumber variety though, as mine get huge through lack of being picked, and maybe smaller ones would be given away more easily. Or eaten!

I have grown Bella F1 (Female) this year.

 

try mexican gherkins, they are delicious and really mini 1 inch only!! taste sthg like cucumber and unripe watermelon, and they pretty or what both plant and fruit!!!