Cucumbers for Your Garden
Discover the best varieties of slicers, picklers, Asian and other crunchy, delicious cucumbers.
April/May 2011
By Barbara Pleasant
Try these recommended cucumber varieties in your garden this growing season. Choose from American slicers, picklers and Asian cucumbers, as well as rarer species, such as jelly melon varieties. Read up on how to plant, grow, harvest and store all varieties of cukes in our article Growing Cucumbers.
| Type | Description | Recommended Varieties |
|
American slicers |
Uniform, oblong shape with dark green skin. Plants tend to produce all at once. Good fresh or pickled. |
‘Marketmore 76’ (OP) |
|
Pickling |
Small, oblong fruits with thin skins that are often bumpy. Plants produce all at once and must be picked daily. Good fresh and great pickled. | ‘Boothby’s Blonde’ (OP) ‘County Fair’ (OP) ‘Cross Country’ (F1) ‘Little Leaf’ (OP) |
|
Asian |
Long, slender fruits with small seed cavities and sweet flesh. Skins usually lack the bitter compounds that attract cucumber beetles. Need trellising. | ‘Shintokiwa’ (OP) ‘Suyo Long’ (OP) ‘Tasty Jade’ (F1) |
|
Greenhouse |
Produce self-fertile flowers, which do not require pollination by insects. Fruits have thin skins and small seed cavities. Produce best if trellised. | ‘Beit Alpha MR’ (OP) ‘Cool Breeze’ (F1) ‘Diva’ (F1) ‘Green Finger’ (OP) |
|
Other species |
Rampant, heat-resistant plants bear distinctive fruits that hold their flavor and pickling quality in hot weather. Best in warm climates. | ‘Jelly Melon’ (OP) ‘Poona Kheera’ (OP) ‘Yard Long Armenian’ (OP) |
| Locate sources for these cucumber varieties with our custom Seed and Plant Finder. | ||
Contributing editor Barbara Pleasant gardens in southwest Virginia, where she grows vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers and a few lucky chickens. Contact Barbara by visiting her website or finding her on Google+.
