all female flowering cukes

Does anyone have any experience growing this type of cucumber? They sound intriguing. I will probably order a pack of the "cool breeze" variety I see in the Park catalog as well as growing a few other types.

I grow alot of these kinds of cukes (cukes in general too) because I have a teenage daughter who likes to eat them sliced with Ranch dip. I probably grow more different varieties than the average home gardener too--these varieties tend to taste good and have good production for me in Texas. If you are ordering from Park's try Diva; they are really good tasting and good uniform size. Germination rates with them are a bit lower tho, so plant extra. I also get alot of mine from Willhite in Texas.....
http://www.willhiteseed.com/
Debbie

Thanks Debbie, I have Diva earmarked for ordering too. Think I'll place my order today from Park, since they are relatively nearby me and I have good results with their seed.

That one doesn't seem to have as good a germ rate for me; for some strange reason...so if you are pressed for space, like me, sow a little heavier than you normally would so your not disappointed.
Debbie

Thanks for the heads up on that. I ordered both the Diva and Cool Breeze yesterday so we'll see what happens. Still 6 or 7 more weeks before it's cuke planting weather around here.

If you can keep Diva from being pollinated by some other variety of cuke, they will be seedless, and seedless cukes are good eating. However, that's not easy to do. Even though I grow only Divas, I still get some seeds from bees carrying cuke pollen from my neighbor's cukes. Divas themselves don't produce pollen.

MM

Mine get seeds too MM but they are still good to eat; they tend to have fewer seeds.

I did Diva last year, but didn't produce much at all. I am doing Tasty Jade and Sweet Success this year. I hear Cool Breeze is very productive.

tmm

roseone33: I've grown Sweet Success, Diva, Tasty Jade, Park's All-Season Burpless & Cool Breeze over the past 4 years. Cool Breeze outperforms all of them while I have had no luck with Diva growing it twice with very poor yields. I am growing Amour this year which is supposed to be an improved Cool Breeze, we'll see. I grew Park's All-Season Burpless for the first time last year and was so impressed with it I am planting 2 EB's with it this year. All of these varieties produce very large vines that are best trained on a trellis of some sort. Cool Breeze produces more side shoots than any other variety I have ever grown so keeping it attached to the trellis can become a chore. Good Luck with your cukes...the parthenocarpic (self pollinating) varieties are all I now grow.

Rich

Try Chelsea Prize from Reneesgarden.com if you want a European style (like the plastic wrapped ones in the stores). Do well in the garden without special care. They also have the Chianti Rose tomato that is the BEST!

I didn't know there was a male/female cuke. Does that mean that my slicers won't bear fruit?

Jnette...your slicers will be fine. There are 3 types of cucumbers. Monoeatious or normal slicers have both male & female flowers on the same plant and bees transfer the male pollen to the female flower. Gynoeatious varieties have all female flowers and are supplied with a few seeds of a pollinator usually color coded which is needed to supply the pollen for the bees to transfer to the female flowers. Parthenocarpic varieties which is what we are talking about here have all female flowers and require no pollination to set fruit. If grown in isolation from other cucumbers so that no pollen is transfered to the blossoms by bees from other plants the fruit will be seedless.

Rich