Cucumber dilemma

I picked two nice little cukes yesterday, had one in my salad yesterday evening, and saved the other for my salad today. When I went to slice it, it had become "flabby." So I guess I discovered why they wax them! Short of waxing them, is there any other way to keep them from going soft? Would it help if I stored it with the stem side in some water?

Flabby, huh?    Even though I know exactly what you mean, I've never picked 2 at once...don't think I've ever had 2 GROWING at once.    But my best guess is put them in the veggie crisper bin in the fridge?  I don't think they lose flavor in the fridge like maters do. I don't know about putting them in water. If you try it, let us know what happens.

CapeCoddess wrote:Flabby, huh?    Even though I know exactly what you mean, I've never picked 2 at once...don't think I've ever had 2 GROWING at once.    But my best guess is put them in the veggie crisper bin in the fridge?  I don't think they lose flavor in the fridge like maters do.  I don't know about putting them in water.  If you try it,  let us know what happens.

Will do, I'll let you know!

I've been picking cucumbers steadily for a couple weeks now. They seem to keep just fine on the counter for a few days. Were the ones you picked really small and tender? If they were immature they might dry out quickly.

On another cucumber note: I'm one of those that thinks cucumbers are grown mainly for texture and non-bitter taste. Mrs Ike, however, thinks what I've been growing lack flavor. Does anyone have recommendations about better flavored cultivars? This year I'm growing Straight Eight and Marketmore. What about the potato looking types?

Abiqua Ike wrote:I've been picking cucumbers steadily for a couple weeks now. They seem to keep just fine on the counter for a few days. Were the ones you picked really small and tender? If they were immature they might dry out quickly.

On another cucumber note: I'm one of those that thinks cucumbers are grown mainly for texture and non-bitter taste. Mrs Ike, however, thinks what I've been growing lack flavor. Does anyone have recommendations about better flavored cultivars? This year I'm growing Straight Eight and Marketmore. What about the potato looking types?

Yes, the thinner skinned (i.e., non-grocery store types) need to be in a plastic baggie in the crisper.  

I have grown both of the ones you grow this year;  I have truly come to cherish Beit Alpha and I am growing Indian Dance for the first time this year....Beit Alpha is A-MAZ-ING taste and texture, not a pickler, an eater.  Really thin skin, very cool and delish.  Will keep you posted on Indian Dance!

I've heard good things about Beit Alpha, an Israeli development if I recall.

Abiqua Ike wrote:I've heard good things about Beit Alpha, an Israeli development if I recall.

Exactly.  The best cucumber I have ever eaten.  Hands down.

I've got my marketmores stored in the crisper. They seem to do just fine with minimal flavor loss and retain their crispness even after 2-3 days.

Abiqua Ike Yesterday at 6:34 pm
"I've been picking cucumbers steadily for a couple weeks now. They seem to keep just fine on the counter for a few days. Were the ones you picked really small and tender? If they were immature they might dry out quickly."

AI, yes the ones I picked were about 5-6 inches long, the recommended picking size for this variety.

Scorpio Rising Yesterday at 7:04 pm
"Yes, the thinner skinned (i.e., non-grocery store types) need to be in a plastic baggie in the crisper. 

I have grown both of the ones you grow this year;  I have truly come to cherish Beit Alpha and I am growing Indian Dance for the first time this year....Beit Alpha is A-MAZ-ING taste and texture, not a pickler, an eater.  Really thin skin, very cool and delish.  Will keep you posted on Indian Dance!"

SR, crisper, plastic baggie...noted. Beit Alpha added to my long list of things to try next year.
Thanks guys!

Scorpio Rising wrote:

Abiqua Ike wrote:I've heard good things about Beit Alpha, an Israeli development if I recall.

Exactly.  The best cucumber I have ever eaten.  Hands down.

Is it possible not a hybrid so you could save seeds?

I just did a quick google search on Beit Alpha cukes. I found throo places carrying them~ Baker seed so presumably OP, Pinetree states it is a F1 hybrid, Stokes says they are a hybrid and gynoecious (don't need a pollinator and are seedless), and Reimer has an OP. All this suggests to me that Beit Alpha is a type of cucumber, not a specific variety, sort of like Beefsteak or Cherry are in the tomato world.
Scorpio Rising, Do you have a tag or seed packet to tell us more about the plants you are growing? Curious minds want to know

I think I at last have a Diva cucumber fruit growing. Fingers crossed.

I've been doing a little web searching for Mrs. Ike's "more flavorful" cucumber. Beit Alpha looks awesome but I think it is going in the wrong direction for that flavor she is searching for (or has me searching). I think I want to try something a little different.

Cucumbers are originally from India so are there popular Indian heirlooms? I found Poona Kheera which is yellow skin at the early stage and like a bronze potato when ripe. Descriptions of flavor and productivity sound promising. Has anyone tried these or other exotic types?

Turan wrote: gynoecious (don't need a pollinator and are seedless).

Not to be nitpicky, but I don't want people confusing terms and get a surprise with their vareity, gynoecious just means all female flowers. The "gyno" prefix is for female, it's in a couple other words too if it helps you remember.  The other term is parthenocarpic, which means it doesn't need a pollinator.  Not all gynoecious varieties are parthenocarpic, which means they need male cucumber flowers nearby to produce fruit and be pollinated!  A lot of time with a variety that is not parthenocarpic but gynoecious, the seed company will mix in 10% of another variety that produces both male and female flowera in with the seeds to act as a pollinators variety.

This work a well if you plant a lot of the seeds and have a lot of plants, but if you only have 1 or 2, it's entirely possible you don't have any male flowers and it will be a problem! It's also possible you end up by chance only planting the pollinators vareity,  and then you don't have any of the variety you actually wanted to grow!  

I have decided if I ever plant such a gynoecious variety, I will plant it along side something like straight 8, which has both male and female flowers, and will act as my pollinator vareity.  Just to be sure

Thanks Robbomb, I appreciate the correction and explanation.

Useful article about growing beit alpha varieties in greenhouses, these varieties are parthenocarpic. http://cfgrower.com/success-with-beit-alpha-cucumbers/

It turns out that Diva is a Beit Alpha type. I know it is gynoecious and supposedly parthenocarpic, but I wonder if my lack of fruits developing is because it is not really parthenocarpic. I planted a pickling cucumber as well thinking that would supply male flowers if needed, but it truly is gynoecious and parthenocarpic, neither of which was on the label.

We really liked the taste of the Diva cucumbers we had that one year. Most cucumbers are pretty flavorless.

Gardening surely is a wonderful biology class

I'm here to report on the two cukes placed in a zip loc baggie in the crisper drawer. When I took them out today, there was a lot of condensation in the baggie, so apparently the cukes lose moisture quickly through their skin. But the baggie and being in the crisper drawer kept them crisp! So thanks for your help in solving this dilemma.

WOW! You guys have me fascinated with this. I have always grown MarketMore, and Straight Eight. I have heard male and female cuc flowers being mentioned here but never really thought about it. Looks like I need to check this out.