Foolproof Cucumbers of 2021

I always had trouble growing most cucumber cultivars, as they would just decline yearly after producing few fruits. But this summer I was pretty happy with the cultivars I grew in my backyard and in the field.

I used to grow the Armenian cucumbers and they usually produced. They also seem to be the most heat tolerant and have a very long season. Here they are together with Mashhad melons:

The Armenian selection I grew in 2021 is light green. These are the same species as melon but separated into to their own subspecies Cucumis melo var. flexuosus. They are very large and the flesh is dense and never bitter.

The other four are true cucumbers (Cucumis sativus):

• Hybrid Persian
• Hybrid Tasty King
• Sweet Gwendolyn 
• Hybrid Natsuhikari

All of these are wonderful fruits and are still producing in September.

Hybrid Persian makes relatively small smooth fruits. It is probably my favorite, but I like all the others too.

Hybrid Tasty King is a long cucumber with some small spikes on the fruit. It is probably the sweetest of the all long cucumbers I grew this summer.

Sweet Gwendolyn is a dark skinned, long, and smooth cucumber. It is juicier than the two other long cucumbers I grew this summer.

Hybrid Natsuhikari is the crunchiest and most dense of the three long cucumbers. It has some little spikes on the skin.

I recommend growing all of these. I am now trying to find the source of Sweet Gwendolyn as I do not remember where I got it.

If you prefer cucumbers without any spikes on the skin, these three selections lack spikes: Hybrid Persian (the short ones), Sweet Gwendolyn, and Armenian (the light colored one).