In March I tried to grow my favorite cucumbers but there
were no bees to pollinate them, and I wasn't successful
hand pollinating as the flowers were so small.
Harvested 40 days from seed
Then I remembered there are parthenocarpic F1 hybrid
cucumbers and zucchini that are self-pollinating and developed
for growing in greenhouses. Since cucumbers need full sun
and I don't have sun until March, I trialed Katrina
as it was advertised as being heat tolerant.
First Flowers at 30 Days
On the first day of summer
I planted Katrina seeds in May and I was skeptical about
the plants surviving into the summer months.
In 5 weeks, and at 87 degree days, I harvested the first
cucumber. Katrinas look similar to Persian cucumbers.
As long as the flowers remain unpollinated they
won't produce seeds. They were really good
and not at all bitter after they're peeled.
The only drawback about hybrid cucumbers is that
seeds, with the exception of Diva, are pricey and aren't
widely available. I grew Diva in 2010 but they're
not a heat tolerant variety and won't survive
the months when I have sun.
The largest selection of parthenocrpic hybrid cucumbers
are available from Johnny Selected Seeds
I found some of the parthenocarpic seeds at
Amazon and etsy. I suggest searching -
"F1 self-pollinating cucumber seeds"
"cucumber seeds for greenhouses"
