Cucumbers - should you removed the male flower?
Question:In the past I have always grown cucumbers which have female flowers only but this year my father in law gave me some which have both male and female. According to all my gardening books you are supposed to remove the male flowers or the cucumbers will taste sour. I have checked on this site for similar questions and people seem to think that male flowers should be left on, so what is the right answer?
Answers:
the answer is yes if you are growing the older type of cucmber, if you dont the cucumbers will taste bitter. however if you are growing one of the modern f1 or f2 varieties there should not be any male flowers as these are usualy all female flowering varieties.
beware of neck rot on the stems this can be a problem, use warm water and dont water to late in the day.I used to grow my cucumbers with four house bricks round the plant so it was slightly higher than the soil and never watered the compost inside the bricks just the soil arround keeping the neck of the pland faily dry.
Removing the male flower has nothing to do with the taste. The male flower pollinates the female, and then you will have cucumbeers full of seeds. English cucumbers develop without male flowers.
Although I don't grow cucumbers I have gardened for many years and have always undersatood that you should remove the male flowers for exactly the reason that you state. In any event, pollination is not needed and may interfere with fruit production
that may explain the bitter taste in my cucumbers. i hope someone knows the real answer good luck
No. I've grown many cucumbers in my greenhouse and never removed the male flowers! NONE tasted bitter! Male flowers open first and always drop off.
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