Cucumber seed saving

[CptnJack5parrow]

So I have been growing this cucumber plant that grows huge cucumbers but I don't know it's variety. The plant seems to only produce female flowers (it has grown two male flower nodes a long time ago but those have all flowered). I have one cucumber almost ready to harvest, but I think it's the last one this plant is going to produce. The problem is that I want to save seeds for next year, but I also want to eat this cucumber (in case you didn't know: the green cucumbers that we eat aren't ripe and that's why their seeds are soft and small. To harvest seeds, I would have to grow the cucumber to be fully ripe, and fully ripe cucumbers don't taste good). So I'm wondering if it's possible to cut out like 2/3 of the cucumber and leave the rest of it on the vine to ripen?

[applestar]

Let's see. If my understanding of cucumber "birds and bees" is correct, the bad news is that parthenocarpic female flowers that set fruit without male pollination will be seedless. The bad news is if they do have seeds, then they are hybrid cross from stray pollen from another variety and will not grow true/like the mother fruit plant.

The good news is you can't save seeds from this cucumber so you can eat it when it is still good eating quality.

[jal_ut]

Best to buy some new cucumber seeds each year. I have saved seed and planted next year. Seems they are always hybridized and you might get anything. For sure it will never be like the parent.

[CptnJack5parrow]

Let's see. If my understanding of cucumber "birds and bees" is correct, the bad news is that parthenocarpic female flowers that set fruit without male pollination will be seedless. The bad news is if they do have seeds, then they are hybrid cross from stray pollen from another variety and will not grow true/like the mother fruit plant.

The good news is you can't save seeds from this cucumber so you can eat it when it is still good eating quality.

This cucumber has had male flowers and I hand pollinated a couple of females with their pollen. I'm growing this indoors and there are no other cucumber plants here so that's how I know that the seeds are the same as this plant. Also these cucumbers don't grow bigger than 1 inch without pollination, after pollination they grow to over a feet. I have actually got seeds from one cucumber, but they were hollow.

[applestar]

LOL you could have mentioned these little details before you know....

OK I will answer the original question which seemed moot before -- cucumbers are like melons and the flesh becomes watery as the fruit matures. The ones that I have allowed to mature until the skin color changed and colored had become nearly liquid inside.

So I feel that it would be nearly impossible to keep the fruit from decaying/spoiling after cutting off a part of the bottom of the fruit.

[jal_ut]

I think you either eat the cucumber or save it for the seed. It ain't likely you can do both. No, I would not cut part off and hope for the rest to mature......... well you can if you wish and let us know how it turns out?

[imafan26]

I do believe you do have a parthenocarpic cucumber as well. Occasionally parthenocarpic cucumbers do produce males but they are usually produced early on when the vine is young and rarely produces more as the vines age. I think it is because normal cucumbers produce more male flowers initially to attract pollinators. Even if you hand pollinate, the cucumber is still likely a hybrid so it will not breed true. Parthenocarpic fruit do not need to be pollinated to make fruit and keep it. Normally the seeds are small. When parthenocarpic fruit are pollinated, the fruit is usually fatter on the blossom end and you will actually see seeds. If the seeds pods were mostly flat, either the cucumber was not mature enough when you picked it or more likely it was under pollinated. You have to get a lot of pollen and it usually takes multiple pollen transfers for the flowers to produce fruit with seeds. A single transfer of pollen is usually not enough to have all of the seeds swell and ripen.