I,ve always found that if you allow the female to be pollinated the cucumbers are bitter.....and give me indigestion. :0)

What is the variety of the one where you leave the male flowers on?

I can't say I have come across this type/variety!

Hi Teegee. It's called Marketmore and it tells me to leave both male and female on. I hope you can answer my question.

I've never taken off any flowers from any cucumbers, just planted ones bought from the gc and have never had bitter cucumber.

A lot is written about removing male flowers as they make the fruit taste bitter.

Apparently this only applies to F1, indoor varieties which produce the type of cucumbers that you find in supermarkets.

Marketmore' (Classified as an outdoor variety) when grown outdoors needs the male flowers for pollination.

Without them you get no fruit and apparently the fruit tastes fine!

I have to admit; I don't know, I grow mine under cover as I have to in my neck of the woods!

Having said that when I grow them indoors adjacent to 'female' varieties I remove the 'male' flowers.( when I remember!)

So basically it is down to how, and where you grow them, and avoiding cross pollination!

Thanks for the replies, the first 2 cucs on the marketmore plant that are almost ready for picking. So I'll just keep my fingers crossed.
And all 3 plants are in my greenhouse.
And all the cucs on the other 2 plants have been fine.

Come to think of it, I've never had a bitter cuc either Cam, perhaps it depends on one's sense of taste ?

No - I hate anything bitter and probably have just been lucky with the plants I bought - I prefer the stubby ones which you can eat young. Unfortunately the dreaded red spider mite got mine again and I have had to pull the plants out.