When growing indoors there are several things that we need to consider. It is a different environment than growing outside. In hydroponics you do not use soil, so nutrients are handled differently. We do not have unlimited space. And it is not outdoors, so there are no bees or other pollinators. So, one of the main things we need to consider is variety, and whether or not we have to manually pollinate. This is where parthenocarpic cucumbers help.
Cover photo courtesy of Teri Poldrugo. The below contains affiliate links.
Cucumbers are a favorite thing to grow in the garden. Growing them inside may seem like a dream, but it is possible. Last year my gardening group, AeroGarden, Kratky & Gardening Fanatics, participated in an indoor, hydroponic cucumber growing challenge. We grew 3 varieties of parthenocarpic cucumbers.
What is a Parthenocarpic Variety?
In short, a parthenocarpic variety is one that forms fruits without pollination. Outside, bees and other pollinators like butterflies handle this for us. They collect pollen from male flowers (stamens) and insert it into the female flower (pistil). In the absence of bees, we would have to do this ourselves using a paint brush, Q-tip, or similar. Keeping up with this can be hard work. And it is not always successful. You can easily miss flowers, and sometimes pollination can be incomplete, which causes weird looking cucumbers..
There are 3 types of cucumbers…
- Monoecious – Produces male & female flowers. Requires pollination
- Gynoecious – Produces only female flowers, some require pollination from a nearby plant with male flowers
- Parthenocarpic – Produces male & female flowers. Does not require pollination
As mentioned above, if you grow the most common monoecious type cucumbers that we all grow in our outdoor gardens inside (or even in your greenhouse) you are going to have to manually pollinate each female flower. This is time consuming, and since the flowers are only open for a short time some can get missed.
If you grow parthenocarpic or gynoecious cucumbers you *should not* have to do anything to pollinate the flowers. But, as we have all seen, the “system” is not perfect. During our challenge some members were drowning in cucumbers while others of us had trouble, and did not harvest many. I had several babies look promising and then dry up. But, many months later I realized that it was because mine were not being fed enough. More on that below.
There are a lot of different parthenocarpic varieties available now. We are still having fun trying as many of them as possible! We have seen people have success with many of these on this list. Feel free to get a few different ones to try out!
Just an important note though, BE SURE TO CHECK THE SIZE OF THE PLANTS! Not all parthenocarpic cucumbers are AeroGarden or small unit friendly. Some plants get quite large and will require trellising and possibly pruning to keep them in your space. And the roots need space to grow. So, if you are growing with the intention of getting a lot of cukes, be sure you use a larger container.
If you have the space you can grow in large Kratky or DWC, provide a great grow light and trellising, and have great success.
In the challenge we grew these 3 varieties. These were chosen for size, and the fact that I had seen some folks in the group having success with these varieties…
* Indicates a variety best for AeroGardens like the Bounty. However, they may still need a bit of trellising.
Green Fingers Baby Persian * – Available from…
But, there are quite a few other parthenocarpic varieties available from a # of sources. Here are some of them from some of my favorite seed suppliers. I have not tried many of the below. Check the product listing for info on plant size. They make not work in an AeroGarden, but if you have a larger Kratky or DWC setup it can be done.
High Mowing Seeds
- Adam F1 Cucumber
- Excelsior F1 Cucumber
- Green 18 F1 Cucumber
- Manny F1 Cucumber
- MiniMe F1 Cucumber
- Picolino F1 Cucumber
- Provision F1 Pickling Cucumber
- Socrates F1 Cucumber
True Leaf Market (Use code LTG24 for $10 off your order of $75 or more)
- Arkansas Little Leaf
- Beit Alpha
- Sweet Success Hybrid
- Green Light Hybrid
- Greenhouse Long Burpless
- China Long Hybrid
- Palace Pride Hybrid
Renee’s Garden
Park Seed (Use code LITTLETECHGIRL for 15% off your order)
Territorial Seed
- Bella
- Diamant
- Excelsior
- Green 18
- Manny
- Mini Munch
- Patio Snacker * (AeroGarden Farm would work great)
- Picolino
- Poniente
- Socrates
- Paraiso
- Quick Snack *
From the Hydroponic System Companies
If you own one of the the below hydroponic system. You can opt to thry their version of parthenocarpic cucumbers.
- AeroGarden Cucumbers * (If these are out of stock, they are actually Quick Snack cucumbers! That variety is linked above under Territorial Seed) I’m growing these now and so far they are fantastic producers.
- Gardyn Mini Cucumbers
- Lettuce Grow Mini Cucumber Seedlings
Above pic shows my AeroGarden Cucumbers aka Quick Snack.
Tips on Growing Cucumbers Inside
- Choose a variety that will grow well in your unit. If you have a small AeroGarden Harvest do not try to grow a huge plant. Cucumber roots need space to spread out and thrive.
- Consider growing the cucumber only with another cucumber. They will not do well with lettuce or herbs.
- Have a trellising plan ready. Even with pruning, most cucumbers grow on vines. Those vines will need somewhere to go.
- Prune when needed – There are many ways to prune a cucumber plant. Some do a single stem, some don’t.
- Watch for signs of nutrient deficiency – Cucumbers are finicky. It is normal for some leaves to start to die off as the plant ages. But, if the whole plants is suffering you may need to increase your nutrients and use additives like Cal-mag.
- Don’t grow too many plants in one small container – Cucumbers are heavy feeders. They will do best in larger containers. I recommend nothing less than 2 gallons. But, if you must use a 1 gallon container (like an AeroGarden Bounty), plant only one plant.
- Prune off any dying cucumbers. Even with parthenocarpic varieties, sometimes baby cukes do die off. If you notice them browning, clip them off so that they do not steal energy from the rest of the plant.
Need tips on growing parthenocarpic cucumbers? As soon as I figure it all out, I will write about it. HA! No seriously, below is a bit of what I learned while growing. But, for even more tips, and help come on over and join AeroGarden, Kratky, and Gardening Fanatics. There are tons of posts, videos, and more to help you out. 🙂
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