Whether you are growing them for salads or for pickles, it’s worth learning how to grow burpless bush cucumbers before you start cucumber gardening. Burpless Bush cucumbers grow into a compact bush as opposed to the vining habit of most cucumber varieties, making it a great choice for gardeners with limited space.
To grow burpless bush cucumbers, plant after the last frost, & the soil is 60°F – 70°F. Plant 3 feet apart; rows should be 3 feet apart. Burpless bush cucumbers grow into a short vine, 18” to 24” long, & can be grown on a trellis. They take around 60 days to come to harvest.
Whether you’re new to gardening or haven’t had the chance to grow burpless bush cucumbers before, there are certain things you should know about before planting the variety. Continue reading to learn how to grow burpless cucumbers, the best varieties to grow, and how and when to harvest them for the best flavors.
How To Grow Burpless Bush Cucumbers
Burpless Bush cucumbers are a dependable variety of cucumbers that grow in the form of a compact bush, yielding lots of delicious and nutritious cucumbers for pickling or eating fresh.
The cultivar produces a hefty crop of long, slender, thin-skinned cucumbers with low levels of the compound responsible for bitterness and burping, hence the name.
These mild-flavored cucumbers are nearly seedless, easier on the digestive system, and an excellent addition to your salad tray.
You can direct sow the seeds in the garden once the frost has passed and the soil temperature is at least 60°F.
Alternatively, you can begin the seeds indoors, 2 to 3 weeks before the expected outdoor planting date.
Work the soil, incorporating organic matter before planting the seeds an inch deep in hills. Grow 2 to 3 cucumber plants on each hill, spacing the hills 3 feet apart. Rows that are also spaced 3 feet apart. Mulch around the plants and keep the crop well-watered and fed throughout the season.
Burpless bush cucumbers resist downy and powdery mildew, making them quite reliable in terms of yield.
However, there are other problems that you should keep a lookout for.
Cucumber beetles can easily damage or kill young seedlings.
Aphids infestations and bacteria wilt are also possible with burpless cucumbers.
Installing row covers can protect the crop from pests while maintaining adequate spacing for air circulation. And, row covers prevent the foliage from getting wet can save the crop from diseases.
You’ll also want to check out the complete article on how long does it take for a cucumber to grow.
Do Burpless Cucumbers Climb
Gardeners with limited space often try to avoid vining plants since they quickly take over the space that could have been used for growing other crops.
Compact, bushy plants are the best ones for small, urban gardens.
Thankfully, burpless bushy cucumbers work well for small gardens.
Unlike standard cucumber varieties, burpless bush cucumbers have more of a bushy growth habit.
Burpless bush cucumber typically grows into a short vine, between 18” to 24” in length. Depending on the gardener’s preference, they can either sprawl the garden or train up a trellis. When using a trellis, you can plant cucumbers closer together, spacing them one foot apart to save space.
Burpless cucumbers do best when they are trained to climb vertically.
Trellises, fences, tomato cages, or stakes all work well to keep the vines off the ground. That way, the fruits can develop, hang and grow straight without encountering any damages.
Though the variety grows tendrils, similar to other cucumbers, you’ll have to loosely tie the vines to the support using twine, string, or plastic tomato clip until the tendrils start to do their job.
Best Burpless Cucumbers To Grow
There are several different cucumber varieties that fall under the category of burpless.
Burpless cucumbers are the ones that produce thin-skinned, nearly seedless cucumbers that are low on the compound cucurbitacin, responsible for bitterness.
Among the burpless cucumbers, Burpless 26, Tendergreen Burpless, Early Pride, and Poinsett 76 are some of the best ones to grow in your summer vegetable garden. Burpless 26 is a hybrid variety that grows 12-inch long thin fruits and is resistant to downy mildew and mosaic virus.
Tendergreen Burpless is an heirloom variety that produces 8-inch long mild cucumbers.
Early Pride is a hybrid that gives dark green straight fruits ready to pick in about 55 days.
There are several other burpless varieties too; here’s a list of the most popular burpless cucumbers:
- Orient Express
- Bush Slicer
- Burpless Beauty
- Soarer
- Sweet Success
- Tasty Jade
- Muncher
- Tendergreen Burpless
- Burpless # 26
- Early Pride
- Poinsett 76
- Holland
- Sweet Burpless
- Heirloom Duo
By the way, English cucumbers are another popular variety of cucumber for gardeners.
Check out the full article on how to grow English cucumbers from seed.
How Tall Do Burpless Cucumbers Grow
Typically, cucumber varieties grow very tall and need trellising to keep them growing optimally without falling prey to diseases.
Cucumber vines can grow 6 to 8 feet tall on average if given the optimal conditions to thrive.
However, burpless cucumbers are often shorter than the usual cucumber vines, which makes them a hit in smaller home gardens.
Different varieties of burpless cucumbers are available to grow.
Depending on the specific variety of burpless cucumber and the growing conditions it receives, they are short vines that can grow between 18 to 24 inches tall. Though they have a bushier growth than the usual vining cucumbers, burpless cucumbers can benefit from trellises and stakes.
Training cucumbers vertically up a trellis or fence helps save garden space.
It also keeps the plants healthy, ensuring ample air circulation among the plants to protect them from fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew.
Growing cucumbers vertically also makes them less accessible to pests and gives the developing fruits enough space to grow straight and bigger in size.
Furthermore, harvesting cucumbers is much easier with fruits hanging from vertical vines.
How To Grow Burpless Cucumbers In Containers
Since burpless cucumbers don’t grow as large as the usual cucumber vines, they work well in large containers.
Burpless cucumbers typically grow up to 2 feet tall and can be grown in pots without installing a trellis.
However, tomato cages or short stakes can help give them some support and keep them off the ground.
Choose a container that’s at least 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep and has drainage holes at the bottom.
Mix equal parts of compost, potting soil, perlite, and peat moss to fill the container before planting the seeds. Place the pot at a sunny spot, water it regularly, fertilize it with low-nitrogen food, and tie them loosely to the support as the vines grow taller.
You can plant 2 to 3 seeds in each container and thin them to the single, strongest seedling once they have a couple of true leaves.
Growing in containers allows you to plant earlier since you can keep young plants indoors or in a greenhouse until the weather is suitable to move outdoors.
Container-grown burpless cucumbers need to be regularly fertilized with low-nitrogen feed, depending on the dosage recommended on the fertilizer package.
When To Pick Burpless Cucumbers
The best part of the growing season is the harvest time!
After all the hard work of planting and taking care of the crop, it’s finally your turn to seek reward in the form of fresh, flavorful homegrown cucumbers!
Different varieties of burpless cucumbers take different times to reach harvest.
Depending on the specific variety you’re growing, burpless cucumbers take around 60 days to come to harvest from planting. Though they can grow longer if left on the vine, burpless cucumbers taste best when picked when they’re around 8 inches long.
The burpless cucumbers should be bright green and firm to be harvested.
Yellow cucumbers are bitter and suggest that they have been left longer on the vine than their recommended harvest time; they are best tossed in the compost bin.
Cut the green cucumbers with a sharp knife or scissors as soon as they reach the desired length.
Leave the rest of the vine to develop further.
Check every few days to see if any of the cucumbers are ready to be picked.
Do Burpless Cucumbers Need To Be Pollinated
Burpless cucumbers do not imply any pollination characteristics of cucumbers.
Depending on the variety you are growing, burpless cucumbers may or may not require pollination to produce fruit.
Burpless cucumbers are, in fact, cucumbers that are bred to remove the bitterness from the fruit.
New cucumber varieties are usually either gynoecious or parthenocarpic.
Gynoecious cucumbers are plants that produce almost all female flowers and require pollination to set fruit.
They’re often grown with one or two monoecious varieties (standard open-pollinated cucumbers with both male and female flowers) to give fruit.
Parthenocarpic cucumbers are varieties with nearly all female flowers. They produce fruit asexually, so they do not need to be pollinated.
Since they give fruit asexually, these varieties have little or no seeds. And even the seeds that do develop will not be fertile.
Most parthenocarpic cucumbers are burpless, but it’s not necessary that all burpless cucumbers are parthenocarpic. If you’re growing a burpless parthenocarpic variety then this type of cucumber will not need to be pollinated.
Pollination characteristics of the particular variety are most often mentioned on the seed packet so you can plant accordingly.
Conclusion
Burpless cucumbers are an excellent choice if you want to enjoy a mild, sweet taste free from the unpalatable bitterness.
As long as you follow the guidelines above, they’re easy to grow and give loads of delicious, healthy cucumbers even in limited space.
