Easy to grow and tasty, cucumbers are making a comeback – and they have never been so versatile! From pickling types, to salad varieties and even Asian ones used for cooking, these Cucurbits really are the veg du jour!
How To Grow Cucumber ‘Party Time’These cucumbers grow best in a greenhouse, although you can grow outdoors during the warmer summer weather. As these are being sown from seed, you can grow in large containers too. When to Sow Seeds: March to June – In cell trays with heat to get started Germination Temperature: 18 ℃ + Cover Seeds: No need Time to Germination: 5 – 7 Days Frost Hardy: No, provide frost protection Spacing Between Plants: 50cm Growth Habit: Train up a cane or trellis Plant Height: 200cm + Planting Position: Sun, best in greenhouse |
It’s time to party with ‘Party Time’
Cucumber ‘Party Time’ is an easy-to-grow, all-female parthenocarpic “snack-type” producing three or four delicious fruits at every node every few days. These crunchy, bite-sized fruit are perfect lunchbox snacks. ‘Party Time’ has excellent resistance to powdery mildew and performs across a range of climates, but is best grown in an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel in Northern Europe.
How Was Cucumber ‘Party Time’ Created ?
Our breeding team in The Netherlands was determined to develop a new, smaller sized snack cucumber for the home gardener. Using our variety ‘Merlin’ as the basis for a new programme and crossing this to smaller fruited types ‘Party Time’ was selected from tens of new crosses to fit the smaller snacking niche. It’s all-female and parthenocarpic characteristics means this variety sets fruit very freely in a cold greenhouse or plastic tunnel and more importantly can develop up to five fruits at each node on a stem, a truly remarkable breeding achievement. Good resistance to powdery and downy mildew mean this variety is suitable for longer season crops throughout the summer months. The smaller size of ‘Party Time’ lends itself to use in lunch boxes and use in dips at any summer barbecue.
What’s Different About This Plant?
One of the most prolific snack cucumber we have seen with outstanding level of resistance to powdery and downy mildew. One of the Burpee Europe trials yielded 43 fruits per plant weighing 75 grams each. Up to 5 fruit per node. Truly astonishing!
How to eat ‘Party Time’
‘Party Time’ is perfect for kids lunch boxes and offers a whole host of other tasty ideas!
- Salads
- Cucumber Boats filled with hummus or cream cheese
- Add to smoothies
- Add to soups, especially lovely cold summer types
- Add to dips
- Use as ice pops, by freezing cucumber smoothies in lolly moulds
- Use in dressings such as a Cucumber & Dill
- On top of home made sushi
Where Can You Plant Cucumber ‘Party Time’
Best grown in an unheated greenhouse or polytunnel in the UK.
Where Can You Buy Cucumber ‘Party Time’ seeds?
Simply Seed, Grow Seed, Owls Acre Seeds, Pennard Plants and available soon from Plants of Distinction.
about burpee europe
Simon Crawford, plant breeder and managing director of Burpee Europe
Our passion at Burpee Europe is to develop new tasty, disease resistant vegetables and also stunning flowers for use by home gardeners around the world and to encourage the cultivation of gardens by individuals and communities. We see our mission as not only the introduction of new and improved varieties but also the communication of the benefits, both physical and mental, of gardening.
Our seeds are sold through a selection of the top seed companies in the UK and have won numerous awards including those from the Royal Horticultural Society.
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