Cucumis sativus 'Burpless Tasty Green' F1 is a Half-Hardy Annual and holder of the RHS Award of Garden Merit — a long, slender, ridge-type cucumber with all-female flowers, resistance to cucumber mosaic virus, and extremely low cucurbitacin content, producing fruits of 20–30cm in length on vigorous climbing or trailing vines from July to October.

Why 'Burpless'? The bitterness and digestive discomfort associated with some cucumbers comes from cucurbitacin — a group of bitter-tasting compounds produced by cucurbit plants as a natural defence against herbivores. Most cucumber varieties contain low but detectable levels of cucurbitacin, concentrated particularly in the skin and the area near the stalk end. 'Burpless Tasty Green' has been bred to minimise cucurbitacin production to levels so low as to be essentially undetectable, resulting in a fruit that is mild and sweet throughout — skin included — and that causes virtually no digestive discomfort even in people who normally experience it with other cucumber varieties.

All-Female Flowers: Conventional cucumbers produce both male and female flowers on the same plant. If male flowers pollinate female flowers, the resulting fruits develop seeds, often become bitter, and may swell unevenly. To prevent this in greenhouse cucumbers, male flowers must be identified and removed before they open — a daily task that is easy to miss. 'Burpless Tasty Green' produces predominantly female flowers, eliminating this need entirely and simplifying the management of the plant considerably. The few male flowers that occasionally appear should still be removed in a greenhouse setting to prevent pollination.

Outdoor vs Greenhouse Performance: 'Burpless Tasty Green' is one of the most reliably performing outdoor cucumbers available — it will crop well against a warm south-facing wall or fence in a normal British summer, and outstandingly in a greenhouse or polytunnel where temperatures are higher and more consistent. Outdoor plants should be grown in the most sheltered, sunniest position available and protected with fleece in cool spells during June and early July. Greenhouse plants will produce earlier, more abundantly, and over a longer season.

Virus Resistance: Cucumber mosaic virus is one of the most common diseases affecting cucumbers in the UK — spread by aphids, it causes mottled, distorted foliage and dramatically reduces yields. 'Burpless Tasty Green's resistance to this virus is one of its most practically valuable characteristics, particularly for outdoor growing where aphid populations are harder to control than in a greenhouse environment.

'Burpless Tasty Green' is grown in the same way as other cucumbers — warm conditions, rich soil, consistent moisture, and training up a support — with the simplification that male flower removal is rarely necessary.

How to Sow:
Sow indoors from late April to May in individual 7–9cm pots, one seed per pot on its side approximately 1–2cm deep. Cucumbers are very frost-tender and there is no advantage to early sowing — plants cannot go outside until temperatures are consistently warm and the risk of frost has fully passed. Maintain a temperature of 20–25°C for germination, which typically occurs within 5–7 days. Grow on in a warm, bright position and pot on into 12–15cm pots if the plant becomes rootbound before planting out time.

Transplanting:
Plant out from late May to early June for greenhouse growing, or early to mid-June for outdoor growing once night temperatures are reliably above 12°C. Space plants 45–60cm apart. For greenhouse growing, plant into large containers of at least 30–40 litres or directly into prepared greenhouse borders. For outdoor growing, choose the warmest, most sheltered, most south-facing position available. All cucumbers benefit from a rich, moisture-retentive growing medium — incorporate generous quantities of well-rotted compost or manure before planting.

Training and Support:
Cucumbers are climbing plants that produce long vines requiring support. In the greenhouse, train up vertical strings or canes tied to an overhead wire. Outdoors, train up a trellis, netting, or cane wigwam. Pinch out the growing tip of the main stem when it reaches the top of its support to encourage lateral shoots, each of which will carry fruits. Pinch out the tip of each lateral two leaves beyond the first fruit.

Feeding and Watering:
Water generously and consistently — cucumbers have very high water requirements, particularly in a greenhouse where the soil dries rapidly in warm weather. Water stress causes bitter fruits and poor fruit set. Once the first fruits begin to swell, feed weekly with a high-potassium liquid fertiliser. Maintain high humidity in the greenhouse by damping down the floor and staging on hot days — cucumbers prefer humid conditions and are more prone to red spider mite in very dry air.

Harvesting:
Harvest fruits at 20–30cm — 'Burpless Tasty Green' is best picked before it reaches full size, when the skin is still thin and tender and the flesh at its crispest and mildest. Pick regularly to encourage continued fruit production — a plant with fruits left to over-mature reduces its production of new fruits, exactly as with courgettes. Cut the stalk cleanly with a sharp knife rather than pulling, which can damage the vine.

Cucumbers benefit from companions that attract pollinators, deter the aphids that spread cucumber mosaic virus, and improve the general health of the growing environment:

• 🌼 Calendula 'Art Shades Mixed': The Virus Vector Deterrent. Aphids are the primary vector of cucumber mosaic virus — they transmit the virus from infected plants to healthy ones as they feed, and even a brief visit from a viruliferous aphid can infect a cucumber plant. Although 'Burpless Tasty Green' has resistance to cucumber mosaic virus, reducing aphid pressure in the growing area is still valuable general practice. Calendula's sticky stems trap aphids before they can move on, its scent deters many pest insects, and its open flowers sustain a population of hoverflies whose larvae consume aphid colonies throughout the season. Grown at the base of outdoor cucumber plants or in the greenhouse border alongside them, it provides a living first line of defence against the aphid pressure that affects all cucurbits.
• 🌟 Borage: The Pollinator Attractor. While 'Burpless Tasty Green' produces predominantly female flowers that do not require pollination for fruit set, the general presence of bumblebees and other pollinators in the growing area is always beneficial for the broader kitchen garden ecosystem. Borage, as one of the highest nectar producers in the British garden, draws pollinators in exceptional numbers and keeps them present throughout the season. For outdoor cucumber plants in particular, where the garden ecosystem is more variable than in a greenhouse, having a strong pollinator population nearby contributes to the overall health and productivity of the growing space.
• 🌿 Basil Classic Italian: The Aromatic Companion. Basil and cucumber is one of the most ancient and most consistently recommended companion planting pairings in the kitchen garden tradition — basil's aromatic oils deter the aphids and whitefly that affect cucumber plants, and the two crops grow at similar temperatures and require similar conditions, making them naturally compatible in the greenhouse or on a warm patio. The culinary logic is as compelling as the horticultural one: a bowl of sliced 'Burpless Tasty Green' cucumber with torn fresh basil, a little olive oil, and sea salt is one of the most refreshing and most immediately appealing things the summer kitchen garden produces, and having both ingredients growing side by side means the combination is always available at a moment's notice.
• 🥒 Cucumber 'Marketmore 76': The Complete Cucumber Pairing. Growing 'Burpless Tasty Green' alongside 'Marketmore 76' provides the most complete cucumber harvest the kitchen garden can offer — the slender, thin-skinned, mild-flavoured Burpless fruits alongside the slightly shorter, darker, more classically cucumber-flavoured Marketmore, both cropping through the same July to October window but with different fruit characters suited to different uses. 'Burpless Tasty Green' for fresh eating and salads where its mildness and thin skin shine; 'Marketmore 76' for pickling, where its firmer flesh and classic flavour hold up well to the brine. Both varieties are reliable outdoor performers with disease resistance, making them natural companions in the same cucumber bed.

Sow indoors from late April in individual pots under warmth — cucumbers establish and grow rapidly in warm conditions, producing their first long, slender, burpless fruits from July and continuing through to the first October frosts.