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I have a pickle plant of the type Profi F1. This is a plant with only female flowers. Based on the picture on the package I expect fruits of 5-10cm. It is now the end of July, and the plant was moved outside half April (this is in the Netherlands).

The plant is now 1m high and has around 10 fruits, which are all ~3cm long and ~1cm in diameter. They are more hairy/furry and lighter green than what I would expect from a ripe fruit. The leafs are big and dark green though, no signs of disease or pests.

Up to now I let the fruits hang to let them grow longer. But today I read that you should also harvest early to stimulate new fruiting. So now I’m wondering: is it better to remove the current fruits and hope for the next cycle to grow bigger?

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user39350
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I can't speak to Profi F1 in particular, but I can relate my own experience with others varieties. I am in Zone 5B, but that's not my concern in mid-summer. In July & August where I am, most days are above 90 F, and many plants tend to stop or slow growing. Although, I believe cucumbers have some good heat tolerance up to 95F. But I've experience where cucumbers were not large, so I left them on the vine, hoping they would fill out. It didn't happen and they became bitter. Cucs are good for an early spring start, when soil temps are above 60 F; so you should be able to get ahead of the mid-summer doldrums.

I suggest you sample a few to see how they are doing. If they are developing "hollow hearts" (not a disease) you may want to harvest them now. Depending on how severe it is and the level of bitterness, it may be too late. There are a number of possible causes for this, best to read up.

I also suggest you also get a good soil test kit that measures N-P-K. If you're using lots of compost, it could be that could be you're throwing the balance off and getting lots of green leaf growth, but the fruit development may not be not doing so well. I never advise people to add supplements without first testing. In my own garden, I compost heavily and discovered I was having a problem with phosphate.

Best of luck ~doug

dougp01
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