Crop type: Cucumbers
Cucumis sativus ‘Marketmore’
Common name: Cucumber ‘Marketmore’ (ridge)
Crop slug: cucumbers
This Allotment Pro editorial draft summarises the cited RHS cultivar profile. Check the source and adjust cultivation decisions for local conditions.RHS cultivar profile
1 - Overview
‘Marketmore’ is a heavy-cropping ridge cucumber suitable for growing outdoors as well as under glass. It bears cylindrical dark-green fruits up to about 20cm long in summer, a practical medium size for slicing. Its outdoor suitability makes it distinct from cultivars intended mainly for heated or protected cultivation.
The plant combines climbing and trailing growth, so it can be supported vertically or allowed to spread across protected soil. It holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
2 - Size
- Ultimate height
- 1–1.5 metres
- Ultimate spread
- 0.1–0.5 metre when trained
- Time to ultimate size
- 1 year
Vertical support keeps the naturally narrow trained plant compact. Where it trails outdoors, allow additional ground room and keep developing fruits away from damp soil.
3 - Growing conditions
- Suitable soils
- Clay, loam and sand
- Moisture
- Moist but well-drained
- Soil pH
- Acid, neutral or alkaline
Use fertile ground or good container compost with consistent moisture and free drainage. Regular watering is particularly important while the heavy summer crop is swelling.
4 - Position and hardiness
- Light
- Full sun
- Aspect
- South- or west-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- Hardiness
- H1c — suitable outside only in summer where temperatures remain around 5–10°C or warmer
Move plants outside only when all frost danger has passed. Choose a warm sheltered outdoor plot, or grow under glass where cooler summers make open-ground cropping uncertain.
5 - Colour and seasonal interest
Yellow flowers appear with green foliage from spring into summer. Cylindrical dark-green fruits develop in summer and can continue with green foliage into autumn under favourable conditions. Mature cucumbers reach roughly 20cm, shorter than long greenhouse types and larger than mini cultivars.
6 - Botanical details
- Family
- Cucurbitaceae
- Native to Great Britain and Ireland
- No
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Habit
- Climbing and trailing
- Name status
- Accepted
Genus
Cucumis is a genus of tendril-bearing twining plants that includes cucumbers, melons and gherkins. Species occur naturally across parts of Africa, India, Southeast Asia and Australia.
Safety
Bitter cucumber fruit can be toxic to pets if eaten. Do not feed bitter fruit to animals, and discard any cucumber with an abnormal bitter taste.
7 - How to grow
Cultivation
Start from seed or buy young plants, raising them initially in a heated greenhouse or on a sunny windowsill. Transfer to an unheated greenhouse or outdoors only after frost risk has passed. Water regularly, provide a sturdy support and feed container plants every 10–14 days.
Harvest the dark-green cylindrical fruits during summer at up to around 20cm long. Regular picking helps sustain the heavy crop and prevents fruits becoming overripe.
Propagation
Propagate by seed.
Suggested locations
- City and courtyard gardens
- Patio and container plants
- Cottage and informal gardens
- Warm outdoor vegetable beds
Pruning
Under glass, remove the main tip at the top of its support. Shorten fruiting side-shoots two leaves beyond a developing fruit and flowerless side-shoots at 60cm. If trailing outdoors, shorten the main stem and non-fruiting side-shoots after seven leaves.
Pests
May be susceptible to glasshouse whitefly, particularly when grown under protection. Outdoor young plants and low fruits should also be monitored for general mollusc damage.
Diseases
May be susceptible to cucumber mosaic virus and powdery mildew. Maintain plant hygiene, steady moisture and airflow, and remove seriously virus-affected plants.