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Cucumber Types: Slicing, Pickling, Burpless and Greenhouse

Cucumbers split into four groups that need different handling. Which to grow outdoors, which need glass, and why some turn bitter.

By Salma 3 min read Save to Pinterest — opens Pinterest in a new tab
A pile of cucumbers of mixed sizes and skin textures, from smooth dark to pale and bumpy
Photo: krzys16, Pixabay Content License, via Pixabay
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Cucumbers divide into four groups, and the division matters: one of them will not set fruit properly outdoors, and another goes soft the moment you pickle it.

The four groups

Cucumber types compared
TypeLooks likeGrow whereBest for
Slicing / ridge6–9 in, slightly ridged or wartyOutdoorsSalads, easiest to grow
Pickling3–5 in, blocky, bumpyOutdoorsPickles. Dense flesh
Burpless / Middle EasternLong, slim, ridged, thin skinOutdoors or glassEating raw, skin on
Greenhouse / all-female12–16 in, smooth, darkGlass or tunnelHeavy yields under cover

Slicing and ridge cucumbers

The straightforward outdoor cucumber.

  • Monoecious — separate male and female flowers, pollinated by insects
  • Tolerant of weather that greenhouse types will not accept
  • Skin thicker than a supermarket cucumber, sometimes peeled
  • Crop over a long season if picked regularly
  • The group to start with if you have never grown cucumbers

Pickling cucumbers

Bred for a different job, and the difference is real.

  • Short and blocky, usually three to five inches
  • Dense, less watery flesh that stays crunchy in brine
  • Thicker skin that holds up to processing
  • Pick small and pick often — they go from perfect to oversized in two days
  • Grow six to eight plants so you get enough at once to fill jars in a batch

A slicing cucumber pickled goes soft. That is the whole reason this category exists.

Burpless and Middle Eastern types

  • Thin skin, eaten unpeeled
  • Low in cucurbitacin, so rarely bitter and easier to digest, which is where the name comes from
  • Long and slim, often ridged
  • Crop well outdoors in a decent summer and better under cover

Greenhouse and all-female types

The long smooth cucumbers sold in shops.

  • Parthenocarpic — they set fruit without pollination
  • All-female flowers, so no males to remove on modern varieties
  • Heavy yields under glass, and poor performance outdoors
  • If pollinated, the fruit goes fat, seedy and bitter. This is why the old advice was to pinch out male flowers in a greenhouse
  • Need warmth, shelter and consistent water

Do not plant an all-female greenhouse variety in an open plot

It is the commonest cucumber mistake. The seed packet promises enormous smooth fruit, the plant goes out in May, and it sits miserable in the wind producing almost nothing.

Match the type to the site: ridge and pickling outdoors, all-female under cover.

Why cucumbers turn bitter

  • Cucurbitacin, a stress compound the plant makes
  • Triggered by irregular watering, heat stress, cold nights, or letting fruit oversize
  • Concentrated at the stem end and under the skin — peel and cut an inch off that end and most mildly bitter fruit is fine
  • Prevented by consistent moisture. A soaker hose on a timer does more than anything else
  • Modern burpless and greenhouse varieties are bred low in it and rarely go bitter

Growing notes that apply to all of them

  • Warmth to germinate. Sow indoors in modules, plant out after the last frost
  • Do not firm the soil hard around the stem; cucumbers dislike it
  • Climb them. Netting, a trellis or an arch — fruit stays clean and straight, and the ground underneath is freed
  • Pick constantly. A fruit left to oversize tells the plant to stop producing
  • Feed with a high-potassium feed once fruiting starts
  • Watch for powdery mildew in late summer — space plants for airflow and water at the base

Common questions

What are the main types of cucumber?

Four groups that matter to a grower. Slicing cucumbers are the long smooth salad types. Pickling cucumbers are short, blocky and bumpy, bred for firm flesh that stays crisp in brine. Burpless or Middle Eastern types are thin-skinned and mild, usually long and ridged. Greenhouse or all-female types are the long smooth supermarket cucumbers, which need protection and produce fruit without pollination.

What is the difference between slicing and pickling cucumbers?

Flesh density and skin. Pickling types are short, thick-skinned and dense, with less water, so they stay crunchy in brine rather than going limp. Slicing types are longer, thinner-skinned and more watery, which is pleasant raw and poor pickled. You can pickle a slicing cucumber and it will be soft; you can eat a pickling cucumber raw and it will be fine but small and bumpy.

Which cucumbers can I grow outdoors?

Ridge cucumbers, pickling types and most burpless varieties crop perfectly well outdoors in a temperate summer. They are usually monoecious, meaning separate male and female flowers that need insect pollination, so they want open air. Greenhouse all-female types grown outdoors are a waste of a good plant — they are bred for heat and shelter and sulk without it.

Why are my cucumbers bitter?

Cucurbitacin, which the plant produces under stress — most often irregular watering, heat, or cold nights. It concentrates at the stem end and just under the skin, so peeling and cutting an inch off that end rescues most mildly bitter fruit. Consistent moisture is the prevention. Modern burpless and greenhouse varieties are bred low in cucurbitacin and rarely go bitter at all.

Do greenhouse cucumbers need pollination?

No, and they are better without it. All-female greenhouse varieties set fruit parthenocarpically — without pollination — and a pollinated fruit on those types becomes fat, seedy and bitter. That is why the traditional advice is to remove male flowers in a greenhouse. Outdoor monoecious varieties are the opposite and need insects to set fruit at all.

How many cucumber plants do I need?

Two or three plants of a cropping variety keeps a household in salad cucumbers through the season, and they produce faster than most people expect once they start. For pickling, six to eight plants gives enough fruit at once to fill jars in batches, which matters because pickling a handful at a time is not worth the effort. Climbing them doubles what fits in the same ground.

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