How do they taste? Like oranges? :-)

Kyle

Haha, I just picked my first one today, I'll chill it down and eat it tomorrow. I'll post the results. I posted a pic in the box labeled Optional Link although I'm not quite sure what it does ;-)

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:80418}}

Looks like a fully ripe black-spined cucumber to me, which are usually quite bitter when ripe. Are the cucumbers orange even when unripe? Some cucumbers, such as Yellow Submarine and Lemon are not bitter at all and can be eaten at any stage.

I googled the cuc you mentioned and it's a standard green cucumber so I have no idea what you're seeing because orange and green are not the same color, ask any Irishman.

These cucs are orange right from the start

Here is a link that might be useful: black-spined cucumber

Same thing happened to me last year, quite disturbing. Couldn't get anyone to eat 'em. They were orange right from when they were quite small too. I'm waiting to see what happens this year.

It appears there's an orange cucumber breeding program going on in the US. They're looking to get beta carotene into pickles. Maybe rouges are getting out..........those pesky insects cause all kinds of problems.

It looks like a ripe Poona Kheera cucumber - Asian.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cornell - Cucumber Poona Kheera

My first thought was that he got seeds for Hmong Red, which is becoming a fad. It however is not orange from the gitgo.

Here is a link that might be useful: Hmong Red

Here's a pic of a partially developed orange, the cucumber in the above picture was also fairly young, but fully developed.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:80419}}

I don't know......those look over-mature to me. Do you have any pictures of cucumbers that are about an two inches long and an inch in diameter?

Mine are doing that but they are turning yellow and roundish and start at about 2 inches or so,so they are not over mature.They look similar to your last photo but not that large.Very disappointing as I was looking forward to cucumbers.

I agree -- over-mature.

Since you don't know the name of the cukes you'r growing, I suggest they're supposed to picklers or gherkins, both of which are ready to pick at 2 inches or so.

In your first post you said "I talked to the nurseryman I bought the plants from but he's as stumped as I am."

I suggest that person wasn't an *experienced* nurseryman. S/he would know what happened.

My bottom line: You're *not* growing a "slicer" cuke; I suspect the labels got mixed up somewhere along the way.

At this point, remove all the orange cukes.

Then watch with an eagle-eye to see if any new green cukes develop. They'll be small and they'll be challenging to see because they'll be the same green as the vine and leaves.

I can't tell from your photo, but if the the baby cuke, just to left above your mature cuke is whitish green, then you could have a Hmong Red. The pickling cukes do turn orange when ripe, but I expect you would notice them getting ripe from their customary dark green.

So has the cuke been tasted yet? It's really pretty, and I could definitely see a market for it if it's tasty. I'm trying to grow Poona Keera myself this year, for something a little different.

That Cornell link to the Poona Kheera variety is great. I will grow some of these next year for sure. Check out the comments that accompany the description.

My Marketmore cukes were getting a slow start, half died, so I built a cage around the row and loaded it with compost and the few remaining vines exploded, so I couldn't even get in there for a couple weeks. I waded in today and picked 21 huge cukes from just one branch. The younger ones are big and green, the others are as big and orange as mecasa's. At least one or two are bright orange/red and nearly as big as mecasa's cat!!

I just peeled and ate a green one and an orange one. Although the heels are too bitter to eat, the rest is not bad. Maybe the gel and seeds from the orange have a tiny bit of sour instead of sweet as they are in the green, but not bad. Looks like Cornell has done well on the bitterfree genetics.

Ok here's the scoop. These are a new brand of genetically modified cucumbers that have high amounts of beta Carotene(which turns them orange) and vitamin A. I to bought some cucumbers that turned out to be orange not from over ripening since they basicly started off orange, when I went to look this up i found out that a lot of people have the same problem with no awnser until i found some articles on USDA site. The messed up thing is that the company I got mine from said that they were USDA organic and non GMO. It would seem that this new strand has been found cross pollinating with alot of people cucumbers all over the place. The sad thing is that consumers that want GMO free food are beening unknowningly mislead into growing and eating GMO's not to mention that the heal effects of these new genes are unknow. With all the genetic alterations of our food and madmen scientist unleashing these plants into the wild, will we one day awake to a world where genetically pure foods don't exist and orange cucumbers take the place of green ones???? Here is the USDA's website about there man made orange cucumbers i would suggest you look into the issue more and question whether or not we should accept these alteration to the natural order of our food. And please ask yourself this one question about genetically modified food, why are they altering our food and not even telling us about it???????

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/ar/archive/nov95/cukes1195.htm?pf=1

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/qtr/q195/gr195.htm

I just picked my half orange cucumber and I have to say I've never ever seen a cucumber turn an orange colour due to sitting on the vine too long.
So I presume that "NonGMO Please" post is the most revealing & helpful, it's disturbing to know I've been wasting my time & water growing Monster Monsanto & USDA trash.
It's an outrage that we have no choices any longer because labeling these plants as GMO is not required or so the FEDs decided.

Thanks b> "NonGMO Please"

All the older pickling types like National Pickling, Chicago Pickling etc turn orange when ripe. Slicers (white spine) turn yellow. Crosses happen with the open pollinated seeds, since they are no longer grown commercially and certified true seed are no longer available, seed sources are not as careful as they used to be. If your photo is of a pickling type, it is definitely ripe. These are harvested at about thumb size.

"I've never ever seen a cucumber turn an orange colour due to sitting on the vine too long. "

My lemon cucumbers turn yellow/orange when the cucs/seeds are getting too large and even some times when they are small and don't have enough water.

I have several orange cucumbers this year and I don't believe they are over ripe. They are firm and have been orange since they were small. Also, the link mentioned above about GMO cucumbers that contain beta carotene talks of cucmbers that are orange on the inside, which is not the case with mine. Mine are orange on the outside and white on the inside, and quite large. Mine were purchased as small plants from Home Depot and according to the picture are supposed to be a green heirloom cucumber good for pickling. Just by comparing photos I'd say mine resemble the Poona Kheera ones.

I had the same thing happen to some of my cucumber plants I got from Home Depot this year. (2016) They started out orange. They are white inside and taste like a cucumber should. At his point, I just harvest and eat them. At first I thought they had mixed up some type of squash plants with the cucumber.

Baker Creek sells a seed called vellary melon...they look suspiciously like that...you didn't say where you got your seed from...i can tell you, i bought the seed last year and the fruits were so awful that i dumped them all over a side hill that i have, and this spring, they were still there, even the wildlife didn't want them!

Cucumber is literally called "yellow mellon" in Asia. I always thought it's quite a good name because cucumber always turn yellow when fully ripe.