pollinating cucumbers

[Flunky]

I have some growing indoors. Do you have to pollinate them ? as i have flowers on the plants.

[Flunky]

[Barnowl]

Which variety?

[Plot69]

Good question, I'm pretty interested in the answer when you get one.

I've got two gherkin plants in my greenhouse. Can't remember the exact variety but I know they're an F1 and being all female is certainly not mentioned on the packet. I've not seen any male flowers at all but I've had and still got plenty of fruit swelling. How without pollination does this all female thing work and why is it that not all the fruit "Takes" if pollination isn't needed?

[tim]

Gherkins, surely, should be outdoors??

However - "Parthenocarpy.  This is when cucumbers set fruit without pollination, the fruit are therefore 'seedless'.  The fruit really contains soft white seed coats.  This type of fruit set usually happens in low light, cool night conditions.  Greenhouse plants are parthenocarpic.  Pollination causes the formation of true seed, resulting in deformed fruit.  Most of the greenhouse cultivars originated in Europe.  The fruit are very elongate, cylindrical, and smooth, with thin and tender skin."