You may have heard of Asian cucumber varieties before and wondered what makes them different. Well, I am here to break it down for you. The biggest difference is their taste and affect on your digestive system.

If you have a tendency to stay away from cucumbers because of the gas they can build up in your digestive system you should give these green guys a try. Japanese cucumbers, also known as Kyuri, have lower levels of cucurbitacin levels. This is the component that gives cucumbers a bitter taste and makes it harder to digest.

This also makes them sweeter to the taste. They are best used for fresh eating and can be grown with common growing practices.

Unlike many cucumbers you may be used to, these cucumbers develop vines up to 6ft long. If you leave them to their own devices you may come back to a mess of vines going in every direction. To help maintain these plants prune away side branching vines. When done throughout the season this will also encourage more fruit development.

The Basic Growing Practices To Be Used:

• Soaking the seeds for 12 hours to soften their hard outer skin
• Germinate in temperatures of at least 68F
• Expect germination in about 7-10 days
• Provide a support system for the vines to grow
• Grow in an area that gets full sunlight
• Provide plenty of water as they are 96% water

Recommended Japanese Cucumber Varieties

• Dragon Suhyo Cross Hybrid
• Housaku Hybrid
• Palace King Hybrid
• Palace Pride Hybrid
• Soarer Hybrid
• Sooyow Nishiki
• Southern Delight Hybrid
• Summer Dance Hybrid
• Summer Top Hybrid
• Tasty Green Hybrid
• Tokiwa
• Tsuyataro Hybrid
• Yamato Sanjaku
• Zipangu Hybrid