"®óñ© © ²°¹°" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 25 Feb 2010 19:20:13 -0000, "David WE Roberts"
wrote:

Why are you removing the male flowers?
If you are trying not to waste the plant's time and energy in producing
male flowers that is fine.
If you are trying to prevent the female flowers from being fertilised
(e.g. if they grow with small or no seeds if unfertilised but large
seeds
if fertilised) then removing the female flower would seem to be an
option.

Now wandering off to see if Google can explain further.

I have only grown outdoor cucumbers and so have never bothered with
pinching out male flowers.

In fact,
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/basic...cumbers1.shtml
says
"Both should be left on outdoor varieties, but pinch off the male flowers
when they appear on indoor varieties to prevent the fruit from becoming
bitter." which implies that the fruit becomes bitter if fertilised.

So virgins are sweeter?

Alternatively, one fertilised they become extremely sour and
bitter..........