Cucumis sativus L.
Commonly called "Lebanese cucumber," it's the favourite of many people, and for good reasons. Beit Alpha was born in the 1930s when breeders were looking for a cucumber adapted to the dry, hot Middle Eastern climate, productive under glass, and freed from the bitterness that afflicted traditional European varieties. The result became, within a few decades, the standard of all eastern Mediterranean cooking — it's the cucumber of Israeli salad (cucumbers and tomatoes diced very small with lemon, olive oil and mint), of Lebanese tabbouleh, of Greek tzatziki, of mezze everywhere between Athens and Tehran.
Short, slim fruits 10 to 15 cm, glossy medium green, with a particularly thin skin that never needs peeling, and dense, crunchy, juicy flesh almost devoid of visible seeds. Above all, exceptional mildness — low in cucurbitacins (the bitter compounds also responsible for the famous "burping") — it's eaten like a fruit, crunched whole over the sink on heatwave days. Vigorous, very productive climbing plant that yields continuously for 2 to 3 months if you pick regularly. Genetic bonus: the variety is largely parthenocarpic — that is, it produces its fruits without needing to be pollinated — useful in a greenhouse or tunnel where bees rarely enter, and a guarantee against cross-induced bitterness.
Grower's tip: Like all cucumbers, it hates being moved. Indoor start 3 to 4 weeks maximum before transplanting (in biodegradable pots ideally), or direct-sow in early June once the soil is at 18 °C. Install a sturdy trellis — the plant readily climbs to 2 metres and the suspended fruits stay perfectly straight, clean and easy to spot. Pick early and often — Beit Alpha is better harvested small (10-12 cm) than at full size, and each fruit picked stimulates several more. For gardeners with a cold greenhouse or tunnel, it's without hesitation the variety of choice.
- Open-pollinated. Largely parthenocarpic — produces fruits without need of pollination.
- CMR/MMR resistance.
- Climbing vine 1.5 to 2 m, to be trellised.
- Maturity: 55 to 65 days after transplant.
- Exposure: full sun.
- Rich, deep, well-drained soil, kept cool with good mulching. Space plants 40 to 50 cm apart on the trellis.
- Indoor start 3 to 4 weeks before last frost in biodegradable pots, or direct-sow in early June once the soil is at 18 °C minimum.
