Specialty Cucumber
Richmond Green Apple Cucumber is an extraordinary heirloom variety from Australia that delivers one of the most delightful cucumber experiences you can grow. These unique fruits are small and perfectly round, roughly the size of a lemon, about 3 to 4 inches across, with a beautiful lime green skin that's entirely edible. What makes them truly special is their crisp, apple-like texture and remarkably sweet, mild flavor with absolutely no bitterness. Ready to harvest in just 60 to 70 days, they thrive in full sun and represent a find so rare and rewarding that Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds considers them an annual farm favorite.
Full Sun
Moderate
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Annual
Moderate
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Richmond Green Apple Cucumber stands out for its unusual globe shape and refreshingly different flavor profile, crisp and sweet with none of the typical cucumber bitterness. These small, lemon-sized fruits have a striking lime green color and can be eaten skin and all, making them genuinely fun to grow and incredibly satisfying to harvest. The variety thrives in full sun and matures quickly, delivering exceptional flavor that tastes as good as it looks.
Richmond Green Apple Cucumber excels as a fresh eating cucumber, the kind you pick warm from the vine and enjoy immediately for its crisp, juicy texture and sweet flavor. The edible skin and mild character make these perfect for slicing into salads, adding to vegetable platters, or eating out of hand like the apple-like fruit they resemble. Their small, manageable size and absence of bitterness make them ideal for cooks who find traditional cucumbers too watery or bland.
You can start seeds indoors in warm conditions 3 to 4 weeks before your last spring frost, as seeds sprout in 5 to 14 days under warm conditions. Use seed-starting mix and maintain soil temperature around 70°F or warmer for reliable germination.
Transplant seedlings outdoors after the last frost date once soil has warmed to at least 60°F, ideally 70°F or higher. Harden off plants gradually over a week by exposing them to outdoor conditions. Space transplants 12 inches apart.
Direct sow seeds outdoors after all frost danger has passed and soil has warmed. Sow seeds where you want plants to grow, spacing them 12 inches apart, and thin seedlings if necessary.
Pick Richmond Green Apple Cucumbers when they reach their characteristic lemon size, approximately 3 to 4 inches across. The skin should be a bright lime green color, and the fruit should feel firm with a slight give when gently squeezed. Harvest regularly throughout the season to encourage continued production, these small cucumbers mature quickly in 60 to 70 days from planting. Pick them while still young and tender for the best crisp texture and sweetness.
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“This remarkable heirloom originates from Australia, where it remains popular today among gardeners who appreciate its unusual form and exceptional flavor. The variety represents a living connection to Australian gardening traditions, preserved and shared through seed companies like Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, which has championed it as a beloved addition to their collection. Its rarity in most Western seed catalogs speaks to how specialized knowledge and dedicated heirloom preservation keep such distinctive varieties alive.”