Independent comparisons. We may earn from shop links. More info

Best cucumber seeds UK: match the packet to the place

Updated: October 2026

You are standing in front of a dozen cucumber packets, and the differences only show up after you have sown the wrong one. The best cucumber seeds UK gardeners can buy are not the ones with the prettiest star rating. They are the packets whose printed place and flower rule match a greenhouse, a polytunnel, or a sunny outdoor bed. Our [cucumber seeds comparison](/hub/seeds-and-plants/cucumber-seeds) sets out the twelve amazon.co.uk listings with captured prices in pounds. This page is the order of checks before you buy. We used those listings and public UK growing guidance, and we did not grow the seed. A qualifying purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are standing in front of a dozen cucumber packets, and the differences only show up after you have sown the wrong one. The best cucumber seeds UK gardeners can buy are not the ones with the prettiest star rating.

Our top picks

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Socrates F1

Best overall

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Socrates F1
8.8/10about £4.99
View offer
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Marketmore 76

Best value

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Marketmore 76
8.6/10about £2.39
View offer
Just Seed Just Seed Mini Munch F1, 5 seeds

Alternative

Just Seed Just Seed Mini Munch F1, 5 seeds
8.6/10about £2.95
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Start with where the plants will live
  2. 2.Then read the flower line
  3. 3.Count the seeds against the price
  4. 4.Refuse a packet you cannot name

Start with where the plants will live

Decide the place before you compare seed counts. The Royal Horticultural Society treats indoor cucumbers as plants for a greenhouse, polytunnel, or large cold frame, and outdoor or ridge cucumbers as plants for a sunny, sheltered spot. An all-female greenhouse cucumber on a cold patio is the wrong seed. Mr Fothergill's Socrates F1 is the clearest covered snack cucumber: all-female, a greenhouse or tunnel, £4.99 for about five seeds, rated 4.4 from 102 reviews. If you have no cover, Marketmore 76 is the outdoor ridge packet, with about 25 seeds at £2.39, rated 4.3 from 235 reviews. Putting that ridge variety in the same greenhouse as Socrates is the mistake Gardeners' World warns against, because the cross can make bitter, seedy fruit. The full place fork is on the greenhouse versus outdoor cucumber seeds page.

Then read the flower line

If the packet says all-female, or tells you to remove male flowers, the plants are meant to set fruit without pollination. A male flower has a plain stalk and no tiny cucumber behind the bloom. Leave those males on an outdoor ridge plant. Pinch them on the greenhouse type that must not be pollinated. Socrates is the listing that prints all-female. Telepathy tells you to remove male flowers, but it does not use the words all-female, so treat that as a management instruction. Mini Munch does not print all-female on these amazon.co.uk listings. Unwins Burpless Tasty Green, at £1.78, is an outdoor cucumber and the bullets do not say all-female. Two written reviews complain of mostly male flowers. That can be normal on a ridge type. The RHS Marketmore 70 page says to keep the male flowers. How to see the flower is on the all-female cucumber seeds page.
Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Socrates F1

Testsieger

Mr Fothergill's Mr Fothergill's Socrates F1
8.8/10about £4.99
View offer

Count the seeds against the price

F1 packets in this batch are often about five seeds, at roughly £1.49 to £4.99. The listings do not give a germination percentage. Reviewers of the five-seed Mini Munch, rated 4.3 from 170, split between a full stand and packs where none, or only two of five, came up. Marketmore's about 25 seeds at £2.39 absorb a few misses in a way a five-seed packet cannot. It is the best value for an outdoor ridge slicer, and a poor buy when you need a stated all-female greenhouse cucumber. Socrates is the top pick when the printed flower type and the greenhouse or tunnel line matter more than the price per seed. Named packets are on the best cucumber seeds page.

Refuse a packet you cannot name

Seed count does not rescue a bag you cannot identify. Ultrey Mini Stars F1 claims 30 pieces for £3.99, rated 3.4 from 224. Reviews describe unmarked bags, missing sowing instructions, climbing plants, male flowers, and bitter fruit. Do not sow an unlabelled delivery. Unwins Merlin costs £1.99 and shows 5.0 from a single rating, with no seed count, no flower type, and no place. Patio Snacker, five seeds at £3.10, does not state indoor or outdoor use and lists Winter as the blooming period. A company registration, including a Defra number, is not a certificate that the packet is organic. Do not plant or compost seed you cannot identify. Reports go to planthealth.info@apha.gov.uk.

Common questions

Do I need a greenhouse to grow cucumbers from seed?
No. You need a greenhouse, polytunnel, or cold frame for the indoor types in this set, such as Socrates and Telepathy. A sunny, sheltered bed can take an outdoor ridge variety such as Marketmore 76. The crop will be more weather-dependent, and the fruit is a ridge slicer rather than a long supermarket cucumber. A cold patio is a poor substitute for the greenhouse the all-female packet names.
What is the difference between a ridge cucumber and a greenhouse cucumber?
A greenhouse cucumber is usually a long or snack fruit grown under cover, often with a rule about male flowers. A ridge cucumber is the outdoor type, typically shorter and rougher, and it needs insect pollination, so you leave the male flowers on. Gardeners' World says not to grow a ridge variety in the same greenhouse as an all-female type, because the cross can make bitter, seedy fruit.
Does Mini Munch in this set say all-female?
No. The five-seed listing at £2.95 and the 15-seed listing at £4.75 name greenhouses, containers, polytunnels, and patios. They do not print all-female. Other UK sellers sometimes describe Mini Munch that way. Buy this packet only if you accept that the flower claim is missing, and do not treat it as the same purchase as Socrates, which does print all-female.
Which listing is the outdoor one with the most reviews?
Mr Fothergill's Marketmore 76 has 4.3 from 235 ratings, the largest review count on a clearly named outdoor ridge packet in this comparison. The captured price is £2.39 for about 25 seeds. A later search snippet showed £1.24 against an RRP of £2.39, so check the live amazon.co.uk price. The style name says mini, which conflicts with the ridge-slicer description.
Should I sow seed that arrives with no name on the bag?
No. Do not plant it and do not compost it. Reviews of Ultrey Mini Stars describe unmarked bags, missing instructions, and plants that did not match a compact hanging cucumber. Unidentified seed is a plant-health question, not a sowing experiment. UK reports can go to planthealth.info@apha.gov.uk. A named packet with a place and a flower line is the safer buy.

Related pages

How to sow cucumber seeds

Cucumber seeds

All-female cucumber seeds: pinch out the male flowers

Best cucumber seeds for a UK greenhouse or outdoor bed

Greenhouse vs outdoor cucumber seeds: pick the place

Sources

Public UK sources used for sowing, flower rules and seed marketing. Last checked on 16 October 2026.

  1. RHS, How to grow cucumbers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. Gardeners' World, How to grow cucumbers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. The Seed Marketing Regulations 2011 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. GOV.UK, Apply to have seeds certified for marketing in England and Wales (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. RHS, Cucumis sativus Socrates (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. RHS, Cucumis sativus Marketmore (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Suttons, How to avoid bitter cucumbers (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. RHS, Cucumber mosaic virus (retrieved 16 October 2026)