Cucumis sativus
Origin: Ukraine via Maine
Improvement status: Cultivar
Seeds per packet: ~25
Germination tested 12/2025: 97%
Life cycle: Annual
This is a delicious and productive Ukrainian cucumber used, as the name implies, for pickling. It's crunchy, thin-skinned, short, thick, and sweet (almost fruity). Mature fruit turn brown and russeted (like the Bhutanese 'Gagon'), but actually still taste good and retain their crunch. This is a mid-season maturing cucumber with moderately vining plants. In our experience, the fruit have never gotten bitter. We strongly recommend you pick these fruit often (when fruit are 4-5" long) in order to maintain productivity.
We got this variety from Seed Savers Exchange, who added it to their collection after it was donated by our friend and legendary seed-keeper Will Bonsall of Maine, founder of the Scatterseed Project. These seeds were grown by EFN co-founder Nate Kleinman at the EFN flagship farm in Elmer, New Jersey.
GROWING TIPS: Direct-sow once soil warms in the spring (when you would plant corn or beans), or start early indoors a couple weeks before last frost. This variety does not need a trellis.
