Lebanese cucumber Beit Alpha BIO - Cucumis sativus

A smooth, juicy cucumber from the Middle East. The Lebanese cucumber, also known as Beit Alpha, is an old Lebanese variety with a medium-early harvest. The fruits have smooth, green skin without prickles and are harvested when small, at around 12 cm long. The flesh is juicy, has a very good flavour and contains few seeds. The vines grow to 150–200 cm.

At a glance

• Growth habit: climbing, vines 150–200 cm long
• Fruits: green, smooth, without prickles, harvested at around 12 cm
• Sowing in pots: late April – May, at a temperature of 22–25°C
• Direct sowing / transplanting: after the last frosts, from late May
• Harvest: June (under cover) – September
• Position: full sun, warm, fertile and well-drained soil
• Difficulty: moderate
• Seeds per packet: 15

What makes this variety special

Beit Alpha cucumbers are known from Middle Eastern cuisine – small, with thin, smooth skin that does not need to be peeled. Compared with the popular outdoor varieties grown here, the fruits have neither bumps nor prickles, and their flesh is exceptionally juicy and crisp.

The small number of seeds makes these cucumbers ideal for slicing and dicing. This variety fruits medium-early, and regular harvesting of young fruits encourages the plant to set more. In Polish conditions, it yields best in a greenhouse or polytunnel, although it also grows well outdoors in a warm, sheltered spot.

Growing step by step

Sowing in pots (late April – May): Sow one seed per pot, 2–3 mm deep, following the producer’s recommendations. Seeds need a temperature of 22–25°C to germinate, and seedlings emerge after 5–10 days. Keep the growing medium slightly moist, avoiding excess water.

Direct sowing: After the last frosts, from late May, seeds can be sown directly in their final position once the soil has warmed up well.

Transplanting (mid- to late May): Transplant seedlings with several true leaves into a greenhouse or polytunnel from mid-May, and outdoors after the last frosts. Space plants about 100 × 60 cm apart and add compost to each planting hole.

Care: Cucumbers need warmth, sun and regular, generous watering, preferably with lukewarm water applied directly to the base of the plant. Train the vines up netting or strings to improve airflow and make harvesting easier. Mulching helps keep soil moisture even.

Uses

Harvest the fruits young, at around 12 cm long, when they are at their crispest. Lebanese cucumbers are perfect for eating raw – in salads, mezze, tabbouleh, with yoghurt in tzatziki, or as a snack straight from the garden. Their thin skin means they do not need to be peeled. Young fruits can also be pickled.

Gardener’s tip

About the producer

The seeds come from Semailles – a small-scale Belgian producer of organic seeds from the province of Namur in Wallonia. Semailles offers only open-pollinated varieties (no F1 hybrids), including many traditional and collector’s varieties. Some seeds are propagated in their own fields, while others are grown in cooperation with organic growers in Belgium and France. All batches are certified organic (BE-BIO-01 inspection).

Specifications