Days to Maturity: 52

These long, slender cukes offer a crisp, mild, bitter-free and burpless bite all season long. Firm and easy to peel, they should become your cucumber of choice.

Expect Early Spring Burpless to reach 8 to 12 inches long in no time. For straight fruit, stake them on a cucumber support. Or, if you like the look of curly cukes, let them grow on the ground, where they'll twist up.

Burpless cucumbers are known for their tasty, non-astringent flesh, small seed cavity, and crisp, thin skin that never needs peeling. They are premium cukes for eating fresh.

Direct sow seeds in a sunny spot after all danger of frost is past or start indoors and transplant when the first true leaf appears. Cucumbers can be allowed to grow on the ground, but for longer, straighter fruit and to save garden space, grow them in a cage or on a trellis, allowing 1 foot between plants. Keep them well watered and keep the fruits picked promptly.