Taste-test time for cucumbers grown under plastic

A commercial-sized greenhouse with plastic panels has been growing cucumbers in Warwickshire

Can using clear plastic rather than glass in a greenhouse really make cucumbers grow better and even taste better?

Well, that is what researchers based at Wellesborne in Warwickshire believe.

They have built a commercial-sized greenhouse that is covered in panels of ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), the clear plastic also used in the domes at the Eden Project.

Unlike glass, ETFE lets through more of the natural sunlight, in particular ultraviolet light, and the end result I saw there is more compact plants that put more energy into growing cucumbers and that also seem to be more disease-resistant.

They also taste better, not just according to me - I did prefer them in a taste test compared to other supermarket cucumbers- but to an independent panel who awarded them nine out of 10 in competition with others, most of which scored about six or seven.

No glass here

ETFE is really popular in Japan where earthquakes and glass make for a problematic combination, but for years has cost more than glass.

Now that price gap has more or less disappeared, and with growers facing an increasingly random climate, storm-proof plastic starts to look really attractive.

If a hailstorm destroys a glass roof, you often have to junk the whole crop as there might be pieces of glass everywhere. With ETFE, you just repair the hole and carry on.

Unusually for a scientific trial, you can find these cucumbers on the shelves of supermarkets. Keep your eyes peeled for more fruit and veg grown under plastic not glass.

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