https://www.rareseeds.com/store/vegetables/cucumbers Bakers Creek only sells heirloom seeds (no cultivars). I get most of my garden seeds from them as they have the lineage of the seeds they sell available.

Heirloom varieties (more properly “open pollinated”) are themselves cultivars, which just means something that was selected/bred/domesticated.

I think you’re trying to get at “hybrids” (which just means the breeding isn’t stable, i.e., the next generation isn’t first red to match the parents, but even hybrids can be quite tasty.

The issue isn’t the breeding process per se; the issue is selectively breeding for the wrong things (or a single thing instead of a mix of things).

These seeds are amazing. The Beit Alpha cucumbers are fantastic and the Purple Bumble Bee cherry tomatoes are some of the greatest I’ve ever eaten.

Ideally get "Japanese cucumbers" from a Japanese grocery store, or get the "Persian cucumbers" from any grocery store that has decent typography in its logo (yes there is a HUGE correlation between logo typography and cucumber quality in my experience).

Look for regional producers or farmers markets. I’m lucky to live in upstate NY with ready access to farm stands about 30 minutes away.

Usually smaller producers make different choices in terms of variety.

The US Northeast has so many apples that don’t travel well and have so much flavor: Spenser, Macoun, Empire... on the West Coast they’re all lacrosse balls that taste OK to decent but mainly travel well.

Everyone complains about the northeast re: weather, etc. But there’s a ton of stuff like this that many of us who live here take for granted!

I miss that aspect of New England. Agriculture there is much more local. Apple picking in the fall was a delight.