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| This is the first year I really am harvesting cucumbers like mad. But it's also the first time they are extremely bitter. They are new (to me) varieties, too: Early Fortune and German Pickling cucumber. Very prolific.
Suggestions so far: - Lime them (thanks, Cosmic). Will do that as our soil is acidic and they are in a new patch. - More water. Hmmm... possibly, but am not convinced, as they do get enough water. - A friend showed me a paragraph in a gardening book where it stated that years ago when growing them in greenhouses, people made sure that they didn't get pollinated to avoid them going bitter. The latter sounds a bit strange to me. But what do I know? Any other ideas? (They lose their bitterness when cut and sprinkled with salt and then later rinsed.) Last but not least - what can I do with this bitter glut? |
Follow-Up Postings:
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| No Idea, just letting you know that I planted continental and lebanese back to back on the wire frame and have had a glut of the best cukes in years...MM. |
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| Spatz Did you recently add manure high in nitrogen in the vicinity? I remember we did once and you couldn't eat the cucumbers for the bitter taste. If not then I'm stumped! |
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| Hmmm..interesting thought, Pepino. It's a brandnew vegie patch. We had put down compost (well composted, and half-composted), layers of newspapers, straw, blood & bone, soil.... some time late winter. I thought the ratio was fine, but maybe the cucumbers are just a tad fussy. It's possible. |
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| I picked three lebs yesterday and had the same problem.... I was thinking it was water/heat stress as they are up against a north facing wall and just can't pump the water fast enough on these hot days we are having. They were also getting a bit big... I've still got the other two in the fridge I'll try salting them first. I heard the bitter principle in cucurbits was poisonous. Still, I ate a good half a cucumber and I didn't feel ill. karl |
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| Strange thing happened. Tasted Volvo's Super Cuke (Cypriot Cucumber) that is growing in the same patch, just half a meter from the other cucumbers and this one was delicious! Not even a hint of bitterness. *scratches head* |
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| hello to everyone, I'm fairly new to Gardenweb, I haven't as yet posted any questions but I have done a couple of follow-ups and hopefully have helped some members to solve problems they are experiencing. When I read this post it was familiar to me as I've had cucumbers that were bitter in the past, Spatz, did you have a cold spell during their growing period? this can cause them to become bitter, also they do like a slightly acid soil so don't overdo the lime and always pick them when young and green. I don't know if this is any help to you, just thought I'd pass this bit of info on. |
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| the german pickling variety should probably be bitter - because it's used in pickles - check up to see at what stage the variety should be picked - most pickled cucumbers are small - (gherkins) |
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| I had this problem past years as well. I used different seeds - with old man on packet- insted Yeats. They looked different all dark colour and instead spikes they were covered with needles all over and they were very bitter you could not eat them. Try Yeats they should be good. They are light tip and dark base and much better flavor.I have no cucumbers at all this year - they flower and small fuit is dayindg instantly! Any one knows why? I use this same vagie patch for years and I'm worried maybe is full of bad things |
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| i dont no if i can be much help but i hav 1 growing and it was dying its leaves were all drying up and the 1st cucumber i had on it died and then i went and bought sum watermelons and capsicums and because they like soft soil and we had clay soil i mixed in some chicken manure mixed with sum all purpose am-gro, blood and bone, seasol and compost and mixed it into the soil around the cucumber and shortly after that it started shooting up and has got heaps of flowers and currently has 2 cucumbers on it redy 2 pik soon and secondly its yates not yeats. |
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