Gardeners: Why are all my cucumbers bitter?

[Liz CA]

This is super frustrating. Beautiful cukes and so bitter. I need help.

[Slartibartfast]

It can happen when it is too hot or watering is uneven.

 

You might try peeling them, a lot of the bitterness is in the skin.

[StaceyinLA]

My neighbor JUST told me yesterday it's from a lack of water. I don't know how true this is, but I have been getting some awesome cukes from him!

[Liz CA]

We water lots and very regularly but it's also very hot here - always around F98 - 103 at this time of year.

[lailasmum]

I believe it can happen if you have a type where you're supposed to have removed the male flowers. Though that is just for some f1 hybrids.

[Miss Tick]

Oh golly, I always thought it was a personal failing of mine, my bitter inner self getting out. Sorry to hear it affects other people! I, like Sparkly, gave up on cukes.

 

Good luck. You sound much nicer on the inside than I, so maybe it is just the watering thing.

:-)

[IdahoHomeschooler]

I haven't tried it, but apparently planting them with sunflowers is supposed to help them be sweeter. They can also use the sunflower stalks as a trellis to climb.

[klmama]

Mine were bitter when I waited until they were store-bought length. It turned out I had planted a shorter variety. When I figured that out and picked at the recommended length, they were delicious.

[KrissiK]

I grow Japanese cucumbers. Never bitter!

[Unicorn.]

Yes; heat makes a huge difference.  Don't let them get too big, and make sure you pick them in the morning, when it's cool.  

[Melissa in Australia]

heat and lack of water.

If they are VERY bitter, you can peel them then score with a fork, slice , sprinkle with salt and leave sit for 30 minutes. Poor off liquid and they will no longer be bitter.

[FriedClams]

Maybe you're not paying them enough attention... Or they realize you like your tomatoes more... Or they realize they'll soon be in a pickle. Bitterness is a tough one to pinpoint. :-)

[MomsintheGarden]

We've managed to grow delicious, non-bitter cucumbers by choosing varieties that specifically state that they aren't bitter, and growing them in really, really rich soil. If the seed description does not mention that they aren't bitter, they could be. We like the flavor of the pickling types best, especially the now-hard-to-find white variety Pearl. I bought several packets on Ebay a couple of years ago, and will be sad when they are used up. White Wonder is a good substitute from what I've read. Cucumbers were originally grown in Egypt and India, so they can take the heat, but they prefer filtered afternoon shade in really warm places such as Texas.

 

You want to grow cucumbers in the best soil you can manage. Last year we had the most incredible ones ever. Dh had dug out all the soil (er...clay) from one of our raised garden beds, down to 18" deep. He filled the bed with aged horse manure until it was so high he couldn't pile it up anymore without it falling off, then let it sink down for about a month. I fertilized with my usual Complete Organic Fertilizer (COF) that has minerals and alfalfa meal. We planted early and protected the vines from frost so we could get ahead of pests. We mulched and trellised, and watered often and deeply, before the soil dried. We had loads and loads of the most delicious cukes for three months. It was amazing! We ate cucumber salad every day and never got sick of it, I made Bill's Real Kosher Dill Pickles, and I canned gallons of pickles which we're still eating.

 

Fast forward to this year. Dh has not finished digging out another clay pot (bed) and filling it with manure, so I just stuck seeds in our row garden area and fertilized. They are not doing nearly as well, and have been ravaged by cucumber beetles. I am hoping we can get the new bed done soon, so we can plant more pampered plants.

 

For more about cucumbers, see this article about how master grower Eliot Coleman grows cucumbers:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/27/AR2007062700609.html

[MomsintheGarden]

dp

[MomsintheGarden]

We do have a lot of clay.  I wonder if that could be part of the problem.  Did the manure have any kind of an odor?  I only ask because we aren't allowed to use anything that would be offensive to the people living near the garden.  This is a community garden and is basically the land where a house used to sit between two houses.  So they have a lot of rules about what we can and cannot use.

Yay - a community gardener! That's awesome!

 

Clay can be good because it holds water and nutrients better than sandy soil, but all clay is hard on plants because it becomes like a rock in dry weather. From what I've read, a clay loam is the best kind of soil for most vegetables. That would be a soil that has some clay, but is mostly that rich dark stuff like what's in a forest floor.

 

We use aged manure, so it doesn't smell bad - at least to us, but we're used to living in the country with farms all around us. :) Cow manure is best because cows have four stomachs to digest their food, so it has very few weed seeds. Horses only have one stomach, so their manure is full of weed seeds. We can get horse manure for free from the farm across the road, so that's what we use. We weed a lot. The article I linked to talked about a French market gardener growing cucumbers in horse manure. That's traditional for French growers because horse manure is more plentiful there than the cow stuff. A hundred years ago Paris was surrounded by maraichers who grew tons of vegetables in the manure from the horses that people used to pull their vehicles. That all changed with the introduction of the automobile.

 

Anyway, if I were you, I'd look into having composted manure or compost delivered by truck to your garden or use bagged compost. If you are buying it from a nursery, try to look at it first. Check to make sure it smells ok and that it doesn't have trash in it. Beware of municiple compost because it can have a lot of bad stuff (poison ivy or other noxious weed seeds, pieces of plastic bags). Another perhaps more convenient option would be to buy bagged compost, but watch for trash. I hate trashy compost.

 

Another thing that cucumbers (and other plants) really love is fish emulsion. You dilute it and water your plants with it. You can buy deodorized fish emulsion from Amazon in a jug. I prefer the smelly stuff because I don't like hydrolized proteins, but my family complains when I water seedlings with it in the kitchen. :)

 

I hope you have wonderful cucumbers!

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

Mine were bitter when I waited until they were store-bought length. It turned out I had planted a shorter variety. When I figured that out and picked at the recommended length, they were delicious.

 

This has been my experience. I always pick on the smaller side now, and they stay sweeter. This is even true for the Marketmore ones I plant, which are supposedly the grocery store type. 

[MSNative]

If you can't find aged manure check into rabbit manure. It has no smell, doesn't have to be aged or composted and is amazing in the garden. I covered my garden in it and this is the best it has ever performed. Plus most rabbit owners are happy to have someone take it or buy it for a nominal price. Check craigslist.

[Liz CA]

heat and lack of water. If they are VERY bitter, you can peel them then score with a fork, slice , sprinkle with salt and leave sit for 30 minutes. Poor off liquid and they will no longer be bitter.

 

I should have thought of this. It's what I do with eggplants before cooking. I am also going to try the Japanese variety next.

[Grover]

the ones I grew said to pinch off the male flowers or they'd go bitter.  I don't know if it made any difference because my darling children destroyed them before it became necessary