Sounds like you/re doing everything right. What variety did you plant?
"BFan" wrote in message
news
RUtg.19427$f76.15404@dukeread06...
I tried picking them small and large, it made no difference. The water
supply is steady in the garden. Although we had a very dry summer, I do
have a sprinkler system, so the ground stayed consistently moist.
"Powerless Agronomist" wrote in message
...
"J.C." wrote in message
news
"Pete from Boston" wrote in message
oups.com...
BFan wrote:
I had a decent cucumber crop this year, but most of them have had a
strong
bitter taste on the stem side of the cucumber. If I cut away abut
1/3
of
the length of the cucumber, the rest is usually very good. What
makes
them
bitter?
For what it's worth, my grandmother used to attribute this to
over-handling/stepping on/etc. the vines and leaves, which seems in
keeping with the stress explanation.
Pick some when they are about half the size of the ones you see in a
grocery store. If they taste alright, you are probably leaving them on
the vine to long.
--
J.C.
That is absolutely wrong, size doesn't determine bitterness.