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Old 16-07-2006, 04:28 AM posted to rec.gardens.edible
BFan
 
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Default Why are my cucumbers bitter?


"J.C." wrote in message
m...

"simy1" wrote in message
oups.com...

BFan wrote:
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.


Perhaps I didn't make myself clear. I did not mean the size makes them
bitter, I meant that they have stayed on the vine too long, or the plant
is just too dang old.. Here, this is from Texas A&M

5. Q. What causes my cucumbers to become bitter tasting?


A. Any stress on a cucumber plant such as high temperatures, low moisture,
low fertility or foliage disease can contribute bitterness. Bitterness is
usually associated with fruit harvested late in the season from unhealthy,
poor-yielding plants. Once a plant produces bitter fruit, remove it from
the garden because all subsequent fruit will be affected in a similar
manner.


--
J.C.

High temperature can cause bitterness? I'm in coastal Louisiana in July.
The temperature is always high. Do they really mean that?