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Old 31-07-2012, 11:55 AM posted to rec.gardens
Boron Elgar[_2_] Boron Elgar[_2_] is offline
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Default Lemon cucumbers are bitter

On Mon, 30 Jul 2012 20:13:41 -0700 (PDT), Higgs Boson
wrote:

On Jul 30, 12:18*pm, Ilv2siing wrote:
I have a lemon cucumber plant sharing an Earth Box with a yellow crooked
neck squash. *The lemon cucumbers are bitter. *They are round and yellow
when picked. *The plant is watered into the water reservoir every day.
Because of the small ground space of the earth box its self, the plants
are given miracle grow twice a week.

--
Ilv2siing


Ewww... no wonder they're bitter. That seems like way too much food.

Also unless the Earth Box is really tiny, holding very little soil,
daily watering might not be necesssary. Long, slow watering is best,
perhaps 2-3x/week. All this without knowing the size of the box and
the amount of soil. Enough sunshine?

HB



Earth boxes have relatively little soil and the roots sit in the water
beneath.

With cukes and squash, there is a lot of surface leaf and in a sunny
location, the box would likely need water daily.

Lemon cukes can be tricky to gauge as ripe, so the OP might want to
try picking them a bit earlier, before the full yellow emerges. It
also cuts down on the seed/flesh ratio which can get out of hand with
the lemons.

Any cuke crop can produce a bitter fruit once in awhile, and I have
gotten a plant or two that just proves nasty once in a great while.

Insofar as the amount of Miracle Grow, it really depends what kind you
are using, and at what strength. Generally, though, an Earth Box has a
dry fertilizer laid down in a stripe on top of the soil at planting
time. Check the instructions online.

Boron