Why cucumbers are bitter: reasons and what to do, how to properly care for and which varieties are better to plant

Of course, all gardeners want to pluck the fruits and enjoy their sweet and juicy taste. Unfortunately, it very often happens that having harvested fresh greens, you start to taste them and disappointment comes: the cucumbers are bitter ...

Next, we will try to describe all the possible reasons why the cucumbers began to taste bitter, how to fix the situation so that the new zelentsy had a great taste without the slightest bitterness.

The main reasons why cucumbers are bitter

Cucumbers begin to taste bitter for a reason, but only if they produce an excessive amount cucurbitacin, which, as a rule, occurs due to improper growing conditions, namely, due to stress, which causes disruptions in the normal life of the plant.

By the way! Often, due to mistakes in care, the fruits not only become bitter, but also take on strange shapes - start to grow curves (in the form of hooks), I can be empty inside.

Possible causes of cucumber bitterness causing excessive production of cucurbitacin in the plant include the following negative factors:

• Irregular (rare) and / or poor watering.

Overdrying the soil in cucumber beds leads to the fact that the plant becomes dehydrated, slows down in growth, the filling and ripening of fruits are delayed.

• Waterlogging of the soil, its waterlogging.

In this case, the root system of the plant begins to suffer from a lack of oxygen, since, due to the excessive amount of moisture, cucumber bushes simply cannot use it.

• Watering cold water.
• Too low temperature (below +14 degrees).

The growth of cucumbers stops, as well as the formation and filling of fruits.

• Too heat (above +30 degrees) and lack of ventilation (in the greenhouse).

In such "stuffy" conditions, the leaf apparatus of cucumbers intensively absorbs and evaporates moisture, becomes sluggish. As a result, the normal photosynthesis of leaves is disrupted, and this, in turn, negatively affects all the abilities of the plant, including with respect to fruit formation.

• Overly sudden changes in temperature in the daytime and at night.

The taste and condition of cucumber bushes can also have a negative impact on factors such as:

• using fresh manure as a top dressing;
• root damage during weeding and loosening.

Note! Very often bitter old bee-pollinated varieties cucumbers, regardless of growing conditions.

What to do to prevent the cucumbers from being bitter: how to fix it

So, now you know the reasons, which means you can no longer repeat mistakes and not violate the rules for growing and caring for cucumbers, so as not to frown from their bitterness.

So that the cucumbers do not taste bitter, you must properly care for them, namely:

• To water regularly and abundantlybut not excessively either.
• Use only warm (+20 .. + 25 degrees) and preferably distant water.

Advice! The site has detailed material about when and how to properly water cucumbers in a greenhouse and open field.

• Planting cucumbers outdoors in partial shade or make a canopy.

You can not plant cucumbers in an open area, where the scorching sun “fries” all day, especially if the temperature drops too much at night.

• Required ventilate the greenhouse on hot days.

• Fertilize only completely rotted manure (humus) or compost... Fresh manure can be introduced into the soil only for digging in the fall, after the harvest of cucumbers.

By the way! The site has detailed material about how to properly feed cucumbers during growth and fruiting.

• Cucumbers have a superficial root system, therefore loosen the ground after watering very much needed neat and shallow.

Thus, under favorable growing conditions, the presence of cucurbitacin in cucumbers should not affect the taste characteristics of zelents. However, there are exceptions (more on that later).

The best solution

Indeed, most often it is the old bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers that are bitter, although in some cases, with not proper care, self-pollinated hybrids also begin to taste bitter. This is why the most logical thing for you would be test other varieties and hybrids.

Moreover, this must be done if you have corrected all care mistakes, created ideal growing conditions, and cucumbers continue to taste bitter from year to year ...

Thus, through a practical experiment, you can personally determine which varieties and hybrids of cucumbers are best suited for successful cultivation in your conditions, and which ones are too capricious and a little bit bitter.

In other words, you can:

• Try plant new bee-pollinated varieties (if you basically prefer just such).
• Better yet, try to grow self-pollinated hybrids.

By the way! Existscucumber hybridswhich in principlecannot contain bitterness.On the packaging, it says so - fruits are not subject to bitterness at the genetic level.

For example, these are Herman, Adam, Marinda, Ajax, Fason, Claudia, Libelle, Ginga, Ekol and many others.

Video: why cucumbers are bitter and how to fix it

What can bitter cucumbers be used for?

Note!Cucurbitacin is absolutely harmless to the human body, in other words, you will not poison yourself with bitter cucumbers.

• You can get rid of the bitterness removing 1 / 3-1 / 4 of the back of the green (the so-called "ass"), which is adjacent to the stalk.

• Or peel the cucumber.

• Because cucurbitacin decomposes at high temperatures (heat treatment), bitter cucumbers perfect for preservation.

However! Many summer residents say the opposite - that even after heat treatment, canned cucumbers continue to taste bitter ...

• If you do not want to eat such greens, then bitter cucumbers can be successfully used for space purposes (procedures)for example to create cucumber masks.

Thus, you now know that the bitterness in cucumber fruits builds up due to disturbances in the growing conditions that push the plant to produce excessive amounts of cucurbitacin. In other words, so that the cucumbers do not taste bitter, they need to be properly looked after.

And in case you have initially difficult growing conditions, you should buy and plant only those varieties and hybrids in which the bitterness is removed at the genetic level.

Video: why cucumbers are bitter