Comments on: Got Cucumber Questions?

By: lars

lars — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:46:57 +0000

@Robin M

Could be several things. It might be incomplete pollination or weather extremes. It might be a second generation from a hybrid cucumber which could cause a funny shape.

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:03:07 +0000

This is my first year planting cucumbers – when do I know that the fruit is ready to pick? Should they look like I see them in the grocery store? I have a large fruit, but it still seems very light so I’m not sure if it’s ready.

Thanks so much!

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The variety or use of the cucumber will depend on when to harvest. Slicing cucumbers grow longer than pickling cucumbers. Here’s a helpful website with when to pick cucumbers for common garden varieties: http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/1000/1608.html.

By: Robin Morrow

Robin Morrow — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 14:37:03 +0000

A few of my cucumber plants are producing round cukes…..why?

By: Henry Roedell

Henry Roedell — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 21:20:17 +0000

Why are my cucumbers a little bitter tasting?
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Cucumbers can be bitter if the plant has been stressed and becomes unhealthy. Some possibilities for a stressed cucumber plant can be: plant disease, not enough water, or low fertility. Once the plant starts producing bitter cucumbers, it is likely all the cucumbers from the unhealthy plant will be bitter. Also, cucumbers if harvested too late can be bitter. Try picking a little early and see if that helps produce a good tasting cucumber.

By: Emily

Emily — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:47:33 +0000

This is the first year that I have tried growing cucumbers and everything seemed to be going fine until I went to check on the few that were getting close to being ripe today and one of them had a huge split down one side like the fruit inside just got too big for the skin and it split. I haven’t been able to find any information about it. At first I thought that I just had guessed wrong about when to harvest it and let it get too ripe, but when I cut it open it didn’t look ripe at all. What did I do wrong??

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If it was just one cucumber that split, don’t worry too much about it. But, think back to and see if you had substantial rainfall after a dry period or you recently fertilized. It doesn’t sound like a problem that’s affecting the whole harvest, though.

By: Simple

Simple — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:28:15 +0000

Hello. I have been trying to turn my brown thumb a bit more green over the past few years. Last year I grew cucumbers in 5 gallon containers with great success. This year I am doing the same but have run into a few problems. I purchased starts from a local nursery and notice that they have four starts per 4″ pot. Should I have tried seperating these or just planted the whole 4″ pot in its entirety into one 5 gallon container. If memory serves me correctly I planted multiple starts in one container last year. Also does this apply to melons. Thankyou for any advice you can give to this confusing dilemma.

By: Yvonne Jensen

Yvonne Jensen — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 17:57:47 +0000

my plants have all female blossums no male flowers . will the plants poduce male blossums or not at some point. I can’t pollinate them as there are no male flowers.

By: Jenny Kolenda

Jenny Kolenda — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 19:21:11 +0000

Cucumber plants look beautiful. Lots and lots of large fruit but they don’t turn dark green like the store bought cucumbers. If I let them stay on the vine they’ll get as big as squash. Why aren’t they turning dark green all over?

By: mike

mike — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 12:54:45 +0000

what causes leaves to turn yellow and thin out

By: Holly Smith

Holly Smith — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 02:42:36 +0000

My husband started growing various veggies in our yard this year. We have gotten many cucumbers, but some of them have a wierd taste (i.e. they almost taste spicy or peppery leaving a bad aftertaste). What could be the reason for this?