A reader writes in with a question about bitter cucumbers:
why are the cucumbers i grow here in so. alabama bitter?
what will make them sweet?
thank you for your time.
Some cucumber types are naturally more bitter than others, but bitterness in general is often due to a few common factors.
Cucumber plants under high amounts of stress often make for bitter cucumbers.
And what causes plant stress? It could be poor soil quality, extreme temperatures, or not enough moisture. Uneven watering — going from too wet to too dry, can also be a culprit.
If you have poor quality soil that isn’t suited well to cucumbers, try raised bed gardening, or lasagna gardening, so that you can make your own soil.
Organic Gardening magazine has a great article about cucumbers that mentions some specific varieties that are usually less bitter, because they container fewer cucurbitacin compounds.
Photo courtesy of Creative Commons Attribution Alexa627 on Flickr.
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