New and Unread Tree-Mails
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 Nancybito Jul 13, 2013 4:25 PM CST |
| Our cucumbers grew well but were very bitter. I pulled the whole plant. We live in Antioch,Ca and I want to know when can I plant another type of cucumber that is not bitter? What type would you recommend. Our zucchini and tomatoes are perfect. |
Name: Kent Pfeiffer Southeast Nebraska (Zone 5b)             |
| In general, any of the varieties described as being "burpless" are not bitter, or least not too bad. Some others you might try are: 'Diva' is reliable, productive, and has a nice mild flavor Cucumber (Cucumis sativus 'Diva') 'Rocky' has small fruits, but it produces a LOT of them and they have excellent flavor Cucumber (Cucumis sativus 'Rocky') My current favorite is 'Swing' Cucumber (Cucumis sativus 'Swing') |
Name: Arlene Grantville, GA (Zone 8a)             abhege Jul 13, 2013 5:01 PM CST |
| The white cucumbers are never bitter. Our best seller at farmer's market too. Same with the lemon cucumber. |
Name: woofie NE WA (Zone 5a)          woofie Jul 13, 2013 6:21 PM CST |
| White cucumbers, Arlene? What kinds are those? I don't think I've seen them. My first cukes this year were just a trifle bitter, so I sliced them and soaked them for a few hours in a bit of salted water with some sugar in it. Tasted good to me!  Confidence is that feeling you have right before you do something really stupid. |
Name: Arlene Grantville, GA (Zone 8a) abhege Jul 13, 2013 6:25 PM CST |
| The ones I did this year were a miniature white cucumber from Johnny's, and they were and still are, on sale! http://www.johnnyseeds.com/p-7... I had a different variety before but I can't remember which one. I think I got the seeds as a gift. I like to try different things for market and people weren't buying them because they were different until we gave tastes. Then they were SOLD!!! So mild and never bitter. Don't even have to peel them. If they get big they do turn a pale yellow but still never bitter. |
Name: Arlene Grantville, GA (Zone 8a) abhege Jul 13, 2013 6:28 PM CST |
| Now I remember! Burpee! A free gift from them. http://www.burpee.com/heirloom... |
 Patti1957 Jul 13, 2013 7:24 PM CST |
| I grow North Carolina Heirloom Pickling cucumbers, I originally got my seed from Sand Hill Preservation Center. They are never bitter and are good pickled or eaten fresh. Because they are never bitter they're a big hit with the grand-kids. |
Nancybito Jul 13, 2013 7:26 PM CST |
| Is is too late to plant cucumber |
Name: Arlene Grantville, GA (Zone 8a) abhege Jul 13, 2013 7:41 PM CST |
| Where are you located? I plan on doing a small second planting this week. I am just south of Atlanta, zine 8b |
Name: Dave Whitinger Jacksonville, Texas (Zone 8b)     |
| Nancy, according to our Planting Calendar for Antioch, CA you can plant cucumbers up until late August. |
Name: Mary My little patch of paradise (Zone 7b) Gardening dilettante, that's me!        fiwit Jul 13, 2013 8:07 PM CST |
abhege said:Where are you located? I plan on doing a small second planting this week. I am just south of Atlanta, zine 8b Arlene, will you be planting seeds, or plants? Northwest Georgia Daylily Society I'm going to retire and live off of my savings. Not sure what I'll do that second week. My yard marches to the beat of a bohemian drummer... |
Name: Deb Planet Earth, Pacific NW (Zone 8b)       Bonehead Jul 14, 2013 12:43 PM CST |
| I've also heard from my organic farmer friend that cukes need water,water,water to avoid getting bitter. Same with lettuce. I want to live in a world where the chicken can cross the road without its motives being questioned. |
Name: Arlene Grantville, GA (Zone 8a) abhege Jul 14, 2013 3:00 PM CST |
I'll plant seeds. So, none of my cucumbers should be bitter this year because we've had rain every day for weeks!  I saw a joke that said, "We only got rain twice this summer. Once for 45 days and again for 30 days."  |
Name: Cinda Indiana Zone 5b Dances with Dirt      gardengus Jul 14, 2013 3:13 PM CST |
| I have grown the White wonder from Burpee and it is as good as they say . Never found them to be bitter and produced well. Keep believing ,hoping,and loving all else is just existing. |
Name: Horseshoe Griffin Efland, NC (Zone 7a) And in the end...a happy beginning!      Horseshoe Jul 14, 2013 4:24 PM CST |
| Nancybito... Glad to hear from Dave that you have plenty of time to plant more cukes in your area. In addition to the suggested varieties Kent gave above I'd recommend any of the "burpless" varieties as they tend to have less cucurbitacin in them, which is the compound that carries the bitterness. Many cuke varieties will produce an excessive amount of cucurbitacin due to environmental factors (e.g. excessive heat and/or drought, extreme temperature changes). Your first cukes might have suffered but I bet if you had left the plants the cukes to follow might've been much more tasty if you watered regularly and/or mulched, and crossing fingers your local temps don't soar excessively. The only time I've heard of a cuke plant consistently producing bitter cukes was when the parent plant the seeds came from were crossed with one of the many wild cucurbits. Oh yeh, oftentimes the bitterness is mostly in the stem end of the cuke; cutting that end off and eating the rest might give you something much more tasty! And as you may know, just peeling the cuke will reduce the bitterness as well. Wishing you a good future harvest! And a hearty hello and WELCOME to ATP! Shoe (with plenty of cukes cut up with sliced onions, crushed/diced garlic, a bit of dill, soaking in a vinegar solution and chilling in the fridge. Yummy!~)  |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B     Newyorkrita Jul 25, 2013 12:34 PM CST |
 Welcome to ATP Nancy. Sorry to be so late but only saw this now. In fact only discovered the ask a question forum now. I hope you do join us in the Edibles And Preserving Forum. http://garden.org/forums/view/... And not too late to plant cucumbers. I just did a late season planting yesterday which I had started from seed. A really interesting variety of cucumbers new to me this year are Camilla. Does not require pollination as it is an all-female parthenocarpic cucumber. Sets fruits like crazy. Tastes wonderful. http://www.gourmetseed.com/pro... |
Name: Rita North Shore, Long Island, NY Zone 6B Newyorkrita Jul 25, 2013 12:49 PM CST |
| Want to get adventurous? Try one of the Asian group of Cucumbers. They love the hot weather and taste wonderful. Full of flavor and never bitter. Kind of odd looking but that is okay. I love to grow them on a trellis to keep the fruit growing straight but then I trellis all my cucumber varieties. My favorite of the Asian Cukes is Suyo Long. http://www.burpee.com/heirloom... |
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