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Cucumber catastrophe !!

tui34tui34 Posts: 3,313
in Fruit & veg
Voilà!!  Destined for the bin - can't even give them to the hens.  The last of my cucumbers have got the dreaded disease!!!  Very very bitter.  Made a cucumber and yoghurt salad on Thursday - ate about 3 slices and had to throw the rest away.  Wasn't too good - upset tummy.   

Too hot.  Too dry.  These searing temperatures are just too much!!  

Anyone else had this problem?


A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

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  • EustaceEustace Posts: 2,118
    edited July 2022
    May be the cucumbers were from cross-pollination with a bitter variety. I had this last year when I grew cucumbers alongside bitter gourd. So this year, I'm growing only cucumbers.
    Oxford. The City of Dreaming Spires.
    And then my heart with pleasure fills,
    And dances with the daffodils (roses). Taking a bit of liberty with Wordsworth :)

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,854
    That's a pity @tui34 and frustrating.  

    We have the opposite problem after oh persuaded me we really did need 2 cucumber plants.   Very juicy and tasty but far too many for us to eat so just one plant next year.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 347
    edited July 2022
    I had similar issue this year. I had crystal apple growing well in a pot. Picked a few fruits and all terribly bitter. Ended up digging it up, no point wasting water and feed on it I thought.
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,085
    I don’t think it’s a disease,  it’s usually caused by leaving the male flowers on a self fertilising plant or cross pollinating.
    I have Beth Alpha which you have to take the males off (according to google) and never plant a Ridge variety in the GH with the B. Alpha. 

    Although, having said that, @philippasmith2  has done that I believe, and has success.

    I probably shouldn’t be saying anything,  this is the first year I’ve grown cucumbers. 

    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • floraliesfloralies Posts: 2,589
    That's a shame @tui34 what type are they? I grow all female ones and they are fine, but we do have irrigation in our raised beds apart from the one that has haricots in this year and they have gone stringy.
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,313
    Good morning.  Thank you for your comments.

    I have been eating cucumbers from these plants since mid-June up until Thursday - I looked it up on google which stated that when the cucumbers are a light green colour, they are often bitter due to hot dry weather.  We've had a very dry wind for about 7 days which doesn't help.  They are well watered into a channel every evening.  

    The varieties are short green and telegraph.  I planted 3 or 4 of each.  Had a really good crop.  I have sown some more on the other side of the tomatoes.  They are at the 6 leaf stage so should get some more for mid-August.


    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • purplerallimpurplerallim Posts: 5,228
    I have four plants in the greenhouse, two each of Beth Alpha and Passandra.  Haven't removed any flowers, but not had a problem with taste.  They have produced an abundance of cues this year, but I think they will grow themselves out early because of the weather. The lowest ones did end up pale, but I put that down to so much growth and heat ( mine are now about 10ft tall) I don't expect them to last much into August before they finish. 
  • tui34tui34 Posts: 3,313
    Here is the site that told me, the growing conditions were too dry and hot.
    https://foodiosity.com/why-is-cucumber-bitter/
    A good hoeing is worth two waterings.

  • LynLyn Posts: 23,085
    Good cucumber advise here.
    https://www.toadhallgardencentre.co.uk/news/174/pick-off-male-cucumber-flowers-once-a-week
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • philippasmith2philippasmith2 Posts: 3,496
    Lyn said:
    I don’t think it’s a disease,  it’s usually caused by leaving the male flowers on a self fertilising plant or cross pollinating.
    I have Beth Alpha which you have to take the males off (according to google) and never plant a Ridge variety in the GH with the B. Alpha. 

    Although, having said that, @philippasmith2  has done that I believe, and has success.

    I probably shouldn’t be saying anything,  this is the first year I’ve grown cucumbers. 

    @Lyn is right ............. I usually grow the Burpless Tasty Green in my GH and my Ridge (Bedfordshire Prize ) outside.  Perfect combination as gives a longer harvesting season.

    However, this year I had no Burpless seeds left so did the Beth Alpha which Lyn gave me and 2 of my Ridge.  I boobed - got the plants muddled up so ended up with 1 Beth and 1 ridge in the GH and the same outside.  By the time I realised my mistake, it was too late to do anything about it as the GH ones were forming fruit.

    No problems with bitter/inedible fruit tho.  All that happened was that the ridge cuke in the GH produced too early so along with the Beth in there I ended up with a glut.  The BA and Ridge outside are slower but both starting to produce - again no problem with taste so far.
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