Where can you use bitter fresh cucumbers? Why are cucumbers bitter in open ground?

Kirill Sysoev

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Content

Every gardener strives to get a high-quality harvest, but sometimes things may not go according to plan. Even with good care Cucumber fruits have a bitter taste. Do you know what this might be connected with? If you are also perplexed by this problem, then study the information below about the reasons why cucumbers grow bitter.

Why do bitter cucumbers grow?

It is impossible to distinguish bitter fruits externally. They have the same rich color and aroma. An unpleasant taste is felt when a person has already tasted the cucumber. Because of this, you can ruin any dish with just one ingredient. There is a way out - cutting off the peel, but inside it there are those very useful microelements that are so necessary for humans. All that remains is to determine the reason why cucumbers are bitter and eliminate it.

The manifestation of this taste is a consequence of the high content of a special substance called cucurbitacin in the fruits. There is a lot of it in greens, which protects unripe cucumbers from pests. Cucurbitacin is present in all types of these vegetables, but when its concentration increases, an unpleasant taste begins to be felt. The reason why cucumbers are bitter can even be a sudden change in weather conditions or damage to the plant's vines. Common factors that provoke this phenomenon are:

• insufficient humidity inside the greenhouse;
• cold water when watering;
• low content of potassium and nitrogen in the soil;
• excess sun rays;
• lack or excess of ground moisture;
• using seeds from the back of the cucumber;
• lack of regular watering.

Greenhouse varieties of cucumbers

This type of vegetable can be considered capricious. Its homeland is the tropical forests of India, where the fruits are located under other plants. It turns out that for growing cucumbers cannot be placed under straight Sun rays. Gardeners try to place greenhouses or beds exactly where there will be more of them. This is wrong, because cucumber fruits do not like dry, hot weather. Although they are also not intended for nighttime drops in temperature. As a result of exposure to such changes, the vegetable is exposed to stress, and responds to it by producing cucurbitacin.

As for the reasons why cucumbers become bitter in a greenhouse, there are several specific ones:

1. Damage and entanglement of plant vines. In greenhouse conditions, they are limited by the frame of the building, which is why they cannot grow freely. In addition, the crop is often harvested carelessly, which also leads to damage to the vines.
2. Too much sun entering through the greenhouse walls. In this case, it is recommended to whiten them with chalk.
3. Ventilation of buildings under conditions of different humidity and temperature inside and outside.
4. Insufficient humidity level in the greenhouse. To eliminate this drawback, it is recommended to moisten the paths and walls of the building.
5. Incorrect temperature during different periods of cucumber growth. During fruiting it should be above 28 degrees, and at initial stage– above 18 at night and 20 during the day.
6. Lack of nutrition from the soil. Cucumbers require different microelements in combination. It should include potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. A deficiency or excess of one of them is the reason why cucumbers in the greenhouse are bitter.

The same factors as those listed above can provoke the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers outside the greenhouse. Along with them, there are several characteristic reasons for the occurrence of such a taste:

1. Cucumbers in open ground receive sunlight in excess, so they often become bitter in greenhouses.
2. Uneven watering or unheated water. Typical for dacha plantings, when gardeners visit future harvest rare visits.
3. Temperature changes. Heat during the day and cold at night have a stronger effect on open cucumbers, rather than greenhouse ones.
4. Sowing seeds in low beds. These soil layers are more susceptible to temperature changes and are less warmed up.
5. The location of the beds near raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. These plants are considered aggressors that take all useful substances from the soil along with water.

Why do homemade cucumbers taste bitter?

Another special reason why cucumbers begin to taste bitter is their variety. Scientists have found that some species are more prone to producing cucurbitacin even with the slightest change environment. These varieties include Muromsky, Vyaznikovsky, Nezhinsky. To correct this situation, breeders developed special types of cucumbers. They are called . Due to the content of special genes, they are able to resist the production of cucurbitacin. Their availability can be identified by the markings on the packaging. Although more often the reasons why cucumbers are bitter are the factors described below.

Lack of moisture

Cucumbers are stenobiont plants that are accustomed to relatively stable environmental conditions. The slightest deviation of such an important factor as humidity from the “golden mean” causes a bad reaction in them in the form of increased production of cucurbitacin. Like a wild Indian tropical vine, it is accustomed to moderately moist, warm and loose soil.

Excess water

Excess liquid when watering acts like a lack of moisture, and the cucumber acquires a bitter taste. The reason for this also lies in the historical roots of the plant, which is accustomed to the temperate conditions of the tropical forest of India. If it's the rainy season in your area, be aware that bitterness is caused by excess soil moisture. To avoid excess water, it is recommended to water the cucumbers once every 2 weeks at the initial stage of growth and daily when the flowering period has already begun.

Improper watering

Non-compliance with watering rules includes not only the amount of water described in the previous paragraph. The temperature of the liquid also affects cucumbers. The water should not be too cold, because this vegetable does not like sudden changes. Only warm, settled liquid is suitable for watering cucumbers. This should be done in good weather, because in the rain, watering will lead to an excess of moisture.

Lack of fertilizers for cucumbers

The last reason why fresh cucumbers bitter, lack of nutrients in the ground. Cucumbers grow very quickly, and in large quantities, as a result of which microelements may be lacking. For this reason, gardeners should carefully consider fertilizing the soil with fertilizers. The main thing is not to use fresh manure. It contains too much nitrogen, and this will lead to bitterness. Fertilizers are applied only according to instructions, but regularly, i.e. no less often and no more often, because an excess of nutrients also has a negative effect.

Discuss

Why are cucumbers bitter?

Delicate heat-loving plants require a lot of patience and work, so it’s a shame when the harvest turns out to be bitter. The same mistakes in growing cucumbers lead to a bitter taste.

For a long time, scientists could not explain why cucumbers become bitter. Some blamed the soil, others attributed the bitterness to certain varieties. Still others argued that overwatering was to blame.

It turned out that there was truth in all assumptions. Under certain conditions, cucumbers and other plants from the pumpkin family produce cucurbitacin, an organic compound from the group of saponins. It imparts bitterness to the fruit.

The production of cucurbitacin is a way to protect plants from unfavorable conditions external environment. Cucurbitacin increases the germination rate and rate of seed germination, increases resistance to stress, affecting the composition of pigments involved in photosynthesis.

The substance is synthesized in the leaves and transported throughout all parts of the plant, accumulating massively in the roots. Cucurbitacin is even produced in mushrooms and marine mollusks.

Cucurbitacin has beneficial properties. It has antitumor, anti-inflammatory and anthelmintic effects. It is used in alternative medicine. In China, bitter cucumbers are used to treat gastrointestinal diseases, specifically growing the tasteless fruit.

The fruits of wild cucumbers, still growing in India, are inedible due to their high content of cucurbitacins.

The degree of bitterness of fruits depends on sunlight, soil moisture and air. To understand what environmental factors can affect the taste of the fruit, you need to know how cucumbers grow in natural conditions, that is, in the tropics of India.

In a tropical rainforest there is almost no sunlight, but there is a lot of moisture. The temperature does not change throughout the day and cucumbers do not experience a nighttime drop in temperature.

Deviation from conditions is a strong stress for the plant. To increase resistance to adverse factors, cucumber produces cucurbitacin, which gives the fruit a bitter taste, concentrated in the peel and at the stalk.

Experienced gardeners know that the quality of the soil affects the taste of the fruit. Too tight or sandy soil- another reason for the appearance of bitter cucumbers in the beds. A few sunny and hot days are enough, and cucumbers in open ground begin to taste bitter, especially if they grow on the “wrong” soil or are not watered on time.

In a greenhouse, the cause of bitterness in cucumbers is insufficient moisture. The soil needs to be watered without waiting for it to dry out.

At the beginning of the season, in early spring, bitter cucumbers may appear in the greenhouse due to nightly cold snaps. Remember to close the greenhouse windows and transoms at night. If you can’t turn on the heating in the evening, try using natural methods. Place a 200-liter metal barrel of water in the greenhouse. On a sunny day, the water will heat up and slowly cool down at night, warming the greenhouse.

Signs of bitter cucumbers

Signs of bitterness in fruits are hollowness and increased diameter. A bitter fruit will be wider than a fruit of the same variety, but sweet. Black-thorn varieties are more often bitter, less often white-thorn varieties.

You can find out before the ovaries form whether the first cucumbers will be sweet or bitter. Cucurbitacin is produced in the leaves. Chew a leaf and you will understand how the plants feel. If there is bitterness in the leaves, change the temperature and humidity.

Cucumbers are watered warm water and only in warm weather, and be sure to feed several times during the season. You cannot use fresh manure for fertilizing, as the fruits will taste bitter.

Is it possible to eat bitter cucumbers?

Bitter fruits can be eaten without fear. If the bitter taste does not suit you, you can get rid of it by cutting off the peel and the part of the fruit where the stalk grows.

By trimming and peeling a cucumber, you will get rid of not only bitterness, but also a large number of beneficial vitamins. In order not to reduce the usefulness of the fruit, get rid of cucurbitacin in a different way. The substance dissolves in water and is destroyed when heated. Bitter fruits can be soaked for several hours in ordinary water or pickle. You can also pickle them - after heat treatment, there will be no bitterness left in the greens.

It’s annoying to find a bitter cucumber in a salad and to see the grimaced faces of family members. In case of such trouble, it is worth quickly finding out the causes of bitterness and taking the necessary measures.

Causes of bitterness in cucumbers

It's no secret that plants, like people, sometimes experience stress. Cucumbers react to unfavorable conditions by releasing a special bitterness into the fruit - cucurbitacin. This phenomenon is influenced by many factors.

It is impossible to determine by the appearance of the fruit whether it is bitter or not.

Cucurbitacin is destroyed by heat treatment, so bitter cucumbers are perfect for preservation.

Watering problems

The cucumber fruit is 90% water. It’s no wonder that interruptions in watering make it nervous and develop bitterness. To prevent this, water the pimply vegetable without waiting for the soil to dry completely. The main rule for successful cultivation: always moist soil.

To preserve moisture and prevent the roots from being washed away by a stream of water, these tropical plants are usually mulched. It is enough to spread non-woven material, dried hay or straw under the bushes in a layer of 5–7 cm.

Cold water for irrigation also leads to stress. Its temperature should not be lower than 20 o C.

Usually, cucumbers are watered in the morning or evening with water heated in the sun.

Cucurbitacin is not harmful, but beneficial: it protects the human body from the development of malignant tumors.

Lighting, changes in temperature and humidity

In nature, wild cucumbers grow under the forest canopy, where there is moist partial shade. If their descendants are raised in the sun, bitterness cannot be avoided. Sliding shadow of trees - the best place for capricious plants. Greens also grow well in areas in the shade of buildings, where the sun illuminates the plants only half the day. In the garden, where there is no escape from scorching rays, cucumbers are covered with lutrasil or spandbond. In greenhouses, experienced farmers whitewash the roof aqueous solution chalk.

Many varieties of your favorite vegetable also react to sudden changes in day and night temperatures. Especially towards the end of summer, with the onset of cold nights, cucumbers acquire an unpleasant taste. The point is that when low temperatures the heat-loving plant stops absorbing nutrients. This type of stress is eliminated by using a non-woven covering material thrown over the plants in the evening. In a greenhouse, the doors of the room are kept open during the day and closed at night.

Dry air also leads to the accumulation of bitterness. When hot days set in, it is useful to sprinkle plants in the morning or evening, both in the greenhouse and in the open ground.

Cucumbers grow better in a greenhouse, it is easier to maintain high humidity there

Overfeeding or underfeeding

It has been noticed that with constant feeding with fresh manure against a background of moisture deficiency, the level of cucurbitacin in the fruits increases. It is better to feed cucumbers only with fermented manure. Nitrogen should be replaced by potassium fertilizing, for example, an infusion of ash. It is difficult to maintain a balance here and avoid imbalance, so experienced gardeners use potassium nitrate or complex fertilizers with a balanced composition, for example, Nitroammofoska.

Potassium nitrate increases the sucking power of cucumber roots, stimulates the formation of more fruits

Greens grown in poor soils are often bitter: sandy or heavy loamy. Before planting, you should add humus to the soil and dig it up.. Without decomposed organic matter, it is almost impossible to grow tasty cucumbers.

Another problem on loams is the increased density of the soil. The roots of a tender vegetable need loose soil so that the roots develop freely. Otherwise, the plants will be stunted and the fruits will taste bitter. It would be nice to add peat and sand to the cucumber bed to make the soil more airy.

Choosing the right varieties

Many cucumber varieties are genetically inclined to produce a lot of cucurbitacin in the fruit. Seeds removed from such plants will always taste bitter.

Scientists believe that in last years due to increased solar radiation more and more varieties are bitter

If plants are not grown on black soil with drip irrigation, it is worth taking a closer look at specially bred plants that do not accumulate bitterness at all. According to reviews from experienced gardeners, these varieties include hybrids:

• Amur;
• Adam;
• Marinda;
• Masha;
• Tom Thumb;
• Mirabela (Herman);
• Ant.

Previously, I grew ordinary varieties of cucumbers: Konkurent, Zozulya, Phoenix. In hot weather, the fruits became bitter if at least one day of watering was missed. Such greens went to pickling, but I also wanted fresh ones. On the advice of friends, I switched to hybrids and have no regrets. High yield, sweet fruits, disease resistance - this is an incomplete list of the advantages of such hybrid varieties, like Little Thumb, Masha, Courage. I liked growing cucumbers in a greenhouse made of lutrasil. This way I protect them from the sun and the fruits never become bitter.

Sweet cucumber hybrids - photo gallery

Adam F1 is good for salads, salting and pickling Amur F1 is considered a cold-resistant variety
Marinda F1 can be stored for a long time without losing its taste Mirabella F1 is often sold under the name Herman and is known for its high yield Masha F1 is suitable for growing in greenhouses and open ground Ant F1 - ultra-early early ripening variety Boy with a finger F1 - gherkin-type cucumber, with dense pulp

Why are cucumbers bitter - video

To avoid bitterness in cucumbers, it is important to follow agricultural practices and choose suitable varieties.

Why are cucumbers bitter, what do they lack, and what can be done to make the fruits tasty and sweet? This question is asked by summer residents who have grown bitter cucumbers in their gardens. These fruits look beautiful, but their taste can spoil the salad. Let's look at the reasons for the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers and how to grow sweet cucumbers.

Cucurbitacin is the name of the substance that is formed in fruits and cucumbers begin to taste bitter. This substance is not poisonous, so these cucumbers can be eaten.

A cucurbinator is formed after stress that the plant suffered during the growing season. That is why cucumber plantings require careful care throughout the season.

There can be many reasons for the appearance of bitter fruits on cucumbers:

• sudden change in growing conditions (weather);
• the plants were planted in sandy or clay soil;
• a lot of sun;
• irregular watering (after a long drought, abundant watering);
• lack of fertilizers in the soil;
• cucumbers do not get enough moisture;
• the cucumber bed is located in the sun;
• plantings were watered with cold water;
• the soil is constantly very damp.

Having studied these reasons for the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers, you can understand that they all relate to errors in care or wrong planting location. However, the fruit may become bitter on plants that were grown from seeds taken from the back of the fruit.

How to grow sweet cucumbers

Fruits without bitterness will only be obtained if they are carefully cared for.
What to do to prevent cucumbers from growing bitter:

• should be regular and only with standing warm water. If the weather is dry and hot, the beds may need to be watered in the morning and evening. Before watering, the top layer of soil must dry out, so on cool days the frequency of watering is reduced.
• Throughout season. At the beginning of growth, nitrogen fertilizers are used, and during fruiting and flowering, phosphorus and potassium fertilizers are used. It is best to use complex mineral fertilizers.
• , planting bushes at a sufficient distance from each other. Densely planted plants will not have enough nutrition and lighting.
• If the bed is located on open area, on the day of landing you should protect from sunlight non-woven material. To prevent the soil from overheating and the roots from burning, it is recommended to mulch the bed.
• Since high air humidity can also cause bitter cucumbers to appear, greenhouses should be regularly ventilate, especially after watering.

How to remove bitterness from cucumbers

What to do if the cucumbers grow bitter? They will not cause harm to the body, so they can be eaten and used for pickling. However, not everyone likes such cucumbers and to remove the bitterness, you can use the following methods:

1. Pour cold water overnight, cut off the skin and add spices to a salad or other dish.
2. Cut the fruits into slices, cover with salt and place something heavy on them. When the cucumbers give juice, they are rinsed under running water and dried.
3. Cut off the peel and ends of the cucumbers. You need to take the cut off tip and start rubbing it along the cut. A foam will begin to form. The fruits will no longer be bitter once the white foam no longer forms.

Varieties of cucumbers that do not taste bitter

If bitter cucumbers have grown on cucumber bushes this year, you should not leave them for seed. Otherwise, next year you will again harvest bitter cucumbers, since the production of cucurbinator is “passed on by inheritance.”

There are varieties of cucumbers without bitterness, which experienced agronomists grow on their plots. These hybrids include:

• Crunchy;
• fontanel;
• Courage;
• Quadrille;
• Ant;
• Brawler;
• Shchedrik;
• Masha and others.

By following all the care rules, you can get good harvest delicious, sweet cucumbers. To ensure that the fruits do not grow bitter, you can plant cucumber hybrids that do not taste bitter.

Experienced vegetable growers know how much work and patience it takes to pick those coveted first cucumbers from the garden in the middle of summer. And how great the disappointment is if it suddenly turns out that the cucumbers are bitter. To prevent this from happening, you must strictly follow the rules for cultivating these vegetables. And if the fruits are a little bitter, don’t be too upset, since there are several ways to get rid of the bitterness and put the harvest to work.

Why are cucumbers bitter?

Few people know that cucumbers come from India and are tropical plants that require warmth, moisture and shade from tall trees- comfortable living environment. These heat-loving guests do not tolerate a lack of water or an excess of light, and they suffer greatly from changes in night and day temperatures.

In a stressful situation, the vegetable produces cucurbitacin. This substance is also released in small quantities under normal growing conditions. If the cucumber experiences severe discomfort, it begins to taste bitter. The toxic compound is synthesized in the leaves, then spreads throughout the plant and is deposited in the rhizome. Therefore, by tasting the leaves, you can determine before the fruit appears whether the cucumber will grow bitter or sweet.

Basically, emissions of cucurbitacin are associated with violations in the technology of cultivating this capricious crop. By noticing deviations in taste in a timely manner and eliminating deficiencies, you can save the harvest.

1. Incorrect watering. Cucumber is a moisture-loving plant, watering is very important for it. Moreover, not only a lack of moisture, but also its excess will lead to a stressful situation and increased production of cucurbitacin. In a dry summer without water, the plant becomes dehydrated, some of the roots dry out and die, and the amount of the toxic compound increases. The same thing will happen if there is constant water in the cucumber beds. The roots rot, the supply of nutrients from the soil is stopped, as a result of which the plant experiences severe stress. The water used for watering cucumber beds should not be cold.
2. Irregular feeding. Cucumbers love fertile, nutritious soil with normal potassium and nitrogen content. When they lack these elements or get too much of them, the fruit becomes bitter.
3. Growing rules are not followed. Temperature changes negatively affect the yield of this crop. If it is very hot during the day and cool at night, cucumbers grow bitter. Therefore, at the beginning of summer, until the average daily temperature reaches +18°C, the plantings must be covered with film or special material. Poor lighting, as well as direct sunlight, will lead to the accumulation of bitterness in cucumbers.
4. Bitter varieties. When choosing ripe vegetables for seeds, you need to pay attention to the taste of the leaves or fruits. Fruits grown from seeds collected from bitter cucumbers are always bitter.

It is necessary to properly care for cucumbers and take into account all the requirements of this capricious vegetable. This is the only way to enjoy the freshness of cucumber pulp and make delicious preparations for the winter.

What can you do to get rid of bitterness?

If you find a bitter cucumber, do not despair. We must immediately find out the cause of the bitterness and eliminate it, then most of the harvest will be saved.

Cucurbitacin accumulates in the skin of the fruit. After peeling the bitter cucumber, you can eat it. The only pity is that along with the peel all the beneficial microelements for which this crop is valuable will be removed.

You can soak the fruits. To do this, cut off the tails of the cucumber and fill it with cool water for 10 hours, which is changed periodically. To speed up the process, add a little salt to the water. In this case, 6 hours is enough for the greens to get rid of the bitterness.

When cooked, the bitterness disappears completely. Therefore, bitter cucumbers can be fully used for canning and pickling.

IN folk medicine bitter cucumbers are used as a prophylaxis against various inflammations and cancerous tumors.

How to prevent the appearance of bitterness?

Very often you can prevent the appearance of a bitter taste in cucumbers. To do this, you need to follow agricultural technology, create the most comfortable conditions for the plants, water, feed and shade in a timely manner.

• Landing place

To grow cucumbers in open ground, it is better to choose an area with natural shading, for example under old garden trees with a formed crown. The leaves of an apple or pear tree will slightly diffuse the sunlight, which you will really like picky plant. If the cucumber is grown in a greenhouse, the glass can be protected with paper or painted with white in the heat. When cultivating vegetables on open areas ridges of cucumbers are alternated with rows of tall plants, such as corn, or shaded on one side with covering material.

You should not plant seedlings too often. Between plants you need to leave 35-40 cm, between rows - at least half a meter. As soon as the length of the lashes reaches 2 m, they.

• Watering and loosening

Cucumber beds require regular watering. If it is not possible to maintain the irrigation regime, you can mulch the soil under the plants with dry lawn grass, sawdust, and tree bark. Loosening after rains is a prerequisite for obtaining sweet cucumbers. After all, for any plant it is very important that oxygen flows freely to the root system, and doubly so for a tropical crop.

Cucumbers love being sprayed with warm water. It is better to carry out such procedures early in the morning or in the evening, before the heat sets in.

• Feeding

When growing cucumbers, you should not forget about fertilizing with potassium and nitrogen fertilizers. By the condition of the leaves and fruits, you can determine whether there are enough nutrients in the soil. With a lack of potassium or nitrogen, the leaves change color, the vines become very elongated, become thin and brittle, and the fruits take on an ugly shape.

• Seeds

Experienced gardeners. In this case, you need to remember the following rule: take only those seeds that are located in the front half of the fruit. The seeds located closer to the tail will produce a bitter harvest next year.

Cucumber varieties without bitterness

Breeders worked for a long time on the problem of developing a variety of cucumbers so that the fruits would not taste bitter under any circumstances. Today this task has been successfully completed. But such vegetables are not entirely suitable. However, if it is not possible to fulfill all the requirements for caring for the crop, it is better to buy seeds of obviously sweet cucumbers. This feature of the variety is separately mentioned on the packaging; such seeds are much more expensive than regular ones.

The hybrids Gerasim, Doka, Garlyanda, Egoza, Mumu, Khorovod, Harmonist, Liliput, Quadrille, Shchedrik, Berendey, Egoza, known to vegetable growers, secrete a minimal amount of cucurbitacin even under extreme growing conditions.

The appearance of a bitter taste in cucumbers is due to many reasons, and first of all - non-compliance with the technology of cultivating the crop. If it is not possible to properly care for vegetables, it is better to buy varieties that are free of bitterness at the genetic level.