Despite the correct choice of cucumber varieties, they can disappoint gardeners during the harvest season with their bitter aftertaste. And this feature is observed not only at the tips, where the formation of bitterness is most likely, but also along the entire length and thickness of the fruit.
Why cucumbers are bitter
The bitter enzyme, which is formed precisely in the cucumber (and not in other plants of the pumpkin family), is inherent only in this genus of this family. It is formed at the first opportunity. The less moisture, nutrition, light the fruits receive, the more it is in each of them. Hybrids bred from wild varieties of cucumber species did not completely get rid of it: simple selection turned out to be not so effective method. Perhaps this substance would disappear, for example, when crossing any of the modern varieties of cucumber with pumpkin. However, so far such experiments have been carried out only in laboratories.
Genetic engineering will also serve as an assistant in the fight against cucumber bitterness – a method that uses not crossing, but transplanting certain genes.
The largest amount of bitter vegetable protein accumulates at the tip of the fruit, opposite to its other end, to which the peduncle approaches.
Finding out the cause in different growing conditions
Bitter cucumbers are the result of insufficient feeding, watering, lighting and proximity to other garden crops that are undesirable (hostile) towards them. They also do not get along with weeds – they are a haven for all kinds of pests, carriers of diseases, from which they themselves basically do not suffer in any way.
In open ground
The soil itself does not have to be anything. The composition ideal for cucumber is black soil with peat and humus. If you plant cucumber plants in podzolic or clayey-sandy soil, in which initially there is little humus, then even under conditions of regular watering and loosening, dressing the territory from pathogens of various diseases and pests, seedlings will not appear.
Cucumber is a crop that will not rise on any soil: he will need land that is exceptionally fertile, perhaps a little greasy to the touch, but rich in organic matter and minerals, from which any plant is built. Attempts to grow cucumber in permafrost (subsoil) will also not work: in the tundra, in this layer, organic matter obtained from moss and lichen is conserved, which, most likely, will be inaccessible to plant roots.
In the conditions of the north, the cultivation of any heat-loving crops is possible only exclusively in greenhouses and apartment conditions, either in a heated area where there is a bulk garden isolated from the local soil, or with heating (for example, with a heating cable dug into the soil). Also, the soil should not be acidified.
In the greenhouse
Greenhouse conditions in relation to the soil allotted for growing cucumbers are not much different from open-ground ones. All the same requirements for a temperature of +17 … +32, the fertility of the land in which seeds or seedlings are planted, the need for one or two seasonal top dressing, spraying with folk remedies against pests.
The greenhouse saves from excessive heat in the summer in the southern regions of Russia – its walls are made of a matte material that scatters direct sunlight, for example, polycarbonate. If you live in the central or northern strip of the country, then in order to extend the growing season artificially, a greenhouse for your crops is vital.
Not a single crop, including cucumber, also tolerates the invasion of weeds – they are the breeding ground for pests, and also attract some rodents.
Solving Problems
Only a lazy person, who himself is not fully aware of what he expects from his plot and the beds on which cucumber plants are planted, will make conditions on the verge of unbearable for this culture. The solution to the problem is in this case in changing the microclimate, observing the optimal irrigation regime, organizing an adequate feeding schedule and preventive measures against pests and diseases, as well as in the timely removal of weeds and loosening the land around the plants up to 10 cm deep.
The last measure is aimed at ensuring the respiration of the roots – not only the aerial part of the cultural growth breathes.
Climate
Cucumber “drinks” a lot of water – like any pumpkin culture. It is 90% her. Watering and loosening the earth around the plants is the first step. The water temperature should not be below +18. In the south of Russia, for example, water comes from wells with a temperature of about +16: the constancy of this temperature is ensured due to the significant deepening of the aquifer (16 … 39 m, depending on the presence of hills, the dominant height at which the country house with the plot is located) .
Overheating in hot weather should not be more than +30 in the shade: if this happens, a greenhouse will also be required, in the worst case, growing cucumbers in a plot half-shaded by the crowns of fruit trees and berry bushes is also suitable. For example, vines on trellises will serve as a natural tent. The temperature of water and air, in other words, should be within +18 … +30, it is much easier to provide such conditions in a greenhouse or greenhouse than in an open-air area.
Watering
Irrigation activity is associated with timely irrigation of the garden part of the summer cottage. The land should not be excessively swampy. You should not open the water for several days, constantly flooding the place in the area where your crops grow. Most garden plants, including cucumber, although they welcome an abundance of moisture, mean that it should saturate the ground in this place in a limited time, reaching all the tips of the roots, and then the flooding of plantings with water should be stopped immediately: the soil should be moist, but not filled to the point of dusty dirt. The rules for the cultivation of any agricultural crops state that a soil granule should be the size of a seed or a pea, and not be in a state of finely dispersed medium, resembling muddy clay.
And the only prerequisite for this is the same respiration of the roots: air, in particular, nitrogen and oxygen, must be supplied to the roots in moderation, since the underground part of the plant is not involved in photosynthesis (the production of free oxygen from carbon dioxide), because it is in total darkness. In the soil, in which the water has completely replaced the air, there is nothing for the plant to breathe with its roots, therefore, when the earth dries up, it is loosened so that oxygen and nitrogen pass to the roots freely – in the amount necessary for the life of the plant. Watering is carried out at least once a day – it should be quite plentiful. So that the earth does not dry out – that is, a crust does not form, which contributes to the rapid evaporation of moisture – it is loosened every few days.
Watering cucumber thickets is best in the evening – during the night, a comfortable temperature and lack of heat contribute to sufficient saturation of the plant with moisture, most of it will be absorbed by the roots in almost ideal conditions.
Food
Top dressing of cucumber plants is carried out without waiting until the time of the main flowering of this crop has passed.. Basically, the use of folk remedies is considered safe: manure or litter, ash, mulching (sprinkling with chopped grass and cucumber greens cut during sanitary and forming pruning), the use of yeast. Potassium, phosphate and nitrogen salts are used as additional mineral fertilizers. The lack of potassium and phosphorus threatens with insufficiently rapid growth of the main lash and side branches, a small number of formed ovaries; a similar function is performed by nitrogen and phosphorus introduced as compounds. In its pure form, potassium and phosphorus are absorbed by plants extremely reluctantly.
Together with top dressing, farmers and gardeners prevent parasites and diseases. As the simplest means, iron and copper sulfate, iodine, potassium permanganate and boric acid are used. From natural remedies – watering plants with a weak solution of a decoction of onion peel, wormwood and other raw materials obtained from bitter plants. It is undesirable to use karbofos and more dangerous pesticides, herbicides – their residues get into food and can cause cancer in people who constantly consume vegetables processed by them, and also lead to liver enlargement.
Overripe fruits – delayed harvesting – also leads to the accumulation of bitter enzyme in cucumbers. The introduction of a small amount of slaked lime reduces acidity: lime is alkaline, it easily reacts with acids, creating salts based on them, and a salty environment for cucumbers is safer than acidic. The above folk remedies will help protect cucumbers from aphids, bears, spider mites and ants. An active option is planting around cucumber beds drought-resistant green manure, as well as onions, garlic, radish, dill, parsley and other crops with a bitter, spicy taste.
However, blackberries and pumpkins cannot be planted side by side. For example, pumpkin, despite the fact that the cucumber belongs to the gourd family, can cause stress in cucumber plants. The danger of a pumpkin lies in its ability to curl and shoot shoots for tens of meters, creating long lashes, at the first opportunity to let out a βwhiskerβ, clinging to the ground and immediately releasing adventitious roots. If the pumpkin is not provided with a forming pruning, it will βstrangleβ the cucumber growth – it will break off the trellis under the weight of its thick stems and leaves. A similar danger is the blackberry: like a weed, it grows everywhere. If you do not cut the bushes, do not destroy the numerous “daughter” shoots, then the blackberry, like raspberries, will capture the entire living space with its roots and shoots, and the cucumber plants will die without having time to give a good harvest.
Recommended varieties
When purchasing seeds for sowing, it is recommended to choose those that have a mark on the genetic absence of bitterness. A cucumber germinated from seeds obtained from bitter varieties will not be able to completely get rid of bitterness even if the above rules are followed. Such, for example, are the varieties Vyaznikovsky, Muromsky and Nezhinsky. On the contrary, non-bitter ones include Athena, Grasshopper, Annushka. Not all varieties of hybrids produce viable seeds – some of them are initially dissimilar. Varieties Zyatek, Egoza, Benefis, Masha, Chistye Prudy, Kadrill are also initially devoid of bitterness. Varieties that have an F1 postscript are initially unable to produce “offspring” – to avoid unnecessary spending, use “self-reproducing” samples.
By finding your favorite variety without bitterness, capable of producing viable seeds, you will have the opportunity for a lifetime to receive seeds over and over again. In greenhouse conditions, where a comfortable temperature is created even in winter, it is possible to get up to several harvests per year, constantly restarting the cycle of reproduction of new plants. Growing in greenhouse conditions, where the climate, regardless of the weather around, is kept constant (warm), allows you to put the production of cucumbers on stream. Having harvested, do not rush to get rid of suspicious cucumbers. If a test of their tips showed the presence of bitterness, or you did not like any of the fruits, preserve all these fruits. Select a couple of the best (large, ripe) fruits for seeds – heat the rest: under the influence of a 100-degree temperature, the bitter enzyme will completely collapse.
Salt, dill, garlic, added to the prepared brine, will hide the not quite pleasant cucumber taste.
