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Growing Cucumbers: Bitter Isn't a Care Mistake, It's Water Stress

Vegetables

Beginner

Growing Cucumbers: Bitter Isn't a Care Mistake, It's Water Stress

A bitter cucumber isn't a sign you did something wrong once, it's usually a sign the plant went dry, then wet, then dry again, and cucurbitacin built up at the stem end in response. There's no fixing that fruit after the fact, only watering on a schedule you can actually hold to. Add the trellis-vs-ground-sprawl decision (straighter fruit and less disease pressure on a trellis, less structure and more curved fruit on the ground) and the 50-70 day wait to first fruit, and here's what actually decides the outcome.

Tom Marsh

7 min read

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