My cucumbers tasted awful until I figured out the watering thing

I've been growing cucumbers for like 3 years and they always came out bitter and gross. Last week I was talking to my neighbor Frank who grows amazing cukes in his backyard patch, and he asked if I was watering them at night. Turns out watering at night makes them stress out and get bitter. I switched to morning watering and after 5 days the difference was wild. Anyone else deal with bitter veggies and find a simple fix like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

elliot_taylor16d ago

The neighbor Frank thing is key, did he mention anything about soil temperature too? I read somewhere that cold soil at night can pile onto that bitterness problem, especially if you're in a zone that cools down hard after sunset. Curious if he had a specific time window he swears by for watering, like right at dawn verses mid morning. My own cukes went from nasty to okay just from morning watering but they still get a hint of that bitterness on the ends sometimes. Wondering if there's another layer to this beyond just the schedule.

sean_torres7116d ago

Night watering is better for me. The soil stays cool and moist through the hot part of the day, and my cukes lost that bitter taste completely when I switched. Frank's wrong on this one, dawn watering just evaporates before the roots can soak it in.