Contents
Cucumbers are a heat-loving crop, so they are often grown in protected ground. Plants need to create favorable conditions. But if the cucumbers in the greenhouse are bitter, then the gardeners made mistakes. They can be associated not only with the wrong choice of seed, but also with agricultural technology. In order to avoid mistakes, you should understand the reasons.
If cucumbers are bitter, then it is better not to use them for salad.
Why do bitter cucumbers grow in a greenhouse
Bitter cucumbers can be not only in the greenhouse, but also in the open field. It’s all about a substance like cucurbitacin. It is always present in fruits, which is due to nature. Cucurbitacin saves from stressful situations, the stronger they are, the more substance the plant accumulates. Moreover, it is present not only in the fruits themselves (especially in the “butts”), but also in the stems and leaves.
The gardeners themselves are most often to blame for the appearance of cucurbitacin, which provoke stressful situations, so the plants “remember” the protection that their ancestors experienced and begin to taste bitter. The mistakes of gardeners should be analyzed in detail.
Wrong variety selected
Today, vegetable growers prefer to purchase seeds of cucumber hybrids for sowing in greenhouses. The fruits have a good density, and most importantly, rarely bitter. It’s just impossible to get seeds from them at home (they don’t retain their maternal qualities).
From varietal plants, you can collect your seed, but for this you need to cut off 1/3 of the upper part of the cucumber with the stalk, in which cucurbitacin accumulates.
When buying seeds, you should pay attention to the characteristics of the fruit regarding bitterness.
Hybrids that are not bitter are especially popular for growing in a greenhouse:
- Annushka and Athena;
- Benefis and Egoza;
- Zozulya and Zyatek, Quadrille and Grasshopper;
- Masha and Chistye Prudy.
Violation of the irrigation regime
Often, gardeners who come to the dacha from time to time complain about the bitterness of cucumbers grown in a greenhouse. During their absence, the soil dries up. Lack of moisture leads to stress, as a result, cucurbitacin accumulates, even small fruits begin to taste bitter.
High soil moisture can also lead to bitterness of cucumbers, since the roots do not get the right amount of oxygen, there are hitches with the transport of nutrients.
For irrigation, you need to use water with a temperature of 20-22 ° C. The depth of moisture penetration is also important: the soil should be saturated by at least 15 cm. During fruiting, watering should be frequent. After irrigation, the soil must be loosened.
Too little or too much fertilizer
To get a decent crop of cucumbers without bitterness in the greenhouse, they should be properly fed. You can use not only mineral fertilizers, but also organic matter.
Properly fed cucumbers are not bitter
To increase soil fertility in a greenhouse, you can use different options:
- manure solution and nitrophoska;
- sulfate and slurry;
- nitrophoska and chicken manure;
- slurry and superphosphate;
- potassium phosphate and urea.
It should be borne in mind that such dressings are excellent for fruiting, but they must be prepared carefully, observing the proportions. Otherwise, instead of helping, you can damage the roots. And then, for sure, the cucumbers will not be bitter – they will have to be removed.
Often cucumbers are bitter due to untimely dressings and their lack. The older the plants, the more nutrients they require.
Feeding time:
- 14 days after planting seedlings of cucumbers in a greenhouse;
- during the appearance of flowers;
- after the appearance of the first ovaries;
- at the time of abundant fruiting.
Feeding cucumbers in a greenhouse is combined with watering
Unsuitable soil
For cucumbers, a high level of soil acidity is not suitable. In such soil, as in sandy-clay soil, vegetables are most often bitter. Culture requires a light and nutritious base.
Before digging into the garden for cucumbers, it is recommended to add wood ash. This is not only a fertilizer rich in trace elements, but also the prevention of certain diseases.
Violation of the temperature regime
Cucumbers are also bitter due to temperature changes. During the day it is high, and at night it usually drops by a few degrees. The optimum temperature can be considered from 18 to 20 ° C before flowering, and during the fruiting period – from 20 to 27 ° C.
To equalize the average daily temperature during the day, the greenhouse must be ventilated, and closed at night
It should also be understood that when hypothermia, cucumbers experience stress. Cucurbitacin begins to be produced in them, and this leads to the fact that cucumbers in the greenhouse are bitter.
Lack of lighting
Good lighting in a greenhouse where cucumbers are grown is also an important point in agricultural technology. Lack of light or too hot rays of the sun can cause stress, the production of cucurbitacin by the fruits, which makes them bitter.
Diffused light is best for growing vegetables. To do this, it is enough to paint over the glass in the greenhouse with lime or chalk. Sometimes gardeners use colored film for shading. In polycarbonate greenhouses, none of this needs to be done, since the coating has all these functions.
Cucumbers will not be bitter if the greenhouse is illuminated for at least 12 hours a day. Need culture and complete darkness for six hours. Otherwise, the flowers fall off, which drastically reduces the yield of vegetables.
Late harvest
Cucumber ripening lasts up to 12 days. If vegetables are not removed in a timely manner, they begin to experience stress, which leads to the accumulation of cucurbitacin. Overgrown cucumbers are most often bitter. Old varieties of culture are especially susceptible to this problem.
It is recommended to remove cucumbers in 1-2 days. If you need to leave for a while, then you need to remove them and put them in the refrigerator. They will retain all the useful properties, but they will not be bitter, as they will not accumulate cucurbitacin.
Overgrown cucumbers are not only bitter: voids form in them, and the pulp becomes cotton
Other reasons
Cucumbers are often bitter, not because of improper agricultural practices, but also for other reasons. First of all, it concerns diseases. Secondly, cucumbers are bitter when they are “attacked” by insects. These two situations cause stress, plants rapidly produce cucurbitacin. So diseases and pests must be dealt with immediately.
Cucumbers are bitter in the greenhouse even if they are planted often. Between plants there should be at least 20 cm, and between rows – up to 40 cm. The leaves from the bottom and top should be cut off from time to time to provide the cucumbers with sufficient air circulation.
Diseases and pests often settle on weeds. They should not be in a greenhouse with cucumbers. In addition, weeds draw nutrients and moisture from the soil, which also leads to the fact that vegetables are bitter.
What needs to be done so that the cucumbers in the greenhouse are not bitter
There are some points to which you should pay attention. Vegetables will not be bitter if:
- on the north side of the greenhouse there will be tall plants, thanks to which the light will be diffused;
- seeds for seedlings are planted three weeks before placement in a permanent place;
- systematically loosen the soil;
- cucumbers should be watered with warm settled water either early in the morning or before sunset;
- monitor the condition of cucumbers, when signs of diseases or pests appear, carry out treatments;
- keep the temperature.
The taste of greens in the greenhouse largely depends on the conditions created.
How to remove bitterness from cucumbers
Cucurbitacin is a useful substance. It promotes seed germination, repels insects, and increases the stress resistance of cucumbers. It does not harm a person in small quantities either, because it has anti-inflammatory and antihelminthic properties. But there are cucumbers that are bitter, not very pleasant.
Most of all, cucurbitacin is found in the peel, “ass”, as well as in the leaves of the plant. That is why, before eating, the tip with the stalk is cut off from the cucumber, and the pulp is rubbed with salt until foam appears. It indicates that cucurbitacin breaks down.
If cucumbers grown in a greenhouse are bitter, then they can be soaked in warm water for 2-3 hours. Such fruits are used to prepare fresh salads.
You do not need to throw away the fruits, they are suitable for canning. Cucumbers are soaked in advance in cold water overnight, and then pickled. Banks during canning are poured with boiling water several times, only the liquid with cucurbitacin must be drained.
If cucumbers grown in a greenhouse are bitter, then you can cut off the peel from them
Tips from experienced gardeners
Vegetables in the greenhouse are bitter for various reasons. Gardeners are always ready to share their experience. It is worth listening to their advice:
- Fresh manure for cucumbers does not need to be laid. This organic top dressing should “burn” for at least six months.
- You can find out in advance whether the greens will be bitter. To do this, it is enough to taste the leaf. If the juice is bitter, then the fruits will be so. It is urgent to create the necessary conditions.
- To retain moisture, the soil in the greenhouse should be mulched.
Conclusion
Cucumbers in the greenhouse are bitter for a reason. In many ways, the gardeners themselves are to blame, who do not know how to create a special microclimate in protected ground. Pests and diseases affect the taste of greens. Only by applying labor and patience, you can get a harvest of useful fruits.
