Straight Eights help

[Jeffross1968]

I have a couple of straight eight cuke plants that have started to really take off. I read this morning that picking them before waiting until they get to 8 inches, especially early on, is good for continued production. So, out I went with my shears and off came my first cuke, and first banana pepper of the season

While the pepper was awesome, I was left with questions about the cuke. The skin was HORRIBLY bitter. Spit it back out of your mouth bitter. After we skinned it, it wasn't bad, but not as flavorful as expected. Did we pick too early, or is there another issue I should consider? I read that picking them at 5 inches should taste just as good as waiting...

[jal_ut]

Bitter cukes are caused by stress, usually not enough water. Also the stem end is more likely to be bitter than the rest of the cuke. Some cukes are fine if you cut an inch off the stem end. I don't think the size is an issue with the bitterness.

I think you will have a continued harvest as long as you pick them around 8 inches. They will get much larger than that at maturity. It is when the cucumber makes seed, (gets a mature fruit) that they will slow or stop production. 8 inch cukes don't have very large seeds yet. The problem with picking them small is that you don't get much volume or weight with small ones.

[Jeffross1968]

Interesting. I have raised rows, with soil that is very high proportion clay, though I did mix a little manure into it, and some peat into each hole I dug. When I water, it pools up in the ditches between the rows, so I figured it was slow to drain and didn't require lots of watering. I've been reluctant and afraid of over watering.

Guess maybe I should kick it up a notch?

[Jeffross1968]

To be specific regarding "slow to drain", there are a few spots that still have a pool of water several hours later. So...not sure if that is slow to drain. Most drains within an hour of shutting off the water.