Cucumber is an amazing vegetable, one of a kind, consumed in an immature form, and, paradoxically, the higher the degree of ripeness, the worse its consumer properties. Today, cucumber cultivated everywhere. Being brought to the expanses of our country from distant subtropics, cucumbers got so rooted that it is even strange to remember about it today - it seems that they have been growing in our latitudes from time immemorial.
In combination with strong drinks, a pimply crispy cucumber - certainly salty - is a vivid symbol of our national traditions.
Myths about complete uselessness
Despite the low content of vitamins in its fruit pulp, cucumber is indispensable in the diet and baby food. In combination with fresh cucumbers rich in fiber, heavy protein food is better absorbed, so these gifts of nature perfectly complement fatty meat or fish dishes. Green prickly fruits store so much moisture that they are a real salvation for those who have disrupted the water-salt balance of the body.
Causes of bitterness
Cucumber - the most thermophilic culture, which is grown in the middle lane in the open field. He is one of the first to succeed and is able to successfully diversify our meager spring diet.
The bitterness of many plants, including cucumbers, is imparted by the accumulation of a complex of organic compounds (glycosides) of the cucurbitacins class, whose role has not been fully elucidated, and toxicity in many sources is clearly exaggerated. For simplicity, collectively, we call them cucurbitacin.
Growing cucumbers, as well as any vegetables, will require certain knowledge to care for them - weed frequency, fertilizer, pinching, watering, garters on the trellis - and a lot of patience, but with the right approach to business, the result can exceed your wildest expectations. Rapidly growing cucumbers have a relatively weak, but complexly arranged root system, sensitive to soil moisture and density. And the reasons for the bitterness of the fruit can be violations of agricultural technology, namely:
- pollination of self-pollinated varieties by insects;
- damage to sensitive root hairs in case of insufficient irrigation, which makes it impossible to adequately absorb and accumulate moisture in fruits;
- sharp drops in day and night air temperatures to which vegetables were subjected during ripening;
- low humidity.
Since no one can influence the natural conditions in order to grow fruits without bitterness, special attention should be paid to growing conditions.
How to grow sweet crispy cucumbers on a bed
To reduce the content of cucbititacin in the peel of cucumbers grown, it is necessary to create the most comfortable conditions for vegetables:
- Water cucumbers with warm water, varying the intensity of watering depending on weather conditions.
- In strong heat, it is necessary to spray the lash, but only to do it in the early morning and (or) late in the evening, not allowing excessive moisture.
- Strictly adhere to the schedule of fertilizing vegetables using complex fertilizers or potassium nitrate. It should be remembered that cucumbers do not tolerate excess nitrogen, and their roots can be burned with fresh manure.
- When buying seeds, one should give preference to hybrid and self-pollinating (so-called parthenocarpic) varieties of vegetables (this information is contained on the package), but a pollinator-grade should be added to them.
- Protect vegetables from direct sunlight - for this you should carefully consider the location of cucumber beds on the site, since the lack of light is also undesirable and, if necessary, install a protective net.
- Not any soil is suitable for the cultivation of cucumbers - soils with a large amount of sand that do not hold water, and clay, with diametrically opposite properties, are contraindicated for vegetables.
It is more likely that bitterness will appear in cucumbers grown in open ground, since the conditions listed are much easier to create when grown in a greenhouse.
How to save a bitter harvest
Cucurbitacin concentrates mainly in the area of the stem and in the peel, so if vegetables are supposed to be consumed fresh, it should be simply cut.
Fully peeled fruits are widely used in vegetable salads. Vegetable mixes prepared using spicy marinades are very popular as homemade preparations for the winter - a large variety of recipes allows you to prepare a snack in accordance with your preferences.
Kukurbititsin completely decomposes during heat treatment and during long-term exposure of the fruit in a concentrated saline solution, therefore, unsuitable for use fresh cucumbers successfully marinate. Bitterness is not felt at all in salted, salted and pickled vegetables.
If all the requirements of agricultural technology are met, the plant will surely please with a bountiful harvest of strong sweet cucumbers.
