What did you do in the garden today?

[BReeder!]

I am wondering if a cucumber on the vine can be saved if I leave it on the vine long enough, water it enough, and wait for cooler weather to pick them. Or is once a bitter cucumber always a bitter cucumber? Thanks for any thoughts.

I find that cucumbers grow rapidly and will keep on growing until they are overgrown and overripe.m, which can be the difference of a day or two. I understand it may be uncomfortably hot out, but I suggest picking them as when you see they are ready to be picked. Another day could mean a huge yellow/orange cucumber with a cavity in the center.

 

[WthrLady]

Green beans have been blanched, and jars are warming.
Then as soon as I get them going, I'll grab my walk.
VERY smokey today, can only see a mile, even after 1.5 inches of rain last night.

Need to pick the grapes soon. I think they're called Red Flame, or Flame. I'll make them into a Rose jelly. Maybe that will be my state fair entry.

Too wet to mow, but must either mow or buy 1000 goats.

Have a great day all.

 

[gtaus]

Thanks for all the responses to my bitter cucumber question.

Next year try a burples cucumber variety . Might be better . Could be a variety tendencey . I have not had bitter cucumbers in years .

I thought I had bought a burpless cucumber, but I'm looking for the exact marker out in the garden. Need to find whatever kind it was so next year I will try something different.

you can pickle bitter cucmbers.

try to chop a piece that was attached to the vine and rub it against the other piece. it should take some liquid from the rest of cucumber (looks like sort of thick cream) then rinse it. I remember my granny doing it before making a salad.

I saw that method of cutting off the end of a cucumber and rubbing it against the other piece on YouTube. It made a white creamy foam type substance that the lady on YouTube said was the bitter tasting stuff. She rinsed it off and said it "fixed" the cucumber. I guess it would not hurt to try it.

Rather than totally pickling your bitter cucumbers @gtaus, I remember my grandmother diluting white vinegar with water and adding some dill to it. Put the sliced cucumbers in a bowl with this solution for an hour or two in the refrigerator. The cucumbers will have a brighter flavor, but way less sodium as in pickles. This was pretty much a standard side dish with summer dinners.

I might try that with my already sliced bitter cucumbers that I set aside. Thanks.

I find that cucumbers grow rapidly and will keep on growing until they are overgrown and overripe.m, which can be the difference of a day or two. I understand it may be uncomfortably hot out, but I suggest picking them as when you see they are ready to be picked. Another day could mean a huge yellow/orange cucumber with a cavity in the center.

Yea, overripe is not a good option. I watched one YouTube video where the guy said that a plant that makes a bitter cucumber is already lost and it was just best to pull it out completely. I would hate to do that, but if the plant is lost, I suppose it makes more sense to pull it out and maybe plant something else in its place if there is time left in the growing season.

 

[pennyJo1960]

Morning Gardeners had to care for peeps and new birds this morning just 10 here

 

[Phaedra Geiermann]

Finally harvested some tomatoes, and enjoy the growth of new seedlings.

 

[WthrLady]

2 of 7 pints din't seal, but I think it was the flat lids.
I had two lids in the case that were on so tightly from shipping, getting hot, and then cooling in the store and here, that I had to flick them off with a knife. I think the gasket was already too far deformed to use. It thought it was being reused.
So back into the canner they go. I'll mark them as reprocessed and use them for tossing into a crockpot pot roast right at the very end. They'll be fine.

Heading out to pick tomatoes. I'll process what I have of those tomorrow.

Grapes look good, but DH says they're far too sour yet.

 

[BullChick]

I’m getting anxious to can pumpkin. I can’t remember if I did purée the last time, but I do remember doing cut up pumpkin. Canning it raw meant I didn’t have to burn my fingers getting the skin off. I just did that when I opened the jar.

 

[BullChick]

Pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin cookies, pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cake…

 

[MrLeeHo]

No garden for me today…or this week. Parents are tending plants and animals while we enjoy this

 

[BullChick]

No garden for me today…or this week. Parents are tending plants and animals while we enjoy this View attachment 2780945

Now tell me, do you worry about rattle snakes walking through that pathway?