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A friend of mine who lives up near Lake Elsinore has a problem with veggies that are tasting bitter! She said the area has only about 4 hours of sun. The veggies were fine in the beginning and tasting great. She now bites into say a carrot ...first bite bitter..next bite fine...next bite bitter. Same goes for bell peppers!!! Could it be something in the soil? It is getting cold now and about to freeze could it be they are just done???? They also have frogs...don't know if that would contribute to anything but she said the frogs get a lot of the bugs during the summer. I had no idea what to tell her....anybody have a clue what is wrong?
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From: California | Registered: Mar 2003
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Ask your friend if s/he store vegetables in the refrigerator crisper together with ripe fruits. If not, post again and I can do a little more research.
Ripe fruits produce ethylene gas. This one of the reasons I use banana or apples to hasten the ripeness of mangoes, plantains (mexican banana) and even tomatoes.
Ethylene gas can cause bitter taste in some vegetables.
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Amor est vitae essentia. Love is the essence of life.
From: Northern California, Zone 9b | Registered: Jul 2003
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Papito this is right out of the garden. Plucks washes and then eats! Kinda strange. She also stated the bed is near a Calif. oak . Has me totally confused!
I know they use that gas for ripening fruit...is that why store bought fruit doesn't taste as well or is it because it is a variety that is best for shipping and just doesn't have the flavor. I know vine ripened always taste better....especially tomatoes. As far as I'm concerned they can just forget about selling toms in the grocery store!!!!
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From: California | Registered: Mar 2003
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1. Carrots thrive best in fertile, sandy loam soil with 5.5 to 6.8 pH. If the soil is acidic (pH 5 and below) or alkaline (pH is 8 or above), it can stress and cause bitterness in Carrots. Have the soil tested and add lime if the soil is acidic.
2. Uneven supply of moisture or nutrients can stress and cause bitterness in Carrots. Carrots like moist soil so, consistent watering is important. Micronutrients becomes available to plants when the soil is wet.
3. Mulch to avoid green shoulders. Green shoulder occurs when sun hits the top of the carrots turning them green and making the roots bitter.
Does your friend know which variety of Calif. Oak is growing near the Carrot bed? If your friend is from the San Diego area, Is it Quercus ganderi? (or coast live oak (Q. agrifolia [oxyadenia] or Black Oak (Q. kelloggii)? How far is the bed from the tree?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As far as tomatoes are concerned, commercially grown tomatoes are harvested while "mature green", and stored in cool warehouses. Tomatoes are exposed to ethylene gas prior to shipment, so that when they arrive in grocery stores and displayed they are "ripe colored" and "very firm to touch", and, as you said, they don't taste very good at all like the vine riped tomatoes.
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Amor est vitae essentia. Love is the essence of life.
From: Northern California, Zone 9b | Registered: Jul 2003
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Papito thank you...thank you ....thank you. I will call her in the morning and see what kind of oak etc and read her all the info you supplied. I will get back with ya later. Thanx again, Catlover
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From: California | Registered: Mar 2003
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