Bitter Courgette - Fothergills' Zucchini and Unwins' Tristar

Hi all,

I remember someone mentioning a bitter courgette on here last month. So when I saw this warning, via a fb group, I thought I should share here NB alythrough the post is 2013, the comments and reponse from Fothergills is 2020.

"Hello everyone and I am the social media manager for Mr Fothergill’s. As posted by Mark Carroll above, we have recently become aware of this issue with a small number of people being in touch with our Customer Services team about bitter courgettes. The variety involved is Courgette Zucchini with batch code I printed on the back of the packet next to the barcode. We have withdrawn all stocks of this seed immediately, recalled all stocks in garden centres and are currently contacting customers we know to have bought this variety by mail order.

We are very sorry to hear of the discomfort suffered by anyone who has an affected plant, though there seem to be only some rogue seeds amongst the batch, with some packets causing no problem at all. As pointed out in this thread already, it has likely resulted from an inadvertent cross-pollination in the plants that produced the seeds. We would urge anyone who has a packet of these seeds to get in contact with us by email on debbie.porter@mr-fothergills.co.uk

If you have grown a plant from these seeds, you can taste-test the fruits before consuming them by cutting them a licking the flesh. Affected fruits are extremely bitter and an indication you should destroy the plant. Please do not consume the fruits of any plants that have produced bitter tasting fruits.

Thank you for your patience and understanding."

https://www.bhaf.org.uk/content/advice/g...eYY57jkkzQ

Thanks Mamzie.>>>>> I'm off to check my zucchini seed packets, just in case!

Well, that explains a lot!! Maybe mine wasn't a T&M seed pack!

And perhaps those other two tht are taking over the world should be binned?? GheyRe growing a foot a day at least.

How big do squash really grow?

Thanks Mamzie.>>>>> I'm  off to check my zucchini seed packets, just in case!

Thanks for the heads up Mamzie  luckily mine are fine.

And perhaps those other two tht are taking over the world should be binned?? GheyRe growing a foot a day at least.

How big do squash really grow?

Are they the same variety ? Scarlet if you're not sure I'd be tempted to bin them and sow some more its not to late.

Real seeds just posted this on FB

Bitter cucumbers? Every year we get a few customers mailing with the disappointing news that they've harvested their first cucumber - and it tastes inedibly btter. Why does it happen - and how can you avoid it?

Firstly, if it's one of our varieties, it's *nothing* to do with male flowers. In the past some old hybrid types needed to have male flowers removed, but you'll rarely find those types on sale these days. Our real cukes need the male flowers to pollinate the females and set fruit & seed.
What actually causes the bitterness is stress to the plants. If they're not happy, the plants make too much of the bitter chemical cucurbitacin, basically protecting themselves from being eaten. So think about the growing conditions:
Are your plants
- too dry or drying out & wilting before being watered?
- too wet / overwatered with soggy compost (usually less of a problem outdoors unless your soil is very compacted/poorly draining)?
- short of nutrients?
- too cold?
- too hot &/or suffering lack of ventilation in a greenhouse/tunnel?
The good news is that if you do have bitter cucumbers, generally if you pick off existing fruits, and then figure out what is stressing the plant and correct it, the rest of your crop will be just fine.


One reply on FB that may help?
 I always cut the ends off my cucumbers and rub them on the cut ends. This makes a foamy residue that can be washed off under running water. This trick draws any bitterness away.

More from Real Seeds

Some one replied to them quoting MrF's recall.

RS replied -

Courgettes are a bit different, they don't make bitter compounds under stress, it's generally a genetic issue (usually just one rogue plant with a mutation)

And perhaps those other two tht are taking over the world should be binned?? GheyRe growing a foot a day at least.

How big do squash really grow?

It would be interesting to let them grow and see what you get, but I wouldn't eat them. My butternut squash plants last year were about 6 metres long.

Official notice from Mr F with a photo of the affected packets - which is no help to those who throw their packets away (no names mentioned

https://www.mr-fothergills.co.uk/Product...wiYmxOSlPY

^^^^^ - I was trying to tidy up my seed boxes!