They could cross, but that would only affect the next generation (if you saved seed from this year's crop to plant next year). It wouldn't affect the crop you are growing now.

Sue

Several years ago I lived in Dutchess County NY, about 80 miles north of the city and bordering Conneticut. I had a beautiful vegetable garden every year. One year I had my cukes on the edge of the garden. I planted several varieties and some gourds about 75 feet away. Well the bees and butterfies did their thing and neither my straight eights, Burpee Hybrids nor pickling cucumbers were useable. They looked okay but tasted terrible. The gourds did well though. So keep your melons & cukes Etc. well seperated. I learned the hard way. I never had a problem with the various varieties of cukes near each other though.

It would be very unusual for melons or squash to cross with cucumbers, with the exception of Armenian and Painted Serpent cucumbers, which are actually melons. Don't know about all gourds.

Cucumbers need more water than melons, so don't try to grow them the same. Other cultural conditions and the weather can also affect cucumber flavor. Most varieties are very bitter in our hot summers, for example.

Some cucumbers can produce seedless fruits without pollination. They would be have seeds if planted near a variety with male blossoms. Other all-female varieties need pollination by another variety.

Not just unusual Carolyn. Cucumbers crossing with gourds is physiologically impossible (like you said, Armenian cucumbers can cross with other melons because they are melons, but that doesn't have any bearing on this year's crops). Greenfingter, your misunderstanding of what actually happened that year in your garden is causing you to perpetuate a myth. Bitter cucumbers can come from stressed plants that aren't getting enough water or nutrients or sunlight. It can also be caused by a specific gene in cucumbers. It's more common in cool summers, so maybe that particular summer was colder than usual?

mattjd, I don't know where you read that you shouldn't plant your cucumbers near melons, but that's a myth as well. Obviously, you should give each of your plants plenty of space (they can get pretty rangy) but you don't need to worry about them cross pollinating. FWIW I have melons, cucumbers and watermelons all within the same bed.

Here are a few links about cucumber bitterness http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/story.php?S_No=587&storyType=garde
http://cru.cahe.wsu.edu/CEPublications/eb1250/eb1250.html

it would only affect the second crop from saving those seeds, but if you are using new seeds all the time or buying seedlings, then there will be no effect. with greentfinger all i can suggest is like what has already been said, the poor quality fruit is most likley to be a cause of the growing environment or even poor quality seed that has come from X-pollinated fruits, or if the seeds were saved from F1 hybrid fruits you can get unknown quality.

len

Here is a link that might be useful: len's garden page

Too much manure or compost can also produce bitter-tasting cucumbers.

Sue

Lunita,So maybe it was a cold summer, okay. I never had that problem for the following ten or twelve years in New York and yes we had our share of cool summers, dry summers and wet summers. After that episode my gourds were planted in the north lot about two hundred feet from the cukes. Abnormal or whatever, it ruined our salads and pickling for the year of 1957. I am not trying to perpetuate a myth or anything else. It happened that year and that's the way it was.

I plant an assortment of cukes all mixed together (usually about 4 varieties). This year I have one pickling, one burpless, and 2 slicing. In years past I've not had any bad-tasting cukes. They seem do produce as described. I have not started harvesting this year, so "the jury is still deliberating".