Lack of water will cause bitterness in cukes. Are you sure you're watering enough?

I have a drip irrigation setup in the garden but honestly except for when transplanted I havent needed it. I think i turned it on twice since spring. We have had weekly rains and the garden is well mulched with yard clippings and shredded leaves on top of lots of mewspaper. Between rain storms the soil is very moist.

From what I have read, cucumbers take much more water than the average vegetable plant once it starts producing cukes.

Maybe try an experiment and with 2 or 3 of the plants, water them twice as much as what you are watering the rest of the garden and see if that improves the taste.

i have 2 rows so maybe for the next 2 weeks. I will water the crap outta 1 row and see. But it seems its totally random. Out of 10 harvested cukes maybe 2 will be terrible. The rest will be fine.

I have switched to all pickling cukes for the same reason. If I do get some straight eights from a phantom plant in my garden, I slice them and put them into a bowl with apple cided vinegar. Tastes yummy.

LOL I just had some for lunch. Some nice cold cuke and onion salad on a hot day. Cider vinegar, onions little salt and pepper, and a touch of sugar to balance the acid. YUMMY. Although I had to taste test each bite to check for the bitter cuke that made its way into the mix.

Of course my tupperware thingy leaked juice all over my desk then I spilled it on my chair. My office really smells now.. LOL

I grew straight eights for a couple of years. Lots of bitter cucumbers.

I have been growing for the last several years a cucumber from Burpee called "Sweeter Yet". Never produced a bitter one. Much better overall for me, in my garden.

What a dork I am. Usually I can vacuum up a salad bar in no time, but it never occurs to me to make that salad at home.

I've got a Straight Eight cuke on the vine right now, curled around and growing in a perfect circle. Snapped a pic of it, but I have to wait until the teen-aged Boy Wonder gets home to upload it for me.