Name: Cucumber Relish Recipe
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 3 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: Mediterranean
Ingredients: 10 pickling cucumbers, washed, and chopped; 5 sweet onions, chopped; 3 green peppers, washed, seeded and chopped; 1/2 cup of pickling salt; 2 cups of apple cider vinegar; 2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar; 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds; 2 teaspoons of celery seeds; 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

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Are your cucumbers turning yellow and growing round and fat on the vine? The most common cause for this is that they were left on the plant too long.

However, overwatering, poor pollination, nutrient issues, and viral diseases can also cause yellow cucumbers. This guide examines the reasons your cucumbers grow yellow instead of green, and offers solutions to overcome this common gardening problem.

Keep reading to learn how to identify the cause and find out whether yellow cucumbers are still safe to eat.

Some of the links below are affiliate links. I earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you, if you purchase through an affiliate link.

This year, I had a problem with my cucumbers. I ended up with little round balls that are bright yellow, or those that are slightly yellowed but stubby and deformed on the end.

I thought the problem might be that the containers where I grew them were too small.

The cucumbers are growing now – they are yellow, round, and deformed with stubby tips. The discouragement is not fun! It’s time to figure out why this happens!

Why do cucumbers turn yellow?

There are many reasons for cucumbers turning yellow. Waiting to harvest too long, overwatering, and a lack of pollination could be the causes. Viral diseases could also be at play.

Also, gardeners take note: some cucumbers are supposed to be yellow! Check your label to see if you are growing a yellow cucumber variety such as “Yellow Submarine, Lemon Yellow, and Salt and Pepper. These cucumber varieties naturally produce yellow fruit that is perfectly fine to eat and never bitter.

But if your cucumbers are supposed to be green and end up being yellow, one of these factors could be the cause.

Harvesting too late causes yellow cucumbers

One of the most common reasons for cucumbers turning yellow is that you have waited too long to harvest them.

As cucumbers mature, their deep color begins to fade, revealing a yellow or even an orange color.
These cucumbers are shaped normally, but often very large. They’ve just been growing too long.
Leaving cucumbers growing too long on the vine also limits the production of more fruit.
Regularly harvesting cucumbers encourages the plant to grow new fruit.

Often, cucumbers that have been growing on the vine too long taste bitter.

The solution

The easy fix for this is to harvest them sooner. Once the female cucumber flowers have been pollinated, check to see how they are growing each day. Most will be ready to harvest about 10 days after pollination.

Depending on your variety, cucumbers are ready to harvest 50 to 70 days from planting. Ripe cucumbers are bright medium green to dark green and firm.

Overwatering can lead to cucumbers turning yellow

If you give your cucumber plants too much water, it will remove essential minerals from the soil, such as calcium and nitrogen.

When this happens, the cucumbers will turn yellow early, long before one would normally harvest them.

The solution

Holding off on the water is the answer to this cause of yellow cucumbers.
Cucumbers need just 2 inches of water a week in the hottest weather and 1 inch in normal temperatures.
Cucumber plants have a shallow root system that loves moisture, but don’t leave them with wet feet. This causes them to turn yellow.
For best results, water deeply and slowly a couple of times a week. More than this and you’re robbing the soil of nutrients.

A very rainy season often leads to a disappointing crop of cucumbers for this reason.

Inadequate nutrition can mean cucumbers turning yellow

Cucumbers need the right mix of nutrients to grow well.

A lack of fertilization can cause both the leaves and fruit of cucumbers to turn yellow.
Improperly fertilized cucumbers will stay small rather than reach a proper size and will often turn yellow.

The solution

To prevent this, use a balanced fertilizer at planting time, or add compost or other organic matter to the soil. Fertilize again after bloom and then about once a month during the growing season.

Crop rotation is an important part of preventing yellow cucumbers. If you grow your plants in the same place in the garden each year, it will result in the soil being depleted of the nutrients necessary to grow healthy cucumbers.

This is not just true for cucumbers but for all garden vegetables. Switch it up!

Lack of pollination causes deformed cucumbers that are sometimes yellow

Unfortunately, a lack of pollination is a common cause of deformed, yellow cucumbers. If your plant sets a fruit that has one end smaller than the rest of the cucumber, poor pollination is likely a cause.

In order for proper pollination to occur, each flower must be pollinated many times for the fruit to form fully.
The more pollination from honeybees you have, the more cucumbers of the right shape and color you’ll have!
In the case of deformed and yellow cucumbers, pollination has occurred, since there is visible fruit, but the lack of enough pollination causes the deformed fruit.
High temperatures can also kill the pollen and cause this problem.

The solution

Pesticides: One way to encourage pollination is to discontinue the use of pesticides in the vegetable garden. Even organic pesticides can deter honey bees.
Attract pollinators: Another way to attract the pollinators is to plant lots of flowering herbs and annuals. Zinnias, black-eyed Susans, and sunflowers are good choices, as well as dill and basil, which also flower well.

If you are the ambitious gardener who doesn’t get enough pollination from insects, you can pollinate the cucumber plants yourself.

Fruit is produced from the female flowers. You can pick off the male flowers and dust the pollen into the female flowers.

You can recognize the male flowers because they have no tiny fruit behind them. The female flower has a small fruit behind it even before the flower opens.

Viral diseases in cucumbers

Viral diseases, such as cucumber mosaic virus, can also affect the color, with the diseased fruit turning yellow-green over time. This virus also causes bitter cucumbers.

This virus creates a mottled appearance on cucumber leaves, which become distorted.
Leaves that are distorted by the virus cannot function as those on a normal plant, so the plants struggle to grow and stop gaining size. This can give you small, stunted cucumbers with white or yellow mottling.

The solution

Preventing this disease is not as easy as simply holding off on watering or harvesting sooner.

Row covers at planting time will help to keep the aphids and cucumber beetles that transmit the virus from the plant.
Remove and destroy any plants that show signs of the virus.
Remove row covers early in the growing season. Insecticidal soap is a common way to prevent cucumber mosaic virus.

I also find that cucumber plants that grow vertically on a trellis or garden obelisk seem to have fewer problems with this fungus.

Are yellow cucumbers safe to eat?

If you have read my article this far, you likely have yellow cucumbers in your garden, and are probably wondering if yellow cucumbers are safe to eat.

The short answer is yes, they are safe, but you likely won’t want to eat them because of their taste.

Too ripe cucumbers that have been growing longer than they should will be bitter and not enjoyable to eat.

While you may not want to eat these cucumbers, you can recycle them! As long as they are not diseased, add them to your compost pile. They are an excellent source of nitrogen.

Yellow cucumbers caused by the cucumber mosaic virus will also be bitter. Destroy these, instead of adding them to your compost pile.

Good way to use yellow cucumbers

There are some ways to eat them, though. Cucumber relish is a good use of yellow cucumbers, since the pickling ingredients mask the bitter taste. I have included a recipe at the bottom of the post.

Using yellow cucumber seeds

Fat yellow cucumbers that taste bitter will have a lot of seeds in the center when you cut them lengthwise.

The seeds of yellow cucumbers are considered botanically mature. Even though the cucumber is overripe in many cases, the seeds have developed fully and will germinate.
Saving the seeds for next year’s crops is a good idea and a great use of overripe cucumbers.

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🥒💛 Cucumbers turning yellow, round, or fat on the vine? Don’t panic! It’s usually overripe fruit, but it can also be caused by pollination issues, watering problems, or a lack of nutrients. Find out what’s going on, and learn… Share on X

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Admin note: this post for yellow cucumbers first appeared on the blog in May of 2013. I have updated the post to add more information, all new photos, a printable recipe card for cucumber relish, and a video for you to enjoy.

Yield: about 6 cups of yellow cucumber relish

Cucumber Relish Recipe

One of the ways that I love to use my cucumber harvest (even the yellow cucumbers!) is to make a sweet cucumber relish. It is easy to make and delicious as a garnish on a hot dog or mixed in potato salad.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 2 hours

Total Time 3 hours

Ingredients

10 pickling cucumbers, washed, and chopped
5 sweet onions, chopped
3 green peppers, washed, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup of pickling salt
2 cups of apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups of granulated sugar
1 tablespoon of mustard seeds
2 teaspoons of celery seeds
1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

Instructions

Soak the cucumbers and scrub them well. If they are large, remove the seeds.
Chop the cucumbers and add them with the chopped onions and peppers in a large bowl.
Sprinkle the mixture with pickling salt and stir well to distribute the salt.
Add enough cold water to cover the vegetables.
Cover and allow to sit for 2 hours or overnight.
Transfer the vegetables to a colander and drain well.
Place the mixture in a large pot, add the granulated sugar and vinegar.
Heat until boiling so that the sugar will dissolve.
Add the mustard seeds, celery seeds and turmeric.
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
Place the relish into hot, sterilized canning jars, leaving 1/2 inch at the top.
Seal and process the filled jars in a boiling water canner for 10 minutes.
Remove the jars and allow to cool overnight.

Notes

A food processor is a good way to chop the cucumbers, peppers and onions to get the consistency you want.

If you don't want to process the relish in a water bath, store the jars in the refrigerator when they have cooled and use within 2 weeks. This makes a nice gift for a gardener, too.

Cucumbers Turning Yellow: Causes and Whether They’re Safe to Eat

Why do cucumbers turn yellow?

Harvesting too late causes yellow cucumbers

Overwatering can lead to cucumbers turning yellow

Inadequate nutrition can mean cucumbers turning yellow