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Author Topic: Cucumber mystery  (Read 6540 times)

Sudanpan

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • West Cornwall
    • Movement is Life
Cucumber mystery
« on: May 06, 2015, 05:34:18 pm »
We propagated 4 cucumber seeds in our propagator in plug trays - all fine and dandy and 3 germinated successfully. We brought them on in the covered area (within the polytunnel) and repotted them into 3" pots. After another couple of weeks they had grown to about 10cm tall, looking nice and healthy so they were then potted on into their final pots - approx 15" diameter in the polytunnel.
Everything great, then for no apparent reason 2 of the 3 plats have gone all 'wilty' - the 3rd is still going strong. They have all had the same treatment and we are very puzzled.  It's as though they are really hot or something. The weather here has not been excessively warm - it's been getting to about a8/20 in the tunnel I suppose when the sun is out - but that has been pretty rare in the last few days.
Anyone got any possible ideas what might be going on?

Sbom

  • Joined Jul 2012
  • Staffordshire
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #1 on: May 06, 2015, 05:46:11 pm »
I have found that cucumbers don't like there leaves being watered,from above with a watering can, only the soil around the roots.

pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #2 on: May 06, 2015, 07:32:04 pm »
I've had a problem with cues damping off before.. but that's usually obvious. If any plant looks like it isn't going to make it then pull it up and look at the roots - the clue is often there

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #3 on: May 07, 2015, 01:01:43 am »
Damping off due to cold wet roots, or temp too low at night.  Cucumbers really hate cold wet roots and generally cold temps.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Millwood

  • Joined Jul 2011
  • Oxfordshire
    • Millwood Market Gardens
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #4 on: May 20, 2015, 08:26:55 am »
Check around the stem to see if there's a grub burrowing up it, we've had dreadful trouble with these this year, I think its the grub of the sciarid fly, plants seems fine and dandy then wilt over and die, I found the stems to be hollowed out and the little grub munching away, so frustrating! It also can effect courgettes and squashes so keep an eye out.
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DavidandCollette

  • Joined Dec 2012
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #5 on: May 20, 2015, 11:01:19 am »
When are you watering them?  This time of year you need to be doing it by lunchtime so that excess water is drained from the roots and base by the time the temperature drops. Also make sure that the plant is sat on a little mound so that it doesn't form a puddle by the base. We are in North Lincolnshire and plus all not go out until this weekend onto the polytunnel

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #6 on: May 21, 2015, 12:28:52 am »
I've had the same happen to courgettes and squashes. They were all doing very well and I had just started putting them outside during the day. It was fairly warm the first day but that's when they started to wilt. No courgettes and only two squashes left out of about 10 or 11 plants.

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #7 on: May 21, 2015, 11:33:30 am »
MGM, you've plenty of time to sow more, certainly of courgettes which grow so fast.  Make sure you use new compost and water from the bottom.
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Sudanpan

  • Joined Jan 2009
  • West Cornwall
    • Movement is Life
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #8 on: May 25, 2015, 07:24:05 pm »
When we pulled the plants there was practically nothing left of the roots....


Old compost from a bag bought last year and which has been open in the polytunnel ever since seems to be the culprit


New cuc seeds bought and going strong :)

Fleecewife

  • Joined May 2010
  • South Lanarkshire
    • ScotHebs
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #9 on: May 25, 2015, 10:02:17 pm »

Good news  :cucumber: :cucumber: :cucumber: :garden:
"Let's not talk about what we can do, but do what we can"

There is NO planet B - what are YOU doing to save our home?

Do something today that your future self will thank you for - plant a tree

 Love your soil - it's the lifeblood of your land.

Lesley Silvester

  • Joined Sep 2011
  • Telford
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #10 on: May 26, 2015, 12:50:19 am »
MGM, you've plenty of time to sow more, certainly of courgettes which grow so fast.  Make sure you use new compost and water from the bottom.


I'll need to get more seeds. I might just buy plants in but I prefer the yellow variety and have never seen those as plants so it looks like sowing again. I now have one very small squash which was late coming through so is only a inch or so high.

Clarebelle

  • Joined Jan 2013
  • Orkney
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #11 on: May 26, 2015, 07:15:51 am »
I have a cucumber mystery of my own! As some of you may remember i lost most of my seed to mice over the winter but i had a couple of packets where the seeds were at one end and only the other end had been eaten. So i had this pot which had random seeds in, some of which were cucumbers. I decided to plant these first just to see what happened. As the greenhouse is unheated and this was back in the beginning of march i propagated them on a windowsill indoors.

I got two plants going but growth has been pretty slow, but then, the weather has been really awful here, no sun or warmth. Anyway, the plants are still only about 8 inches tall but they have both started flowering. They don't seem to be producing tendrils to use for climbing. I dont know what variety they are so i don't know if they should be flowering yet? They are only small plants, i don't see how they will be able to bare fruit that size? Any ideas what has happened and what i should do?

Jukes Mum

  • Joined Apr 2014
  • North Yorkshire
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #12 on: May 26, 2015, 01:18:48 pm »
Quote
Make sure you use new compost and water from the bottom.
Barg! I didn't do this  :gloomy: I used compost from an opened grow bag from last year and watered from the top. Oops. Hey ho, 5 plants survived so hopefully will still have enough courgettes to feed a small army or two.
I will know for next year.
Maybe I should invest in a How-To-Grow-Veggies book instead of learning as I go along!
Don’t Monkey With Another Monkey’s Monkey

bloomer

  • Joined Aug 2010
  • leslie, fife
  • i have chickens, sheep and opinions!!!
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #13 on: May 26, 2015, 01:27:51 pm »
5 courgette plants, I hope you like courgettes 2-3 plants feeds a family of 6 more courgettes than I can face eating for a good couple of months.


pgkevet

  • Joined Jul 2011
Re: Cucumber mystery
« Reply #14 on: May 26, 2015, 05:32:19 pm »
Yup! I'm down to 4 courgette plants.. 2 in the greenhouse and already had a crop.. and two in the field,
As soon as they start producing then the greenhouse plants get tossed out.

 

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