The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Growing => Vegetables => Topic started by: Sudanpan on May 06, 2015, 05:34:18 pm
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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?
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I have found that cucumbers don't like there leaves being watered,from above with a watering can, only the soil around the roots.
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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
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Damping off due to cold wet roots, or temp too low at night. Cucumbers really hate cold wet roots and generally cold temps.
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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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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
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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.
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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.
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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 :)
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Good news :cucumber: :cucumber: :cucumber: :garden:
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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.
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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?
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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!
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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.
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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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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.
They dry beautifully. Slice thinly and dry in dryer, low oven, out in hot sunshine or whatever on trays in single layers. Make lovely snacks or nibbles with drinks.
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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.
They dry beautifully. Slice thinly and dry in dryer, low oven, out in hot sunshine or whatever on trays in single layers. Make lovely snacks or nibbles with drinks.
Brilliant - I shall definitely be trying that :yum:
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Starting to feel lucky, this is my first year growing cucumbers. As the greenhouse wasn't built until recently started them in the house and moved them out to greenhouse about a month ago. Have 5 all about a metre tall and already enjoyed 2 cucumbers. Yummy :excited:they still seem to be fine and have loads of fruit growing
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I went to the garden centre today to buy some seeds and they were selling yellow courgette plants so I bought three (only me eating them as well) and three butternut squash plants. I also have lots of herbs to go in my new herb bed and some globe artichoke plants to try out. And some beetroot seeds and lots more compost. Cost me a fortune.
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Sudanpan - it might be vine weevil larvae eating the roots. The adults love old compost and the young larvae are so small they look like bits of grit. It is only when they get bigger that they start eating roots. Have a rummage around for little white c-shaped things with 6 tiny wiggly legs. >:(
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Starting to feel lucky, this is my first year growing cucumbers. As the greenhouse wasn't built until recently started them in the house and moved them out to greenhouse about a month ago. Have 5 all about a metre tall and already enjoyed 2 cucumbers. Yummy :excited:they still seem to be fine and have loads of fruit growing
Mmmmm ...sweet pickled mini or vertically sliced 3 inch long cuc's done in hot 3%to 4 % white spiced sweetened vinegar with six or seven sprigs of chopped dill ..
absolute heaven , stuff to die for . French beans also done the same are just as good .
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We have binned the old compost - deffo something had a go at the roots. The new plants are growing nicely :thumbsup: