Topic: Baby Cucumbers withering

[tim]

NVS says that it's probably over-watering.  I always thought it was too many fruit?

[davyw1]

NVS says that it's probably over-watering.  I always thought it was too many fruit?

Tim if there is to man fruit they tend not to develop and look as if they have rot at the tip so it could be over watering also lack of drainage which will not allow the roots to breath.

[brian12]

Hi Tim.i had the same problem baby cucumbers growing about inch 1/2  and then turning yellow and dropping off(some i pulled off as it was obvious they were going to fall off and die)..first time growing cucumbers so not alot of experience however after many nights reading over the internet and reading many peoples openions on the matter i am going with the diagnosis that they have not been pollinated by the male flowers.i grow mine inside and ive just pulled off another 2 yellow aborted baby cucumbers today but also have got a small paint brush and taken pollen from the male flower and pollinated the female flower with it.I know the plants are ok because 1 or 2 on each plant have got bigger and are ok.i water mine untill the water comes out of the bottom of the pots ..cucumbers are mostly water anyway.my plants are about 6 feet high .thats my opinion anyway. ;D

[Tee Gee]

When I read your query Tim the first thing that came to mind was pollination or should I say poor pollination causing the embryo fruit to abort. 

I would say over watering is more likely to manifest itself as neck rot.

This is only an opinion!

As you may recall I admitted in another post about 'achilles heels' that cucumber is my Achilles heel so Iam no expert on the matter  :)

[tim]

Thanks, Tee Gee.  One problem - these are all-female. Does that still apply?

As to watering, they are in Airpots which have very free drainage.

[Tee Gee]

One problem - these are all-female. Does that still apply?

I have had another think on this one and I will stick with my poor pollination theory.

I know some pundits recommend spraying plants with a fine mist of water to assist pollination set, or damping down the greenhouse to increase humidity.

Considering we have had a particularly long dry spell of late the humidity around the plants may have been negligable.

This could mean that the pollinating pollen hasn't adhered to the flower thus affecting the pollination process.

Its only a theory, but I have to admit I have never resorted to spraying before but trhen I can't recall going so long at this time of year without rain.

Trouble is most of us grow our cucumbers & tomatoes in the same greenhouse (myself included) and I don't like my tomatoes subjected to high humidity in case it promotes blight.

So perhaps a light spray is the answer!

Oh! the trials and tribulations of gardening  ::) ::)

[davyw1]

If you are growing hybrids ( F1 ) they are self pollinating.

To get the best results don,t let anything grow for the first two feet so all the energy goes into the plant growth, if the fruit is not developing properly the take off every other cucumber till the plant get well established.
Cucumbers need good drainage and plenty of feed and should be planted on a hill/mound so the stem is above the watering level to avoid stem rot. Like the tomato the roots need to breath so over watering causes them to clog and reduces the up take of water and feed which in turn reduces fruit growth.

[cleo]

What ever it is you are not alone Tim,my cucumbers this year are poor-well rubbish to be honest.

And there was me selling my plants only a few weeks ago and if asked was quite confidently saying the customer would get loads of fruit. It`s just not happening.

[chriscross1966]

THe issue with tomatoes vs cucumbers is what stopped me growing cukes in the greenhouse.... plus the taste of outdoor ridge cukes like Marketmore and Marketer are generally superior to the indoor ones  IMNSHO....

chrisc

[Jeannine]

Tim, my advice would be to mist them, even growing squash in the greenhouse which I did for minatures became a problem in really hot weather, misting them fairly heavily seemed to stop it..can't hurt XX Jeannine