Allotments 4 All
Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: compo49 on May 26, 2008, 21:27:59
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my cucumber plants (4) in the greenhouse have been growing very well up to this weekend! they are telegraph improved and some of them the leaves have gone limp/wilting. first time i have grown them no flowers on them yet. 2 in 6inch pots about 6 inch tall other 2 in 8inch pots about 8-9 inch tall want plant into grow-bags v/soon can anyone HELP?
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Are they in the glass house?
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hi betula .yes as in my post they are in g/house and its ventilated/window and door opened each day when its warm. and door closed at night - window just left open on first catch . can you help!
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Cucumbers are VERY sensitive to the slightest variation in temperature and to draughts.
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betula is this what you think is the problem or could it be some thing else? i have got courgettes growing as well but no problems with them.
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Yes courgettes are easier to grow than cucumbers.
Sorry ,you did say they are in the glasshouse.As purple heather says they can be tempremental make sure you water them well and as with all glasshouse growing be careful about shade and ventilation.
When you say some of the leaves do you mean maybe the first set of leaves as most plants lose these.?
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courgettes are much tougher than cucumbers and will be quite safe out doors at the present time even though it is a bit windy.
Cucumbers are tender and can actually die simply because of a constant draught in the greenhouse.
My friend left his greenhouse door open the other morning and the cucumbers were all limp within an hour. They recovered as quickly when he changed their position in the greenhouse.
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betula .the leaves are quite big so don't think they are the first ones but could be wrong. and they have been watered all the time. purpleheather. the door etc have been opened and closed for the past few weeks since it got a lot warmer so no real change unless its temp variation as you say but why now? I forgot to mention in my first post that another plant died before the others started to go limp the stem had withered in the middle don't know what caused it!
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I lost all 4 cucumber plants :'(, but courgettes are doing fine :D
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Hmmmmmm,not sure about this,I will consult my veggie books,could be the P&Ds.Hopefully someone more experienced will come up with an answer ;D
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Thanks betula await your reply :( and anybody else's help.
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I planted 3 cucumber seeds for the first time this year - indoors in march. Once they got to about 1-2 foot tall, the bottom half of leaves and some others became yellow, then brown. They were pulled off as the above leaves kept growing. As it happened the changes happened about easter time when we got the snow, so changes in temp might be the problem. I still pull off a few dead leaves every week, and have cropped quite a few cucumbers despite it...
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I have just reread your post compo, mine did the same as yours. Thinking about it mine were very well watered and its cool at the moment. It could have been stem rot......too cool and wet.
Mine looked fine and healthy and as soon as the weather changed was when they collapsed.
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hi star. just read a previous post by lost-the-plot on cuc's and saddads reply to it. 1st plant could have been either stem rot as water going to middle of pot . or maybe roots rotting but don't know why roots may rot unless its to much watering? should i tap plants out of pots and see what roots look like do you think?
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I guess you could have a look, just be very gentle. Cukes dont like root disturbance, when its cool its better to slow watering down as any plant doesnt take up water as fast as when its warm. (that sounds babble hope it makes sense) I should take my own advice ;D ;D
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Oh dear, doesn't bode well for my cukes. My greenhouse this weekend was getting plenty of sun so the vent was wide open, but that meant the wind was blowing in through the vent and there wasn't much I could do about it. They were already looking a bit yellow...
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Your problem is to much ventilation and temperature variation. Cucumbers like warm , humid condition, if it is possible segregate them by putting up a polythene sheet, or put them at the furthest point from the door.
Have a read of a post i put in Basics
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,41488.0.html
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Hi davyw1. read the post you put on basics very informative thank you, the cucumbers are furthest away from the door and have only got top window open a inch and door is shut since the weathers changed. couldn't get to lotti today to check but going in morning i suppose it will be raining again so will shut window, will get back to you and let you know how they are doing.
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Davy, you say to give a nitrogen feed. What form do you give this in?
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Davy, you say to give a nitrogen feed. What form do you give this in?
I only feed once a week
I alternate between Chempak No 2 week 1. Then the next feed is nettle juice diluted 1 part juice to 10 parts water week 2. then the third week i have a 45 gallon drum which i put 4 pot noodle cups of organic manure in. ( it stinks as bad as the nettle juice.) Then back to the chempak
A good tip if you start to get nettles growing then your soil has a high nitrogen content.
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Thanks, Davy- and I've got plenty of nettles!
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update. been to lotti today checked plants 1 of the 4 the biggest is doing fine the other 3 are no worse still got limp leaves, window closed so is door, put polythene up to separate from other plants as davyw1 suggested to create humid conditions etc. will have to see how the go on keeping fingers crossed they pick up. problem is going on hol next Tuesday for a week so will have to ask one the other lads to keep a check on them and not over water them.
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been to lotti today checked plants still 3 out of the four plants are the same and as my last post yesterday re segregated them with polythene as davyw1 suggested. checked roots on the 2 smallest and they are disappearing but main stem and top leaves seem healthy ? so why the bottom leaves (the biggest)are wilted seems strange. as the other 2 the roots are strong growing! biggest plant fine smallest the same problem as others. can anybody give more help. thanks.
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update! been to lotti again today to check cuc's 1 of the smallest dying took it out of pot removed compost virtually all roots gone must have rotted or some thing! others still same as yesterday . do you think rest will survive or just the biggest and fittest ? ??? appreciate all help.
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they're not too wet are they, compo?
roots sometimes rot off in wet compost, only thing I can think :)
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thanks manicscousers for reply. the compost is dampish not over-wet as I've refrained from watering this week since problem started since weather changed/windy, also put up polythene separator as davyw1 suggested and misted inside of it to make it humid. main thing is cannot put them outside to harden off before planting! can you suggest what to do next? or will i have plant them in pot's /grow bags in green house if they survive. I've bought some outdoor type seed just in case and may have sow it but no spare space really.
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if there are no roots, can't see them surviving, really sounds like a damp thing to me :-\
you can always put your outside ones in a container, or a growbag, cut across the middle and stood up, I think Tim showed this last year, and grow them up a trellis or something :)
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Seem,s you have Sudden wilt,caused by pythium fungus the entire plant will wilt and die,also causes the roots to
rot.One of the main causes is poor draining soil,you need to improve the drainage.
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On what you say it can only be both or one of what has been suggested, Stem rot or bad drainage.
The thing is with Cucumbers they must be grown on top of a mound so the roots a drawn down to the moisture and the stem stays dry.
I hope some of them pull thro
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Davyw1............what is chempac please?
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Davyw1............what is chempac please?
Chempak it a balanced feed for different plants very cost affective and good.
http://www.gardendirect.co.uk/fertilisers-chempak-soluble-feeds-c-5_147_198
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Same has happened to me 3 from 8 plants just wilted and died!
First time I have had this problem, but it must be the temperature. We had a frosts last week and may be I over watered them recently.
Hope the others stay ok.
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Hi jfrosty. sounds like you got same problem as me, there's no real change in the 3 plants but the 2 smallest haven't got any worse so that's something i suppose. I agree its a water problem too damp due to weather change keeping fingers crossed they are still alive when i get back from hol in a weeks time! told chap who is going to check/water g/house plants just to spray inside of polythene separator to keep them humid and only water a bit if compost drys out.
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Sure sounds like stem rot to me-cus are horribly susceptible to it. Try to keep the soil just where the stem is dry-plunge something into the soil to water into.
I remember it happening to me years ago and posting that the leaves looked like roosting bats :)
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Went on holiday 3rd June came back on Tuesday 10th checked cucs at allotment only 1 left the biggest. The other 2 had died so checked the roots they had disappeared altogether. The 1 left has got 3 flowers on and is developing baby cucs, should i put it in the ground now with some rotted manure, its about a foot high at the moment Will it grow taller its telegraph i think and develop more flowers and cucs? What should i feed it with ?
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Some of my plants died too. I lost 2 of 3 Carmen. My one surviving Carmen totally dried out but I left it on the off-chance. The leaves have remained weak but it has still produced fruit. 4 at present. The link below shows the plant as of yesterday with fruit and also very dried faded leaves:
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php?topic=42962.msg430363;topicseen#new
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I have just 1 cucumber plant left which has 4 mini cuces on it , can i feed it with tomato food ? also want to plant it out but no space ! I've heard you plant on a compost heap but don't have 1 yet, can up plant on a manure heap instead?
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What about just planting it in a black bucket or similar container. Ensure it has holes in the bottom for drainage. Put a bamboo cane in for it to grow up. Will work no problem.