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Produce => Edible Plants => Topic started by: madbrad on June 05, 2007, 00:17:37

Title: cucumber quandry!
Post by: madbrad on June 05, 2007, 00:17:37
I've got 2 cucumbers growing in my plastic 6x4 greenhouse & both have fruit on them(very small)but both have wilted over last 2 days but have been well watered so what if anything do you possibly think I might have done wrong?

Thanks (a rather worried)MadBrad ::)
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Cuke on June 05, 2007, 13:33:37
I'm growing my first ever cucumbers outside in a sheltered part of the garden and I've given up worrying about them now. The leaves seem verrrry prone to yellowing and have a generaly distressed look and I was worried they were dying, but the plants continue to grow and new leaves appear along with a nice batch of fruit currently about 4cm long.
I've been treating them exactly like my Toms in terms of watering and feeding so perhaps I'm not doing it by the book, but my suggestion would be don't worry unless they look really bad, they seem to be hardy souls. :)
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: manicscousers on June 05, 2007, 14:38:59
how are you watering them, madbrad and are they in the border or growbags ?..over the leaves may lead to neck rot, we sink a 2 ltr pop bottle with the bottom cut off next to the plants and water into it, and don't water unless they really need it
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: madbrad on June 05, 2007, 19:32:13
Thanks for replys guys much appreciated,they are in freebie bucketts from Tescos(the square 1's)in a mixture of peat free compost & horse manure & water directly to the roots so possibly neckrot might be the problem is there anyway I can look at the plants & check for certain ?.
Also do I still have time to sow a couple more from  seed as I got some kindly sent to me by another member but unfortunatly& more embarassly  I've forgotten who it was :-\ sorry

Thanks Madbrad
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Spookyville on June 05, 2007, 20:03:17
sorry to but in on this thread, but I have a similar problem.
In a growbag in greenhouse (mostly sheltered part of it) and watered into a plant pot sunk into the gorwbag to the right of the plent. also piled up some further compost around the base of the stem...
any advice appreciated..

heres a pic:
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: greenscrump on June 05, 2007, 20:14:03
Hi Spooky & MadBrad  :) I'm no expert but maybe they're just too warm ??  Is your greenhouse ventilated at all ?  I move all of my plants out of our unventilated conservatory during the day - if the sun's shining the temp hits over 100.....
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Jeannine on June 05, 2007, 20:25:03
I wonder if the pot size is too small,I know it has the growbag underneath but the main pot is small, the roots would have to get from the main pot through the holes and into the growbag.

I would also say they look over heated.

I grow mine in the same manner,with a pot and growbag but the pot is much bigger.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Jeannine on June 05, 2007, 20:40:39
Picture is of Carmen cucumber, expensive seed but it never lets me down.

It is in 12 inch pot sunk into a growbag,taken today
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: davyw1 on June 05, 2007, 21:02:31
JEANNINE. Great choice of Cucumber £4.20 for 5 seeds from Select Seeds good show Cucumber as well. Got me 1st and 2nd last year.

SPOOKY how you are growing with that small plant pot i called Ring Culture, you do not water onto the base of the stem you water round the outside of the pot and keep the compost at the base of the stem dry.
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Jeannine on June 05, 2007, 21:15:44
Davy,Plants of Distinction are cheaper still, I just found that out last week. I always seem to manage to get a freebie from T&M though,or seconds in the half price sale but I shall watch P of D if T&M dry up, and your one too.Thank you

I can never understand why folks shy off this one because of the price, it pays off every time, we have already had 2 off the second plant 10 days ago, and I have always had 100% germination.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Spookyville on June 05, 2007, 21:16:50
well the "small pot" as described is not a pot - its a copper ring to protect from slugs! The plant is planted directly into the growbag. the pot you can just see at the right of the picture is a sunken empty plany pot that we water into and not around the base of the plant itself.

We have a max/min thermometer in there and the highest it has been so far this year os 32.8c (compared to 48.8c in our conservatory)
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Jeannine on June 05, 2007, 21:21:45
Then I am sorry but I have no answer for you.if it is a good growing area and not too hot, I truly don't know.

I have never used a copper collar but presume the copper is OK ,sorry Spooky I am not much help.

XX Jeannine
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: greenscrump on June 05, 2007, 21:24:46
as far as I know (posted on here somewhere previously (maybe by Tim??) 80 degrees is more than enough for most plants, so maybe it is the heat ???
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: davyw1 on June 05, 2007, 21:32:36
In that case i think its just getting to much sun and needs a bit of shade, its only a young plant and cant shade its self.
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: davyw1 on June 05, 2007, 21:35:20
JEANNINE, i am also trying to others this year AIDAS F1 and JESSICA F1 if they grow as well as Carman i will be more than happy.
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Spookyville on June 05, 2007, 21:35:42
its in the shadiest part of the greenhouse and to be honest does not get very much direct sunlight through the day (could that be the problem?) Everything else int he greenhouse - toms,peppers,chilis,grapes, even some lettuce(!) are all doing very well - its just the cucumbers...  ???
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Jeannine on June 05, 2007, 21:45:43
Davy I have Tiffany right behind Carmen, then Sunsweet just starting, Chinese Yellow  and a real odd one called Red Hmong!! Let me know about the others and how they go please.

Spooky, the only thing I know of that looks like this that is not an environmetal problem is Bacterial Wilt, description is infected plants wilt quickly and dry up wjile still geen. I have never had it and I am quoting from a book, caused by a beetle??
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: davyw1 on June 05, 2007, 22:27:35
SPOOKY,  I am at a bit of a loss as i have never grown in growbags do they have drainage if not the root may be sitting to much water.

JEANNINE i certainly will and would be greatfull for you results, nothing quite like trying some thing new.
Title: Re: cucumber quandry!
Post by: Spookyville on June 05, 2007, 22:42:26
it is one of the growbag trays as it stands on bricks to keep it off the ground. suppose i could fill the tray with gravel just in case...