Help!! cucumber woes!

[Cutecumber]

Don't know if it's true, but people around here - Somerset - are saying that it is a poor year for cucumbers, a lot of people are having problems with them dying

Don't be put off - it's way too early to tell. Many people have only just sown their cucumbers. If you started indoors in March you probably had a slow start as it was very cold. They are tender, heat loving plants so its not surprising that they haven't enjoyed the cool spring. Plenty of potentially great cucumber growing months left, though

Mine are, I have to say, looking pretty good. I have three indoor plants (Rocky) sown in April. They are in their final positions now and are flowering well with plenty of fruits forming.

Sow some more seeds now if yours are looking a bit dodgy. Don't overwater.

[squashysu]

i found one of my cuces dead this morning, so i whipped it out the pot, i got another 6 looking really healthy and also got some i was gonna put on freecycle, but i may go and get another could of pots today and plant them up, just in case.

I think i may have over watered, i have mine in troughs, do i need really deep ones? they are pretty deep, but i think they are defo over watered, so not watering them for a couple of days and hopefully that should be ok !!

SS

[Sanjo]

Thanks Two sheds. As the cuke was outside at Wyevales and it said that it was an outdoor variety it didn't occur to me to protect it. I assumed that it wouldn't need hardening off. Silly me. I put it in the greenhouse as soon as I noticed it looked poorly but then we had a really strong burst of heat and sunshine and I think it just polished the poor thing off. I have bought another two this morning but having got them home I find that they are really indoor ones (F1 Females) and as I have never grown anything like this before (and it really is the fault of all you other grapes for encouraging me with all your knowledge!!) I shall probably end up killing these off too. I certainly manage it very well with house plants. Ah well, nothing ventured as they say. Sanjo

[gojiberry]

Weather the last 10 days has been terrible for cucumbers, i.e. very wet and cold. I would say that most of the cucumbers have died from the roots rotting due to wet cold conditions. I have lost a few especially those not in the greenhouse. Ideally they need temps above 12 deg which we certainly have not had over the last few weeks. Still not to late to plant a few seeds.

Ian

gojilottie updated 27 May 08

[Cutecumber]

The foliage of cucumbers is relatively soft and easily damaged - this is a good indication that that they need protection from the worst of the weather. A wind break is a good idea - just make sure the air can still circulate.

Together with courgette and squash, (outdoor) cucumbers do fine outside in most of the UK, but a nasty shower of summer hail can really do damage. Usually, a healthy plant will recover from weather damage as long as it hasn't been snapped along the main stem.

I have a trick whereby I jam two short pieces of stick in the soil next to the main stem. As long as these are on each side of a couple of good strong leaf stalks, it prevents the plant from rocking in the wind. Within a month of planting the stems become more like wood, and the problem of wind breakage (of the main stem) lessens. By this time, losing a leaf or two is not an issue either.