My cucumbers are dying

[sparkygardener]

Hi everyone. I'm growing cucumbers in my greenhouse for the first time and they had been doing well with some great cucumbers in the first few weeks of cropping. But in the last week the baby cucumbers are starting to form and then going yellow and dying, they're not getting much bigger than an inch long. Can't find any answers in books, does anyone have experience of this?

[veggiechicken]

Sounds like they're not being pollinated. Can bees get into your greenhouse to do the deed? or you may need to do it yourself with a paintbrush

[sparkygardener]

Well I have been leaving the door open as its been so hot but maybe i'll try giving them a helping hand with a paintbrush. Is it just a case of brushing a little pollen from one flower to another?

[Potstubsdustbins]

Along with VC's suggestion above. Are they in pots? Do you feed them? Are you careful not to over water? Also cumbers are suicidal.

[sparkygardener]

Hi there, they are in pots and i've been watering everyday but only a little, i've fed them about once a week. Am I doing something wrong? its so disappointing because the cucumbers were rather delicious.

[Potstubsdustbins]

If the leaves look good then I don't think so, do you know the variety? And do they have both male and female flowers?

[sparkygardener]

A couple of the lower leaves have gone a bit yellow but otherwise the plants themselves look reasonably healthy and actively growing. The variety is telepathy F1.

[veggiechicken]

Forget what I said about pollinating - Telepathy F! cukes need to have the male flowers removed to prevent pollination which would make the cukes bitter..

[sparkygardener]

They just have female flowers I think x

[Potstubsdustbins]

Strange one this, Telepathy is an improved Telegraph type which you would not want pollinated female flowers or the fruit would be bitter. Have you been removing the male flowers i.e. the ones without the little cumbers behind the flower?

Beat me to it VC.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Couple of more points cumbers like it warm but not to hot and they don't like direct sunlight (I shade mine with fleece). They also like a moist atmosphere which is why professional growers have different GH's for cumbers and tom's.

On very hot days I open the GH door and windows and sprinkle water on the floor to help with the temperature.

[Potstubsdustbins]

Another couple of thoughts, pot size, your pot should be at least the size of a domestic 2 gallon bucket. Feeding if the plants are in full production you need a high potash feed like tomorite and use at double the recommended rate.

[bearded bloke]

Lateral thought,last year one of my marrow plants was producing more fruits that it could feed & some were dying off at an early stage in a similar manner to your cucumbers.

[Raybon]

Didn't know about the shade thing, thanks! I have had yellowing, droopy cukes with hardly a leaf to show for themselves which produced very robust fruits.....so hang on in there, sparkygardener!

[jacob]

My experience in pots (big, big, pots) is that there's a finite number of cucs a plant will set at anyone time. If more come, they do what you've described. I'd be patient, the next bunch will set properly.