Cucumber seedlings dying unexpectedly! Help!

[Amoraypretoray]

So Ive never grown cucumbers before and I started them from seed this year.I live in Namibia (above South Africa so it is a similar climate). it is currently spring so temperatures are warm and great for growing.

my problem is: I sprouted some cucumber seeds in paper towels and all of them germinated within 24h and after 2 days I took the sprouts out and planted them in seedling trays. in the trays the seed leaves popped up and they all grey to about 1 inch tall. After growing to about 1 inch they within 24h began wilting and falling over. there are still 2 which show chances of life but the others are DEAD. upon inspecting the dead seedlings i noticed that at the base of their stems it was very very thin.

my question is, what caused my seedlings to die so suddenly and why are their bases so thin?

regards, Amore

[bario1]

Hi and welcome!

Cucumbers are notoriously suicidal... the thin stem makes me think that they were victims of damping off - where they're attacked by a fungus where the stem meets the soil. Try to avoid getting the compost wet on top, by watering from the bottom. Better luck with the next lot!

[Zelenina]

Hi Amore, and welcome to the Vine!

It's hard to know exactly what went wrong from your description. But cucumber seedlings are known not to like being handled or disturbed very much, and they are very fast growing. So I think it would be much better to germinate them directly in some soil or potting compost rather than using paper towels first.

Also I think they need to be started in something deeper than a seedling tray because the root will hit the bottom of it very quickly. People in the UK, where the springs are colder, usually sow them individually in pots so they can be transplanted later with very little root disturbance. But if your spring is warm enough and there is no frost they'll probably do better sown directly outside in the garden.

[Nicos]

Hi there, just wanted to say Welcome to the Vine

[Penellype]

Welcome to the vine. I agree with the above - I start my cucumbers in individual 9cm pots and plant them out into their permanent positions when they have 4-6 true leaves. They hate getting their stems wet, so I water the pots from below, and when I plant them out I put a plastic ring round the stem (cut from something like a pop bottle - if this has copper tape on it keeps slugs out but I don't know if you get slugs in Namibia). The plastic helps to stop splashes from watering if you water outside the ring.

[Bren In Pots]

Amore you've had some good advice and hopefully next time your cucumbers will be a success