Cucumber Woes!

[merlinsboy]

Greetings All!
It seems that I have been away a while, and have neglected the Forums! well, having taken a break from the watering can I am here to ask a question of the gardeners out there.
Last year I bought a mini cucumber plant, grown in a pot on the patio in full sun, and was pleased with it until it drooped and died. The autopsy revealed thet the base of the stem was rotten, probably due to overwatering. This year I bought the same plant and watered it from a tray at the base. Huzzah! Everything going hunky-dory until yesterday when it started to droop. I fed the plant on Friday night, no worries, but yesterday it went droopy. I did not water it and today it shows some signs of improvement.
My question is, is there some history/knack of growing cucumbers that I should be aware of?
I will post another update if the poor thing dies or recovers. Last year I got 4 cucmbers off it before it died which just about paid for itself. This year I have only had 3 which is break even(ish) compared to the price of a portion in Tesco and the cost of the plant, 99p.

I eagerly await any replies.
Merlinsboy.

[Mark43]

Maybe your plant has Cucumber wilt caused by the Cucumber beetle.

[ned coed]

i,m no expert but i grow cucumbers out side in grow bags they need watering a little and often rather than a heavy soak every now and then. i use tomato liquid feed once a week too.

[Diane E]

Hi Merlinsboy,

I too am having mixed results with mini cucumbers! Mine are called 'mini munch'. Are yours by any chance the same?

I tried them last year - one in the house and one on the patio. I did get some cucumbers from the one in the house, but none from the one on the patio. The plants never looked very healthy though - the leaves always went yellow and dry.

When I read up on cucumbers it said they need 'high humidity and temperatures' so this year I tried a different approach with the same seeds. I started them off in an umbrella cloche in the garden which is easy to keep humid (just sprayed water mist inside) and stays warmer and the difference at first was amazing! The leaves were green and healthy and I got some gorgeous cucumbers in absolutely record time. I had 2 plants in there and soon ran out of room in the cloche so I transferred one to a growbag house (you know the ones? they are a metal frame with a polythene cover - quite flimsy and cheap!). The other plant I tried to train in a circle fashion around the inside of the cloche!

They are still growing much, much better than last year but the yellowness is starting to creep back and not all the flowers are turning into cucumbers. I think I am guilty of overwatering them - maybe the pots don't dry out so much as the air around it is humid.

Have your tried misting the leaves at all? How often do you feed the plant? What feed do you use?

I think I have to get a better balance between humidity and water in the pot. Your idea of watering from a tray sounds like a good idea. So, combining our experience, next year I have a new plan. Grow in a cloche or growbag house. Mist to keep humid. Water from the bottom and not so often. And feed more.

What do you reckon? I would like to grow them again cos I really like those little cucumbers! And the supply would be just about continuous - if I could just get the conditions right.

PS. Sorry the post is so long....

[Airehead]

I don't know if this is relevant, but -
I have grown tomatos in a greenhouse for years and for the last few years I have had all kind of problem, usually involving loss of roots. They have been in growbags of various brands.
This year I planted direct in the ground and have had superb results.
No more growbags for me. If you do not have opportunity to plant in the ground, I suggest that you try the biggest pot you can manage and use soil-based compost. This is NOT an expert view.

[Diane E]

Growing vegetables is a bit of mystery to me - but I still keep having a dabble! Some years things seem to work better in pots than in the ground and some years its the other way round. So many things are involved aren't they? Like aspect, weather, soil, what was grown there last year, how I look after them ( ). I just try to have at least 2 of everything so I am not too upset if one doesn't get on too well I keep doing it though!

[nightshade]

The lioness puts them in 5ltr pots of compost and john innes no3 they are trained upwards
watered once a day in the evening fed once a week with tomato feed.The crop is stacking
up like logs and she gives loads away(they are grown from seed by the way)

[Haz]

Isn't there a cucumber feed out there. I know for tomatoes they have TomoRite and that appears to be quite good. The tomato plant is outgrowing its pot at a seriously quick rate and we have about a thousand tomatoes. Have a look round some of the garden stores. Or just try Tomorite on them!

[merlinsboy]

Many thanx for replies, they have been both entertaining and informative.
the update on my plant is this. It gave the appearrance of a dead plant and was nearly cast into the composter, but my hand was stayed by compassion and curiosity. "What if I tried it somewhere else in the garden and gave it some time?" This was the decision. I moved it to a spot with not so much early sun and let it be.
The stem of the plant for a height of 50cm is bereft of any foliage and looks like Posh Spice! At the top is a lush mass of shiny leaves with one near ripe fruit and several flowers. There is another off shoot at the base which has a generous decoration of leaves and several fruit in progress. The whole thing looks rather odd but the fruit is as tasty as ever.
I feed once a week with Tomato feed and water little and often into a reservoir.
Positioning seems to have been my problem, unless you think differently?
Merlinsboy

[Varan Komodosky]

Originally Posted by Airehead

I have grown tomatos in a greenhouse for years and for the last few years I have had all kind of problem, usually involving loss of roots. This year I planted direct in the ground and have had superb results. No more growbags for me!

I had something similar-sounding, I used to grow plants in containers at my last address. I discovered eventually that I had a vine weevil infestation. Nastly little buggers.