Sunday, July 10, 2011

Cucumber Conundrum

My cucumber plant was doing so well, and then...
Okay so my one solo cucumber I replanted several weeks ago was doing great and then, it started. The leaf by the base of the vine started to spot, turn yellow then dry up.
Leaf dried up by base of plant. Notice the next leaf one up starting
to do the same.

And here is the second leaf, doing the same thing.

See the light spots on the cucumber leaf. Notice
how well the basil plant is doing in comparison.

The end of the vine is doing quite well and the little cucumber fruits
are looking good. However, closer to the base of the plant, the cucumber
fruits are dying and drying up.

Cucumber plants from organic seeds. I am noticing those little spots showing
up on these new plants too. 
I have been researching online to see what this can be. I haven't fed my plants with any Better World plant fertilizer for about 3 weeks as I had run out and just been too busy to get down to the garden center to pick more up. However today I just got some more so have made a tea and will let it steep for a few hours then water them before sunset today. One thing is that they could be nitrogen depleted and that can show up as these symptoms. I sure hope that some proper feeding might save the first cucumber plant and keep these from getting worse. Also, cucumbers don't like to be splashed from the top with water? Who knew? It is suggested to water them close to the base.

Last year I had one cucumber plant and got several cucumbers from it. Well, that's the challenge - to see what works, what doesn't and find solutions to problems that might arise.
Here's hoping the food works and gentler more direct watering!

2 comments:

  1. Mine have very very mild evidence of the same thing, fingers crossed it doesn't get worse! i've had a lot of spider mite issues this year, you should check for tiny bugs on the underside of the leaves

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes Ellie I have been doing that, checking for them little rascals! I did have some aphids but caught them early and the plants seem to be doing quite well now. I did make a tea out of the BW plant food and hopefully consistent feedings from this point along with checking for those little pests, hopefully the cucumber will recover. So strange! NEVER had this happen before to any cucumbers I have grown in the past.

    ReplyDelete