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!

Where to Get some Better World Plant Food in Toronto

Got this list of locations that you can buy Better World plant food from the Lazy Gardener Blogger so posting it here for those of you who are trying to find them. I think soon the company will have their website up and you may be able to buy it directly from them but don't quote me on that. 

Evergreen Brickworks Garden Centre: 550 Bayview Avenue, Toronto ON
The Big Carrot: 348 Danforth Avenue, Toronto ON
Homegrown Hydroponics: 26 Meteor Drive, Toronto ON; 521 Dunlop Street W, Barrie ON; 289 Rutherford Rd. S#22, Brampton ON; 79 Woolwich Street South, unit 4 Breslau/ Kitchener ON
Davenport Garden Centre: 368 Davenport Rd, Toronto ON
Matchbox Garden and Seed Company: Kortright Centre, Vaughan ON
The Backyard Urban Farm Company: 44 Columbus Avenue, Toronto ON
Chedoke Flowers: 945 Garth Street, Hamilton ON
Bill’s Garden Centre: 903 Pape Avenue, Toronto ON
East End Garden Centre: 1395 Queen Street East, Toronto ON
Harpers Garden Centre: 1039 Wilson St. E, Ancaster ON
Karma Food Co-Operative: 739 Palmerston Ave., Toronto ON
Qi Natural Food & Naturopathic Clinic: 710 Bloor St. West, Toronto, ON

Better Plant Food for a Better World

So I've been looking for a better plant food, one that is not made of petroleum and other nasty chemicals and feeds the soil so the plant gets fed properly and this is what I found. It's called "Better World Plant Food" and it's home office is here in Toronto. Carla, one of the owners at Davenport Garden Centre also in Toronto suggested it as it's the first time she has carried it and wants to know how I do with it. At $19.99 for 500 ml it's a little pricey BUT if it works, it's well worth it.

What is it made of you ask? Answer - bug excrement. Yep, that's right. I had the good fortune of catching one of the owners, Nick Chilikoff, at his home office and he explained, in detail, what it was, how it was produced (more or less as he could not tell me exactly understandably in order to protect their their trade secrets) and how it works. I include information direct from the pamphlet to pass on some of that info. Here it is below.

the front of the brochure
lovely illustration and design by the way

top of the back of the brochure

bottom of the back of the brochure

The reason I called the company is I didn't know if it was safe to just pour the tea I had made from the dry solution right onto the soil of the plant or if I had to wet it first, like you normally have to do with the regular chemical fertilizers or you run the risk of burning the plant. He told me that I could pour it directly onto the dry soil. I loved hearing that. It seems that with this product you don't run that type of risk and if you do over feed it, it won't harm the plant. 

So I added the recommended 4 teaspoons of dry plant food to one litre of water. I used an old 4 litre water container so I added 16 teaspoons in total. This is what it looked like about 22 hours later of steeping.

steeped Better World plant food granules in water

And this is what it looked like poured into a cup. I was to use one cup full of tea to one square foot, or litre, of soil. I had to eyeball it with my containers. It felt relieved that if I did too much that I wouldn't harm the plant. For the larger containers it was easier to judge, but the little ones, I may have over-fed just a wee bit.

one cup of plant food tea

I fed my peonies and my lilacs first as I have had them for a few years now and really, I don't think I have fed them properly since I got them. We'll see how they like it. It seems, a few hours later my peonies are standing straight up! Maybe it's just wishful thinking but I think they may just be happier. I also fed the regular peas and spinach as the rest of my containers were still wet or very damp. It hasn't been that warm here today and it's been overcast. You can use the dregs of the tea, just mix it into the soil of the plant. 

I am looking very much forward to use more of this product on the rest of my balcony garden. I will let you know how it goes!