Help me grow cucumbers

[Penellype]

Agree with all that's been said about stems getting wet. Something I did last year which seemed to help was to put a ring of plastic bottle with copper tape on around the stem as visible around the plant on the right in the photo. The idea was to keep off the slugs (which it did), but it had the advantage that I could water outside the plastic and avoid risk of splashing the stems.



My cucumbers were outside, in pots against a south facing fence. On particularly sunny days I found that the plants wilted noticably, and I ended up shading them with fleece to stop this. I think if they are getting very hot that could be one reason why they are looking unwell.

[Potstubsdustbins]

^^^^^^^^^^^ I had forgotten about this, yes they don't like direct strong sunlight at all.

[maverick451]

Ok so Ive learnt

They dont like watering from the top
They dont like strong sunlight
They dont like their roots disturbed

Basically they are a pain in the backside

No in all seriousness I have learnt alot, I think ill resow them in a few weeks time.

[Bren In Pots]

I use flower buckets with no bottoms on top of the soil, I fill these with mpc

That's how I grow my cucs it makes it easiest to keep water away from the stems.

[Valleyman]

I can sympathise.

I had six cucumbers on the go and all but one keeled over before any true leaves could form. The one left over is romping away! Currently anticipated a seed delivery any day so I can re-sow some more! Germination is never my problem, and once they get true leaves they seem quite robust. But at the seedling stage they appear super sensitive.

What did I do to cause such a disaster? I moved them from a north facing kitchen window, to a west facing bathroom window. I suspect I left the window in the bathroom open too long to clear some steam. The peppers and chilli have been perfectly happy there, but the cucumbers fell over within a day.

[bario1]

I think if they are getting very hot that could be one reason why they are looking unwell.

Aaaargh! Am I going to have to cycle the 3 miles home and back at lunchtime to move my cucs out of the sun in my greenhouse??

[bario1]

Aaaargh! Am I going to have to cycle the 3 miles home and back at lunchtime to move my cucs out of the sun in my greenhouse??

I did. And they were suffering a bit. I taped up some bubble wrap on the glass.

Sun's gone in now!

[Potstubsdustbins]

I tape left over fleece to my GH to act as a shade.

[Sharpy]

Just started off 3 cucumbers myself. Thanks for the tips above. Just would like to know if, sinking a water bottle with the bottom cut off would be easier to water, when in a large enough pot ?

[Gillykat]

Ok so Ive learnt

They dont like watering from the top
They dont like strong sunlight
They dont like their roots disturbed

Basically they are a pain in the backside

No in all seriousness I have learnt alot, I think ill resow them in a few weeks time.

OK....so now I see why mine seem to have ground to a halt and look rather unwell in the polytunnel I certainly never knew about the watering from the top! Looks like I need to start some new seeds off (Marketmore 76) and plant them outside in a few weeks rather than 'pamper' them inside the tunnel!

[chilliking]

last year I grew a couple in self watering pots (reservoir at bottom, wick taking the water up to the roots) and they thrived. seemed like a simple way to ensure they get enough water and not be worried about them drying out.

[fishpond]

Hi guys

Not having very good luck with my cucumbers, this is my first year growing them from seed and need some help.

I started the first lot off way too early in february, they were doing amazing under the grow lights but every time I potted them on they flopped over and then turned yellow and I had to get rid of them wasted alot of money on expensive F1 seeds

I started a second batch using a free pack of marketmore which again looked great and ive transferred them 10 days ago and now they just dont look that great, they seemed to have stopped growing completly (in my heated greenhouse)

So Ive just sowed my 3rd lot direct into larger pots to try that.

So I take it they dont like being transferred? I want to eventually put them in 10L pots so would it be best in future to wait until late may time and sow direct? or maybe use root trainers?

Marketmore, at least the ones I have just planted outside together with Gherkins and Marrows (gamble), are outdoor cucumbers so they may not do too well in a greenhouse, but yours looked o.k to me.

[TrysHard]

Well it must be beginners luck grew Cucs for the first time this year.

I sowed 3 varieties - Passandra, MarketMore and Cornichon de Paris (Gherkin) all seem to be doing fine the Passandra (sown very early in Feb) have small fruit and are in a large Grow Sack. I grew some in seed pellets, sow some in small pots and some in 1/4 seed trays all have been transplanted at least once. I try not to water from the top and feed sparingly but regularly.

[Jay22]

Right, I am away to rescue my cucumbers from the sun!