Question About Cucumbers

[sebhfhion]

What am I doing wrong? for 3 years now I've tried to grow cucumbers in my Polytunnel without success. I have tried the female 'telegraph' and the mini cucumbers. Both start to wilt at the stage they are getting their 3rd or 4th leaf, last year they went squishy at soil level and died, this year the new leaves are turning brown and crispy. They are in grow bags and not over or under watered, any suggestions please?

[carrust]

Cucumbers are prone to neck-rot ( the stem of the plant rots at soil level). This is due to too much water on the soil surface. I sink a tube to the roots of the plant & water them through that.

[society]

Sebs, here's some helpful information - http://tinyurl.com/qbgcrr9

[sebhfhion]

Carrust , thank you I will try that although I think looking at them I am going to have to take a trip to the garden centre for a couple more plants. the thing is I hate cucumbers lol! , OH loves them so I have been trying (honestly) not to kill them off.

[sebhfhion]

society, thank you for the link, the more you read about gardening the harder it seems :-)

[hammerman]

You need to replace the word "harder" Seb with the word "challenging" or "interesting" !!!!! lol

[sebhfhion]

sorry hammerman :-) I was reading about all the things that can go wrong and thinking is it worth the bother? Then I think of the lovely new potatoes and juicy tomatoes and yes it is .

[Clanad]

The real key to your problem is the opening statement of your post; "... What am I doing wronf. For 3 years..."

Thing is one shouldn't plant cucumbers in the same spot one year after another, nor should they be planted where tomatoes have been grown and vice-versa.

Cucumbers (and tomatoes) are subject to black spot and other fungii... quite susceptible. Try growing any variety of beans in that soil next year (they replace the depleted nitrogen for one thing). Next, plant you cucumbers somewhere they haven't been grown for at least one year... two is better... Sorry about this year, although, if it were here in the U.S. a greenhouse might have a nice, sturdy cucumber plant or two to try as suggested...

[sebhfhion]

Clanad, thank you for your post but my cucumbers are planted inside the greenhouse and I can't move them around the garden as we are in the UK. Last two years they were in a small glass greenhouse and died, this year they are in a large polytunnel and are on the way out again. The tomatoes are thriving.

[Canary42]

///the thing is I hate cucumbers ///

There's your answer - they sense your hatred. Get OH to talk to them like Prince Charles does.

[carrust]

The major problem with poly tunnels is ventilation. I get a lot of condensation with mine as there's no vents in the roof. Seeds are prone to damp-off so this year I've placed them near a vent in the tunnel wall & had good success. I leave the door & 2 of the vents partly open permanently & this seems to have helped also.Llast year was my 1st year using a PT & all of my tomatoes got blight due to a lack of through flow of air:-(

[gingejbee]

This is Nature's way of telling you to buy them and concentrate on growing things that you can!

[sebhfhion]

carrust thank you for that tip. My polytunnel has 'windows' in it at about waist height, about 12 in all which you can roll up to let in air. The fist morning I went in and it was like a turkish bath so one window is permanently open, even in this cold spell. Maybe I should open the window next to the cucumbers?

[sebhfhion]

gingebee, I think Mother Nature is telling me they are only 35p in Aldi so why bother ;-)

[carrust]

The window next to my cucumbers is open all of the time. I used to raise all of my seeds in a cold frame & never had damping off probs. Last year I had to have 3 goes @ runner beans before I sussed what was happening.