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Epic Cucumber Fail!

mjbetteridgemjbetteridge Posts: 3
in Fruit & veg
I have three cucumber plants in the greenhouse, to begin with all produced lots of cucumbers but now the leaves have yellowed, they all look very sorry for themselves and are no longer producing any cucumbers.  What have I done wrong??  Too much water/too little water??  I'm a complete novice so haven't got a clue.  Would appreciate any advice.

Posts

  • Mark-EMark-E Posts: 184
    Mine have done the same. I think I have had some powdery mildew which I tried treating but the leaves have gone crusty now. I had a fair few cucumbers off them though so I'm fairly happy. There are a few signs of some new leaves growing and a couple of cucumbers on one of the plants so maybe it will produce a couple more.
  • Blue OnionBlue Onion Posts: 2,995
    Without details, my guess is probably powder mildew as well.  Being in a greenhouse, it could also possibly be red spider mites.  Look those up and see if either look similar to what you've noticed on the plants.  
    Over watering and underwatering have very similar effects.. as the roots are not able to perform correctly.  
    Utah, USA.
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Have you pinched out the tip? If you have, can you see any new growth at point where the leaves join the main stem? If you haven't, can you see any green growth at the tip of the plant?

    Are there any tiny cucumbers on the plant? Are they yellow and shriveled? Are they at the top, middle or bottom of the plant (or all over)?

    Yellowing leaves can be pretty much anything from watering issues to nutrient deficiency to temperature. 
  • mjbetteridgemjbetteridge Posts: 3
    Wow!!  What a lot I need to learn!  I haven’t pinched out any tips. There is some green growth - one plant at the top and one at the bottom. There are some very tiny cucumbers on the plant - all very shrivelled and dead looking Plus on close inspection there appears to be webs around the leaves with minuscule bugs. I’m not holding out any hope but will treat it as a learning experience!!!  Thank you all for your help. What a fantastic site this is!!
  • strelitzia32strelitzia32 Posts: 758
    Webs and bugs sounds like @Blue Onion is right, spider mites. Depending how badly the plant is affected you may be able to save it.

    Put newspaper round the base (to catch the bugs that fall off), then try wiping away the webs. Then spray your plant with a mix of horticultural soap and water, and neem oil if you have it. If you don't, try a powerful spray of water - oil and soap kills the bugs, but with water only you want to knock the bugs off so it needs to be a slightly strong stream without damaging the plant.

    And don't worry, doesn't matter how much experience someone has, there's always lots more to learn! (Except in my case, I'm a grade A expert in willow herb cultivation ;) ).
  • mjbetteridgemjbetteridge Posts: 3
    Thank you strelitzia32 I will certainly try that!  Really appreciate all the feedback, brilliant!!
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