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Trouble with Gherkins
Sniffy Dog
Posts: 5
in Fruit & veg
Hi, this is my first post and I'm newly re acquainted with gardening so be gentle with me 
!
I've been growing Gherkins, variety cucumis sativus, from seed. At first I was getting a very low germination rate, probably about 30%. They started off in fibre pots indoors perfectly fine and I started hardening off when they where at the 3 leaf stage and about 6 or 7cm high. However when planted out in the permanent bed, the leaves quickly yellow from the outer edges in and the plant withers and dies. I've tried this 3 times now over the last 6 weeks and get the same result every time. I have no previous experience of this problem and don't know where to start looking for an answer. Can anyone help?
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Posts
You've tryed planting out, 3 times over the past 6 weeks - faaaaaaar to early ! Unless of course your located some place warmer than the UK. June would have been the earliest planting out time for me. Got to treat gherkins the same as cucumbers - warmth and rich soil.
I think it's still too cold for them outdoors at night - they need minimum temperatures in the mid-teens. Try using a cloche over them at night for at least another month.
hmmm....thanks for the answers so far. I think you may be right. My plot is south facing and gets direct sun for around 8 - 10 hours a day. It's fairly sheltered and the rear retaining wall radiates a lot of heat....but I think possibly the soil temperature may have been dropping too sharply overnight.
Do you think that may have been the major factor?
Definitely. They need soil temps in at least the high teens to prosper.