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Container Gardening

Cucumber plant dying! HELP! :(

11 years ago

Hello! :)

I'm a new to the forum, but read everyone's awesome comments and answers to questions asked on here. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me with my Japanese Cucumber plant!

Problem #1:

We bought this at the local store and replanted it with Miracle Grow Moisture Control potting soil. It looked like it was thriving and happy, but soon we noticed that the leaves on the bottom of the plant have been dying. It seems like whatever the white stuff is (Fungus? Mildew?) is creeping up the vine and killing everything in its path. The leaves are dying, the little feelers are dying, and whatever cucumber comes out on the vine dies. I know that the female flowers must be pollinated by the male flowers and will die if not pollinated. My big problem is really the white growth.

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Problem #2:

Our cucumber is curling. What is this caused by and how can we prevent this?

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It's been especially rainy here considering it is summer, and I am so new to planting anything, I have no idea what to do. Can anyone help?? I'm thinking it's mildew, and if it is, what have you used to prevent/destroy it?

Thanks in advance!! :)

Comments (6)

redshirtcat
11 years ago
Cucumbers can curl from incomplete pollination. I suspect this is the cause of your curl since it looks like they are free-hanging and not running into obstacles.

I suggest you pickup some Serenade or Cease (depending on how many cucumber plants you have) and spray it regularly. It will solve most of your fungus issues.
LeslieBoHilo
Original Author
11 years ago
Is there any way of preventing incomplete pollination? I've been rubbing the male flowers onto the female flowers to try and get more cucumbers to grow. Not sure how much of it is staying in there, though, since it's been pouring all day and night for about two weeks straight! :s

I will research Serenade and Cease. Hopefully we have it at our local stores.
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I agree that it is most likely that cucumber beetles introduced bacterial wilt to your cucumbers. The disease is not in your soil, it's in the beetles. There is no cure. You can only prevent the problem by choosing resistant varieties and using an appropriate insecticide from the beginning. I had the same problem with my cucumbers until I grew Diva cucumbers, which are supposed to be unappealing to the beetles, and started spraying regularly with spinosad. I never saw the beetles on my cucumbers, but I did see a few on other plants. Cucumbers grow fast, so you can choose a resistant variety and start over. Here is a link that might be useful: Info on bacterial wilt
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howelbama
11 years ago
Your soil mix looks really really wet in the pics. That could be the main issue here. Try not to water until the topo one or two inches of mix is completely dry.... Then, when you water do so so that 10 % or more of the volume of your container runs out through the drain holes. You'll also need to fertilize regularly with containers, using a fertilizer that contains all major and minor nutrients. You can use a liquid form, or slow release pellets mixed in to the top inch or so of the soil. If it rains a lot where you are, providing shelter for them during extended periods of rain will help a lot. The curling is probably from a combination of factors...pollination being one possibility.

Cutting really large holes in the bottom of the container, or even cutting the entire bottom off of the container will turn them into more of a raised bed rather than containers, allowing them to take advantage of the wicking ability of the earth which will eliminate the perched water table in the containers that the miracle grow soil is most likely promoting.
LeslieBoHilo
Original Author
11 years ago
Howelbama, Hilo has been voted as one of the wettest places in the country, and it's been raining every day non-stop, so I don't really have a choice as to the watering :( I'm not so handy, so I haven't built anything to go above and cover the cuc plant. Plus, I know it needs a lot of sun, so that's pretty much out of the question.

We are renting, so are unable to plant in the ground. All of my plants would be in the ground, if that were the case :/

So basically, I just need help getting rid of the mildew or fungus on the plant. I need help in identifying it so I can find a solution. Any idea of what that is??

Thanks!!
emgardener
11 years ago
Your climate probably begs for Al's 5:1:1 mix.
If you do a search you'll get lots of good info.
howelbama
11 years ago
I would say powdery or downy mildew possibly. Does the white stuff wipe off on your finger? Also re growing in the ground...using bottomless containers is virtually the same as growing in the ground, and your landlords would be none the wiser. It would alleviate a lot of your moisture problems, also a mix like the 5-1-1 as suggested above would help as well...

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