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Growing Tomatoes

Cucumber question...

15 years ago

I didnt see a cucumber forum so I thought I'd find some cuke farmers here....

I have 2 cucumber plants planted this year. They are growing side by side, in the same bed, in the same soil, growing up the same trellis, etc. One is a hybrid bush variety and one was called a 'straight eight'. The hybrid bush is doing great, and I am getting several new ripe cukes a week. The straight 8 looks healthy, is about the same size as the bush one, and has flowers, but no cucumbers so far. Not even small ones, no sign whatsoever. Am I doing something wrong? or does this variety simply take longer to fruit? Any ideas would be appreciated. Note, both are in a raised bed with tomatoes and peppers, and are watered every couple of days or so.

thanks/

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Comments (10)

holly-2006
15 years ago
I've noticed that with my Straight Eight plant too. Lots of male flowers so far, but the females are just now coming in while I've already picked 2 cukes off of the burpless variety. I'd say just give it more time and you'll have cukes coming out of your ears.

There isn't a cucumber forum, just one for vegetables.
containerted
15 years ago
Howdy, Auburn GA. I'm just north of you in Buford. Like Holly said, there isn't a forum that only talks about Cukes. If you look ALL THE WAY TO THE BOTTOM of the "thread subject" page, you will see a search window. Use this one to search for other Cucumber postings across the entire website. I searched for "cucumber" just a moment ago and got several thousand hits.
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Hi T. Thanks for the well thought out response. In reply, here's the situation in my garden. It's not BER since the fruits never get much over an inch long. They just shrivel up, some turn a bit yellowish, and then fall off. Early spring was cooler than normal but the temperature is right about average now, running in the mid and upper 80s to low 90s most days with nights in the 60s. I've been amending the soil in these raised beds for several years and it's rich, friable, and has lots of OM. I added a side dressing of Plant-tone about 3 weeks ago according to label directions. I haven't had a soil test done (something I tell everybody to do!) so I can't say for sure that it isn't lacking in nutrients but all evidence says it is in good condition. The tomatoes in the same bed are growing well and setting lots of fruit and the green beans adjacent to these are taking over the world, with the first picking today, right on schedule. There doesn't appear to be any disease or insect problem. The foliage is healthy, has good color, and is free of damage. The plants are trellised and one has already topped the 5' fence and is reaching for the sky. We've had more rain than normal for this time of year. We did have a short dry spell and I watered them a couple of times then. They have not suffered from being too dry, and since they're in a raised bed that drains well, I don't think the extra rain has been the problem. The only thing I can see that might be affecting them is a bit of shade from the beans. They're bush type but are now 18" tall and very thick. I don't think they are the problem but I'm not sure. I know that some things don't set the earliest fruit dependably so I'm hoping things will get better as the season progresses. I've never grown "all female blooms" cukes before so I'm hoping for the best. I guess time will tell. Sandy
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Thank you for the feedback. That does explain a lot. I've never grown a melon before. The plants are in a large kiddie pool with some tomatoes and eggplant. Hopefully, that is enough for the roots. But the vines are just starting to gain some major length and size so it may be that the plant is not large enough for fruitset yet. The blossoms on the lemon cukes really are difficult to distinguish. I was staring at them for a long time yesterday trying to figure out which were females. But at least the one I pollenated the day before was, it started to grow. I pollenated an armenian cuke yesterday so we will see if it is a pollenation problem. I do see lots of bees buzzing around my garden. I found them in the squash blossoms yesterday doing their job. Ania
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Some seed packets come with a few seeds to use as pollinators they are usually dyed different color to distinguish them from the others. That way you know which are which. There are some new varieties that are only female and do not require a pollinator. I looked at the Burpee description and it doesn't mention the need for a separate pollinator. My guess is that you'll be fine with one plant. A way to be sure is to contact Burpee since it is their hybrid. Good luck! Kim Here is a link that might be useful: Kim's Garden
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msyoohoo
15 years ago
You can also try the Vegetable forum and the Pumpkin, Squash & Gourd forum.
triple_b
15 years ago
I think blazepepper came here cuz tomato folk are so darned smart and friendly. ;o)
msyoohoo
15 years ago
triple b - I wasn't being rude - just providing a little info. I hope no offense was taken blazepepper.
suze9
15 years ago
As Holly suggests, you may sometimes get a bunch of male flowers before the female ones start to appear. I usually see nothing but male flowers for a week or two after plants first start to bloom.

Take a look at the flowers and look for any females. They will have what looks to be a very small immature cuke right underneath the flower. If you see any of those, take off several males, and use them to hand-pollinate the females (a paint brush or q-tip can also be used to transfer pollen). Or you can wait and let nature take its course. I'm usually impatient for those first few cukes, and so will usually hand-pollinate a little bit earlier in the season. :-)

If you don't see any females yet, I guess all you can do is wait.
triple_b
15 years ago
yes, squash and cucumber and melons enjoy hanky panky. ;o)
triple_b
15 years ago
I didn't think you were being rude, it was like either tomato folk would know the answer directly or know where to point them to find it...and you did. cheers!
tdscpa
15 years ago
I have grown "straight eight" cucumbers and several others. I remember that the package of one or more varieties mentioned that the package contained a certain percentage of "pollinators".

Apparently, the packaged cucumbers only produced female flowers, and they needed another cucumber to produce pollen? Perhaps if that applied to the "straight eight", planting only one would not be enough. I would think, though, that if that was the case, your other plant would provide pollen.

Just a thought. Read the seed package information. If it does not mention this, it should eventually produce. Just give it time.
blazepepper
Original Author
15 years ago
thanks for the follow ups. I guess I'll just have to keep taking care of it and enjoying the cukes I'm getting from my hybrid bush plant while I wait for the straight eight.

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