Late season cukes uneven shape: why?

7 years ago

My Long English Cukes grow amazing in my greenhouse, this is the second season of the greenhouse. Again this year my cukes are no longer uniform shape, they have thin and thick regions, and it is quite obvious. Same as last year. I still have some that are a nice long uniform shape and all earlier cukes had the correct shape. I'm trying to figure out why.

Research as to why they can deform leads me to: too hot (doesn't make sense as it is getting colder now), poor pollination (online photos show deformities not like mine), water (doesn't make sense as I'm on irrigation and has been the same the whole season), over fertilization (I may, can't remember, have fertilized in July? with a standard veggie fertilizer, and if I did, only once. Before planting I added dairy farm aged compost).

Another problem late in the season are the cukes dying back and rotting from the end. Any reason for this? I've noticed a couple this season so far and late last season I lost quite a few due to this.

Greenhouse: Raised U shaped bed in a 8x14 polycarbonate greenhouse raised 20" off the ground (solid walls) for extra height. I have the auto roof vents and have run a fan inside running 24/7. The other plant I grow in it is tomato.

Thanks for any help. I'd love to figure this out and also prevent the die back so I can prolong my harvest. I can take pics if you want. They basically have what looks like a section that has ballooned out with a skinny part.

Featured Answer

farmerdill

7 years ago

Plants age just like people only much faster. It could be that the aging plants just don;t have the vigor as they did when young.

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Comments (7)

digdirt2
7 years ago
Most common cause for what you describe is inconsistent soil moisture levels - overly wet followed by overly dry etc.

Dave
gartleyideas
Original Author
7 years ago
I believe my automated system comes on daily in the greenhouse. Not 100% sure on that. Drip system. And it has been on the same schedule the whole season. Only my Fall cukes change shape so that would tend to have a more consistent moisture level with less evaporation with cooler temps? There will be a greater difference in moisture levels during the hottest parts of the summer but we really haven't had a lot of heat here this year and rarely do we get close to 30 degrees ambient temperature anyways.
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digdirt2
7 years ago
All true but air temp isn't the only factor to affect a plant's need for water. Size of plant increases, so does water needs. Age of plant increases so does water needs. Number of fruit on the vine increases the water needs. If roots are contained then water need increases as number of roots develop. As nutrient levels fluctuate, so does water needs. As soil compacts over time water needs increase. etc.

I'm not saying inconsistent moisture levels is the only possible cause, just that it is the far most common cause. Pollination issues, pest issues, and disease issues could also be contributing factors IF they exist.

Dave
gartleyideas
Original Author
7 years ago
Well I didn't pay too close attention to soil moisture or depth. I didn't think of increased water needs as the plants grow. So...does it makes sense that over the course of the summer I can simply increase the number of minutes my system runs so that there is more water going to the plants as need increases?

I need to check which end of the cuke is skinny. If not enough water I assume the plant end would be skinny? Any ideas on the rotting of the cukes in the Fall?

Thanks.
Jean
7 years ago
Pictures may help diagnose what occurred. Please post them.
gartleyideas
Original Author
7 years ago
Pictures all taken today. You can see the wasp waist shape of how many are growing. You can see 1 going bad from the attached side. The 2 good looking ones measure 16" and are in great shape. They are close to the last of the ones have have a fairly uniform shape.

Late season cukes uneven shape: why?

farmerdill

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Late season cukes uneven shape: why?

farmerdill

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digdirt2

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