Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Learnerlady on July 26, 2023, 16:44

Title: Cucumber plants
Post by: Learnerlady on July 26, 2023, 16:44
Hi anyone else having problems with cucumbers this year?
Decided to plant La Diva this year as can grow outside or in greenhouse, I have both but neither location are performing well. Main issue seems to be lack of female flowers, plenty of male ones but so far only one female between 4 plants.....
Should I be taking some of these off?
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: Subversive_plot on July 26, 2023, 17:08
The female flower production often lags the male flower production.  Give it some time, the female flower production should pick up.
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: mumofstig on July 26, 2023, 17:15
I've got 3 tubs of them and at first I had loads, and was giving my spares to neighbours, now they seem to be dropping off when they're only about 2 ins long  ::) I don't know what's going wrong, I'm treating them just the same - is it just the horrible weather, I wonder, it is getting quite cool at night?
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: MrsPea on July 26, 2023, 18:46
 I had 2 plants in the greenhouse had 3 on 1 and 4 on the other in the end they went in bin got white fly, what i did have was a good size and tasty. :)
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: New shoot on July 26, 2023, 19:41
My outdoor ones (Poona Kheera) are taking off into triffid mode.  I picked about half a dozen today and there are lots more forming.

I have tried La Diva before and it did act like a bit of a diva as I remember.  I have more luck with the heirloom ones.
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: JayG on July 26, 2023, 20:25
Grown La Diva for several years in the GH - they're supposed to be an all-female variety, but as others have noted, they produce lots of male flowers (don't know whether the females ever get pollinated, but it doesn't seem to affect the fruits either way.)

I also get many aborted fruits as the summer progresses - hard to know why when growing conditions can be so variable, but I have read that they will give up setting new fruits when they 'think' they've successfully set seed.

Pick when small, keep feeding, cross fingers!
 :unsure:
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: Learnerlady on July 28, 2023, 21:04
Thanks for sharing experiences.
Guess like many things just need to see what happens. I have grown cucumbers before but the skins were always thick and bitter and I wanted a smaller one as only I like them in our house so came up with this variety.
Hopefully more female flowers will appear, at the moment I don't think I'll be enjoying many cucumbers this year !!
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: mumofstig on July 28, 2023, 21:22
Grown La Diva for several years in the GH - they're supposed to be an all-female variety, but as others have noted, they produce lots of male flowers
At least       https://www.premierseedsdirect.com/product/cucumber-la-diva-f1/
knows it's not all female, as it notes that
Quote
it does not need male flowers removed.
"
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: Learnerlady on July 29, 2023, 18:58
Thanks Mum,
however things are looking up, have a couple of cucumbers developing on the outdoor ones so fingers crossed will be harvesting in a couple of days......












Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: Odders on August 08, 2023, 22:04
Hi anyone else having problems with cucumbers this year?
Decided to plant La Diva this year as can grow outside or in greenhouse, I have both but neither location are performing well. Main issue seems to be lack of female flowers, plenty of male ones but so far only one female between 4 plants.....
Should I be taking some of these off?

I'm growing Diva for the first time this year & they were slow to get started but now I have an abundance of young cucumbers coming on & had four to eat in the past week off three plants.
Title: Re: Cucumber plants
Post by: Learnerlady on August 08, 2023, 22:45
Thanks for the update Odders

sadly slugs got one of the mentioned above but I have noticed another couple growing so fingers crossed they get going with this weeks warmer weather :)