[Sleepingpopman]

Hi Everyone 
We have an unheated greenhouse but I think we put our 1st cucumber plant (which we grew from seed) out in the greenhouse a bit to early & lost it due to cold weather so we bought another 1 from the G.C.  & after a few weeks on the window sill until it was about 8" tall, put it in the greenhouse & sheltered it from direct sunlight. After about 2 weeks the seed leaves dropped off & now the next 2 leaves have gone very limp. The main stem & new leaves just unfolding seem o.k. but it hasn't grown any taller. I haven't watered it for the last 2 day's in case I had over watered it. We grew 1 in the same place last yr & because it was in direct sunlight (what bit we had) the leaves went white & crispy hence the sheltering this yr. Do you think I've over watered or could it be something else ??
Keith/Sharon.

[Springlands]

Cucumbers are very sulky plants - unless everything is just to their liking they die. The weather so far this year has not helped - usually by this time I would be picking cukes on a regular basis.

Cukes need lots of water but you need to ensure that the water does not get on the stems or leaves. They also like quite humid conditions so it helps if you can water the floor or staging of the greenhouse to increase the humidity. At the same time make sure that when the temperature is high that there is some throughput of air.

Regarding the sheltering - you need to balance the need to protect the plant with its need for light - my father used to protect his cukes by making coolie hats out of newspaper and placing them over the plants - the hats were pushed up the canes as the plants grew.

Hope this helps.

[Sleepingpopman]

Hi. 
Thanks for your quick response 'Springlands'  We had read about been careful when watering so we planted it & the tom's in large buckets filled with compost & some water retaining crystals, they are also stood in big trugs which we can fill with water, for them to help themselves whilst we are away for a few days in august. (trying to think ahead  ) But we have tried to be careful to only water the compost & not catch the plant. Is it to early to give a weak feed mixture as a pick-me-up ?
Keith/Sharon

[Springlands]

I normally wait until the cucumbers are flowering/fruiting but it would not do any harm to use a weak solution especially if your plant is not doing well - about half of the recommended dosage.

[Aunt Sally]

Do not over water them !  Little and often is best.

As you have planted them in buckets most of the soil will not contain roots so water will sit in the soil and stagnate.  The roots will then be unable to grow into it.  Make sure you water them so that the soil near them is thoroughly moist.

Drainage is important too.  Don't allow the soil buckets to sit in water, even while you are on holiday, or the roots will suffer.  Get a friend or neighbour to water them for you.  Make sure the humidity is kept high but the green house is well ventilated.

Give tomato fertiliser about every two weeks.

[Sleepingpopman]

Hi folks
Well things have gone from bad to worse. The wilted leaves are still there & the leaves that looked healthy are going the same way. The stem is turning brown so I think it's got something called canka so I think it's going to go on that sad last trip in the green wheelie bin. As the misses say's we'll have to put up with supermarket 1's  because this was the 3rd attempt this year & it's prob' to late to start again.  What causes canka anyway ?
A sad Keith/Sharon

[Springlands]

I think that it sound more likely some sort of stem rot. Cucumbers need heat and we have not had much of that this year. They also need water but as Aunt Sally said you need to get the balance right otherwise the plants can rot and die.

It might not be too late to try again - you might be able to get some plug plants at a garden centre but you will need to grow them in fresh compost otherwise they would just get the same disease as the previous plant.

You could try growing some from seeds - it is a bit late but if we eventually have a good summer you just might get a late crop - I have done that in the past.

[mumofstig]

Plant them so the stems are on a small mound, then the roots can be watered but the stem remains dry - and never plant them lower than they were in their first pot/module.
Another option, if the pot is big enough, is to sink a small watering pot into it when planting the cuke - so no water gets near the stem 

[Aunt Sally]

Plant them so the stems are on a small mound, then the roots can be watered but the stem remains dry - and never plant them lower than they were in their first pot/module.

I've never had any problem growing  cucumbers in my unheated greenhouse.  I plant them in a large container in just the way Mum describes.  I make sure they are not in a draft and shade the greenhouse with that spay on white stuff.  I keep the air moist by leaving a gravel tray full of water and if it's hot weather I water the floor too.  I have automatic ventilators.

[Totty]

I'd go and get a couple of new plants ASAP. Generally if cucumbers look I'll, they won't recover.

As mentioned, always plant them out at the same depth as they already are. Sink a pot right next to the rootball to allow most watering to be done through this.

Cukes are totally different to tomatoes and therefore have different feed requirements. They require more nitrogen than tomatoes and I therefore give 3 nitrogen feeds to one potassium based feed. This will also help the fruit stay bitter free if you let the odd one get too big on the plant. 

Totty