[devonbarmygardener]

Cucumbers don't waste time sulking, they prefer to just die. 

Have you got yours out yet Jay? This is my first year with cucumbers, and I'm trying to be very cautious with them! Right now they are in their half-way-house (shed with a bright sunny window) and seem ok, but as usual I'm running late with the bed digging, so they might be stuck in there for a while.

Apart from that nothing here is really sulking (apart from onions). Potatoes seem to be doing well in fact - I wish the weeds would sulk a bit though!

I wouldn't talk cukes with JayG if I were you!

JayG - you need to part with some cash and try grafted - HONESTLY - they were amazing last year!

[JayG]

I've got Marketmore ridge cukes destined for a container in the garden, and Picolo F1 destined for the GH - both still sat happily on my kitchen windowsill ('happy' is of course a relative term as far as cukes and I are concerned!) 

Thanks DBG - I usually do quite well with the ridge cukes, and can't possibly give up on GH ones for as long as my elderly neighbour outlives me (she just chucks them in a pot in her GH and subsequently lets me have any spare cukes when mine conk out prematurely!)

I'm 100% confident I've found the secret this year (but I'm not letting on in case I'm wrong!  )

[devonbarmygardener]

Honestly Jay - the secret is grafted!
Just waiting for mine to pop in via the postman from Mr Marshalls

[ConfusedGardener]

I'm 100% confident I've found the secret this year (but I'm not letting on in case I'm wrong!  )

Didn't you already slip up then? I'm sure I remember reading words like "dry", and "side", but perhaps I'm confusing you with someone else

Either way, so far the advice seems to be working for me

[JayG]

I have previously mentioned my 'secret', but it wasn't about keeping them on the dry side (don't think I've actually been guilty of overwatering.)

It's merely the observation that my successful cuke-growing neighbour's GH is quite a bit more shaded than mine, and what seems to have happened with my cukes each year is that the leaves have been drying, and then dying, as quickly (and then more quickly  ) than it grows new ones.

So, more shade - not a revolutionary idea and many folk no doubt grow cukes successfully in full sun, but I haven't got that many other plans, secret or otherwise (well, none actually!)

[beesrus]

I would go along with the 'shade' thing where cucumbers are concerned. My twinwall polycarbonate greenhouse is naturally shaded or somewhat filtered.  It therefore misses out on some of the highest temperatures earlier on Spring sunny days, but doesn't half make growing cucumbers in the height of Summer easier. It flattens out the extremes. Having a growing border tends to give the cukes more of a moist atmosphere too, but that obviously doesn't help my toms.
Choices, choices. No wonder in the old days, many big estates had separate houses for different plants. Some temporary sulkers on my plot are sometimes inevitable, as I try to grow a myriad of plants in the restricted Summer, space, time and money allotted for my efforts.

[devonbarmygardener]

My mate has 2 greenhouses - one for toms and one for cukes and aubs.
I only managed to grow the 2 plants together because of them being grafted - they seem more ribust and able to withstand the temps.

[Yorkshire Lass]

Sweet corn can go into a prolonged sulk if cold conditions are prolonged - they don't necessarily die but don't always fully recover even when conditions improve.

I popped my sweetcorn into the plot a couple of weeks ago and they are seriously un impressed, have not died but they have not grown either.  Do you think I should plant a second batch??

[JayG]

To make sure you get something it might be a good idea to sow enough to potentially replace half of them just in case they don't recover - if you've got room you could of course plant them out alongside the others if they do pick up.

You need to hurry though - how much so depends on what sort of summer we get, and no-one knows the answer to that one!

[Yorkshire Lass]

If I plant a second batch do they have to be the same variety, can I plant another variety or does that lead to a cross pollination nightmare.

Thanks in advance

[beesrus]

Different varieties of sweet corn are not a problem provided one of them isn't one of the super sweet sort. The older ones and sugar enhanced ones are fine together. For instance, I grew old type golden bantam with sugar enhanced Incredible last year with no problems and a great crop. The golden bantam were only sown on 28 May that year so you should be in time provided we have a Summer as Jayg says, harvesting before the schools go back. Roughly 3 months from sowing to harvest, with no sulks.
Google sweetcorn varieties to get a list of which are which.

[mumofstig]

There should be enough of a difference in flowering times, between the old and the new, that they wouldn't cross anyway 

[Lardman]

I wouldn't talk cukes with JayG if I were you!

As a former member of the CGCTSML club I feel a bit bad doing this but .... have you seen these 

Come over to the dark side JayG, they will grow for you like triffids.

[JayG]

Not worked your acronym out yet Larders, but I'm assuming yours are grafted. 

Too stubborn to give up yet - next year could well be a different story. 

(Interesting variety you've got there - bent and straight cukes on the same plant!    )

[Lardman]

Not worked your acronym out yet Larders, but I'm assuming yours are grafted. 

It's the Cant Grow Cucumbers To Save My Life  Club 

None of them are grafted - That particular plant is LA Diva but it could easily have been the Iznik or Carmen they're all laden with cukes.

The only way I've managed to grow them this year is to ignore everything you're supposed to do and treat them terribly - according to the rule book they should all have been pushing up daisies before leaving the seed tray.