Cucumber Plant

Hi everyone , I have a cucumber plant stood on a chair in my spare bedroom approx 7 weeks old from seed' It is over three foot tall and has three opened flowers on the lower part of the plant with little cucumber's attached at the back :happydance:, My question is' When do you guys think i should put the cucumber plant in my unheated greenhouse,

Cheers TG.

 

Mine are still in the conservatory, which although unheated is warmer than my unheated greenhouse.

Cucumbers don't like the cold ... so I mollycoddle them quite a lot. By comparison my Tomatoes are already planted out in the greenhouse.

I have a Max/Min thermometer in the greenhouse, and that needs to be a minimum of 10C at night for the Cucumbers. Tonight we are forecast for about 4C, so may even get a frost, and my greenhouse will only give me about +4 degrees protection, so that would probably be a Min of 8C ... too cold for a Cucumber (it would probably survive, but a few nights like that, or a bit colder, and its Good Night Vienna!). Check your forecast for the next week/10-days and see how it looks in our area. Night time Minimum of 8C, maybe even 6C, should be good enough to plant out now as once we get to June you will be unlucky to have a cold night (can happen though!)

I suggest you take those first three flowers off your plant - hard as that is to do! I find that if you leave the first fruits on a Cucumber it thinks its job is done and then doesn't bother to produce any more, often for several weeks. Somehow after that first flush the next flowers don't suffer from the same "I'm done" syndrome.

 

Thanks from me also for that info Kristen. I planted two out a week ago, one looks completely healthy, but the other is suffering, can you help please. This is not water/sun damage as I have watered at the base of the plant.

 

I think the sun could be too strong, and its scorched the leaves (nothing to do with water on the leaves causing scalding). Might be worth providing a bit of shading until the plant is a bit more established

Might also just be feeding (have they recently been potted on? if so the plant may have been suffering, and potting on has helped the new leaves get away better).

Might be magnesium deficiency (do Cucumbers get that like Tomatoes do I wonder?) if so spray with Epsom salts. If you have a seaweed folia-feed/spray I'd try that (after the sun goes down )

Might be verticilium wilt of mozaic virus, but I very much doubt its either of those - unless anyone else disagrees?

 

Thanks Kristen i never knew that , I will remove the flowers and keep it where it is at for the time being, The weather is a bit cold here in the early hours' So it's staying put, I should have a glass greenhouse for next year with a bit luck and hopefully a heater,

Thanks again for the info TG.

 

Sunburn due to water on the leaves I cover with fleece, removing it late afternoon when the sun is not so strong, Funny enough I thought my runner beans were covered in mines but were actually sun scorched leaves due to water droplets laying on the leaves.

 

Sheal lets hope its just sun scorch.

It does look the same as a bad attack of red spider, so I'd just check under the leaves with a magnifying lens, to be sure.

 

Lad, I have said in my post it is not due to water/sun scorch.

Pete, although there's a first time for everything, I've never had a problem with red spider, but I will check anyway.

It is standing right beside another cucumber which is fine, perhaps I'd better feed aswell, I didn't think they would need it at this stage.

My cucumbers are self fertilising, is it still best to remove the first flowers please.

 

You mean all female?
The flowers dont need fertilizing, (pollination).

Always best to get a good root system going before allowing fruit to form.

I cant think your plant needs any feeding the top leaves look fine.

 

I agree, looks like Red Spider too ... but hopefully too early in the year for the blighters to have got fully under way. Best to keep the humidity "up" around Cucumbers - e.g. a tray of water near the plants, and mist them and the surrounding area (glass / etc) - as a deterrent.

 

Thanks all, I will sort them tomorrow.

 

I take that back ... found Red Spider on my Cucumbers this morning :(

 

I've checked for red spider today, no sign, even under a magnifying glass.
I did find a large number of ants around an under the buckets they're in though. I've dealt with those, could that have been the problem?

Other than that I can find nothing else wrong. The only other thing I can come up with is chill over night. We've had no less than 8 degrees overnight though.