Cucumber wilting leaves
paull2
Posts: 93
in Fruit & veg
I hate cucumbers. Every year I grow a few from seed (first indoors then in the GH) and invariably lose plants for no good reason (to my mind anyway). I know young plants can be overwatered and succumb to cold and draughts. But this year, I thought I was OK with a couple of F1 Louisas. Trated carefully, they grew well up to 12" when transferred to a bigger pot in the GH. OK for a couple of weeks when the stem on one started to shrivel , leaves wilt, and you know the rest. The other plant.. thick healthy stem.. has put on another 12" but has started to wilt, dammit. Is it just down to overnight drops in temp? Is this variety too sensitive? I have a couple of Beth variety doing fine. So frustrating!
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Posts
I may be wrong, but this may be neck rot....or a form of it and I think you're on the right track by suspecting low temperatures.
At this time of year when the days are fairly warm and the nights fairly cold, any water accumulating around the base of the plant will be ice cold overnight, quickly resulting in neck rot.
It helps to plant your plants on a little mound of soil and watering only around the base of this mound.
Thanks DK. I would be better not watering at all, although the compost felt pretty dry after the warm days. C'est la vie! Fortunately I have one now coming up as a reserve.