What I’ve always loved about growing cucumbers is that it’s so easy to do. Usually, my cucumbers thrive with regular watering and no other maintenance to speak of. That totally rocks until a crop of cucumbers decides that it doesn’t want to cooperate.
This year we’re growing cucumbers in two different raised beds and both seem to be having the same problem. They flower just like you’d expect, and cute little spiny baby cukes develop, but after that….zilch. The babies fall off of the vine and rot. It also looks like something has been munching the leaves, but the falling off problem was happening before the leaf-munching started.
I am completely stumped about what could be causing this problem, so I’m turning to you, amazing Eat Drink Better community!
What is wrong with my poor cucumbers? Is it the heat? Do I need to fertilize more? Is there a pest that could be causing my cucumbers to fall off of the vine and rot? Any ideas and suggestions would be most welcome. At this point, I would be thrilled to harvest just one cucumber from this year’s garden!
Are you experiencing the same drought we are? If so, they may need more water. Lack of water will cause the developing ones to fall off and if they do grow, they’ll be bitter.
The insects may be the problem, or more likely, they are a symptom. My garden rarely gets attacked by pests unless the plants are weak due to lack of fertilizer, watering or weeding. Insects are always around, but infestations are usually a symptom of a problem rather than the cause.
We have been, aside from a couple of rainy weeks recently. We have been watering in the morning with misters on a timer, but maybe I should do a supplementary watering in the afternoons with the ol’ shower bucket!