User avatar
Tabasco
Senior Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:51 am
Location: Zone 9a, 50 miles North of Tampa Fl

What's Eatin' My Cukes?

Greetings,

I'm a beginner gardener.

I used 1/4 of a plastic 55 gallon barrel to raise each of my sets of cucumbers.
They always have something poking a hole here and there, so I use soapy spray and that had controlled it.
The plants have lots of little cukes on them and have been growing like crazy.

Just the other day a couple of the plants started looking pretty bad...

If anyone can help and needs more info I would appreciate it.
Attachments
SANY0017.JPG

User avatar
skiingjeff
Green Thumb
Posts: 383
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:22 pm
Location: Western Massachusetts Zone 6a

Looks like a fungus of some sort. Could be mildew or leaf blight. Possibly a 10% milk spray would be an effective fungicide. See the link below for some good info on cucumbers - good luck!

https://urbanext.illinois.edu/hortanswer ... ntTypeID=9

User avatar
Tabasco
Senior Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:51 am
Location: Zone 9a, 50 miles North of Tampa Fl

skiingjeff,

Do you mean 9 parts water and one part cow's milk?

User avatar
hendi_alex
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 3604
Joined: Sun Jul 06, 2008 7:58 am
Location: Central Sand Hills South Carolina

Just looks like some kind of stress to me. Too much water, too hot sun, wind or rain abrasion. I wouldn't worry about it too much, but just for insurance might plant a couple of potential replacements, just in case.

User avatar
Tabasco
Senior Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:51 am
Location: Zone 9a, 50 miles North of Tampa Fl

Thanks for the help all.

User avatar
rainbowgardener
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 25279
Joined: Sun Feb 15, 2009 6:04 pm
Location: TN/GA 7b

Well .... cukes are very prone to powdery mildew and the milk spray works better preventatively than as treatment, especially it doesn't really help once the disease is severe. So it is a good thing to do in any case.

But really, I agree with hendi_alex, that at this point it isn't looking particularly fungal, more general stress of sun, wind, etc. Plus a few holes which are likely either insects or slugs.

User avatar
Tabasco
Senior Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:51 am
Location: Zone 9a, 50 miles North of Tampa Fl

I'm putting in some diatom for what are almost certainly sneaky little slugs.

We did have a couple of brutal wind-rain storms the other day.

User avatar
skiingjeff
Green Thumb
Posts: 383
Joined: Sun Apr 01, 2012 4:22 pm
Location: Western Massachusetts Zone 6a

Tabasco, sorry for the delayed response, I was out at the doctors most of the day today but it looks like you got the right answers. Good luck with the dukes :)

User avatar
Tabasco
Senior Member
Posts: 113
Joined: Mon May 26, 2014 9:51 am
Location: Zone 9a, 50 miles North of Tampa Fl

They're alive!

Not abundantly prolific, but they survived my ignorance:)
Attachments
jumbo.jpg

imafan26
Mod
Posts: 13961
Joined: Tue Jan 01, 2013 8:32 am
Location: Hawaii, zone 12a 587 ft elev.

For the holes in the leaves check for snails and slugs. Beetles can also do that kind of damage. If your cucumber has holes in it there may be pickle worms.

For things that bore into the cucumbers like fruit flies and such, I find nylon stocking work pretty well. Wrapping the small fruit in a newspaper tube works for things like fruit flies that like to sting young fruit, but they need to be changed when they get wet.

https://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/V ... mbers.html



Return to “Organic Gardening Forum”