Cucumber in Container - Yellowing, wilting bottom leaves

[kellykellykelly]

Hello! This is my very first time posting in this forum. I studied the tips for new gardeners posts diligently, so I hope I'm abiding by the rules! I will say that I debated as to whether to post this question in the container forum or the general vegetable garden forum - please feel free to move this if I got it wrong!

I've been conducting an exhaustive online search (including many posts on this very website) to try to discern what the heck is going on with my poor little cucumbers. The vital stats:

• - Growing in the Bay Area (Oakland), with moderate (though a bit warm for us lately) temps
  - Directly seeded into container in April
  - Got first cuke (which was a total beauty!) in early May
  - Water daily, though not a huge dousing
  - I have another cucumber plant, of a different variety, that is doing just fine. Planted at the same time.

Here are some photos of the plant - as you can see, bottom leaves are turning yellow, then eventually brown and dried out. I pull the dry leaves, and there's water in the stems (not the goop that I hear might come out if they're suffering from verticillium rot).







Here is what my research has turned up:

• - Could be a lack of nitrogen. I fed a balanced NPK fertilizer (EB Stone Vegetable Food) one week ago. No improvement yet, and yellowing has progressed.
  - Could be too sunny of a spot. I moved a week ago. No improvement, and yellowing has progressed.
  - Could be verticillium rot. Though I didn't see any sludge when I pulled off a dying leaf, so maybe not.
  - This is my own conjecture, but could it be that I planted them too early, and they're just dying back already? I've gotten 3 good cucumbers off of the plant, so it doesn't seem likely, but I'm running out of ideas.
  - Finally, and hence posting in this forum, could it be that they were inappropriate to plant in a container? I just didn't have space in my in-ground garden when I thought it was time to plant - maybe that's my fault.

Any thoughts or ideas you might be able to share would be incredibly appreciated. Thank you experts!

Kelly

[PaulF]

One thought: Are there drain holes in the bottom of the container? If the soil is soggy, let it dry out before watering again. Too much water will turn leaves yellow. I would suggest a mix-with-water fertilizer with as little nitrogen as possible. Something like 5-15-5 or similar. Containers (with drain holes) need to have nutrients replaced every ten days to two weeks. Sometimes the bottom leaves just turn yellow as the plant ages. My guess is you are watering too much; let the soil dry out before watering and use a low nitrogen plant food. My best guess.

[greenstubbs]

A few questions.
Have you grown them in this container before, and what was the success of them if you did?
What are the dim's on that container?
How many plants do you have in there?
That box doesn't look very wide to me, maybe need a bigger box?

[kellykellykelly]

Thank you so much for the thoughtful responses - I'm encouraged that this may be fixable (or at the very least, won't get worse).

PaulF - There are indeed drain holes, and in fact when I water I can see water running onto the ground out of the container almost immediately. I'm going to slow down the watering to once every three days, and will use a mix-with-water fertilizer (I had just been using a loose powder beforehand). Thank you for your response!

greenstubbs - I did grow another variety in this container previously, but it was only one plant alongside some lettuces. I also didn't have a proper trellis, so it was sort of a failed experiment. I got a few cucumbers, but nothing too great. The container measures approximately 12" wide, 30" long and 18" deep, and I have 4 plants in there. Your suggestion makes a lot of sense - maybe they're just crowded. If that's the case, should I pull a whole plant? Or just let it be and remember this for next time? I think I'm going to try the water/fertilizer step first, and if it keeps getting worse, maybe making some space is in order.

Thank you again everyone - I'm really looking forward to being a part of this community!

Kelly

[imafan26]

How old is the plant? My plant does that when it is near the end of production when the plant stops growing and producing more flowers. If cucumbers are not frequently picked or allowed to get too large the vine's life will be shorter. Some of the leaves at the bottom of the plant will turn yellow and dry as the plant ages. I just pick them off.

[applestar]

when I water I can see water running onto the ground out of the container almost immediately.

when you see this, do you think you've watered enough and stop watering?

Usually water running out immediately indicates that the soil has dried out and has shrunk, pulling away from the container and leaving a gap -- the water runs down the gap between soil and container without ever soaking into the rootball and leaving the center of the mass completely dry.

If what I suspect is happening, this plant isn't getting enough water. You need to completely flood the container each time you water. As others have said, this container may be too small. Is it sitting directly on the ground? The plant will be able to escape through the drain holes and root down into the soil underneath if it is, you will see the plant suddenly perk up when that happens.

Test the soil moisture by sticking you finger in it until you have a better understanding of watering cycle needed for this container.