Help salvage my cucumbers!

[shieldsc633]

So, the last frost for my latitude (in Central Texas) was suppose to be on March 3. I jumped the gun a bit and planted my zucchini, squash and cucumbers that day and I'm thinking that my cucumbers weren't quite hardy enough to survive the unexpected plunge in temperature last night. (The weather has been in the 50s at night for the past two weeks, so 38 degrees was completely unexpected. Also, I'm originally from New York and I'm not used to the unpredictable Texas weather.) I covered the plants with upside down containers and then stretched a flannel sheet over both raised beds. However, my cucumbers didn't fair well. Any suggestions or should I start new seeds indoors? I saw somewhere that if I pull off the wilted leaves they could liven back up. Has anyone had any luck with this?

[shieldsc633]

I started a few new seeds inside today, so hopefully I will have some back-up plants if my transplanted ones don't perk up. Do you think the others (zucchini and squash) will do okay? They seemed to be a bit more mature than the cucumber plants so I am hoping they fair better.

[jal_ut]

I have found that its best to wait until all chance of frost is past, then plant seed directly where it will grow. Cucumbers are definitely warm weather plants and don't do well when it is cool.

Yes, as Marlinggardener says, those damaged ones may make it. Just give it some time and see.

[rainbowgardener]

Cucurbits--zucchinis, melons, cucumbers--don't just want the danger of frost to be over, they want the soil to be warmed up. They are the warmest of warm weather crops. There in texas, you have months and months of warm weather, so you don't need to rush. And the cukes are very fast growing. I'd start some new ones and start over when the soil is warm. You don't even have to start them indoors, just plant them in the ground when the soil is warm.

Starting them indoors is for things like tomatoes and peppers that are slower growing and need a long season to start producing and for short season growers that have to try to get crops in with limited frost free times.

[alaskagold]

Christie, everyone here has done stuff different.

I direct sow my Zukes and squash in partially frozen ground and they do just fine. I also accidentally stuck my yellow cukes out thinking the last frost was gone and opps... there was a frost. They survived and did pretty well.

All you can do is wait and see what happens. You never know what will happen and plants are much hardier than one might think.

Good luck!

[shieldsc633]

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I'm going to leave them and see how they do, but I've started new seeds indoors just in case. I appreciate all the great advice!