Cukes are coming...

Amethyst42 7/6/2014, 11:33 pm

So excite!
Lettuce and radishes are in full swing, we've had a few strawberries, but I'm very excited to see cukes growing this year after last year's fiasco!

Marc Iverson 7/7/2014, 1:34 am

Good for you! Hope we both have good luck -- I lost almost all of mine to cucumber beetles last year.

Amethyst42 7/7/2014, 11:42 am

Thanks Marc! Last year my cukes simply didn't grow beyond a few leaves. It was my first year with SFG, and I think I've planned this year's placings a little better. I do have some eaten leaves, but on the whole, they're thriving.

landarch 7/8/2014, 4:04 pm

very nice...cukes seem to appear out of nowhere when they get going.

Pollinator 7/10/2014, 7:55 am

Marc Iverson wrote:Good for you! Hope we both have good luck -- I lost almost all of mine to cucumber beetles last year.

I've not seen a cucumber beetle in my cukes for several years - I lay this to the dwarf French marigolds I plant among the cukes, squash and tomatoes.

I've discovered another factor as well. I left a patch of Amaranth (pigweed) on the opposite side of the garden from my cukes this year - they are a delicious green when harvested young.

Well the cucumber beetles obviously like Amaranth, because striped cucumber beetles were all over the plants in a few days. So a concentration of Amaranth can also serve as bait to draw the cucumber beetles away from more valuable plants.

Marc Iverson 7/10/2014, 6:15 pm

Pollinator wrote:
I've not seen a cucumber beetle in my cukes for several years - I lay this to the dwarf French marigolds I plant among the cukes, squash and tomatoes.

I had dozens of French marigolds all around my garden last year, and they didn't have any effect on the cucumber beetles, it seems.

I've discovered another factor as well. I left a patch of Amaranth (pigweed) on the opposite side of the garden from my cukes this year - they are a delicious green when harvested young.

Well the cucumber beetles obviously like Amaranth, because striped cucumber beetles were all over the plants in a few days. So a concentration of Amaranth can also serve as bait to draw the cucumber beetles away from more valuable plants.

Good to know. I will try that next year, or perhaps this year if it is not too late. We had spotted, not striped, cucumber beetles, but I'd guess what the one bug likes, the other will like just the same.

Sponsored content

Cukes are coming...

Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...

Re: Cukes are coming...


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.