Cucumbers not thriving

Thumbs Up! 5/13/2011, 12:39 pm

I planted cucumber seeds March 20. They are pale and not thriving. I had previously planted sugar peas and carrots in this area. We left the roots of the sugar peas in the soil. We thought that this would be a good thing because the peas fix nitrogen. Do we need to add fertilizer?

Tril 5/13/2011, 4:29 pm

Did you add more compost before you planted the cukes?

Thumbs Up! 5/13/2011, 4:31 pm

I forgot to mention that we are using Mel's Mix (GroWell) in all of our square foot gardens, the first of which were planted in late Oct. [and we planted others through Jan.] They all look like they need additional nutrients, but at present, the cucumbers are of particular concern. We would REALLY appreciate input as to what we should do with our soil. PLEASE HELP!!!!!! :-)

Thumbs Up! 5/13/2011, 4:33 pm

We added a small amount of Mel's Mix on top, about 2 weeks ago. The cucumbers are still pale and small.

Tril 5/13/2011, 4:43 pm

There are ten basics for SFG. #10 is this:

"Harvest continually and when a crop in one square is gone, add some new compost and plant a new different crop in that square."

This add nutrients for the new crop... the previous crop would have used some of the original nutrients. You have to add compost between plantings.

Thumbs Up! 5/13/2011, 4:56 pm

Thank you very much for your reply. I will do that with the other sfg's, but am not sure what I should do, at this point, with the cucumbers. I am wondering if there is anything that I can do for them that will not compromise the Mel's Mix, or if I should pull them up and start over.

Tril 5/13/2011, 5:04 pm

I'd use Miracle Grow.... or something. They're hungry.... feed 'em! Smile

ashort 5/13/2011, 5:07 pm

Thumbs Up! wrote:Thank you very much for your reply. I will do that with the other sfg's, but am not sure what I should do, at this point, with the cucumbers. I am wondering if there is anything that I can do for them that will not compromise the Mel's Mix, or if I should pull them up and start over.

Make a compost tea and feed it to them once a week...

Thumbs Up! 5/13/2011, 6:02 pm

Thank you very much. We are off to the store for more Mel's Mix and will start the compost tea this evening!

duhh 5/15/2011, 3:49 pm

Some of my cucumbers are just like yours while others are doing great. We also used the gro well mels mix. We have added additional compost on top and some are doing better while others are not. Also we tested the soil (with a soil probe. not sure how reliable) and it seems to be high in ph. If you find something that seems to help let me know! I will post some pics later. I'm on my way to the nursery to see about getting some sulfur to lower the ph in the soil.

Thumbs Up! 5/15/2011, 5:39 pm

Well, things are looking up!!!! We purchased worm castings and an aquarium pump, and made worm tea
which we applied this morning at 7:00 A.M. We just returned from the Edible Phoenix Tour (2:30 P.M.) and upon checking the cukes, we are all AMAZED!!!! They are looking much healthier; more robust, greener, and have obviously grown. We definitely didn't expect results this soon...will keep you posted!

jbh29 5/15/2011, 9:16 pm

I have the same problem with my cukes. I was thinking things were yellowish because the mm was too hot - too much nitrogen. So, I'm going to feed my cukes first thing in the morning - I have miracle grow on hand.

But I'm wondering now, can anyone tell me what a plant looks like if there is too much nitrogen in the soil?

Tril 5/15/2011, 9:47 pm

In most cases I think too much nitrogen produces an abundance of leaf growth and not a lot of fruit production.

shannon1 5/16/2011, 2:30 am

Thumbs Up! wrote:Well, things are looking up!!!! We purchased worm castings and an aquarium pump, and made worm tea
which we applied this morning at 7:00 A.M. We just returned from the Edible Phoenix Tour (2:30 P.M.) and upon checking the cukes, we are all AMAZED!!!! They are looking much healthier; more robust, greener, and have obviously grown. We definitely didn't expect results this soon...will keep you posted!

So glad they have improved. Love organic SFG gardening, but I'm a purest.

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