I have had lots and lots of flowers and baby cuks but they seem to be rotting and dying before they get over 2" long. I had one that was ready before all the others that I picked and ate. Now the rest are just not coming along. This is what they look like now ( photo / image / picture from newgrow's Garden ) And now it is browning and will die in about 2 days ( photo / image / picture from newgrow's Garden ) These are the 2 cuke plants ( photo / image / picture from newgrow's Garden ) I started to let them crawl up thinking it would help the problem but it made no difference. Behind them I also have pickling cuks crawling on the ground and they are doing the same thing. And this is the first of the Zukes ( photo / image / picture from newgrow's Garden ) Seem to be doing the same! ( photo / image / picture from newgrow's Garden ) Thanks! Also off topic, It almost seems my Tom plants were growing everyday and the last week it seems all the tom plants have just stopped. They seem to be doing good have lots of them just stopped growing. I have been watching 5 of them thinking it will just be days to pick and am now on week 2 and they look the same. Weird.
It is not unusual for the first few fruits to do that !! Mine do the same thing !! If the moisture level is consistant, not too much or too little although a tad dry won`t hurt,,I would say its probably a pollination problem !! Not many bees out early and it will probably correct itself as the insect population increases with warmer weather !! You can try to do a bit of hand pollinating with a soft artists brush till the bees are more active !! See if they do better !! I usually just pull them from the plant and check the next few that start growing !! Do check the moisture in the soil as well !! Soggy soil will do the same thing !! Check it down as far as you can !! Even if its OK on top drainage might be a problem down deep !!
It must be the pollination problem because I am way past the first few fruits. I have seen at least 50 or so do this. That is with all 3 cucumber plants.
Your plant is beautiful. What are you fertilizing with? Some fertilizers have more nitrogen in them than others and can contribute to excessive leaf growth and not many vegetables. Using a fertilizer meant for houseplants and not veggies will do the same. Same with rabbit and chicken manure unless well composted and still they sometimes do. I am thinking about all angles here.
Well what I use is 10-10-10 not sure the brand and this is my first year using it. I have used Miracle grow in the past and thought that made my plants more leafy than this time around. They do seem to have a lot of leafs but with every leaf came a flower followed by a fruit but then died.
Everything I have found so far points to a pollination problem !! Inadequate pollination of the female flower would be the culprit !! Try some hand pollinating and see if that helps !!
It looks like blossom end rot. The black spot right at the flower is a pretty dead give away. There are a lot of claims as to what causes it: Uneven moisture at any given point, both lack of and too much Lack of calcium A sudden drying out of the soil after a major growth spurt Make sure to keep them evenly and regularly watered. Provide them with the PROPER amount of fertilizer. Maybe add some bone meal around the plants in a small trough. Hopefully you can figure out what went wrong and correct it to get fruit off them again.
