Cucumber help

My cucumbers are really not doing well. The photo is a few days old now. The other leaves now look like the leaf at the bottom of the photo that has kind of lost its 'green-ness'. The bottom of the cucumber is much lighter than the top and I think it's growing but not very quickly - is that normal? The plant still seems to be growing and health(ier) looking at the top, but I think it is growing more slowly too. Last year my cucumbers did pretty much the same thing and eventually the cucumbers turned yellow and fell off, and the plants died. I have two doing the same this year. I bought a different variety this year (can't remember right now what that is) but the same thing seems to be happening.

Most of my other plants seem to be doing well.

Can anyone give me some cucumber advice please? They seem to be my gardening nemesis! (well... and broccoli and spinach and beets - all failed two years in a row! The summer ones are doing better.)

Thanks.

An update - the cucumbers that are growing are now turning yellow. All the leaves have gone almost white. Can anyone help me? Thanks.

I'll try to help you with what I can but so many things can be the cause for what you are seeing. The older leaves usually turn yellow and die for me too. Not a problem unless the new growth isn't at least tripling the die off.

- The container looks small, how many gallons does it hold?

- What's your watering schedule like? They like a lot of water as long as the container drains well. Over watering can also be a cause. But they look hungry and thirsty in the pic too me.

- What fertilizer and nutrients are you giving it?

- Any bugs? Aphids and mites will suck them dry fast if not held in check.

- How big were the cucumbers themselves when they started turning yellow? If 5" or bigger I'm gonna guess they were left on the vine too long. Overripe. If still small, might have been a pollination problem.

- Anything on the leaves, like mildew or mold? My cucumbers sometimes will get both Downy and Powdery Mildew when it's overcast for a few days in a row.

Have you noticed any webbing on the plant? The mottled leaves look like a mite problem to me. Given the high temps in your area Spider Mites might be more of a problem then normal.

pretty sure it is spider mites. the leaves are seriously infested-it will be hard to control.(i just had shoulder surgery on my right rotator cuff-so trying to type lefty!)

Jo-i had the same surgery on my right shoulder, a few years ago. Thank goodness I'm a lefty.
Do you have SMs in Washington? I thought they liked hot dry climates? They are a chronic wide spread pest in TX. It took me years to figure out what was killing my plants. It wasn't until I found them on my house plants, and successfully treated them, that I realized that was what was on my veggie plants as well.

I haven't found them hard to control. A regular insecticide wont work it needs to be a miticide. Ive had really good luck with Neem Oil. However, I did loss two huge Butterfly Bushes to SM. Since then I have been introduced to other types of mites that have different symptoms but same treatment. Good Luck

yes, spider mites are a big problem-they jumped on my pole beans as soon as they sprouted! i am using Organocide with fair results. 1islac, was your recovery time very long? my doctor said i have really severe damage that took twice the normel repairs. he says if i do anything to mess it up he can't fix it again-i am really scared! recovery time is 8-12 months-

Thanks for the replies. I will have a close look tomorrow and see if I can see anything and might try the neem oil. I think the cucumbers might be close to 5 inches - should I just have picked them small?

Jo, my Dad had rotator cuff surgery a few years ago and it was a very complicated repair - basically he'd had a small bone spur for years that had been slowly sawing through the RC and eventually the last bit snapped. Half his muscle was mid-tricep and the other halfway up his neck and it had to be pulled together and he had a kind of bolster-cushion-contraption attached to him for 2 weeks. He healed very well and very quickly, his surgeon was amazed. His secret is *obsessive* physio exercises. Honestly, whatever a physio tells him to do he will do it every hour (at least) for the whole day for as many days/weeks/months for recovery. He's an ex-pro soccer player and has also had knee surgery and a hip resurfacing and a hip replacement. He still coaches young kids every day and has more bounce and energy than most of his younger coaches. He swears it is the careful adherence to physio that has always helped him - plus it will always build up the muscle too and this will help strengthen the area and prevent later damage. Never anymore than you are able to do, lots of gentle repetitions rather than pushing hard exercises are much better. With his RC it took him about 2-3 months. Hope that helps. Wishing you a speedy recovery.

Sorry, Ray_Der_Phan I missed some of your Qs.

Bucket is 3 gallons I think, have lots of other plants doing well in same size or smaller.

I usually just water when the soil feels dry or the plant looks like it needs it. Should I be keeping the soil wet?

They are in a mix of organic miracle grow, hummus and some plain soil; I feed with Dr Earth's tomato, veg and herb feed, usually in a fertiliser tea mix.

They do seem dry rather than thirsty, so my two posts are really back-to-front! Will check the stuff I said and see what I find.

Thanks everyone.

gmun - 3 gallons for a cucumber is a little small imo. Not saying it can't be done but from my experience their root systems are pretty adventurous. The soil shouldn't ever dry out. They need and drink a lot of water. Much more than peppers, tomatoes or the like. I plant 3 cucumbers in each Self-watering container, when full sized and producing they're easily drinking 2 gallons a day. I also have some 25 gallon containers(manual watering) with 4 plants in each. They're not full sized yet but It will get to the point that I will have to water that almost every day to keep them healthy.

I would start watering more often, 2-3 times per day....depending on the weather. But with that much watering, the nutrients are gonna leech out rather fast. So you might have to start fertilizing a lot more often as well. How often are you fertilizing now?

I (try) to pick my cukes small. Better tasting and easier pickling.