Thanks for the reply, Kat. I just wonder if there is something wrong with the plant or the soil. The cukes havent been getting very big before turning. In pictures online that I have seen of other tendergreen cukes, they get much bigger.

Reply
 

Hey guys I was wondering what everyone uses to fertilize their cucumbers.
zinnia11-I was just reading that they like alot of water but once again I will ask the collective mind :P
Kat

Here are a couple of pictures of my chubby little tendergreen cucumbers that are turning yellow early.

[quote=newatthiskat;130232]Hey guys I was wondering what everyone uses to fertilize their cucumbers.
zinnia11-I was just reading that they like alot of water but once again I will ask the collective mind :P
Kat[/quote]

In the ground I amend with compost and cow manure, then applied some plant tone along with the occasional fish emulsion or seaweed. In my containers I fertilized up front with the plant tone and then use the fish and seaweed more often, maybe once a week. And they do like their water.

[quote=zinnia11;130268]Here are a couple of pictures of my chubby little tendergreen cucumbers that are turning yellow early.[/quote]
Even though those are short, they are overmature.

What happened is they only got partially pollinated. And a cucumber only grows where the seeds were pollinated. So you've got a very short section that got pollinated, and that part grew, and the rest didn't.

The telltale sign is the spacing of the bumps. See how the bumps are spread out where the fruit swelled, but still close together up towards the stem?


If you want to help your cucumbers along since the bees/wasps/ants aren't doing their job, you can get a small artist's paintbrush and as soon as you see a male flower open, touch it with the brush and then transfer the pollen to any female flowers you find. You can also cut off a male blossom, remove the petals, and rub the innards of the flower to a female blossom.

reply
 

A picture does help in figuring out stuff! Thanks for the replies! I need to fertilize and water tomorrow. I also need to pick up a new paintbrush. I use mine on my squash as well
Kat

Poona Kheera is performing like a champ again, 25 fruit from the 4 plants in a container. Cool Breeze took forever to get going but I have pulled 7 in the past couple of days. The plant is beginning to decline however so I probably wont get many more. Yellow Submarine is huge at 6 ft plus at this point and I havent seen much in the way of male flowers. A little dissapointed in this one for the moment

Beth Alpha, Cool Breeze & Veridis. A long, cold & wet spring here in Misery. Cukes suffer more from cold weather than my peppers or any other veggie.

Cool Breeze is a long-time favorite, but my old seeds did not germinate well & have but one plant. Such a [FONT=Arial]prickly [/FONT]little bugger, but what great taste!

New Beth Alpha seeds, but they are not doing well. Seedlings are dying in 5.25" square pots at 4 weeks or so and lack vigor. Irritates me especially because BA were to be the fermenting cukes this year & now I'll have to buy gherkins for that & I can't tell you how much I hate buying produce at the store because of the pesticides etc used to grow.

jt

I have harvested enough cool breeze to make a couple of quarts of refrigerator pickles. It appears to be a great pickler and is good for fresh eating as well. I just wish it had been more productive. I hope to make 2 or 3 more quarts before its all said and done.
Poona Kheera on the other hand, is on the decline in a bad way. Its just ran out of gas I guess and is looking really bad. But it performed well enough to give me over 30 cukes from the 4 plants.
Yellow Submarine finally has some male flowers, I really hoped to pickle this one as well

[quote=duajones;131728]I have harvested enough cool breeze to make a couple of quarts of refrigerator pickles. It appears to be a great pickler and is good for fresh eating as well. I just wish it had been more productive. I hope to make 2 or 3 more quarts before its all said and done.
Poona Kheera on the other hand, is on the decline in a bad way. Its just ran out of gas I guess and is looking really bad. But it performed well enough to give me over 30 cukes from the 4 plants.
Yellow Submarine finally has some male flowers, I really hoped to pickle this one as well[/quote]

Would recommend Cool Breeze as a dual purpose cucumber?

I'd like one that I can pick smaller for pickling, or let grow larger for fresh eating. Some of the picklers don't taste that well when they get too big.

I thought Burpee Pickler was "the one", but they all got pretty sickly from mildew right when I was growing so accustomed to the harvests.

I just started some seeds for Sumter, which I'll try for the fall. I just want a simple no frills cuke. Anyone have any suggestions?

The only cucumber I grow now is Snow's Fancy Pickling. I use it for pickles and fresh. My main complaint about cukes is spongy texture and a watery seed mass. I don't have to worry about either of those things with Snow's. Every year I have grown it, and I think it's six years now, it's been a cuke machine. Excellent production and quality. I highly recommend it. I grow mine on a trellis so mildew is not a problem for me. If you want me to send you a few seeds, PM me your address, bigbubbacain.