by If cucumbers do not grow, it is a real disaster for all housewives. After all, no summer salad can do without these beloved vegetables. And they can also be prepared as lightly salted, pickled, marinated and added to vegetable assortment. It would be possible if they turned out well…
Cucumber fruits can turn yellow and fall off due to various circumstances. Some of them do not even depend on the efforts of the gardener. How can you accurately determine where exactly you made a mistake, and is it your fault that the crop does not bear fruit well and sheds unripe ovaries? Let’s figure out the reasons for what is happening together.
Poor quality cucumber seeds
In many cases, although not always, the producer is to blame for the summer resident’s “cucumber” troubles. Especially often, unpleasant surprises are “thrown up” by “multifunctional” bunch parthenocarpic hybrids, around which no matter how you dance, you still will not get the expected result. If this is your case, pay attention to the whip as a whole.
For example, when the product packaging promises you mountains of gold, but instead of the promised female flowers, the “parthenocarpic” throws out male flowers in bunches (although such a hybrid should not have them in principle), then you have simply purchased a low-quality product. At the same time, female flowers are usually single, flowering is poor, and the fruits dry up without having time to ripen. In such a situation, you may not get a full harvest – so while it is not too late, renew your cucumber “jungle” with July sowing. If you feel sorry to throw away the “high-yielding” vines that did not live up to expectations, try pinching them and watching the fruiting on the side children. But it is better to throw them away and not suffer.
Cucumber vine too long
This is relevant mainly for plants planted a little earlier than the due date. The second factor is sharp temperature fluctuations in the off-season. Both circumstances have a negative effect on the ability of the crop to absorb nutrients, as a result of which the ovaries do not receive enough nutrition and water.
It is easy to resolve the situation. Remove all the leaves under which the ovaries have already fallen, as well as the stepsons located in those places. Lightly sprinkle the freed section of the whip with soil, but so that the water does not expose the stem during watering. This is necessary so that the crop grows new roots located closer to the already fruiting parts of the plant. This will give the existing ovaries a chance to get stronger and increase the likelihood of full fruiting for those that are just in the process.
If you grow cucumbers vertically, remove the vine from the trellis, free the fruiting section from leaves and side shoots, carefully remove a small top layer of soil at its root and place the vine there in a circle. Then cover with soil and add more soil if necessary.
Incorrect watering of cucumbers
Cucumbers mainly consist of water, love watering and do not develop well without the necessary volume of liquid. Therefore, if you regularly under-water them, they may not set fruit well. However, the same thing happens with overwatering: the crop may start to mope, and it will no longer be up to fruiting. Cucumbers have strictly defined watering standards, which are not recommended to be violated. In particular, after the appearance of ovaries and until the end of active fruit collection, cucumbers need to be watered three times a week, using up to 8-12 liters of water per 1 sq.m.
The water temperature for watering cucumbers should be at least 25-28°C so that the plants use the volume they need, and excess moisture evaporates. One of the reasons for the loss of ovaries is watering with cold water.
There are many disputes about what time of day to carry out additional watering on the leaves – in the morning or in the evening. However, all experienced gardeners agree on one thing: this definitely cannot be done during active sun. To help plants bear fruit well, it is better to water them under the roots in the morning, and on the leaves – early in the morning or late in the evening, depending on the presence or absence of precipitation.
The air temperature is too high
In the case of cucumbers, during the fruiting period in clear weather, the temperature should be within 23-26°C, on cloudy days – 21-23°C, at night – 18-20°C. At higher values, the pollen of bee-pollinated varieties sticks together, falls off, and you should not expect a harvest. However, “parthenocarpic” varieties also do not like heat very much.
Plants should be protected from the scorching sun by shading, and when growing in protected soil, additional ventilation should be provided. If the temperature remains above the specified values during the dark hours of the day, the door and vents of the greenhouse are not closed at night.
Irregular fertilizing of cucumbers
This is not about a clear deficiency of a particular element (this can usually be noticed by examining the leaves). Sometimes plants lack nutrition in general, or the proportions of macro- and microelements in the soil do not allow some of them to be fully absorbed.
To help cucumbers, at the very beginning of fruiting, use a solution of 1 tbsp. nitrophoska per 10 liters of water. After a couple of weeks, dilute 0,5 liters of mullein and 1 tbsp. potassium sulfate in the same volume of water. In August, carry out foliar feeding from 1 tbsp. superphosphate and 1 tbsp. potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water. You can choose complex fertilizers marked “For cucumbers, squash, pumpkins” for feeding and follow the instructions on the package.
Diseases and pests of cucumbers
Infections can also have a direct and indirect effect on cucumber fruiting. This crop has quite a lot of them, and in most cases the first signs are visible to the naked eye. In order not to miss anything, carefully examine the leaves and the base of the stem a couple of times a week. If parts of the plants have suspiciously changed color or spots, rotten spots, darkening have appeared on them, urgently treat the vines with suitable preparations.
Bad pollination
Sometimes insects cannot fully pollinate your cucumbers (for example, during the day you cover the plantings from the heat, and at night the bees and other natural “pollinators” sleep). In this case, you will have to help the insects and do this procedure yourself.
To pollinate the plants yourself, take a male flower without an ovary, tear off all the petals and apply it to all the female flowers.
Why else can cucumber ovaries fall off? There are several reasons: lack of light, as well as low air and soil temperatures. In this case, you need to organize additional lighting and shelter for the crops or heating the room, and also mulch the soil.
