Problems growing cucumbers

[Anne58]

I live in zone 7 (I think) - west coast of Canada (Vancouver specifically) and I have been having an awful time getting cucumbers to grow.

Each year I get the sturdy little plants from the local garden shop, make sure they are properly hardened off and growing well then plant them into the garden. Once in the garden they grow very poorly and seem to have an awful time on sunny days. Days that are mainly sunny the plants wilt really badly even when the soil is moist and don't recover until well into the evening. I've tried planting them in a shadier spot but then I have to deal with mildew on the leaves.

Does anyone have any advice? I'm sure that the market gardeners in our area grow cukes in the full sun without any problem so what is the matter with mine?

[simy1]

Looks like you have bacterial wilt. I have it too. I grow a very early variety, which starts pumping out cukes in late june. By late july the plants have gotten the wilt pretty bad and I remove them. If you cut a vine you should see a stringy, gooey sap.

Spraying the plants with rotenone delays the onset of wilt (which is transmitted by beetles), but in the end they die. I don't mind, because I like cukes best at the beginning of the season, when the body is adapting to the warm temperatures, and cukes (with a bit of rice vinegar) are just right for that time of year. By the time they keel over, there are chard, zucchini, string beans, and some tomatoes ready, so at that point it is easy to forget about the cukes. My variety is a hybrid named Country Fair, which I warmly recommend for taste and earliness (even though it is a pickling cuke).

[Anne58]

Wow!! I had not idea that was what might be causing the problem. I remember years ago I had cucumbers coming out of my ears and squash too. Now I have problems with growing squash as well.:o( At least now I know and can stop spending money on vegies that aren't able to grow in my garden. I'll spend the money or stuff that I know will grow !

[simy1]

squash is the same, though traditionally more wilt resistant than cukes, it will still get it. I grow golden zucchini, I think they are named Gold Rush, because they are an early variety. Same story as the cukes. At some point you lose the race and remove the plants, but the early types give me maybe ten zucchini per plant before going.