Re: The slaughter of cucumbers

[madgardener]

I had planted some cucumbers this spring. And by the beginning of

> August they were all devastated by all kinds of diseases. There was > wilt, and all kinds mosaics. Essentially most leaves either wilted or > turned yellow. Some of the others look like overused shotgun targets. > I did absolutely nothing to control the pests. I did not see many > beatles. But I did see some other insects. They do not look like > aphids in pictures that I could find. The are rather small, boxy, grey > and jump. They do not look like grasshoppers at all. > In any case, I'd rather not use pesticides. It's not like I will die > without homegrown cucumbers. How do I deal with this the next year?

[Richard]

[e-mail] ( [e-mail]) wrote in news: [e-mail]:

1. Select the most disease-resistant variety you can find (if you know what diseases affect your area the most, concentrate on those diseases). Both hybrid and open pollinated varieties can be found. A good source is Johnny's Seeds Cover the hills/row with fine mesh row cover material. This will keep the bugs away. Remember that when the vines start to blossom, you will need to open the material to allow insects in to move the pollen from the male to the female flowers.
2. Use organic deterrant sprays (garlic or hot pepper based). Neem oil sprays are also something you could try.

[aartamen]

Cheaters don't win.

[B & J]

Shee**t, Marilyn, are you trying to tell me that you gave in to an itty, bitty, ol' bug? :) Okay, I'll admit that I did last year, but I have kept my cucumbers producing this year by using a water, isopropyl alcohol, ultra-fine pesticidal oil spray on them, which also works for white flies. Those miserable cucumber beetles hate the stuff.

The commercial cucumbers in stores and at the farmers' markets are almost as bad as the commercially grown tomatoes. They stink! :(

John