Cucumber Leaves Are Dying & Turning Yellow With Bitter Fruit
Cucumber Nashville, TN
I planted 4 cucumber plants in this container. I thought it would be big enough as it's got about 50 pounds of soil. The plant seems to be producing a lot of new flowers & cucumbers but so far out of the 3 cucumbers it's produced, all 3 were inedible. The leaves overall are a light green color not dark green. Some of the leaves on the plant turn yellow and die and become very crunchy. Is there anything I can do? Any help is appreciated.
Posted
by: Matt
(1 point)
Posted: June 6, 2017
Answers
It may be that the plant is root bound, where the roots have run out if space and are growing on the inside of the pot. This is accompanied by a depletion on nutrients. If you take them out of the pot you may see this. You can put them in the ground
Posted
by: David Hughes
(67 points)
Posted: June 6, 2017
I agree with David, the plants look to be nutrient deficient most likely due to being in one pot together. They are taking resources away from each other so none is developing fully. I suggest you (very carefully) transplant them to soil.
Posted
by: Kelsee Baranowski
(6 points)
Posted: June 7, 2017
I've always had problems growing in pots due to the heat of the pot itself, soil drawing away from sides, etc. I do know that the chemical composition of soil can greatly affect the flavor, sweetness or bitterness of leaves and fruit. Reusing soil in pots rather than fresh sterile soil can cause poor nutrient content as well as carry over diseases. But the first thing I'd check on cukes is cucumber beetles. Small, ladybug size, yellowish green with spots. These suckers spread disease and drain fluid and nutrients from plants, and every time I've lost cucumbers, they're there.
Posted
by: JP
(1 point)
Posted: June 17, 2017
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Hi, you say the cucumbers were inedible.... were they bitter? What made them inedible? That might be a clue..... almost 7 years ago.
They were bitter. I keep them watered daily and the cucumbers it produced were very good looking. almost 7 years ago.
hmm weird, I have always heard that they are bitter if "stressed", either by heat or otherwise..... so, it could be what David said.... potbound and stressed lol!!! I just read something, too, that i've never heard.... if you have a bitter cucumber, cut off one end and rub it on the end of the cucumber, that slicing off the end of a cucumber and rubbing that sliced end against the cucumber will release a white, foamy substance, which contains an organic compound called cucurbitacin. This is the cause of the bitterness... rub until it stops foaming. Never HEARD of that before! something to try if you get anymore bitter ones! Good luck! almost 7 years ago.
Looks like over watering. almost 7 years ago.