A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Food Garden Forum My First Garden, What's Eating My Cukes?

Hello,
I tried my luck at a few plants this year to see if I still had a black thumb or if it was turning green. Cukes have been growing, but we have only harvested one (!). Some of the cukes are turning brown and withering before they even get a shot at decent growth, but some that are maturing are afflicted with holes that are deep into the fruit and brown around the edges. Since this is my first garden, I'm clueless, and my 'beginner' gardening book isn't much help. What could be eating the cukes and how do I save them?
Also, tomatoes are S L O W, hardly any fruiting and take forever to turn red. I have two varieties: tumbling tom cherry tomatoes and Bush celebrity. We have only harvested one tomato! (Have used Miracle Grow every two weeks for cukes and tomatoes).
I might add that we are in Pensacola FL, (northwest FL) and the soil drainage is poor. Watering results in big puddles around the plants that drain very slowly. Is there a way to improve this?
Thank you so much! I don't want to give up, but I need some help!
P.S. I read somewhere that spraying coffee on the plants will deter pests. Is this worth a try? I dont drink coffee so if isn't true, I would not want to go buy some since it wont get drunk.
Thanks!

poor drainage can cause many problems. are your plants on mounds? I mound up the dirt in rows and plant on top of the mound so excess water can drain away.
I'm here in texas and we have a root eating bug called a bore...something or another? it eats the roots of cukes and maybe even squash, then the plant is not able to soak up any water. the plant will look like it's burning up and not getting enough water. I lost every one of my cukes and squash this year. it was sugguested to me to grow them in pots next year.
on your slow growing tomatoes, If they get a lot of shade they can develop slowly.
sounds like you are a hard worker and reading up on things. that's great! and welcome to the forum. I'm sure you will get tons more advice here shortly.
(coffee grounds, I've heard, will deter pest. I use garlic for ants)

When i lived in Fl i tried gardening. My cukes had the holes also and when i would cut them open there was a worm in it. I had no idea that cukes can get worms cause up in Wis i never encounted them. U can use pesticides on them but i dont like doing that. I think the best thing u can do is go to the county extension and get any info u can. I know they have articles for free telling u how to do a lot of the gardening. U have to amend the soil big time. Compost, soil and such. That sand down there has no nutrients. I lived near Fort Myers and i gave up on gardening after two years.
One more thing. Nematodes love it in the Florida sand and they will make nodules all over the roots and so it kills the plants. U can tell if that is what is doing it by pulling any dead plants up and looking at the roots. I believe there is a cure for that also but also believe it is by adding a lot of stuff to the soil. Hard to get ahold of in Fl. Or expensive. Maybe what u should do next year is grow them in pots or some kind of containers. At least u will not have to worry bout the nematodes as u would buy bags of potting soil. Still have to cover the pickles with something so the critter that lays the eggs that hatches out to become those pickle borers cannot get at it. U need help from a gardener that lives down there or the country extension.

Thank you so much for your kind replies. Maybe container gardening will be the answer next year!

Is your garden area very large? You can ammend your soil with peat moss, compost and aged manure.

Container gardening is an option but be forewarned that it takes more work: pots dry out more quickly, the soil gets hotter, and containers do NOT prevent pests.

With respect to the cukes, you may have "borers". Search "cucumber borer". The adult stage of the insect (a flying insect) lays its eggs on the stem of the plant at ground level. You can dust with Sevin dust to prevent egg laying, or wrap nylon hose (like stockings) strips around the stem before the plant start to vine out. So too late for that now, although I'd still sprinkle some dust at the base of the stem just to make yourself feel better. As soon as the eggs hatch, the larvae (look like small caterpillers) bore into the main stem and eat their way up the xylem tissue. Xylem tissue is the plant tissue that carries water from the ground up to the leaves. No xylem = no H2O --> wilting and ultimately death. Some sites will tell you that you can use a sharp knife to slit the stem and pull out the larvae. In my experience, this is not do-able. However, you can try this remedy: cut off all of the vines that are completely wasted & dead. On those that remain, look for "nodes"-- branching points on the vine. You may see that closer to the main stem (where the seed spring up) the vines' leaves are dead but further out they look o.k. What you want to do is pile up some good dirt-- I'd recommend just using composted manure rather than "potting soil" (you'll have to go buy this)-- on top of the nodes. Don't worry that you are burying leaves. Pile about 6" across and 2-3" deep. Keep this pile of manure well watered but not flooded. You are encouraging the plant to develop roots in this pile. These new roots will supply water to the part of the vine that is "upstream". As a precaution, sprinkle some dust at the base of the vine that you've covered with good dirt.

With respect to your drainage problem, you probably do not have enough organic matter in your soil. Organic matter acts as a "sponge" to soak up water and hold it in the area where the roots are growing. Next year, work composted manure to the rows or hills to a depth of about 3-4". For now, especially with the tomatoes, you can "top-dress" with manure. (I am a huge fan of manure, especially if you don't have a compost pile of your own.) Top dressing means that you create a hill of manure (for tomatoes maybe 3-4" deep and 12" in diameter) around the base of the main stem. As with the cukes, the plants will start producing new roots in this hill. The water holding capacity of the manure + the new roots should kick start the uptake of water to the leaves and fruits. If the top ends of the vines ("branches") haven't set fruit yet, you may consider cutting them back so that the plant's water and energy is being diverted to the vines that do have fruit set.

One more thing-- if you are using regular (i.e., not for tomato) Miracle Grow, STOP!! All purpose MG has 20-20-20 N-P-K (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium content). First, 20% nitrogen is excessive, especially if your plants are water stressed. All that will happen is that the plant itself will grow & grow and become more & more stressed. (Nitrogen promotes 'green' growth.) If you must use MG, use the tomato formula which has a different ratio-- more P which is what the plant needs to develop fruit-- but probably still too high a content. Second, the NPK in MG are not in the chemical forms that promotes good soil, in fact, according to some, MG actually robs the soil of other nutrients that plants need.

Don't let these problems keep you from keeping on! Good luck!

Thanks again for your help... I am going to print out these responses and study them further. Again, thank you!! By the way, does anyone have any recommondations for resistant varieties of tomatoes, zuchinni, lettuce?

And to answer Tamara, the area is tiny. The length is about 4 and half feet and about two feet wide. Does amending mean adding the compost on top? I have had a small compost pile going for a while and it had a lovely earthy smell and rich dark color. Is this the stuff to put over the current soil?
Thanks

Amending means to work (mix in) the compost or composted manure or whatever into the top few inches of the soil. Top-dressing means to put it on the surface of the soil. If you have earthy smelling dark compost, you have gold! If you have enough for your 8 square-foot garden, spread it as deep as you can!