Fertilizing Cucs and Zucs?

[AZGardener]

Hi guys-
My cucs are taking off and little cucs are forming and I have already picked two zucs. We have seen 80's now for two months... Crazy early Spring. Anyways, I have noticed that some of my cucumber plants are pretty yellow. What can I fertilize them with to help? I planted these guys very early and they yellowed. They are growing now (slowly) but are pretty yellow. I can pull and restart seed if I need to bc our temps are so warm but I'd like to keep them if possible? Next up zucs. I have the most beautiful plants this year and I want to keep them happy for as long as I can until the heat sets in. What can I feed them with to help them stay healthy and productive? Thanks guys!!

[KarenO]

Hello,

If you plan to use a commercial fertilizer product, for zucchini a balanced granular or water soluble formulation, 20-20-20 or other preparation where the ratio of NPK are the same. Cucumbers need less nitrogen so a product where the first number -N or nitrogen is lower than the P(phosphorus) and K- (potassium).
An organic granular slow release product could be used or a generous side dressing with good compost if an organic approach is wanted should supply the needed nutrients to either zucchini or cucumbers.
Hope they do well for you and you are overrun with zucchini
Karen O

[PaulF]

Side dressing with a granular (see Karen's post) is a good idea for a long term solution. (no pun intended) For a quick solution (pun intended) you may want to use a water soluble plant food with a lower N ratio. Some brands market them as bloom fertilizer. It has enough N to help green things up but not jeopardize fruit growth.

Are your plants in containers or in the ground? If in containers, nutrients may have been washed out by watering and would need to be replaced every ten days or so anyway. If in ground it may be the year. Follow Karen's advise.

[AZGardener]

Thanks guys! PaulF they are in the ground. I do have Fox Farms vegetable fertilizer.You both said something with less N so I guess Fish Emulsion is out of the question? In regards to the cucs, I planted the 6 that look yellow probably about 2-3 weeks too early so that could be why they are yellowing? I bought 6 new starts yesterday that are very green so I'm not sure what the difference is? My Lemon Cucs are pretty yellow too but I think they are supp to be a tad more yellow then green?

[Rfdillon]

Does garden tine work well for squash and cucumbers?

[Rfdillon]

Not garden tine, but garden Tone?

[Stvrob]

Originally Posted by Rfdillon

Not garden tine, but garden Tone?

I have been using Texas Tomato food on My cukes, just because they were there right next to the tomatoes. They seem to like the stuff even more than the tomatoes do! Seems like the perfect balance between flowers, fruit, and vine growth.

[AZGardener]

Well looks like I need to order TTF! Lol... Thanks guys.

[b54red]

I also use TTF or their Vegetable or Apples and Oranges. They all seem to work great on cucumbers. If your plants are yellowing then you may actually need more nitrogen. I think it would be a good idea to apply the TTF as soon as you get it then apply it again in 2 to 3 days and see if that corrects the problem. If it does then give them a dose every week until the heat gets too much for them. It wouldn't be a bad idea to put down a good heavy mulch to protect the plants from rapid soil moisture loss in your heat. Other things that can cause yellowing besides lack of fertilizer are RKN or fusarium wilt.

Bill

[AZGardener]

Well- Its only these 6 plants that seem to be yellowing. My other plants are doing excellent! I even have my first cucumber that is about 3 inches long today! So I guess we shall see. I'm not as experienced with cucs as I am with tomatoes. I hope its not RKN or FW?! Gah! Too early for that stuff!!

[b54red]

Originally Posted by AZGardener

Well- Its only these 6 plants that seem to be yellowing. My other plants are doing excellent! I even have my first cucumber that is about 3 inches long today! So I guess we shall see. I'm not as experienced with cucs as I am with tomatoes. I hope its not RKN or FW?! Gah! Too early for that stuff!!

Two years ago I made the mistake of planting a trellis of cucumbers at the end of one of my beds that I knew was infested with RKN. By mid May all my plants were in terrible shape and no longer producing fruit. The vines ended up only going about 4 or 5 ft up the 7 ft trellis even though they had been growing for over two months. When I pulled them up the roots were just shredded and nothing but knots. Adding some good compost or manure can lessen RKN damage but by the time it heats up the plants will quickly weaken where RKN are infesting the soil heavily. Amazingly you can still get some good production if the plants are started early enough in the spring. Once hot weather arrives RKN will quickly damage the roots beyond the point where they can adequately feed the vines and they sure can make it a shorter cucumber season. A good way to tell if you might have RKN is to see if wilted vines perk up good after a thorough watering.

The fusarium symptoms seem a bit similar to what you see on tomatoes. Some yellowing and dropping of blossoms with slow growth and poor fruit production.
Eventually the whole vine yellows and dies.

I hope you have neither and are just experiencing some fertilizer deficit.

Bill

[AZGardener]

Thanks Bill! I THINK I'm ok for now. I did a nice soak of fish emulsion and in another week I'm going to use some bloom fertilizer that is higher in P not so high in N. We shall see. I did notice 3 cucumbers growing!!