Cucumber Diseases and Pests
You can grow your cucumber starter plants indoors up to 2 weeks before you’re ready to plant. Remember to wait until all risk of frost has passed to transplant. You can also plant seeds directly in the garden. Arrange your garden in small hills and plant around 4 seeds per hill. Separate your seeds by about 3-4 feet. You can also ground your cucumbers in rows. Space your rows about 6 ½ feet apart, with the seeds about 2 ½ feet apart in the rows. Remember that some cucumbers varieties are suitable for container gardens.
Cucumbers unfortunately suffer from a variety of pests and diseases. Aphids, pickle worms, mites, and cucumber beetles are common pests you may see in your garden. Diseases you’ll need to look out for are anthracnose, powdery mildew, downy mildew, bacterial wilt, and angular leaf spot.
The cucumber beetle is a particularly nasty pest that attacks plants early and also spreads bacterial wilt. Look for this pest as seedlings emerge. Also look for signs of bacterial wilt early on. Plants infected with bacterial wilt will droop and eventually die.
We recommend using a natural pest control method to treat problems with your cucumbers. If you use chemical pesticides, you may be harming the bees that will fertilize your vines. Chemical pesticides can also harm other beneficial insects and soil organisms.
You can find about more about diagnosing and treating cucumber pests and diseases with our cucumber troubleshooting guide.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
My cucumbers are getting soft the next morning after I pick them. Can you tell me why?
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It sounds like they are losing moisture. You can try putting them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator or adjust the moisture level in your refrigerator. It does not sound like a cucumber problem since they are fine during harvest.
Snails are eating my young cumcumber plants. How can I stop this?
Put out a small saucer of stale beer,the snails check in but not out.
WHY WOULD MY CUCUMBERS START TO MAKE AND THEN TURN BROWN & FALL OFF?
My cucumber plants are full of blossoms and in a matter of
a couple of hours the stems all the way down to the dirt level have turned brown and dried out and the leaves are all turning lightish green. What happened?
My cucumber plants always die right after they flower because of something at the base of the stem that creates a hole.
my cucumber plant has plenty of flowers and tiny cucumbers but the leaves are starting to turn yellow and no enlargeing of the small fruit’. What am i doing wrong..
I have been growing cucumbers for a few years now and this is the first time I have had this problem… they are growing nicely and they are the right color, but they are soggy from the begining and never harden up. Do I have some type disease in them? Is there a way to fix it?
My cucumbers are large and firm however, they are light to pale green and some are yellow. I believe they have powdery mildrew. What causes this and how do I savlage my cucumbers?
My cucumbers are getting worms on the stems. What can I use to get rid of them? Also the leaves on my summer squash are turning yellow and has whole on them. Any ideas on how to fix this problem?