Why do cucumbers and their germs turn yellow: in a greenhouse, on a windowsill, in open ground

Almost every gardener is faced with a situation where his cucumbers turn yellow. Both the plant itself and its fruits may turn yellow.

Most often, yellowing of cucumbers occurs as a result of improper care or failure to maintain optimal conditions for maintaining the plant. In some cases, the problem may be caused by various diseases or exposure to parasites.

Cucumber seedlings turn yellow

Beginner gardeners may have a problem such as yellowing of cucumber seedlings. However, in this case, you should not immediately get rid of low-quality seedlings. Leaves can dry out for several reasons, the main ones being improper care and infection of young shoots with various diseases. In any case, in order to determine the reason why the seedlings turned yellow, you must first carefully examine the plant, check the soil, and only then draw conclusions and begin to eliminate the main causes of the problem.

Causes

Let's look at the main reasons why seedlings may turn yellow:

lack of light: this is one of the most common causes of yellowing of seedlings. When planting, you should take into account the fact that cucumbers love sunny places and do not tolerate crowded conditions. But even with sufficient lighting, the leaves of the lower tier may turn yellow. This is due to the abundantly growing upper leaves. In this case, damaged leaf blades should be removed so that the plant does not waste oxygen and nutrients on them;
planting a seedling in a small pot: as a result, the roots of the plant do not have enough space, they become intertwined and do not receive enough nutrients;
seedlings may turn yellow after transplanting into open ground;
lack of nutrients: most often, cucumber seedlings turn yellow due to the fact that they lack micro- and macroelements. To avoid such problems, it is necessary to use modern safe plant fertilizers;
fungal diseases and pests: when a plant is infected with fungal diseases, small spots similar to rust appear on the leaves, which subsequently leads to the extinction of the plant. The most common diseases: fusarium (wilt), powdery mildew, root rot. As for pests, cucumbers are most often attacked by spider mites and whiteflies;
hypothermia of the plant or, conversely, overheating, as well as unstable temperature conditions: if the temperature is below normal, then the plants do not develop sufficiently, but if, on the contrary, it is very hot, the seedlings may get burned;
lack or excess of moisture: many gardeners think that it is better to use more water when watering than to allow the soil layer to dry out. However, this is a misconception. Excess moisture is just as detrimental to seedlings as its absence. In the first case, the roots of the plant rot, in the second case they dry out.

What to do

In order to prevent the seedlings from yellowing, before planting it is necessary to carefully select pots so that the plant is not crowded, prepare the soil for planting, and allocate a bright place for the seedlings with constant humidity and temperature. In the future, it is necessary to ensure proper watering of the plants, which should be carried out when partial drying of the upper soil layer appears.

It is not recommended to water young seedlings daily, as this can have a negative impact on the development of the root system.

Moreover, you should constantly feed the seedlings with the necessary nutrients.

For the very first feeding of seedlings, which is done when the first leaf appears on the sprout, it is recommended to use a mixture of organic fertilizers with mineral components. Fertilizers can be purchased at a specialty store. For this, drugs such as potassium humate, sodium humate or Effecton are suitable.

Those gardeners who want to prepare their own fertilizers can use the following recipe:

slurry diluted with water in a ratio of 1:1 - 1 bucket;
superphosphate – 20 grams.
Instead of slurry, you can use bird droppings diluted in a ratio of 1:10.

If there is no access to organic fertilizers, you can use the following recipe:

ammonium nitrate – 7 g;
superphosphate – 15 g;
potassium sulfate – 8 g;
water – 10 liters.
It is recommended to add a small amount of manure to the resulting mixture, diluted 1:4, or fermented chicken manure, diluted 1:7 with water.

During the second feeding, carried out when the second leaf appears on the cucumber seedlings, the amount of fertilizer should be doubled.

The third feeding of seedlings should be carried out two weeks after the first leaf appears. For these purposes, complex mineral fertilizers are used, for example, Nitrofox. You can also prepare the mixture yourself using the following composition:

urea – 15 g;
superphosphate – 40 g;
potassium salt – 10 g;
water – 10 liters.

When choosing potassium salt, you should give preference to substances without chlorine, as it can have a negative effect on the condition of young plants.

Nutrients should be added at the root of the seedlings, after which it is necessary to water them with clean water at room temperature.

If the seedlings do turn yellow, it is necessary to determine the cause and try to eliminate it as soon as possible. This will avoid the death of the plant.

Tips and reviews from experienced gardeners

Summer residents share their experience of dealing with yellowing of leaves on cucumbers.

Vera, Pavlovsk : “In past years I used different methods. I settled on iodine, whey, and herbal infusion. I do not loosen the soil around the roots within a radius of 10 cm, and in the second half of the season I only add soil to the roots once a week after the next watering. Always with the harvest!

Tatiana, s. Red : “The weather this year in summer is terrible. You can place a large dark barrel of water inside the greenhouse. It collects heat from the sun during the day and warms the air at night. I heard this advice from a neighbor. I asked my husband, he brought me two iron cans. I placed it at the entrance and exit of the greenhouse. The cucumbers stopped turning yellow and began to grow.”

Elena, Orsk : “Last year my cucumbers almost died due to spider mites. Suddenly the leaves began to turn yellow and then dry out. I noticed that there was a cobweb on the leaf and some movement there. I read about Fitoverm and decided that I could try spraying it, considering that the greens could be picked in just three days. The tick disappeared immediately, I didn’t even wait for the second treatment.”

Cucumber embryos turn yellow

Yellowing of cucumber embryos occurs not only among beginning gardeners, but also among people with extensive experience in growing vegetables. This phenomenon is common, however, in most cases, you can get rid of the problem quite easily and quickly.

Causes

The main reasons why cucumber embryos turn yellow include the following:

improper care (lack of moisture, light, heat);
lack of nutrients;
difficulties with pollination: this problem especially often arises in greenhouses, since bees simply cannot find their way to the plants and pollinate them;
use of hybrid varieties of cucumbers: if earlier gardeners themselves prepared seeds for seedlings, today there is a huge selection of seedlings that can be purchased in the store, and these are in most cases hybrid varieties. More cucumber embryos are formed on hybrids, but some of them immediately turn yellow. One plant is not able to provide nutrients to all available fruits;
cucumbers planted too densely: due to improper planting, the plant does not have enough light, in addition, if the seedlings are planted too densely, their root system will suffer;
early flowering and fruiting: for a plant to begin to bear fruit, it must enter the necessary growth phase. If this does not happen, but flowers and cucumber embryos have already appeared, then it is necessary to remove the ovaries;
lack of pinching: the lower leaves of cucumbers are useless; they take a lot of nutrients from the cucumbers. To prevent this from happening, they must be cut off.

What to do?

In order for the plant to have as many embryos as possible, it is necessary:

monitor the temperature and watering regime;
Correctly maintain the distance between cucumbers. This information is always on the back of the seed package;
remove the lower leaves of mature plants in a timely manner;
harvest on time;
feed the plants in a timely manner;
use special solutions to attract bees (water and honey), or plant flowers such as petunias or sunflowers in close proximity to the cucumbers, which will help attract bees and improve the pollination process.

As a rule, cucumbers in the beds are fertilized twice: during the transplant process and after two weeks.

For the first feeding use the following mixture:

45 g superphosphate;
25 g ammonium nitrate;
15 g potassium chloride;
20 g potassium salt.

After two weeks, chicken manure or cow manure should be used for feeding at a ratio of 1 kg of organic matter per 8 liters of water.

If the appearance of the plant deteriorates every day, the leaves wither and change color, and the fruits do not develop, it is necessary to add additional nutrients. For these purposes, a suitable fertilizer consisting of a glass of ash diluted in 10 liters of water. The leaves should be sprayed with it weekly.

Pest attack

If you do not periodically treat the soil, then larvae of harmful insects, such as mole crickets, cockchafers, wireworms, slugs, cruciferous fleas, and spider mites, may enter the garden bed along with humus. They can harm the root system and also destroy cucumber leaves by feeding on the juice. As a result of their vital activity, yellow spots appear on cucumbers, which will soon lead to foliage falling.

Medvedka

Wireworm

Chafer

What you need to do to secure your landings:

Be sure to disinfect the soil before planting seedlings. The best option is boiling water, after which the soil is allowed to rest for 2-3 days, then treated with a weak solution of manganese.
Seedlings purchased at the market should be sprayed with Fitosporin, and the remaining liquid should be poured into the ground.

Several times a month, water the cucumbers with water adding 10 drops of iodine per 10 liters of liquid.
When there is an ant invasion (spread by spider mite larvae), you need to set traps.
Don’t forget to disinfect the paths between the beds.

Some gardeners, in pursuit of maximum environmental friendliness of the product, ignore the addition of insecticides to the soil. But the modern market of agricultural products makes it possible to effectively combat pests while minimizing health risks.

Viruses and fungi that are present in soil, air and water fall directly onto the surface of the cucumber leaf. A weakened, exhausted plant is not able to withstand the attack, so it develops yellowing and wilting of the green part.

Cucumbers on the windowsill are turning yellow

Every amateur gardener dreams of growing fresh and fragrant cucumbers on his window in winter, but not everyone succeeds, as the cucumbers turn yellow. It is possible to cope with this problem by following a few simple rules.

Causes

Let us highlight the main reasons why cucumbers turn yellow on the windowsill:

cucumber varieties are incorrectly selected: for planting it is necessary to choose shade-loving, self-pollinating hybrids, and also use special soil with a neutral pH;
abundant watering or watering with cold water;
dry indoor air;
lack of lighting;
lack of complex fertilizers;
infestation of plants by parasites.

What to do?

In order to avoid yellowing of cucumbers on the windowsill, the most important thing is to start growing only those varieties that are suitable for growing in an apartment, as already mentioned, self-pollinating hybrids.

If there is not enough light in the room where cucumbers will be grown, it is necessary to additionally install lamps to illuminate the plants.

If plants are grown in conditions of low air humidity, using a simple curtain made of plastic film will help solve this problem.

Be sure to remove the lower leaves that prevent the fruits from developing.

If a plant is infested with parasites, be sure to treat them with means that are harmless to humans. For example, you can use a solution of laundry soap, which will not only help get rid of parasites, but also prevent the development of fungal infections. This is due to the fact that it contains natural fatty acids and, in particular, caproic acid, which has disinfecting properties even at low concentrations of the solution used.

To combat parasites, you need to prepare a solution of laundry soap: grate 100 grams of soap on a coarse grater and dissolve in 0.7 liters of warm water. The result is a concentrated composition, so it should be diluted in 3 liters of cold water. The solution must be allowed to settle to obtain a transparent product, which should be used to carefully spray the cucumbers.

When growing cucumbers on a windowsill, you can also apply fertilizer.

The process of feeding cucumbers grown on a windowsill should begin before planting the seedlings in the substrate. First of all, you should choose the right soil for growing. For these purposes, you can purchase ready-made mixtures or prepare the soil yourself using equal parts of peat, turf soil, humus and sawdust. For 5 kg of such soil, add 15 grams of nitrophosphate, 7 grams of urea and 100 grams of wood ash.

Each individual bush grown on a windowsill will require 5-7 liters of soil.

Feeding after planting the bushes should be done once every 10 days. Organic fertilizers are used for these purposes. One of the options for feeding cucumbers on the windowsill is wood ash, rich in potassium and phosphorus. To prepare the product, you need to pour one tablespoon of ash into 2 liters of boiled water and let it brew for 24 hours.

Another means of feeding is “Rossa”, which can be purchased in the store.

Useful materials

Explore other useful articles about cucumber seedlings:

How to properly grow on a windowsill, balcony and even in the basement?
Tips for growing in various containers, in particular peat pots and tablets.
Find out the planting dates depending on the region.
Reasons why seedlings stretch?
All the secrets of proper planting in open ground.

Cucumbers turning yellow in a greenhouse

Polycarbonate greenhouses are now available in almost every garden plot. Every summer resident tries to grow greenhouse cucumbers. But even if he had successful experience in growing cucumbers in open ground, there is a possibility that he will not be able to grow a good crop of cucumbers in a greenhouse the first time.

Causes

Greenhouses are closed spaces with their own microclimate, where the soil is not changed and air stagnates. Moreover, in greenhouses there is not enough light and limited space for planting cucumbers, which can lead to the rapid development of various microorganisms that cause plant diseases.

What to do?

To avoid infection of plants in a greenhouse, you need to know several rules for planting and caring for cucumbers:

It is necessary to plant seedlings in warm soil, preferably pre-fertilized;
maintain the correct distance between plants. This information is always located on the back of the seed package;
to avoid rotting of the roots, water the cucumbers only with warm water;
since the enclosed space of the greenhouse does not contain enough carbon dioxide necessary for the development of cucumbers, containers with manure or rotting grass are placed in the greenhouse, which release this chemical;
It is very important to monitor the air temperature in the greenhouse, open doors and windows in time, and ventilate the room used for growing vegetables.

Why is it dangerous to change the color of cucumber foliage?

The appearance of several yellow leaves in the cucumber crown often does not cause alarm to the gardener. Such a careless attitude can lead to the death of a culture.

Plants feed by absorbing solar energy and carbon dioxide. A special pigment, chlorophyll, which colors leaf blades green, helps convert components into organic substances. This process is called photosynthesis. The reaction mechanism is possible only in the presence of light and chlorophyll. If the leaf blade of a plant changes color, the amount of chlorophyll decreases, which leads to a lack of nutrition. The plant organism experiences “hunger”, gradually depletes its reserves and dies.

Remember! Modern hybrids, which have high endurance, are capable of turning yellow in the same way as ordinary “grandmother’s” varieties.

Cucumbers in the garden are turning yellow

Cucumbers turn yellow not only in the greenhouse, but also in the garden. In most cases, the reasons are similar to all of those listed above: lack of light, weather conditions, improper watering, various diseases, lack of nutrients and others. There are a number of rules that must be followed when growing ground cucumbers. Following them will help you get a good harvest.

Causes

In addition to the reasons already mentioned, there are several features that affect the quality of cucumbers planted in open ground.

One of the main features is temperature changes during the day and night, because cucumbers planted in the ground are least protected from this kind of influence.

Improper watering also plays a big role in the yellowing of cucumbers in the garden. It is necessary to water cucumbers either early in the morning or late in the evening to avoid burning the leaves.

What to do

In order to preserve the harvest of cucumbers in the garden, you need to pay attention to the following information:

compliance with temperature conditions. The optimal temperature regime for growing cucumbers until fruit appears is during the day in clear weather +22...+24°C, in cloudy weather +20...+22°C, at night +17...+18°C; during fruiting - during the day in clear weather +23...+26°С, in cloudy weather +21...+23°С, at night +18...+20°С. If the temperature drops below normal, it is necessary to take forced measures to cover the plants so that they do not freeze.
fertilizers and top dressing. It is important to remember that any cucumbers require additional feeding. If there is a lack of nutrients, cucumbers die. At the beginning of growth, cucumbers should be fertilized with nitrogen fertilizers. Before fruiting begins, it is necessary to use fertilizers that contain potassium; tincture of ash, potassium nitrate or any complex of mineral fertilizers is also suitable.

Whatever method you choose for growing cucumbers, the main task is to get a rich harvest that will be not only tasty, but also healthy. The most important thing that every lover of growing cucumbers should remember: if the leaves of the plant have turned yellow, then it is missing something, you need to urgently look for and eliminate the cause in order to prevent the death of the cucumbers.

Nutritional deficiencies

The appearance of yellowness along the edge of the leaf indicates a lack of nitrogen and potassium in the soil. If these elements are in excess, then the growing season slows down.

This may lead to the following consequences:

shedding of leaves;
yellowing and falling of fruits at the ovary stage;

slowdown in plant growth and development;
complete drying of the stem.

Nitroammofoska

Potassium humate

Superphosphate

The problem is solved as follows:

Nitrogen fertilizer is applied, followed by potassium fertilizer: Nitroammophosphate, Potassium Humate, Superphosphate.
The proportions of fertilizers to the dimensions of the bed are taken into account.
Temperature and humidity in the greenhouse are regulated.
Foliar feeding is carried out using whey and a few drops of iodine.

It is best to carefully separate damaged leaves from the stem and remove them from the greenhouse, since weakened leaves can become an excellent place for the development of pathogenic flora.

How to prevent the problem

To prevent the bushes from starting to turn yellow after planting, they are regularly sprayed with preventative agents:

Bread infusion. Place a loaf of bread in a container with water and soak for 12-14 hours. Then the soaked bread is kneaded, treated with iodine and filled with water. Seedlings are treated with the solution every 15 days.
Onion peel. A kilogram of onion peels is poured with ten liters of water and boiled. Then the liquid is infused and used to spray cucumbers.