Cucumber's leaves turning brown

[Brad Moreau]

Cucumber's leaves turning brown & drying out, plant has around 50+ cuc on it about 1 1/2" long.its in flood & drain system, also planting some in raft system on side mount rail.any idea how to correct browning of leaves

system is 2000 gal with 250 fish @ 1 to 2 inches

[Tradewind]

What variety of cukes do you have?  If they are pickling cukes, try picking your cucumbers.  If left on there long enough the plant will think it has done it's job and take a sabbatical.  If they are slicers then there is something else going on with them only being 1 1/2" long.  It is hard to say for sure, but if your plants were deprived of some nutrient then maybe that is as large as the fruit is going to get and again maybe they should be picked.  Do you have other plants in the same grow bed?  What are they doing?  I do know if you leave cukes on too long the plant will die as it is reaching the end of the season for cukes.  But what the hey, I am no authority.

[Brad Moreau]

Tradewind, cukes die off but the rest of the plants are doing fine in the gravel bed the dwc is growing slow & yellowing not good at all. i removed the cukes, see what happens to the raft beds now

[Alex Veidel]

"Apple" people... I can't read your Quicktime picture file. Could you post it in a different format or put the picture in the discussion text?

[Tradewind]

Since this discussion started my cukes have changed their ways.  I thought they were done for the season and now I see new leaves with blossoms.  I think I might have a mobile nutrient problem as the old leaves are funky and the new ones look fine.  Could be potassium or chelated iron or some of the other common nutrient deficiencies; I really have no way of knowing.  I did bury a banana in the grow bed so maybe it is not potassium.  These plants can be a puzzler for sure.

[BK]

We've had cuke plants growing, and producing many small cukes (about 1-1/2" long) which promptly wither away.  I know the problem is a lack of pollination, but nothing I've tried has worked to transfer the pollen.  Insects just aren't doing the job of moving the pollen around - there are no bees here and butterflies aren't showing adequate interest.  I've researched enough to recognize the male vs. female flower. Either I'm not gathering the pollen correctly (I've used both a small paintbrush and a Q-tip) or it just isn't transferring the pollen. 

[Alex Veidel]

If cucumbers are forming on the plant, then your plants are getting all the pollination they need (probably more than that, since many cucumbers are actually self pollinating). Plants usually abort their fruit either due to a nutrient deficiency or from general stress.

It's especially helpful to have a picture when diagnosing deficiencies. Is your plant showing any other symptoms such as yellowing or curling leaves?