DIY Network

Disease Protection, Harvesting How-To Disease Protection, Harvesting How-To From "Fresh from the Garden" episode DFFG-114

Learn how to diagnose and protect your cucumbers from disease, and get helpful hints on harvesting....

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Anthracnose is a common cucumber disease. Symptoms are small tan or grey spots on the leaves that get larger as the disease gets worse.

• Anthracnose is a common cucumber disease. Symptoms are small tan or grey spots on the leaves that get larger as the disease gets worse. If the disease gets too far then the leaves start to die back and you can lose the whole plant. This usually starts when the plant leaves are too moist causing a fungus to get started. Vegetables do best when their roots are moist and their leaves are dry. When you water try not to wet the leaves, only the ground around the plant. A soaker hose works well for this.

• Wilts are another type of problem that plagues cucumbers. Plants with wilts have drooping lower leaves. More and more stems are affected as the wilt works its way up the plant. Remove any diseased plants immediately before the disease can spread to neighboring plants.
  

  One of the best ways to have healthy cucumbers is to plant disease-resistant plants.

• One of the best ways to have healthy cucumbers is to plant disease-resistant plants. Most seeds companies have these in their catalogs. They're usually marked so that you know which plants are resistant before you buy them.

• Cucumber beetles, as their name suggests, are a real problem for cucumbers. Cucumber beetles, which can be spotted or striped, and squash bugs, which come in black to gray colors, are both insects that can do damage to your garden.

• Cucumber beetles lay larvae that eat roots and Squash bugs attack individual pieces of fruit and suck the juice out of it. One of the most effective ways to get rid of them is to hand pick them off so that they can't reproduce.

• With plants like cucumbers that have fruit that seems to keep growing and growing, it's hard to know when to pick them. Bigger isn't always better. Young cucumbers are sweeter and more tender. Larger cucumbers are great for slicing since their crisp. Because they grow very fast you have to keep an eye on them so they don't get too large.
  

  You should harvest when the cucumber is dark green all over.

• To harvest your cucumbers, use a sharp pair of garden scissors. Grab a hold of the cucumber you're going to pick and gently pull it away from the plant. Then, using your scissors, clip it off the vine about half an inch above the cucumber. You want to harvest before you notice a yellowing at the blossom end of the fruit because this indicates an overripe fruit. You should harvest when the cucumber is dark green all over. You can store cucumbers for up to a week in a refrigerator, but it is best to eat them right away.

• If you want to have cucumbers all season long, plant a few new plants every 2 weeks. That way as one cucumber plant begins to slow down the next plants are blooming and starting new fruit. A cucumber plant produces well for about a month before the fruit quality starts to decline. Pull up old plants to make room for the new ones and you'll have plenty of room for all of your cucumbers.