Cukes and Zukes have an issue

[sleuth]

I noticed that my cucumber vines and leaves are turning yellow, starting at the bottom. I read somewhere online that it could be a magnesium deficiency and to use an epson salt solution to water them. Any other ideas?

I also noticed that the tips of my zucchini's are turning yellow. I couldn't find anything online that looked like it. Right now it is only a little patch about the size of a quarter near the tip of the zucchini. Everything I read online was either blossom end rot or magnesium/calcium deficiency. I didn't think the pictures of those looked like mine, though. Any other ideas?

 

[Joel_BC]

Hard to say too much without pictures of your plants, but...

I've been vegetable gardening for over 25 years (that is, since I was a kid, really), and I don't know everything. But I've found a number of reasons for plants' leaves yellowing. One is lack of enough magnesium, as you've been advised. Another is lack of sufficient nitrogen. Or iron.

Another reason is over-watering. With this, the leaves start to go yellow and appear and feel (to the touch) sort of softer and thicker than usual. Then, once yellowed, they start to drop off. In a garden or greenhouse, rather than in a container-planted situation, it tends to happen more frequently with clayish soils that do not drain very quickly.

 

[sleuth]

Here are some pics. Top 2 are zukes and bottom 2 are cukes.

 

[Joel_BC]

Okay, now we can see them.

First question: what kind of soil enrichment/maintenance steps did you take? (IOW, soil amendments)

The plants basically look green. With these plants, it's pretty normal to find the occasional leaf that has yellow areas or has dried up and gone brown. If the plants are yellowing overall - yes, it could be lack of magnesium, or iron. But if you feel they've been showing a general lack of growth vigor, I'd be tempted to suspect low nitrogen.

Since I don't know how you amended the soil in the first place, I'm not sure what to recommend doing at this point. Around where I live, a lot of organic gardeners give diluted fish emulsion ("fish fertilizer") when watering during the growing season. It's high in nitrogen and contains many other elements, including magnesium and iron. But it's fairly inexpensive, hence common, here because we're within a few hundred miles of the Pacific coast, where it's manufactured.

 

[sleuth]

Okay, now we can see them.

First question: what kind of soil enrichment/maintenance steps did you take? (IOW, soil amendments)

The plants basically look green. With these plants, it's pretty normal to find the occasional leaf that has yellow areas or has dried up and gone brown. If the plants are yellowing overall - yes, it could be lack of magnesium, or iron. But if you feel they've been showing a general lack of growth vigor, I'd be tempted to suspect low nitrogen.

Since I don't know how you amended the soil in the first place, I'm not sure what to recommend doing at this point. Around where I live, a lot of organic gardeners give diluted fish emulsion ("fish fertilizer") when watering during the growing season. It's high in nitrogen and contains many other elements, including magnesium and iron. But it's fairly inexpensive, hence common, here because we're within a few hundred miles of the Pacific coast, where it's manufactured.

I've done no soil amendments other than a compost tea a couple times made from grass clippings.
The soil was trucked in for my raised beds and came out of some river bottoms this spring. I dumped it right in the beds and have not had any time yet to do any soil amendments. I planned on mixing in some of "Mel's Mix" this fall after the harvest.

Most of my plants are growing quite well in this soil, except my blackberries and blueberries. My broccoli and cauliflower did not produce either, but I am chalking that up to a late transplant. My tomatoes have not yet ripened either, but I do have several green fruits.

 

[Joel_BC]

Maybe weather is a factor this year?

If your blueberries are not doing well, it might be that the pH of your soil is off - meaning, blueberries like a very acid soil, and maybe this soil is too alkaline.

 

[sleuth]

Maybe weather is a factor this year?

If your blueberries are not doing well, it might be that the pH of your soil is off - meaning, blueberries like a very acid soil, and maybe this soil is too alkaline.

Yes, I had planned to mix in some pine needles and wood ash into my blueberry beds in the near future.

 

[gatorgirl69]

Try Some Basic Slag... Works wonders for a Whole lotta things

 

[Joel_BC]

Maybe weather is a factor this year?

If your blueberries are not doing well, it might be that the pH of your soil is off - meaning, blueberries like a very acid soil, and maybe this soil is too alkaline.

Yes, I had planned to mix in some pine needles and wood ash into my blueberry beds in the near future.

Pine needles would be okay for blueberries. Do not add wood ashes. They are quite alkaline, not acidic.

Better tha pine needles only would be some powdered sulphur (sometimes called "flour of sulphur"), sprinlked on top of the soil out to the dripline of each plant, then scratched down into the surface a little with a garden claw or some other tool. Then you could put your pine needles over the top of that.

 

[Daffodils At The Sea]

Actually, it turns out pine needles are not acidic, and they take forever to break down, so even if they improve the soil it could take many months to over a year, and you probably want something now. If you need acid apply used coffee grounds, that you can get extra from coffee shops if you don't have enough, and tea bags.

And the yellow ends are an indication of not enough calcium in the soil, which is a common problem. Add dolomitic lime around the plant, but not too close, and water it into the soil thoroughly. It might take some time for the plant to be able to use it, perhaps a month.