5 reasons you may have short, fat and bent cucumbers and how to fix it
Cucumber fruit curl is just a deformed cucumber known as “crooking”. Reasons your cukes may be curling, twisting or becoming lopsided may have to do with pollination, nutrition, obstructions, environment or pests. Here’s what you can do to easily fix it. Let’s get to it…
Uneven pollination…
Uneven pollination seems to be the number one culprit of cucumber bending and curling given ideal growing conditions have been met (described bellow). Flowers must be fully pollinated to produce fully developed fruit. It seems bees are not overly crazy for cucumber blooms but certainly don’t avoid them.
Whip your garden into a frenzy of pollination by including flowers nearby to help attract more pollinators into your garden. Salvia, daisies, cosmos, cone flower to name only a few. Not only do these look pretty but some are edible too like lavender and marigold. Check out this post on the absolute best way to get your garden happily pollinated. Our gardens thank us!
It never hurts to get out in your garden to self pollinate whether you have a pollinator garden or not. This is a great opportunity to spot pests or disease in the early stages so you can easily employ treatments in time.
Female flowers grow on longer stems which develop into fruit, while male flowers grow in smaller clusters without the elongated stem. Pollinate in the mornings before midday heat destroys the pollen.
For tips and tricks on cucumber and zucchini squash pollination and how to tell the males and females apart check here. The better you understand how pollination works the less stressful and more productive it becomes!
Poor nutrition
Inadequate nutrition can be to blame for cucumber fruit curl as cucumbers are heavy feeders and need to be side dressed every 2-3 weeks once the plant starts taking off. These guys like a balanced fertilizer. N/P/K ratios should be close to the same numbers like a 10/10/10. Be sure to follow package directions. Too much nitrogen can lead to deformities as well. Try fertilizing and/or mulching with compost.
Obstructions
If your little cucumber is obstructed somehow, by ground, fence, vine, other fruits it may become deformed simply because it does not have the space to grow. Try training them up a trellis to give them more room to grow, keep them cleaner up off the ground, and make them easier to reach!
“Training” simply refers to checking on you plants occasionally and weaving them onto the trellis. Make sure they are not leaning too far over, they could start climbing onto something else. Cukes are capable of hanging on with their tendrils and do not need to be tied or staked.
A trellis can be something as easy as a sheet of hog paneling, old ladder, twine strung between 2 boards, a stretch of fence or a store bought trellis.
Fun story: I once had a cucumber plant that I let climb up a nearby pine tree… The vine ended up being close to 30 ft long and I had to use a step stool and my pool skimmer (A long expandable pole with a mesh basket on the end.) to scoop a giant cucumber out of the top of the tree. The skimmer worked great. I’m so brilliant. Ha ha!
So, yes, a trellis is recommended just be sure your trellis is sturdy enough to support those massive cucumbers!
Growing environment
These little garden divas require evenly moist soil and steady temps above 60 degrees to fruit properly. They thrive in light soil, which is why incorporating compost into the soil is such a good idea.
Cucumbers love sunshine and water. Under perfect conditions cucumbers can grow and ripen in as fast as 6 weeks. Wow!
Inconsistent watering can lead to bitter cucumber so mulch those babies to keep moisture in the soil.
Pests
A few garden pests like white flies, mites, mealy bugs, aphids, thrips and scale can attack your plant and suck it dry which is why close inspections are critical. These pest attacks on your cucumbers can cause deformities.
Take back your garden with some homemade insecticidal soap, horticultural oil or neem oil.
Do not water from above as this can lead to powdery mildew. An irrigation system with a soaker hose works wonders. These are total life savers and I can’t recommend them enough to fellow gardeners here in drier climates. Irrigation kits cost roughly $30 and are easy enough to install. Raindrip is the brand I use but I’m sure all brands will work just fine.
Are deformed cucumbers OK to eat?
Of course deformed cucumbers are safe to eat! Do you have any idea how much produce is thrown away just because it doesn’t look perfect enough for store shelves? It’s sad really. So go ahead and enjoy your less than perfect fruit while you use these tactics listed here to prevent it from happening on a regular basis.
There you go. A quick rundown as to why you might be experiencing cucumber fruit curl and tactics you can use to easily remedy the situation to prevent future deformities.
Do you want to share a pic of your curly cucumber? How about before and after pics?! I want to see them! Tag @lubba.food.garden on instagram to share with the rest of us. Use the hashtag #ilubbaplants because I know you’e a plant lover.
Did you whip up a great meal using your cucumbers? I want to see those pics also! Tag #ilubbafood because I know you love food too… otherwise you wouldn’t be growing such tasty plants!
I love your gardens! XO
