By Beth11
Tasty Jade cucumber in the AG 2011
Submitted on Sat, 2011/01/29 - 8:29pm
Last updated on Fri, 2011/03/18 - 7:33pm
Hi All,
Last try at growing a cucumber in the AG. The variety is Tasty Jade a parthenocarpic (all female, sets fruit without pollination). Full size cucumber. This is more to test out the time lapse Plantcam then anything else. I am going to keep the pH lower than in the past - about 5.8. Haven't decided on nutes yet but will probably use the 3 part Flora to use it up.
Here's a picture of the Plantcam set up and a sample picture:
18 March 2011: Grow went nowhere. Didn't help I wasn't around to fill nutes. Interesting that a sample cuc (for postponed hydro demonstration) in clay pellets in an outside container (pick up to aerate) is doing just fine. Who mentioned that cucs don't like roots disturbed??
Sun, 2011/01/30 - 1:03pm
#2
Plantcam, like that.
Best of luck on the cukes.
Sat, 2011/02/12 - 7:34pm
#3
Hi All,
I have officially put learning to take a decent picture on my bucket list. I've managed to take 70 bad pictures. The plant cam does well, but the glare from the ag lights makes the image too washed out. On top of that, I "stitched" the photos together and promptly deleted the video from the camera.. Oh well, if you are really bored, take a look at the photobucket slide show. Time to try again. BTW this cuc is going into the hydro for show-and-tell.
http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq355/beth11_album/?action=view¤t=8867b2ff.pbw
Sat, 2011/02/12 - 8:00pm
#4
That was cool, Beth! Amazing how much the little guy grows in just 3 hours, even at this size.
Reminds me of a MythBusters episode - they tested the urban myth that staking a person over a bamboo shoot as a form of torture, would kill them by impaling the torso on the bamboo shoot in just a few days. The myth was confirmed. 
Did the plantcam instructions say anything about dealing with bright light? It should. A plantcam would normally be deployed in sunlight, which is brighter than this.
Sat, 2011/02/12 - 8:16pm
#5
No hints in the directions for bright light. I tried to angle it down out of direct glare. Gonna try it on a baby cuc fruit under shop lights
Tue, 2011/02/22 - 7:18pm
#6
Slightly better timelapse of the cuc - starting to show signs of spotting on oldest leaf. Have no idea how to edit the video to remove dark shots. I'd like to slow it down a little, too. Help?
http://s463.photobucket.com/albums/qq355/beth11_album/?action=view¤t=WSPC0062.mp4
Tue, 2011/02/22 - 7:28pm
#7
Very cool, Beth! 
I haven't tried to edit video for years. One hopes the freebie options have improved since then...
My living room cukes have yellow spots on their leaves, too, but it sure doesn't seem to have slowed them down. Or... well, maybe it has. Not my favorite cuke variety, but I may grow it outdoors this spring just to see what it does. None of my other cukes grow in spring, anyway.
Tue, 2011/02/22 - 8:07pm
#8
Hi All,
I ran across a video on youtube that shows the exact symptoms I've seen on all the cuc grows I've done hydroponically so far. I am convinced it is a nutrient imbalance not linked to the small ag size. I'm going to pull out my trump card and ask the MD State Master Gardener Coordinator for help. Notice the leaf cupping, yellow lwaf margins and brown spots.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4WrEjTSEpY
Tue, 2011/02/22 - 9:04pm
#9
Nice video, Beth. His cukes are pretty productive, given their disease state!
Wed, 2011/02/23 - 12:14pm
#10
The more I look at this the more it looks like downy mildew as replied to on his video blog?
I've had this on every single hydroponic cuke grow I've done, it would be good to know what it is properly.
I love it, Beth!
I hope you get some cukes out of it, too!