hey gang,

i just discovered this place - great so far! i'm having problems with my cucumbers and watermelon plants. the cucumbers i started indoors from seeds and they did great. after i put them outside in the ground they just got pale and aren't growing really. is this transplant shock? they did flower, but haven't sprung up yet, and many leaves are looking pale/sick. also, my watermelon (1st time doing WM) is looking droopy and not really growing either. all of these are in a newly made raised bed with lots of blended soils, compost, peat moss, etc. i'm not sure what i'm doing wrong. any ideas?

thanks
Roary

Welcome to the forum,

What is the weather like, Did you harden off your plants before transplanting them into the garden? Both are warm weather plants and will struggle if the soil tempature hasn't warmed up yet.

well, i'm on the West Coast, in Victoria, so we are a mild part of BC, but it hasn't been that warm lately. kinda rainy, and not above 20 celcius very often. grr, i'm so hoping it's gonna get hot soon.

cheers
Roary

Chances are the soil amendments you added haven't had enough time to break down and mix to the point where the new little roots can use them. Often overwatering creates yellowing, as well as alkaline soil. You ought to get a soil test just to make sure things are in balance.

You might want to try a foliar seaweed spray. I guess using fish emulsion isn't ecofriendly anymore, but if you have any fish emulsion sitting around, dilute that and add it around the plants. It will take a good week of warm weather to see if new leaves are coming out.

I live at the coast where it's too chilly to grow watermelons to a good size. The plants grow well, the melons taste great, but you can hold them in the palm of your hand. I give them to little kids telling them they are "baby" watermelons, they seem to think that's amazing
:^O