7 common reasons for your cucumbers turning yellow and possible solutions.
The most common reason for cucumbers turning yellow is over-ripening. Therefore, it is important to harvest your cucumbers before they reach that stage. Apart from this, there are various other reasons such as nutrient defiency or water stress which may result in your cucumbers turning yellow. Continue reading this article to find solutions to these problems.
In This Article
1. Overripe Cucumbers
Cucumbers will turn a yellow or goldish color when they are overripe and left on the vine for too long.
Cucumbers mature very quickly, so make sure to harvest them regularly. If you’re unsure about the maturity time, you can always check the ‘days to maturity’ on the seed packet. If you’re cucumbers have overripened, make sure to pick them otherwise the plant will keep putting its energy into it. You can throw your yellow cucumbers into the compost bin provided they are free from any diseases.
Is it okay to eat overripe cucmbers?
Although it is completely fine to eat overripe cucumbers, I dont think they will taste very nice, as overripe cucumbers tend to go bitter. They also become very soft and mushy.
Tip
Yellow cucumbers are great for collecting seeds for the next season since their seeds are fully mature.
2. Yellow Cucumber Variety
It’s possible that the cucumber you planted was actually a yellow variety. These types of cucumbers are meant to be eaten when they turn yellow and are not bitter. However, if you are certain that you planted a green variety, then it’s likely that the yellow cucumber is the result of a stray seed from a different packet. You can be sure by checking if the leaves are different from your green variety or not.
Yellow cucumber varieties:
Some delicious yellow varieties are Lemon Cucumber, Boothby Blonde, Yellow Submarine, Salt and Pepper. If you’re growing yellow cucumbers then be sure to harvest them when they are slightly pale, otherwise they will overripen.
3. Underwatering or Overwatering
Since cucumbers are made up of mostly water, it’s no surprise that they require a lot of water to grow big and healthy. Underwatering will not only make your cucumbers yellow, but it will also cause them to be deformed and taste unpleasant. During hot weather, water your cucumbers more often as the soil dries up much quicker. You should check the moisture level of your soil by sticking your finger in and checking if the top 2 inches are dry or not. Keep in mind that containers will dry out even faster.
Overwatering can wash away beneficial nutrients and minerals from the soil causing your cucumbers to turn yellow. If your plants are sitting in water, it will also cause the roots to start rotting.During the rainy weather, the soil will not dry out as quickly, so watering should be done less often.
4. Lack of Pollination
You can easily tell if your cucumbers have not been properly pollinated if they turn yellow and fall off while still very small. Lack of pollination will also cause cucumbers to be deformed.
To help your garden become more pollinator-friendly, consider planting zinnias, sunflowers, marigolds, and basil. These plants are great at attracting pollinators such as bees and butterflies. If you want to pollinate your plants by hand, pluck a male flower and dust its pollen into a female flower. Female flowers can be identified by the tiny fruit underneath them which is actually their ovary. Male flowers won’t have this and won’t grow into fruits, so you don’t have to worry about picking them.
5. Nutrient Deficiency
Inadequate amounts of nutrients in the soil can cause cucumbers to turn yellow and not grow properly. The biggest sign of nutrient deficiency is if both of your cucumbers and leaves are turning yellow.
To fix this problem, you should add organic compost to the soil every year. Additionally, fertilize with a liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing season. Another beneficial practice is crop rotation, which helps to increase the amount of organic matter present in the soil.
6. Insect Damage
Aphids, spider mites, and cucumber beetles are some of the most common pests that can attack your cucumber plants. These pests can weaken the plant by feeding on its leaves and stems. As a result, the plant may turn yellow and its growth may get stunted.
Use organic pesticides such as neem oil or garlic spray to get rid of pests. You can also grow plants such as sunflowers and dill which attract beneficial pollinators.
7. Plant Diseases
Cucumbers turning yellow can also be caused by plant diseases. Some of the most common ones are:
- Powdery mildew – This disease is caused by a parasitic fungus. It can be easily identified by the white powdery substance found on both sides of the leaves. Powdery mildew causes the leaves to dry up resulting in cucumbers turning yellow and not growing properly.
- Bacterial wilt – This bacterial disease is caused by cucumber beetles and leads to wilting and drying of leaves and vines. This will eventually cause the plant to die, so the best solution would be to dig up the plant so that others wont get infected as well.
- Angular leaf spot – This is also a bacterial disease and can be identified by brown spots surrounded by a yellow halo.
- Cucumber mosaic virus – This is a very common plant virus that causes symptoms such as a yellowish-green mosaic pattern on the plant and stunted growth.
The best solution to these diseases is to prevent them in the first place. To avoid fungal diseases, always water the soil directly, and don’t get the foliage wet. Keep an eye on your plants for beetles and pests that may carry bacterial infections. To learn more about cucumber plant diseases, check out this link.
