Diva Cucumbers Planted Nov 8, 2020

[fldave]

Diva Cucumbers planted Nov 8, 2020

Planter: Bounty Artisan Elite (50 watt light)(1.3 Gallon water reservoir)
Light Schedule: 17 hours On (6am to 11pm).
    Supplemented with a 32W GE grow light bulb aimed at trellis Day 28.
Water: Reverse Osmosis filtered softened well water from Florida Aquifer.
Pump Schedule: Default for Tomatoes - 60/660 for 2 weeks then 60/0 forever after
Pump flow-dial: 3 o’clock position (maximum)
Water Consumption (AeroVoir draw-down):
    Startup through day 14 - Less than 1 pint 
    Days 14 through 21 - 1.2 quarts
    Days 22 through 28 - 1.7 quarts
    Days 29 through 35 - 4.5 quarts
    Days 36 through 39 - 4.5 quarts
    Days 40 through 44 - 9.0 quarts
    Days 45 through 50 - 9.5 quarts
    Days 51 through 55 - 11.0 quarts

Feeding (Recommended TDS range for cucumbers is 1190 to 1750 ppm):
    Startup - 3ml CaliMagic & 8ml AG nutrients
    Day 14 - 1ml CaliMagic & 6ml AG nutrients (switching to weekly feedings).  TDS 780 after feeding.
    Day 17 - 2ml CaliMagic because bottom leaves were getting splotches.  TDS 670 before, 804 after.
    Day 21 - 6ml AG nutrients.  TDS 550 before, 768 after.
    Day 23 - 2ml AG nutrients.  TDS 615 before, 723 after.
    Day 24 - 3ml AG nutrients. TDS 664 before. 855 after.
    Day 26 - 3ml AG nutrients. TDS 598 before. 780 after.
    Day 27 - 2ml CaliMagic.  TDS 602 before, 708 after.
    Day 28 - 4ml AG nutrients. TDS 860 after.
    Day 30 - 6ml AG nutrients. TDS 530 before.
    Day 32 - 2ml CaliMagic, 6ml AG nutrients. TDS 365 before.
    Day 34 - Drain & Refill. 6ml CM & 14ml AGN. TDS 364 before draining, 1040 after
    Day 35 - 6ml AG nutrients. TDS 773 before.
    Day 36 - 2ml CaliMagic & 6ml AG nutrients. TDS 795 before.
    Day 37 - 4ml AG nutrients. TDS 892 before.
    Day 38 - 6ml AG nutrients. TDS 790 before.
    Day 39 - 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 726 before. 1124 after.
    Day 40 - 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 768 before.
    Day 41 - 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 750 before.
    Day 42 - 1ml CaliMagic & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 738 before.
    Day 43 - 8ml AG nutrients.
    Day 44 - 1/20 tsp Epsom Salt & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 715 before.
    Day 45 - 1/20 tsp Epsom Salt & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 776 before.
    Day 46 - 1/20 tsp Epsom Salt & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 650 before.
    Day 47 - 1/20 tsp Epsom Salt & 9ml AG nutrients. TDS 715 before.
    Day 48 - 1/5 tsp Epsom Salt & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 720 before.
    Day 49 - 1/5 tsp Epsom Salt & 8ml AG nutrients. TDS 795 before.
    Day 50 - 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt & 9ml AG nutrients. TDS 650 before.
    Day 51 - 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt & 10ml AG nutrients. TDS 630 before.
    Day 52 - 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt & 10ml AG nutrients. TDS 805 before.
    Day 53 - 14ml AG nutrients. TDS 850 before.
    Day 54 - 12ml AG nutrients. TDS 1160 before.
    Day 55 - 12ml AG nutrients. TDS 1160 before.
    Day 56 - 1/4 tsp Epsom Salt & 10ml AG nutrients. TDS 1124 before.
    Day 57 - 10ml AG nutrients. TDS 1160 before. Began harvesting.


Seed Source: David’s Garden Seeds via Amazon.com



Photos at day 15:

[Sher]

They are off to a very healthy looking start!

And I really do miss that Florida aquifer well water! We had an artesian well when I was a kid.

[Shawn]

While you still can, gently turn them a few times a day so the roots form a soft root ball.  It helps to keep them from getting into the pump.  Of course as they get dense it wont matter but at least it puts it off for a while.

[fldave]

I turned it Shawn.  It is a lot easier turning a plant that has a whole garden to itself as opposed to having roots tangled up with neighbors in a fully populated garden.

[fldave]

Day 21 photos.  Added 2ml CaliMagic mid-week because the bottom original two leaves were getting splotchy and I thought that it could be a deficiency, but it turns out that by the end of the week they were pretty brown & dry so I removed them.  The rest of the plant is looking quite healthy with lots of new growth.  I am probably done turning it now because the roots rub against the pump housing when I turn it and I don't want them to wind too tightly.  It drank 1.2 quarts of water this week. See the first post in this thread for water, feeding & TDS history.

[Shawn]

I can say your root ball is balled up nicely and looks very healthy.

[Sher]

It looks so stocky and healthy. If you look at others' cucumber projects (even on Youtube), leaf discoloration is not uncommon.

[carriann]

Looks good! I just put 3 Tasty Jade seed pods in--using a bounty elite artisan as well. Looks like I need to keep only the best one and transfer perhaps the other sprouts, I have another garden available. I know they get big, though I have a small fruit and plant variety.

What are your thoughts, growers? Just one small growing cuke per 9-pod for best results?

[Shawn]

Dec 5, 2020 15:23:53 GMT -5 carriann said:

Looks good! I just put 3 Tasty Jade seed pods in--using a bounty elite artisan as well. Looks like I need to keep only the best one and transfer perhaps the other sprouts, I have another garden available. I know they get big, though I have a small fruit and plant variety.

What are your thoughts, growers? Just one small growing cuke per 9-pod for best results?

Hello carriann, I have never grown the tasty jade, however if you do a search for the phrase "tasty jade" on the forum you will see what others who have grown it did.  Some did well while others not so much.

[fldave]

Carriann, this is my first cucumber planting so it is all new to me too.  From the posts that I have read on this forum, the massive amount of roots on each plant may be your most constraining factor.  For my Diva, one leaf covers 1/3 of the planting deck of the Bounty and this beast is really starting to take off so I am glad that I have only one planted.  I ordered more trellis sections today for the sides, in addition to the one that I have in the back, as I anticipate needing to fence it in soon so it doesn’t sprawl across my entire garden.

[fldave]

Day 28 Photos.  I am already seeing baby cucumbers as shown in the second photo!  The Diva is reaching out to the neighboring tomato plant and is starting to  arm-wrestle with the pea plants behind it for trellis supremacy.  Added nutrients several times this week trying to keep the TDS over 700.  See the first post of this thread for feeding and water use history.  

[Sher]

WOW!!!!!

It s a monster!  it looks like it will produce scores of cucumbers!

[fldave]

Day 34 photos.  The Diva now exceeds the height of the maximally extended Bounty light. It drank over a gallon of water this week and is starting to produce nice big flowers.  I drained and refilled it at day 34, adding 6ml CaliMagic and 14ml AG nutrients.  I am no longer able to lift the planting deck to photograph the roots or clean the pump filter as the Diva is holding it down, bracing against the light pole and trellis. I am surprised at how brittle the stems are.  I was trying to gently redirect the end of a branch and snapped off about 6 inches of 1/4 inch diameter new growth.

[Shawn]

Look at that, cute teeny weeny cuke.

[Sher]

Such a cute little thing!

I really appreciate the TDS log.

[fldave]

Sher01, I am glad that it is of use to you. It really shows how much juice this thing is absorbing.  19ml of AG nutrients and 4ml of CaliMagic in the past week and the TDS was still falling below 400.  I decided to do a drain and refill to rebalance the calcium/magnesium with the other nutrients since I have no way of knowing the composition of the TDS with my basic conductivity measurement. 

[fldave]

Day 39 photos.  The Diva is trying to take over the whole lower level of my garden and has lots of little 1 inch long cucumbers everywhere. I have been adding an average of 6ml of AG nutrients each day this week and the TDS still keeps falling down into the 700s.  It drinks over a gallon of water in 4 days now.  Thanks Sher01 for confirming in another thread that cucumbers aren’t big fans of cal-mag.  I was thinking the same thing based on the yellow leaf edges that would begin to form when I use CaliMagic.  I still add a little, due to using RO water, but focus mostly on AG nutrients to keep the TDS up.

[Shawn]

It may be taking over but looks healthy.

[Sher]

The growth and nutrient uptake is phenomenal! And it looks so healthy!

BTW, it was originally Corinne that posted about cucumbers not liking calmag. But it stuck with me.

[fldave]

Thanks for the cal-mag tip Corinne.

I think I need to pull that little Harvest360 out of there before the cucumber plant swallows it.  Otherwise it will be stuck in there for the life-span of a cucumber plant.

I hope AeroGarden ships my order of 2L of plant food soon.  I am going through my current 1L bottle much faster than I had anticipated.  I see me tearing into the dozen or so boxes of AG seed kits that came with the gardens just to get the bottles of plant food out of them.