jeff wrote:
David Hare-Scott wrote:
jeff wrote:
snip

All cucurbits struggle in the heat not just cucumbers. The reason is
that they have big soft leaves that lose water quickly due to both
evaporation and transpiration. On a well grown plant the root system
can be huge

I wondered about that.

but they also have long stems that take time to deliver water up
from the roots. On a hot sunny afternoon it is almost impossible to
prevent wilting as the transport system just can't keep up even if
the soil is moist. The good news is that although wilting will slow
down growth (the leaves shut down to conserve water) they recover
quite well.

That's good, I thought it might make the cukes "bitter". My vague
understanding is that watermellons are sweeter if they get less water
late.

Things to do:

- Mulch well to avoid soil evaporation. If your soil is sandy add
organic matter to improve its water holding capacity.

OK, I have a couple bags of cyprus mulch. How much should I put down?
An inch or two? The soil is reasonably good.

I don't know anything about cypress but normally put down 2 in of fairly
compact mulch or more if it is likely to compact down quickly.


- Water deeply and less frequently rather than lightly and often,
this will encourage deep and spreading root systems.
- Water in the mornings before hot days but avoid wetting the leaves
as it will encourage mildew which will reduce your crop much more
than wilting.
- Do not overcrowd the plants so that the root system for each plant
can develop fully.
- Allow nodal roots to develop (push some nodes under the mulch and
cover with soil after fruiting if you like) to short circuit the
transport issue.

Google fails me on this. Where will a nodal root form? Is it where the
the plant splits, or is this near the flower/fruit?


The nodes are the part of the vine where the leaves, tendrils and flowers
branch off the stem, in between is just stalk (ie the internode). The vine
is made of many of these repeating units; node, internode, node,
internode.... If the node is in contact with soil roots will develop which
means the water from the soil has less distance to travel compared with the
main root where the plant started from.


David