Viewing post #2279904 by ElPolloDiablo

EvieM27 said:


THANK YOU!!!!! That is so, so so helpful. I will check on the spider mites. But I am so glad to have some confirmation on the Angular Leaf Spot. I treated them yesterday with a copper based fungicide (from Southern Ag). So you don't think I need to re-apply? Or re-apply in ten days?

I can absolutely burn the plants at the end of season. I'm honestly more excited about my Titus F1 variety anyways. Of course, the Bonnie Plants profile for the Boston seedlings says they're "disease resistant" plants. I disagree and will try both of your suggestions next year.

The people who make Neem Oil seem to have done a good job in their marketing, because everyone seems to think it's the best stuff on the planet. I don't have an opinion one way or another because I haven't used it enough.

Bordeaux mixture (and all other copper-based fungicides) need to be reapplied every fortnight to maintain its effectivenes. In case of heavy rain they must be reapplied weekly. More frequent applications are not needed.

Boston Pickling is a very old (pre-WWI) and much beloved commercial cultivar and was improved around 1950 through selection and hybridization to provide limited resistance to cucumber scale and especially tobacco mosaic virus. That's the "disease resistance" Bonnie Plants speak about, but unìfortunately it's not ALS resistant.
Modern cultivars like Transamerica have a veritable lithany of disease resistances and can be grown almost everywhere with minimal use of pesticides. Even I, a well known lover of hierlooms, am switching to modern cultivars because of the excellent disease resistance.

I think Titus is actually a gherkin, meaning the smaller and crunchier brother of the cucumber. It's much in demand nowadays and it's extremely widespread in Eastern Europe. And if they grow it, it means it's good: they know a thing or two about growing vegetables there.