I Don't Believe It !!!!!!!!!!!

One of mine went like this one year Sue and I was told to put a collar round it to keep the water off the stem . I don't know if this could be the reason !

I have had that happen in the past Rose, this time I thought it was possibly because it went so cold so have been careful with the doors and window, I even gave them extra protection overnight because of that but nope this one has been eaten away underground, no roots to be found at all just the chewed stem...

Hi Sue, I don't think I've ever seen anything as well eaten as that, by the looks of it I don't think it could be anything but mice, Derek.

Here is another possibility:

Cucumber Beetles

The spotted, striped and banded cucumber beetles are very harmful to cucurbits (members of the gourd family, including cucumbers, melons, pumpkins and squashes), particularly young plants. Beetles commence feeding on plants as soon as they emerge and either kill the plants or greatly slow growth. In cucurbit plantings throughout South Carolina, beetles have been observed entering the soil through cracks and feeding on seedlings below the soil surface. Beetles are present throughout the growing season and feed on all parts of the plant including the flowers and fruit.

Cucumber beetles also transmit bacterial wilt of cucurbits. This disease overwinters (survives the winter) in the intestines of the beetles and is scattered from plant to plant as the beetles feed. Infected plants eventually wilt and die. Many new varieties of cucurbits have resistance to bacterial wilt. Cucumber beetle larvae (immature forms) feed on the roots and bore into both roots and stems of cucumber plants.

Here's a link you can check out: http://www.clemson.edu/extension/hgic/pests/plant_pests/veg_fruit/hgic2207.html

What a pest! I've lost two of my Melons out of four, so i know the feeling! Hope you find the culprit!

Just sending sympathy Lics - its infuriating when the plant's got as far on as that.

Sorry to you and your plant!

I find cucumbers tricky, damping off and red spider mite did for mine most years, they popped their clogs at the slightest whim!

Thanks Bathgate will read up on that.
These two were ones I purchased Karen (first time I'd done that )reason being I did lose the first lot I'd sown,going to tip the compost out to doublecheck for nasties.... weather is good today...
Pam I have done better since having two g'houses and able to keep them further apart from the toms, it doesn't really make sense actually as I will have G'delight in tubs in the same house, only other difference is that one is glass and the other is Heavy duty plastic, just never seems to get the mite as the glass one used to....I know they are beggars if watered incorrectly....

Derek I do now think the mouse is the real culprit, do not know whether it will be a deterrent but the other one now has a mass of pretty blue pellets decorating the compost hoping mice dislike them as much as snails and slugs do.

What a shame Lincs, hope you have better luck with your other one;0)

How annoying for you Sue ! :( I hope you can get some more.
And I hope you can work out what caused it ...

One of our cucumbers went yellow and died too.

I also lost the other one within a week, I emptied the bags completely and found nothing at all in the compost, one tiny one left now and obviously I won't be planting anymore this year, however I had already donated two to my daughter and they are thriving in her g'house so all is not complerely lost...

We put our other two into large plastic pots and they seem to be doing o.k. now. We even grow our tomatoes in large pots now as we found the bags contained water too much even slashing slits in the bottom.

I reccon its the fluctuating temperatures, been really chilly some nights, down to 5c....then high daytime temps.....

Yes it could be that Pam, its not worth me getting anymore plants now, however my toms are doing marvellously, some of them are going to be ready earlier this year unless of course they don't ripen, last year I had to force some of them into ripening, thought it was never going to happen..
I stopped using the growbags a long time back Lindak, I use the circles straight into the beds which I refresh every springtime in the top G'house and huge pots and tubs for the spare ones grown in the other one as its all granite on the floor in that one, I can control the watering a lot better now and do not suffer with the yellowing plants as I did with growbags....

Glad you enjoyed it Sue, Derek.