Cucumber dying Verticillium Wilt ?

Hi everyone

My cucumber "passandra" F1 which was doing really well is dying and I suspect it to be Vertillicum Wilt, and if so I know there's nothing to be done :( ( I hope the links for the pics bellow work,if not I'll try again)

The plant is dying from the bottom up , limp leaves & stems, discoloration of leaves and the soil remains damp eventhough it looks like it's dying of thirst ! (I've also noticed that the excess water which drains off smells pretty bad !)

Why did this happen ?
I've read that V Wilt is a soil bound bacteria, could this have come from the potting soil I used ? I've been using (shame on me) the cheap potting soil from the local garden centre...

I've even used the same soil for my toms,which, aren't doing well either, I suspect they've got fusarium wilt (I'm on a roll here !)

Could all this be down to the soil ?

Thanks for your ideas...


http://yfrog.com/1qhpim1686j

http://yfrog.com/1ahpim1689j

http://yfrog.com/2dhpim1688j

 

Sorry to hear and see your cu`s Helen...sad.. but I thank you for the post as It had educated me into something I should be looking for on my cucumbers which I`m glad to say are looking good at the moment
robert

 

Hope they continue ! nothing better than a home grown cucumber,tastes so much better than the supermarkets ones !

 

Well my cucumber died completely in less than 48hrs !
It would seem after all that i was neck rot...
Only visible after having pulled it out, the soft brown part of the neck was just under the soil line so not visible at all before pulling it out...
The leaves themselves were beginning to smell bad and all this in only 48hrs...

any idea what causes neck rot ?