smilingcat - how is your water situation? I know that we had similiar problems with one type of cuke last year and I'm pretty sure it was a hydration issue. I didn't mulch very well because I wasn't used to an arid environment and some things suffered needlessly. Some varieties apparently are more water hardy than others. That's just a guess though...

shellyj - definitely plant anyway, even though it's late. We did a few things from seed (summer squash/zucchini, beans, corn & baby carrots) early-July last year and still got something to harvest (we have a short season too). We also had tomatoes but we started those with starts from the farmers market. It's always worth a shot, even late in the season. And in about a month, you can start planting for fall harvests, too!