Cucumber is one of the most ancient and popular vegetable crops. This is one of the few vegetables that is eaten unripe – the greener and smaller its fruits, the tastier they are.
The greener and smaller the cucumbers, the tastier they are.
People began to actively cultivate cucumbers in ancient times, about six thousand years ago, as evidenced by finds near the ruins of the Khazar city of Sarkepa, where dried cucumber seeds were found. The Greeks called this vegetable “aguros”, which means “unripe and unripe”, which is where the name came from – cucumber. It was brought to Europe from India, where its ancestor grows – wild cucumber – a tropical liana with long lashes growing in forests.
Cultivation of cucumbers
Cucumbers can be grown both seedling and seedless. They are hypersensitive to cold, and good seed germination depends on soil temperature – it should be at least + 14 Β° C.
You can grow cucumbers both in seedlings and by sowing directly into the ground.
Cucumbers can be grown successfully in a variety of soil types with adequate aeration and drainage, although they grow best in light, humus-rich soils. The experience of many gardeners has shown that they respond well to the application of various organic fertilizers that improve soil structure. You should not grow cucumbers in one place more than once in 1 years, otherwise they will be highly susceptible to disease. The best predecessors are corn, tomatoes, peas and early potatoes. When growing cucumbers, they need to be regularly supplied with various nutrients.
Seedling cultivation
This method of cultivation makes it possible to significantly accelerate fruiting. So, in the open field, the first crop of cucumbers grown by seedlings can be obtained 2 weeks earlier than those grown in the usual way. At the time of planting, the plants should have 3-4 true leaves, that is, be 2-3 weeks old.
The seedling method of growing will significantly speed up fruiting
To grow cucumber seedlings, you need:
1. Take full-bodied large seeds that have undergone pre-sowing heating (for this you need to hold them for a month near heating appliances at a temperature of about +25 Β° C). The seeds heated in this way will give the most friendly seedlings, the plants will begin to bear fruit earlier and will produce less barren flowers.
2. Then the seeds must be disinfected: for this, you can use an infusion of garlic pulp – 100 g of garlic pulp per 30 ml of water (cold). Keep the seeds in this infusion for 1 hour.
3. After that, put them in cloth bags and soak for 12 hours in a nutrient solution: 1 liter of water + 1 teaspoon of sifted wood ash and nitrophoska.
4. Then, rinsing with clean water, lay them on a slightly damp cloth and keep them at a temperature of +2 Β° C for about 20 days – until they swell completely. Make sure that the seeds do not germinate, they should only slightly peck.
5. The last stage of pre-sowing processing of cucumber seeds is to place them in the refrigerator for a day.
Remember: seeds of hybrids do not need pre-sowing treatment.
Seeds of cucumbers are sown in small containers
Sow cucumber seedsto get seedlings, throughout April – in small containers about 10-12 cm high.
- Nutrient soil mixture should be prepared in advance: 1 part sawdust (we use small and old ones) + 2 parts each of humus and peat. For 10 liters of this mixture, add 1,5 tbsp. spoons of nitrophoska and 2 tbsp. spoons of wood ash.
- Having mixed the soil mixture well, fill the containers to the top with it, sow the germinated seeds (one piece per container) and water them a little. Seedlings will be ready in 27-32 days.
- When the seedlings have 2 true leaves, it must be fed with a special solution: mix 3 liters of warm (about +20 Β° C) water + 3 teaspoons of nitroammophoska or nitrophoska.
- Throughout the entire growing period, cucumber seedlings are watered once a week, spilling the container completely.
Sowing and planting seedlings of cucumbers
The best soil will be a mixture: 1 part sawdust, humus, peat and soddy soil (1: 1: 1: 1). But, as we have said, almost any land is suitable for growing cucumbers.
Almost any land is suitable for growing cucumbers
Having formed the beds, we water them with a solution: 10 liters of hot (+80 … + 90 Β° Π‘) water + 1 teaspoon of copper sulfate, we spend about 3 liters per 1 mΒ², and leave for a day. On the day of planting cucumber seedlings or sowing seeds on the ridges, we make holes, the depth of which is about 4 cm, with a distance of about 60 cm from each other. We put the seeds in the holes, sprinkle with soil on top and water, and plant the seedlings vertically.
Care
Cucumber beds should always be kept free of weeds. During the first 3 weeks, while the plants are small, carefully loosen the soil to a depth of 2-4 cm. In the future, loosening should be carried out at least once a week.
During the growth and formation of fruits, cucumbers need plenty of water. For best yields, irrigate using warm water: before flowering – every 6-8 days, during fruiting – every 3-4 days.
You canβt water cucumbers this way: water should fall on the soil, and not on plants.
If the water does not seep well, make punctures between the rows with a pitchfork, such loosening will not disturb the root system of the plants. Do not water cucumbers with a strong jet from a hose, you need to water only the soil, and not the plants themselves.
Additional fertilizing
If you grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, top dressing should be carried out 5 times per season – with organic and mineral fertilizers.
Cucumbers need regular feeding
- For the first time, we feed the cucumbers at the beginning of their flowering with the following solution: add 10 teaspoon of urea, potassium sulfate and superphosphate to 1 liters of water, mix and add a glass of mushy mullein. Instead of a glass of mullein, you can take 1 tbsp. a spoonful of sodium humate.
- During the fruiting period of cucumbers grown in open ground, they need to be fed about 4 times. We make the first top dressing with a solution consisting of 10 liters of water, Art. spoons of nitrophoska and a glass of mushy chicken manure. And all the subsequent ones are like this: add 10 teaspoon of potassium sulfate and 1 liters of mullein to 0,5 liters of water, 1-4 liters of solution will be needed per 6 mΒ². If there is no litter and mullein, they can be easily replaced with the compositions “Breadwinner”, “Fertility”, “Ideal” (all of them are natural humic fertilizers) or simply sodium humate.
The process of feeding cucumbers in the open field is shown in the following video:
Cucumber care is in tying shoots plants, which must be carried out regularly – as they grow.
After the formation of 6-7 leaves, the main stem of the cucumber should pinch, this way you stimulate the branching of the plant and increase the yield.
Do not forget about the regular collection of fruits (2-3 times a week), it will contribute to more abundant fruit formation.
Cucumber hybrids for open ground
There are more and more varieties and hybrids of cucumbers every year. At the same time, their composition is significantly updated annually – preference is given to the earliest, well-bearing, relatively resistant to various diseases.
Cucumber hybrids for open ground
Remember that all F1 hybrids do not retain their unique properties in the second generation, that is, there is no point in collecting seeds.
‘Farmer F1’
Mid-season productive bee-pollinated hybrid with a predominantly female type of flowering, relatively cold-resistant, extremely resistant to powdery and downy mildew and olive blotch. Cucumbers ‘Farmer F1’ are grown in protected and open ground. The green fruit reaches 12 cm. The peculiarity of this hybrid is the intensive growth of the main lash and the rapid appearance of side shoots, with the growth of which the peak of mass fruiting begins.
‘Othello F1’
A uniquely early hybrid: the ripening of small-tubercular fruits begins already 45 days after shoots have appeared.
Cucumbers without bitterness are ideal for fresh consumption.
Crispy gherkins ‘Othello F1’ have a pleasant taste (even overripe fruits remain sweetish) and are genetically devoid of bitterness. Fruits can retain excellent taste and presentation for a long time. Resistant to powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic virus, downy mildew and cladosporiosis. The hybrid is cultivated not only in open ground, but also in greenhouses, as well as using temporary film shelters.
‘Regina F1’
Mid-season hybrid. It is used for growing under temporary film shelters and in open ground. Prone to parthenocarpy, quite resistant to cucumber mosaic viruses, root rot, powdery (true) dew pathogens and cladosporiosis. Graceful fruits are also devoid of bitterness and are distinguished by excellent taste, ripening as early as 50-55 days after germination.
‘Leandro F1’
Quite an early and high-yielding hybrid, resistant to stressful conditions and various diseases. It is distinguished by the female type of flowering, due to which it bears fruit well. Cucumbers with large pimples are great for pickling.
Cucumber hybrids for protected ground
Π first placed bee-pollinated: to obtain fruits, pollination by insects is required.
‘Octopus F1’
Yielding early hybrid gherkin type. Cylindrical fruits are dark green, thorny, absolutely devoid of bitterness, reach a length of 5-10 cm.
Bee pollinated hybrids need insect pollinators
‘Octopus F1’ is resistant to bacteriosis, cladosporiosis and relatively resistant to root rot and downy mildew.
‘Spring F1’
Mid-season hybrid. The length of the main lash is about 3 m, with medium branching. The fruits are cylindrical, with a smooth base, slightly tuberculate, without bitterness. In one bunch, 3-4 fruits are formed simultaneously, the mass of greens reaches 100 g.
‘Zozulya F1’
Early maturing hybrid, partially parthenocarpic. Fruiting occurs already 45-50 days after shoots have appeared. The fruits are cylindrical, rarely tuberculate, without bitterness, 13-25 cm long. Up to 1 kg of cucumbers are removed from 25 mΒ².
In second section included parthenocarpic hybrids that set fruits without pollination by insects.
Cucumber hybrids for protected ground
We have selected the best of the best.
‘Korolek F1’
Early: fruiting occurs as early as 43-55 days after mass shoots. Zelentsy are large-tuberous, cylindrical in shape, 20-22 cm long, weighing 150-190 g. Excellent taste (without bitterness), suitable for both fresh consumption and canning. It is characterized by complex resistance to ascochitosis, powdery mildew, brown spot and downy mildew.
‘Prestige F1’
Self-pollinating early maturing super-yielding hybrid. With the right agricultural technology, from 1 mΒ² you can get over 25 kg of excellent quality gherkins: the fruits are not bitter, they are stored for a long time.
Parthenocarpic hybrids do not need pollination by insects.
It is distinguished by a long period of fruiting, in addition, it is resistant to diseases, and also quite easily tolerates stressful conditions. Gives the most stable crops under a film. It can grow well not only in open ground, but also on a balcony or windowsill.
