Cucumber is considered a rather capricious agricultural crop, which imposes a number of specific requirements on cultivation. Any mistake made by a gardener in the cultivation of cucumbers can lead to the fact that they are born small, deformed, bitter, sour, or generally tasteless.
What recommendations should be followed when growing this demanding crop? How to grow and plant cucumber seedlings? How to get a great harvest?
The necessary conditions
Cucumber is an annual liana-like crop, for the cultivation of which it is necessary to create special favorable conditions on the site (both in open and protected ground). First of all, it concerns such factors as:
- good illuminance;
- sufficient amount of free space;
- increased, but not too high (!) humidity of both soil and air;
- suitable temperature (soil and air);
- good nutrition (nutrient content in the soil).
Cucumbers are photophilous plants that need good lighting during the day. A lack of sunlight (noted, for example, when planting seedlings in a strong shade) has a detrimental effect on them, as a result of which cucumber lashes are stretched, become weak, and lag behind in development. However, a long stay in the bright, scorching sun for cucumbers can also be no less harmful, since under such conditions there is a risk of burns to the plants. In addition, the experience of many summer residents shows that with prolonged sunny and hot weather, cucumbers begin to form ugly and bitter fruits.
Optimal for growing cucumbers (both seedlings and adult plants) is soft, but plentiful diffused lighting. In this case, the duration of daylight hours should be at least 10-12 hours.
It is not recommended to plant cucumbers close to each other or to other plants, without leaving enough free space for them. In conditions of tightness and thickening, plants will not fully develop and, as a result, will not be able to give a truly plentiful and high-quality harvest. Gardeners consider 3-4 plants (depending on the variety) per 1 square meter to be the optimal planting density. meter.
It is also important to note that cucumbers are a moisture-loving crop that does not tolerate drought well. For this reason, when growing cucumbers both in a greenhouse and in open ground, gardeners pay especially close attention to regular watering and periodic spraying of plantings. It should be taken into account the fact that moisture deficiency is another reason for the formation of bitter and sluggish fruits of an ugly shape.
A certain temperature regime is another important condition that should be observed when growing cucumbers in open and protected ground. This capricious culture is extremely painful for cooling, and a critical and sharp drop in temperature for it can be completely fatal. The optimum temperature at which cucumbers feel comfortable and develop normally is 19-25 Β° C.
It is also worth noting that a strong increase in air temperature (above 35 Β° C) can negatively affect the growth and development of plants, therefore, in very hot weather, it is recommended to shade them and protect them from direct sunlight. Experienced gardeners also note that cucumbers love and respond with great gratitude to regular top dressing and are extremely reluctant to grow on poor, infertile soils. The lack of nutrients in the soil inevitably affects the quality, size and quantity of fruits.
Given this circumstance, gardeners prepare the soil for sowing cucumber seeds and planting seedlings in advance, enriching it with compost, humus, rotted manure, and complex fertilizers.
The best predecessors and neighbors in the garden
To provide themselves with a rich harvest of tasty and crispy cucumbers, experienced gardeners pay a lot of attention to competent crop rotation. So, in the same place, cucumbers are allowed to be grown no more than 3-5 years in a row. Further, cucumber plantings are recommended to be moved to a new place.
The best predecessors, after which it is allowed to plant cucumbers, are:
- potatoes;
- various types of cabbage (savoy, white and red cabbage, cauliflower);
- greens (parsley, lettuce, dill, coriander);
- peas;
- annual flower crops.
In the neighborhood of cucumbers, many summer residents advise planting sunflowers. These vigorous plants will protect cucumber lashes from the sun and even be able to act as a natural support for them.
Gardeners do not recommend planting cucumbers in places where crops were previously grown that intensively consume nutrients from the soil. These include corn, melons.
Growing seedlings
Experienced gardeners know a fairly large number of methods and technologies for growing cucumber seedlings, but they all have many common features. The most popular step-by-step scheme of actions, according to which most gardeners prefer to grow cucumber seedlings, is as follows:
- prepare the soil mixture for sowing (garden soil, humus, peat, sawdust in proportions 2: 2: 2: 1);
- fill cups, boxes or containers with soil mixture;
- sow the seeds, deepening them by 1,5-2,5 centimeters;
- abundantly shed containers with landings;
- cover the containers with foil.
Instead of the specified soil mixture, it is allowed to use a mixture of soddy soil and humus (2: 1) or ready-made soil for flowers and seedlings. In addition to plastic containers and cups, small pots made from peat-cardboard or peat-wood mixture (βpeat potsβ) can be used as planting containers. When using such pots, there is no need to remove the plant from the transplant container in the future. The pot itself, placed in the planting hole, will eventually disintegrate into fragments and decompose naturally.
For sowing, you can use both dry and soaked seeds. As a rule, summer residents resort to preliminary soaking of seeds in order to check their germination, since this procedure allows timely rejection of unsuitable and unviable planting material.
The seeds are usually soaked for 1-1,5 days using settled water at room temperature. In some cases, cucumber seeds are soaked in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate, which has an antibacterial (disinfecting) effect. Before germination, the soil in containers with crops is regularly moistened, preventing it from drying out. Subject to all the above recommendations, seedlings appear on the 5-10th day (the timing depends on the varietal characteristics of the plants). After the first sprouts sprout, the film is removed from the planting containers.
In order for young plants to fully develop, they maintain high humidity in the room (at least 60%). To do this, regular spraying of plantings is carried out, additional devices are used (air humidifiers, wide pallets with water). To prevent cucumber sprouts from stretching, they should be placed for a short time in a room with a moderately cool temperature (in the basement, on the balcony). The air temperature in the room should be at least 15-16Β°C. After a few days, the seedlings are returned to a warm room, where the daytime temperature reaches plus 22-23Β°C, and the night temperature does not exceed plus 18Β°C.
About 1,5-2 weeks before the expected date of planting in open ground, grown cucumbers begin to harden so that in the future they can more easily adapt to new conditions. To do this, containers with plants are transferred to a glazed balcony, loggia or unheated greenhouse, where the air temperature slightly exceeds the air temperature outside.
Landing in open ground
When 2-4 true leaves are formed on the plants, they are allowed to be planted in a permanent place. It should be protected from drafts and well lit by the sun during the day. In advance, even in autumn, the soil at the site of planting cucumbers is dug up and enriched with organic matter (rotted manure, ready-made complex fertilizers). At the landing site, holes are arranged about 10-12 cm deep. The distance between the holes should be at least 50 cm. If cucumbers are planned to be grown using the vertical method (on trellises), then the distance between the holes can be 30-35 cm. It is not recommended to place them on 1 sq. meter beds more than 3 plants.
The planting of cucumbers is carried out carefully, removing the plants along with an earthy clod on the roots. It is important to remember that in this culture the root system is characterized by increased fragility, so cucumbers tolerate a rough transplant very painfully. After planting, the plants are watered abundantly. Useful advice: after watering, it is recommended to shade the seedlings with non-woven material – this will allow the plants to quickly adapt to a new place. It is strongly not recommended to leave freshly planted cucumbers without temporary shelter in hot and sunny weather.
Also, plantings should not be left unprotected during short-term cold snaps, when the air temperature drops to 10-12 Β° C. In this case, arcs are installed above the cucumbers, on which a film coating or spunbond is fixed.
In regions with a cool climate and unstable weather conditions, many gardeners grow cucumbers in compost pits (heaps) or in car tires. With these growing methods, cucumbers rarely suffer from sudden temperature changes and sharp nighttime cold snaps.
The secret of arranging a “vertical bed” of wheels:
- 3 old car tires are stacked on top of each other;
- fasten the tires together with any improvised means (wire, twine);
- fill the resulting structure with fertile soil, compost, humus.
From 1 to 3 plants are planted in the finished tire structure. Then they take care of them in the same way as for plants planted on a regular bed.
Care
The main care for cucumbers in the country is regular abundant watering, periodic top dressing, garters and pinching. From time to time, plants are subjected to a thorough inspection for traces of insect pests or signs of possible diseases.
Watering
Watering the beds with cucumbers should be done once every 1-2 days (in a hot, dry summer, watering is allowed every other day). For irrigation, only settled warm water is used, spending 5-6 liters per 1 sq. meter before flowering and 10-12 liters each – at the stage of ovary formation. Watering is carried out at dawn or after sunset.
Garter
As they grow, cucumbers need to be tied up. This is necessary in order for the plants to receive a sufficient amount of light and air. In addition, the garter of cucumbers during the fruiting period will avoid fruit rotting and damage by pests and pathogens of various diseases that live in the soil.
For a garter, twine or strips of soft but durable fabric are used, with which the plants are attached to a support. When tying cucumbers, the loops are not made too tight so as not to damage the stems. Varieties of cucumbers growing in one stem do not need pinching. In vigorous varieties, the main stem is usually pinched after 7 leaves.
Fertilizer
Properly using organic and mineral fertilizers, you can not only increase the yield of cucumbers, but also accelerate their ripening. The first time fertilizers are used immediately after the cucumbers have bloomed – at this stage, a mixture of urea, potassium sulfate, superphosphate and sodium humate is used (1 tsp of each component per 1 bucket of water).
The second and subsequent top dressing is carried out during the formation of ovaries and fruiting. At this time, the plants are fed with a mixture of nitrophoska (1 tablespoon) and bird droppings diluted with water (1 glass). These components are poured with a bucket of warm water and the resulting composition is consumed at the rate of 5 liters per 1 sq. landing meter. It is allowed to replace the above nutrient solution with ready-made complex fertilizers for vegetable crops: Fertility, Fertika, Cucumber Crystal.
Diseases and pests
Violation of the irrigation regime, accompanied by stagnation of moisture in the soil, can cause powdery mildew damage to cucumbers. With this disease, extensive spots of a dirty gray color begin to form on the leaves of plants. As the disease progresses, the spots may increase in size, merge with each other. Without treatment, the affected plant dies. To destroy the causative agent of powdery mildew (pathogenic fungus), fungicidal agents are used: Quadris, Thiovit Jet.
Another dangerous disease of cucumbers caused by a pathogenic fungus is anthracnose. With this disease, yellow necrotic areas form on the leaves, which increase in size over time. For the treatment of anthracnose, the same fungicides are used as for powdery mildew. Additionally, plants are recommended to be treated with an aqueous solution of sulfur. Aphids are one of the most famous pests that feed on plant cell sap. With the defeat of aphids, cucumbers begin to noticeably lag behind in growth, weaken and dry. The parasite itself can be detected upon close inspection from the underside of the leaves. To combat the pest, drugs such as Fitoverm, Biotlin, Stop Aphid are used.
Another insidious pest that feeds on cucumber juices is the spider mite. The fact that the plantings suffered precisely from this parasite is evidenced by the yellowing and wilting of the leaves, accompanied by the formation of massive clusters of cobwebs. To destroy the pest, acaricides are used: Aktara, Akarin, Iskra-Bio.
