How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

If you plan to grow cucumbers in your summer cottage, you need to remember that this crop requires special care. She will need a pinch too. Today we will talk about why such a procedure is needed, how to perform it correctly.

How to pinch cucumbers?

The need for a procedure

Pinching is an important procedure for cucumbers. It is carried out to achieve the following goals:

  • increase in fruiting;
  • lack of bitterness in ripe fruits;
  • formation of female flowers.

Pinching allows you to get a full-fledged large crop. But it is worth remembering that its need will depend on the specific variety and on the characteristics of the plant.

How to pinch cucumbers?

These manipulations will also contribute to the development of the root system of vegetation. They allow landings to be well ventilated.. Plantings will also receive enough light. Thanks to the pinching, nutritious juice is supplied to the top much more actively, due to which the vegetables ripen faster. The formation and pinching of bushes allow you to plant more seedlings in one area.

Without pinching, the culture will expend a lot of energy on empty flowers. As a result, the fruits will become too small, lose their taste. It should be noted that the procedure must be carried out both in open ground and in greenhouse structures.

Pinching will allow you to get large and healthy fruits with excellent taste characteristics. But it is worth remembering that when it is carried out, it is necessary to preserve the foliage. After all, it is in it that a large amount of useful and nutritious substances are concentrated, which in the future will pass to vegetables in the process of their ripening.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Pinching according to variety

It should be noted that the pinching pattern can vary significantly in different varieties. Consider separately the following options.

  • Pinching scheme for insect pollinated varieties.
  • Pinching algorithm for self-pollinating species.
  • Algorithm for pinching parthenocarpic varieties.

The first option is more common and is considered a classic.. With a stem height of about 50 centimeters, all side shoots that are below the leaf axil 6 are cut off. This will be referred to as the “dazzle zone”.

When the bush is about 1 meter long, only one ovary is retained on the lateral processes. The rest is removed by pinching over the first sheet.

When the length of the vegetation varies between 1-1,5 m, it will be possible to save four shoots, on which there are parts with 2 leaves or 2 ovaries. If the variety grows more than 1,5 m, then it will need to be carefully thrown over the support and then, above 4 ovaries, pinch four lateral processes.

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

When the distance between the end of the stem and the ground is about 60 cm, the crown of the main lash must also be pinched. For such varieties, a different scheme is sometimes used, which includes the following steps:

  • pinch the central stem after 5-6 leaves, then tie it all up;
  • the lashes on the sides are placed at an angle of 60 degrees with respect to the central stem, while all extra mustaches and stepsons are carefully cut off;
  • shoots that reach the trellis can be wrapped around it and then pinched.

Both schemes are considered equally effective.

Many gardeners during the procedure adhere to the following rule: the higher the vegetation, the greater the number of ovaries, leaf plates, shoots on it can be saved.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Next, we will consider a detailed scheme for pinching self-pollinated varieties of cucumbers. First you will need to remove the first three ovaries that form on the main stem. To stimulate the growth of lateral shoots, the top of the plantations is removed at a level above the sixth leaf.

Pinching is performed on the lateral processes in such a way that 3-4 ovaries are left on each of them. Then, after the picking procedure, each new shoot is tied to the supporting structures. This must be done in order to avoid interlacing of shoots with each other.

As a rule, only late self-pollinated varieties need pinching. All other varieties will be able to grow and develop normally without this procedure.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Now let’s figure out how to pinch parthenocarpic cultures. To begin with, the sinuses of the first four leaves are freed from shoots, and they are removed along with the flowers.

In the axils on a 6-7 leaf, only about 20 centimeters of shoots are left. The parts that appeared above the fourth process must be pinched at a distance of 40 cm from their base, the next four parts are cut off by 50 centimeters. The main stem is pinched only when six more young leaves have grown.

It should be noted that in hybrid species (F1) it will also be necessary to remove the resulting mustache and stepchildren in the sinuses. The remaining processes must be carefully separated from each other. Each of them goes to his support. This avoids weaving.

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

There are hybrid varieties that do not require pinching at all.. These species are intended for growing in greenhouses and greenhouse structures with high planting densities. In such plants, lateral loops do not grow. Their fruiting is bouquet, and this already increases the level of productivity at times. These hybrids include cucumbers. “Valaam”, “Bouquet”.

You should not pinch determinant varieties of cucumbers, because they are initially characterized by limited stem growth, a minimum number of side shoots. The procedure in this case can lead to severe overload and breakage of vegetation under the weight of ripened vegetables.

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch in different places of cultivation?

It is also worth noting that the pinching procedure may vary slightly depending on where the crop is grown.

In open ground

As a rule, insect-pollinated crop varieties are grown in open ground conditions, therefore in this case, it is necessary to follow the scheme that was discussed above for these species. But at the same time, it is worth remembering that before starting the procedure, it is necessary to perform a number of important measures.

Before pinching near the landings, you need to fix the trellis. From the underside of the vegetation, inflorescences and lateral shoots are preliminarily removed.

Young seedlings will need to be tied up a couple of weeks after planting in open soil. Do not forget to form a weave, for this purpose it is necessary to cut the top of the head above the sixth sheet.

Do not trim healthy leaf blades. After all, it is in them that the bulk of the important nutritional components are located. Cut off only damaged and diseased parts. If the stems are too short, then it is better not to pinch them.

How to pinch cucumbers?

In the greenhouse

Now we will consider the features of pinching plantings that are grown in greenhouse conditions. In such constructions, self-pollinated and parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers, various hybrids are mainly planted; for them, the corresponding pinching schemes that were considered earlier are used.

Crops that are planted in greenhouses often suffer from dense plantings due to the limited amount of space, therefore both pinching and pinching in greenhouses should be carried out more often and more carefully than in open soil.

At the same time, we must not forget that in this case you should not be late with the procedure. If the shoots on the bushes have already reached a length of 20-25 centimeters, and the manipulations have not yet been carried out, then they should not be done at all, since all the nutrients have been absorbed.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Greenhouse cucumbers will need a garter. This will make it possible to use the space in the greenhouse or greenhouse as rationally as possible, and will greatly simplify pinching the bushes. It is better to make a whole system consisting of supports and wires to which cucumber lashes are attached. Pinching in greenhouses should be done at low humidity levels.

Also, don’t forget that immediately after pinching, the plant will need abundant watering with warm settled liquid. But at the same time, young stems on the lower part cannot be poured with water. Also, 30-40 minutes after watering, it is recommended to loosen the ground around the bushes, this will saturate the root system with oxygen.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Separately, it is worth disassembling how, for the first time, step by step to pinch cucumbers that are grown on window sills, on balconies in apartments. First, consider the standard algorithm for pinching plants grown on the windowsill.

In this case, you need to wait until the culture reaches a height of 10 centimeters. After that, all new growth is removed. In the axils of the foliage, stepchildren and ovaries are carefully cut off, do this up to the fifth leaflet.

After the fifth leaf, only stepchildren need to be removed, while the ovaries remain. On the 10th leaflet, only 1 stepson must be left, the operations are repeated again, moving along the entire height of the plant. As a result, 3-4 fruiting branches should rise to the top of the window.

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

Next, we will consider how to carry out such a procedure when growing homemade balcony-type cucumbers.. In this case, you must first remove all the shoots that formed after the sixth leaf. When the young seedlings get a little stronger and let go of the lateral growth, only one strong shoot will need to be left.

After that, the base is fixed to the twine. Mustaches and leaves are removed from the underside. For a week after this, it will be necessary to cut off the layers from the sides and shoots.

When the balcony seedlings can reach the ceiling, the growing point must be removed. When the side stems appear, they are removed, leaving only two of them on opposite sides. When they grow to 50 centimeters, you will need to shorten them by two sheets.

In any case, it should be remembered that for easier pinching, it is necessary to leave a distance between the bushes from 30 to 45 centimeters if they are grown in one large container. Also remember that the garter plays an important role. It is better to perform it no earlier than 10 and no later than 15 days after planting.

How to pinch cucumbers?

Possible mistakes

Many young gardeners make various mistakes when pinching cucumbers. So, some remove all barren flowers on insect-pollinated plants. It is absolutely impossible to do this. Both male and female flowers are required for pollination.

In the process of cutting the shoots, you need to leave a small fragment of the stem (about 5 millimeters). Otherwise, when a new wound is infected with various infections, the whole plant will be able to suffer at once.

Many gardeners carry out such manipulations in sunny weather during the daytime. If you will perform the procedure in open ground, then for this you should choose clear and dry weather. Excessive moisture levels can cause infection of the cut with infections. It is better to pinch cucumbers in the early morning. New wounds by the evening will already be able to drag on. At night, organic components will be able to stimulate the growth of shoots.

How to pinch cucumbers?

How to pinch cucumbers?

Pinching growth points is best done with a special sharpened tool (pruner, clerical knife). It must first be treated with disinfectants so as not to infect the vegetation. All sections can be additionally sprinkled with crushed coal.

In addition, many gardeners, in the process of manipulation, begin to process yellowed and damaged leaf plates. You don’t need to do this. It is better to immediately cut them off with a garden tool, leaving only strong and healthy green parts on the bushes.

Sometimes, after pruning, small stumps are left on the plants, this cannot be done either. Otherwise, powdery mildew may develop on the vegetation in the future, which will prevent young ovaries from forming properly.

How to pinch cucumbers?

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Anna Evans

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