You can just plant a garden, or you can do it strictly according to science. There is such a thing as “crop rotation”, and it would be strange to think that only professional farmers use it. In fact, the yield and not only depends on which crop preceded the cultivation of the real one.
Therefore, for example, the question of what to plant next year after cucumbers should be taken responsibly.
Best options
Crop rotation is called a competent alternation of crops on the site. It is based on the requirements of plants, on the characteristics of their root system, on what diseases and pests most often attack them. Thanks to crop rotation, it is possible to increase the yield and rational use of even the most modest plot.
Why is it impossible to plant the same crop in the same place:
- the soil is depleted, because plants year after year, at the same depth, take away nutrients from it;
- pathogens of dangerous diseases and pests accumulate;
- the roots of some plants are capable of releasing toxins, and followers can be especially sensitive to them.
With proper crop rotation, all of the above is leveled. And the resources of the soil, which will be used more rationally, should be preserved. If a summer resident alternates related plants in one place, it will not be better: they feed at about the same level, get sick with the same thing, and therefore all risks remain.
The next point: the choice of a follower must be taken seriously. Cultivation is dictated by many years of observations and research, because different crops have different requirements for the composition of the soil, for the microclimate, for how well a particular place on the site is lit. Usually, in the first year, the most “gluttonous” culture turns out to be in the garden, then plants that are more modest in terms of nutritional requirements follow, then the earth is significantly fed, rejuvenated, and you can return to planting demanding plants.
If there is an opportunity to leave the place after cucumbers for next year empty, then it is better to do so. According to the degree of that very “gluttony”, the cucumber is definitely in the lead. After the active season, it is advisable to rest in the place where the cucumbers grew. But few people decide on such an indulgence, so they are looking for compromises. For example, you can plant green manure there – the best green fertilizers.
They will not need to be cut and dug up: they will grow, nourish the earth with nitrogen, inhibit the growth of weeds, and prevent various kinds of diseases from being activated. Finally, it is an opportunity to refuse aggressive chemistry.
What are these siderats:
- Legumes – beans, peas, beans, soybeans. This is not just greenery that will only restore the soil, it is quite a crop, suitable for both seasonal use and conservation. And it is also a very valuable food.
- Cruciferous – radish, mustard, rapeseed. Perhaps, it is difficult to use them as actively as legumes, but they are really very useful, and also decorative. Will look great outdoors.
The main advantage of using green manure is that they can become interseasonal plants. That is, they removed the cucumbers, planted green manure right there, let them grow until the very cold weather, and the job was done. And now, for the new season in the garden, the land for demanding plants is ready, and this is potatoes, and rhubarb, and cabbage, and corn.
If the stage of planting green manure is skipped, it is better to look at carrots, beets, radishes, celery, turnips, parsley, and radishes. In the role of a cucumber follower, these plants are not bad, because the cucumber root system is superficial, but the root crops go deep enough underground and they will look for food on a slightly different level. You can also plant onions, garlic, dill and herbs after cucumbers.
About potatoes – a separate conversation. You can definitely plant it, but you need to remember about the increased demands of this culture, you need to feed it well. And potatoes love fertile land, and cucumbers, so the soil must be well fertilized.
Often there is a dispute about tomatoes, especially when it comes to a greenhouse. In principle, tomatoes will grow well after cucumbers, there are no special obstacles. But different plants set different requirements: if the site itself, elevation, illumination coincide, you can plant tomatoes.
Here it is important to take into account the comfortable microclimate and conditions.
Finally, the the last recommendation – you can digress from fruit crops, vegetables, herbs and turn to ornamental plants. It grows well in place of cucumbers astra, spirea, clematis, hydrangea. And in the same place you can plant raspberries, currants and gooseberries.
Neutral crops
There are plants that will grow well after cucumbers and at the same time unload the soil, let it rest and recover. Useful siderates have already been mentioned above. Buckwheat may be slightly less useful, but it looks good as a neutral plant. Only first, 20 centimeters of earth must be removed from the garden, replaced with new soil. And after that, sow buckwheat there. And when she grows up, mow her down.
Among the acceptable, but far from the best crops – followers of cucumbers are peppers, tomatoes and eggplants already mentioned above. And this is understandable: nightshade requirements for growth conditions are different. Cucumbers, for example, like high soil moisture (and they also prefer high air humidity), but tomatoes do not like such indicators – they like soil with more moderate moisture, as well as almost dry air. Simply put, it’s a site that may not be entirely suitable for nightshade.
Although such difficulties usually arise in the greenhouse. And in the open field, nightshade after cucumbers are grown more actively (with the exception of those cases when cucumber plantings were located in partial shade).
Flowers are often a neutral option. Not everyone likes to change flower beds and other areas allocated for flowers in places. But for the soil and crop yields, this practice is not bad. If, next year, after cucumbers, plant marigolds or nasturtium, this will be a good compromise solution if it is not possible to replace it with an even more optimal one.
It is necessary to evaluate the characteristics of the soil, to measure its characteristics with the needs of the plants that are planned to be planted. And remember that cucumbers will always be a priority crop, that is, the most demanding, in need of being planted first. And after that, cultures with lower demands will come in its place. Folk wisdom “first tops, and then roots” very competently points out the principles of crop rotation, and so cucumbers are those very tops, and potatoes and carrots, for example, are roots. So it becomes clear what is going on.
What can’t be sown?
Cabbage is not the most successful follower of cucumbers, although it is sometimes included in the list of favorable ones. But the point is precisely in the exactingness of the composition of the substrate, and after green manure was planted in the garden at the end of the season, they fed the earth, restored it, cabbage for the next season would be quite appropriate.
What exactly is not planted after cucumbers:
- pumpkin;
- zucchini;
- squash;
- melons;
- watermelons.
These are related crops, as close as possible to the cucumber, they will give an indistinct harvest, because their nutritional requirements are the same as those of cucumbers. Not quite restored soil will not yet be able to meet the needs of these plants. This applies to both greenhouses and open areas.
It is also important what exactly will be adjacent to the cucumbers. The culture will develop well if planted next to dill, corn, beets. The same cabbage, which is better not to cultivate after a cucumber, will grow well next to it. Fennel, spinach, onions, leafy greens are also considered excellent neighbors. Sunflower and corn are partner plants for cucumber, they are able to increase its yield by 20%. They will save cucumber bushes from wind, moisture loss, too active sun.
And you can arrange them in the inter-row aisles, maintaining an interval of 40 cm.
If you plant onions next to the cucumbers, it will scare away the spider mite, and if the chives, it will be a reliable protector from powdery mildew. Garlic, with its smell, will take snails away from cucumbers. Mustard, nasturtium, coriander, thyme, lemon balm, calendula, wormwood, marigolds and tansy will also be useful neighbors for cucumbers. Mustard and tansy will drive away aphids, pests do not like calendula, but at the same time it is attractive to pollinating insects, whiteflies will not like thyme and thyme.
It is easier to deal with crop rotation if you capture on camera what and where it grew. Even on a modest plot with not the most enviable soil, you can achieve a good harvest, given the rules of agricultural technology and crop rotation.
