It is rare that an owner does not cultivate cucumbers on his estate. This juicy vegetable has become popular due to its exceptional taste. They are grown on window sills, in greenhouses and in beds. Growing cucumbers is especially common in open ground in the south of Russia.
There are two ways to plant cucumbers: by sowing the seeds directly into the garden bed or by first growing them as seedlings.
The second method is more labor-intensive, but is considered preferable by most gardeners. Especially in central Russia and northern regions, where spring comes much later.
By growing seedlings in a heated greenhouse or on a windowsill, the owner provides himself with early cucumbers.
Advantages of this method:
If the size of the estate allows, then it would be nice to find a place on it for sowing cucumbers. They appear later, but bear fruit safely until the end of the season. During the summer, you can always sow new plants to replace the drying canes.
It is better to prepare the soil for growing any seedlings on your own and store it in the fall. Purchased substrates can bring unpleasant surprises in the form of fungal diseases.
Cucumbers require light, loose soil, neutral in acidity or slightly acidic.
For cucumber seedlings, you need high quality soil mixed in equal proportions with humus. You can take well-rotted mullein or horse manure. Add a glass of wood ash to a bucket of this mixture.
To make the soil loose, mix sawdust or peat into it. Approximately one third of the total volume.
It is better to apply the mulching element before sowing seedlings. Coniferous sawdust are not suitable, they increase the acidity of the soil. It is important to let the sawdust rot before use. If this is not done, additional nitrogen fertilizers must be applied. The sphagnum peat substrate requires increased attention, as it dries out very quickly.
The choice of seeds begins in the garden. The best representatives varieties are allowed to overripe on the vine, removed only when the skin acquires an orange tint and cracks. Seeds are selected only from the front part of the fruit to prevent bitterness. They are turned and fermented for several days small quantity water like tomatoes.
This is necessary in order to free them from liquid without injuring the seeds. All seeds that float should be thrown away.
Upon completion of fermentation, the seeds must be dried and sorted. If there is no shortage of planting material, then it is better to leave only large and symmetrical ones.
These seeds are soaked for 12 hours in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection, dried and placed in paper bags. Cucumber seeds are stored at room temperature in a dark place. They do not lose germination until 5-6 years.
Interesting property: germination cucumber seeds increases during storage. Therefore, it is better to age the seeds for two to three years before sowing.
It is necessary to sow cucumbers for seedlings a month before planting the plants in the ground. Typically this work begins in March.
Immediately before planting, the seeds are checked again for germination with salt water. They are dipped in a glass of water with a dissolved teaspoon of salt, shaken and left for 10-15 minutes. Everything that comes up is thrown away.
The remaining seeds are stimulated and hardened. First, they are warmed up near the battery for two days.
Then keep for two hours in a thermos with very hot water(the temperature should be such that your finger can barely stand it). And then, wrapped in cloth, they are sent to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for twelve hours.
If the germination of seeds is in doubt, they can be treated with a growth stimulant. Careful owners treat them with potassium permanganate a second time.
After all procedures, the seeds are left to germinate between two layers of damp cloth in a cool place.
When the seed hatches and the root reaches half its length, you can begin sowing.
Sow the seeds in pots with soil at the rate of approximately 0.3-0.5 liters per seedling root. The capacity can be any:
The pots are placed close to each other on a common tray for ease of care. Fill with prepared soil and sow two seeds in each so that the weaker shoot can be removed later. The sowing depth is no more than 3 centimeters.
If the seeds are planted in a common container, then the distance between them is kept two centimeters and three centimeters between the rows. With such a planting, you will have to pick up the seedlings later. Not everyone finds this procedure useful.
The container with seedlings is watered, covered with a damp cloth and put in a dark place until germination. Approximately 5-7 days. Optimal temperature for seedlings it should be from 18 to 25 C. Overheating is no less dangerous than cold.
It’s good if it is possible to allocate a separate temperature-controlled room for seedlings (ideally, a heated greenhouse).
Without such conditions, resourceful gardeners organize mini-greenhouses directly on the windowsills, separating boxes with seedlings from the room and window with cellophane screens. This allows you to create an increased level of humidity.
For the first 4-5 days, young seedlings should be kept at a temperature of about 20 C. Then it rises to 25 C. Drafts should be avoided throughout the entire growing period.
When the sprouts rise enough to be assessed, the weaker ones are carefully removed at the root with nail scissors.
Watering should be done frequently - once every two days. Warm melt or settled water. This should be done in the morning, at the beginning of daylight. Cold and hard water is detrimental to seedlings.
Cucumber foliage loves bathing; moisture can be sprayed from above from a spray bottle.
A little trick: to prevent water from stagnating in the pots, they can be placed in a plastic mesh box, which in turn can be raised on a stand so that air circulates under the container with seedlings.
Fertilizing is carried out when the first pair of leaves appears.
Organic fertilizers:
Cucumber is a short-day plant. For intensive development, seedlings need individual lighting:
Cucumbers are very tender root system. Unlike tomatoes, transplants do not benefit them. Broken hair roots are not restored, new ones take time to grow and the plant slows down in growth without receiving any benefits.
Supporters of the picking procedure begin this activity when the cotyledon pair of leaves of the cucumbers has fully opened and at least one true leaf appears.
Picking cucumber seedlings takes place along general rules. The main thing is to soak the soil in the box well in advance and replant the roots, carefully prying them up with a spatula.
After transplanting, it is better to give the plants rest, leaving them for a day in a dark place and lowering the temperature to 18-20 degrees for three to four days. Then you can carry out a second feeding of the cucumbers. If the seedlings do not pick, then the second feeding is carried out two weeks after the first.
To help plants quickly adapt to street conditions, about ten days before planting they begin to harden. Then the last fertilizing is applied.
The container is taken out into the air. You can install it for a day under film in special, recessed greenhouses. The water temperature cannot be lowered throughout the growing season - these plants do not tolerate watering well cold water.
Seedlings are planted in open ground after they have formed four true leaves and stable warm weather has established.
It is reasonable to plan the placement of crops on the estate three to five years in advance so that the soil does not deplete and the vegetables do not get sick or degenerate.
The bed for cucumbers must be prepared in advance by adding rotted manure to the previous plantings.
The place for cucumber beds must be chosen in a well-lit area, sheltered from the wind. In warm climates, these may be furrows deepened to the point of a shovel. To grow cucumbers in the north of the country, you can organize warm beds in a wooden building.
Such beds are prepared in advance. First, a wooden box is knocked down and installed according to the size of the future bed. All season you need to put organic matter in the box: leftover food (except meat and fat), grape trimmings, chopped branches fruit trees, fallen leaves. Over the winter and summer, all this rots; in the fall, you need to cover the top with a layer of compost soil with a layer of 10 centimeters. Cover the bed early in spring old film. Organic matter generates heat, and the bed warms up well. This makes it possible to plant cucumbers at an earlier date.
Regular planting begins when the ground temperature warms up by 12-14 degrees. Fertilizers (humus and mineral complex mixtures) are applied to the soil. After that, the pots with seedlings are well filled with water, and the plant is removed from them. The less the root system is damaged during replanting, the better.
The cucumber is buried at the cotyledon base and watered with warm water under the trunk. The watering area is sprinkled with a layer of loose compost on top. At first, it is advisable to shade the bed with transplanted seedlings with black non-woven material.
For one square meter two bushes are planted - these plants need a lot of space for weaving.
In order for cucumbers to grow well and not get sick, you need to choose a place for them taking into account the rules of crop rotation:
Tomatoes and White cabbage. Cucumbers will grow well in the garden after onions, garlic, legumes, carrots and beets.
Neighbors are also very important - ideally, these are corn or sunflowers, as a screen from cold winds. Also suitable: lettuce, beets, beans and savory.
Cucumbers begin to be sown directly into the ground in late May or early June. As the vines dry out, new seeds can be planted to harvest until the end of summer. For these purposes, it is better to make a garden bed in partial shade, even under trees, outside the crown.
Preparing the soil for sowing seeds is similar to cultivating beds for planting seedlings.
After planting, the bed is covered with cellophane film to retain moisture and increased temperature. If it is 25 C or higher outside, then this is not necessary to do during the day.
Before the seeds germinate, make sure that the soil in the garden bed is not covered with a crust; it is regularly moistened and loosened. Loosening is carried out until 4-5 true leaves appear, until the plant enters the horizontal growth phase. Fertilizers for seeded cucumbers are applied by analogy with cucumber seedlings.
Proper care allows you to extend the fruiting phase of cucumbers. First of all, productivity is lost due to lack of heat and moisture. If the summer is cool, then continue to cover the cucumbers with cellophane at night.
Sometimes you have to set up a tent made of non-woven material for the day to protect from the wind or too hot sun.
Watering cucumbers is done only with warm, settled water, preferably no later than 16-00 hours, so that the moisture on the leaves has time to dry before nightfall. This should be done at least once every two days. Frequent watering washes away fertile layer, so periodically you need to add rotted manure or compost near the root.
From the beginning of fruiting, liquid organomineral fertilizers can be added to the water.
With this type of feeding, nutrient mixtures are applied to the soil, at the root of the plant. They can be done once a week or ten days. The composition of the mixture is selected based on external signs lack of one or another substance:
Cucumbers are fed on damp ground early in the morning.
You can also feed cucumbers by spraying nutrients from a spray bottle onto the leaves. Foliar feeding often used for preventive purposes. Along the way, such procedures help solve the problem of many pests and diseases.
It is better to spray early in the morning, choosing cloudy days, so that the moisture has time to evaporate before the bright leaves hit the leaves. sun rays. On such a day, you can stretch non-woven material over the treated bed.
Carry out the procedure in the same way as root feeding– once a week or a little less often. If there is a fear of burning the leaves, then initially you can take half the dosage of the nutrient mixture and increase it gradually.
Cucumbers are creeping or climbing plants. Removing excess lashes, tying, creating favorable conditions for attaching cucumber tendrils to vertical surfaces– all this also helps to increase the period of fruiting.
The method of forming a bush depends on the variety, method of cultivation and type of garter.
Under no circumstances should pinching or removing stepchildren be done by hand. For these purposes, it is necessary to use scissors or pruning shears, periodically dipping the blades into a solution of potassium permanganate.
Horizontal cultivation is the most common method of cultivating cucumbers in open ground. The correct strategy in this case would be to pinch out the central shoot, which has reached a length of one meter (some owners do this above the tenth leaf). The central lash stops developing. And the stepsons are actively growing, braiding the soil around the root. It is on them that the bulk of the ovaries are formed.
Pinching horizontally growing plants in this way is a classic technique, developed over decades of growing bee-pollinated varietal cucumbers in open ground.
When starting to form a bush, you need to understand that hybrids develop differently than bee-pollinated varieties. You cannot pinch them using the same method.
For modern hybrids with a predominantly female type of flowering, the vertical method of growing while maintaining a long main shoot is more suitable.
When growing vertically, the method of forming in one or two lashes is usually used.
When growing a cucumber bush in one vine, all the stepsons are removed as they grow, and the central vine is allowed to grow up the trellis, carefully twisting it onto the support counterclockwise. When it reaches the top of the support, it is allowed to parallel the ground or lowered to grow down another meter. Then they pinch.
Formation into two lashes occurs in a similar way, but in addition to the central shoot, another stepson closest to the root is left. The lashes grow in parallel.
When gartering cucumbers, the main thing is not to damage them. You need to use wide nylon or cotton ribbons, do not overtighten the stem. If possible, only create conditions for natural weaving and support the plant.
The two main methods of growing bushes have already been described above and it has been noted that for open ground it is more convenient to form horizontal vines. This is due to the fact that plants lying on the ground are less affected by wind and bright sunlight. However, if you install an arc over a horizontal bush and send several shoots along it, this will allow the cucumber to branch larger area.
You can also install four supports above the furrow with cucumbers weaving along the ground and stretch several lines of wire or twine parallel to each other on them. The low-growing bush will climb along these supports.
Vertical growing is suitable for tall varieties or hybrids planted in an area sheltered from the wind. It should be noted that this method is more labor-intensive, and the plant grown in this way needs more attention.
Tying methods:
Some varieties of cucumbers can be used to braid arbors and decorative hedges.
With timely watering and fertilization, proper garter, the following methods can also increase the number of fruits:
Cucumbers are quite vulnerable to common garden pests and diseases such as powdery mildew, late blight, root rot.
Diseases can be prevented by following the rules of garden hygiene:
Prevention of diseases and pest attacks is also achieved by applying appropriate foliar fertilizers (as described in detail above).
Several recipes for chemically harmless pest repellents that you can use at the first sign of aphids or mites:
The above products are infused for a day, filtered, and then the leaves are sprayed from bottom to top. Then be sure to loosen the ground to destroy fallen pests.
Compared to ready-made insecticides, these drugs are less effective, but do not cause harm. It is worth resorting to them several times a season, as preventive measures, so that you don’t have to use the “heavy artillery” of industrial chemistry later.
When choosing varieties for planting, you need to focus primarily on local varieties, or those bred in similar climatic conditions.
Giving preference to a hybrid or choosing varietal cucumbers is the individual choice of the gardener. With the available variety (more than 500 varieties and hybrids), you can try the best of the proposed options on your site.
They are usually devoid of bitterness. They have higher immunity. Every year more and more hybrid options appear for different purposes.
The only drawback of hybrid cucumbers is that you cannot collect seeds from them. To resume growing cucumbers with remarkable characteristics next year, planting material will need to be purchased again.
Some of the most popular modern hybrids:
Herman F1– parthenocarpic, high-yielding early-ripening hybrid, resistant to diseases, fruits up to 10 centimeters long, pimply without bitterness.
Miranda F1– a universal ultra-early ripening hybrid with high immunity, fruits up to 11 centimeters long, without bitterness.
Chinese cucumber- a tall hybrid, vertical cultivation is recommended, the fruits reach 60-70 centimeters in length, have exceptional taste, and are devoid of bitterness.
Masha F1– parthenocarpic hybrid, early ripening, small-pimpled, fruits up to 11 centimeters, have a sweetish taste, lack bitterness, good for preservation and fresh consumption.
Friendly family F1– a parthenocarpic hybrid, characterized by high yield; short fruits with longitudinal stripes are well suited for preservation, without bitterness.
When growing varietal cucumbers, you can collect seeds and thereby save on the purchase of planting material.
Growing for several generations in a certain area, the variety adapts to local conditions. The owner personally participates in selection, choosing suitable specimens for subsequent cultivation and improving them year after year.
Description of a number of varietal cucumbers suitable for growing in open ground:
Phoenix– a universal late-ripening variety with fruits up to 14 centimeters, has high yields and a classic cucumber taste.
Serpentine– an early ripening, drought-resistant variety, has high immunity, the fruits of universal use are 9-9.5 centimeters in length.
Vyaznikovsky-37 – mid-season variety, the fruits reach a size of 11 centimeters, suitable for pickling and eating fresh.
droplet– a high-yielding late-ripening variety, the fruits reach 14 centimeters, have a classic cucumber taste, and are universal in use.
Aquarius– an early ripening variety, the fruits reach 14 centimeters, gives an abundant long-term harvest, the taste of the fruit is excellent, universal use.
Taking into account all the advantages and disadvantages of hybrids and varietal cucumbers, several gardening rules can be formed that allow optimizing costs and the results obtained.
For hybrids:
Varietal cucumbers:
It is important to grow on the estate as much as possible large quantity hybrids and varieties in order to have a universal set of fruits for all uses. At the same time, it is advisable to keep a planting diary, writing down the names of the planted cucumbers and even saving photographs of the most typical specimens.
Technology home grown growing cucumbers in open ground is rich in nuances, but simple and easy to master. A gardener’s main weapon is patience, attentiveness and the ability to draw conclusions about the results of his work.
Cucumbers are very popular in Russia; many vegetable growers grow them. But to get bountiful harvest of this crop, it is important to plant seeds or seedlings of cucumbers, and then care for the plants, observing necessary rules agricultural technology. Only in this case will it be possible to get the maximum result from growing cucumbers in open ground. Let's look at how to do this correctly.
Although there is nothing complicated in the technology of growing cucumbers in open ground, it is necessary to take into account and follow the basic rules of agricultural technology and care of these plants.
Before you start growing cucumbers, you need to determine which variety or hybrid is best suited for this:
When choosing cucumber seeds for growing in open ground, it is necessary to take into account that hybrids, for example, have higher yields and resistance to diseases than varietal plants, but they have one significant drawback - seeds cannot be collected from them.
For sowing, it is advisable to choose not last year’s seed material, but one that is at least 2-3 years old. This is explained by the fact that the germination rate of cucumbers increases from 2 to 6 years, and many female flowers are formed on plants obtained from seeds that have been lying around for some time.
Growing cucumbers in open ground beds begins with choosing suitable place, on which the bushes will grow. In order for cucumber plants to develop and bear fruit well, it must meet certain requirements.
The cucumber loves the sun, so it needs to be placed in a well-lit area, but it is better to choose a place where the plants will be protected from direct rays during the day. It is also important that the beds are not blown through by strong cold winds and drafts.
Despite the fact that cucumbers are humid tropical plants, they do not like stagnation of water in the soil: in waterlogged soil, their roots are often affected by fungal diseases, the leaves become pale green, the development of the plants themselves and the formation of the ovary slows down. Therefore, you need to choose a plot for cucumbers on a level place, not located in a low-lying area, so that water does not accumulate in the ground.
It is also important what plants grew in this area before. The best predecessors for cucumber culture are early and cauliflower, legumes, nightshades, carrots, beets, green crops and green manure. Not suitable pumpkin crops and the cucumbers themselves.
The soil in the selected area should be fertile, well-groomed, light, well absorb moisture and allow it to pass into the lower layers. It needs to be well fertilized with mineral fertilizers or organic matter. It is best to use cow manure (humus) as fertilizer. It is applied in a volume of 4-6 kg per 1 sq. m for the previous crop and before sowing - in the form of slurry (1 to 10). Suitable chicken droppings, which is diluted in a ratio of 1 to 20. Acidic soil must be deoxidized: chalk is added to it, dolomite flour or lime in the quantity required for this.
At autumn preparation beds for growing cucumber crops, the soil is cleaned of all plant debris that may be of interest to pests and pathogens overwintering on them. The soil, cleared of plant debris, is dug deep (at least 25 cm). Clods of earth are broken up only in the spring. At spring training The soil is dug up again, spilled with potassium permanganate and fertilized with ready-made mineral fertilizers.
The seedling method of growing cucumbers is used to obtain an earlier harvest of greens due to the fact that they are planted in the beds already grown. This ultimately allows not only to reduce the time before harvesting, but also to protect plants from possible death from spring cold snaps.
Seedlings begin to be grown approximately 1 month before they are transplanted into the ground. Seeds are sown in individual containers: disposable cups, seedling pots, cassettes, peat tablets. The substrate for cucumbers can be purchased ready-made at a vegetable growing store or made independently from a mixture made up of 2 parts of fertile garden soil, coarse sand, peat, humus, and mineral fertilizers. 1 piece is sown in each cup to a depth of 2 cm. seeds, watered and sprinkled with a thin layer of soil on top. The containers are covered with film and placed in a warm and bright place. After the seeds have sprouted, the film is removed and the cups are transferred to the brightest place in the room, for example, on a windowsill, since at this time the seedlings need intense sunlight.
Caring for cucumber seedlings is simple: water it with clean warm water (as it dries out). upper layer soil), fed with mineral or organic fertilizers (after the plants have 3-4 leaves). During the growth period, cucumber seedlings need good lighting, so if they are grown in early spring, with a short daylight hours, it is illuminated with phytolamps.
A peculiarity of growing cucumbers in this way is that the seedlings need to be hardened off shortly before planting them in open ground, since a sharp change in temperature can lead to the death of the plants. In the northern regions, it is possible to arrange for this crop warm beds, on them delicate cucumber plants will be well protected from cold weather.
Seedlings should be planted in the garden after the weather completely warms up. The planting pattern will be different: it depends on the characteristics of the variety or hybrid.
Using approximately the same principle, you can grow seedlings in a greenhouse, and when 2-3 true leaves appear on it, transplant them into open ground.
This method can be recommended to gardeners in the southern regions, where the heat sets in quickly, and therefore it is not necessary to plant cucumber seedlings. The advantage of this method over seedlings is that cucumber seeds can be sown several times during the season, which can increase the fruiting time of the crop.
In open ground, cucumber seeds are sown only in well-warmed soil (about 15°C). In cold soil they will take a long time to germinate or may not sprout at all. But there is no need to delay sowing seeds: this vegetable also does not like heat. The most desirable temperature for growth and optimal development of plants is 24-28°C. Due to this, best timing planting cucumber seeds - approximately mid-to-late May.
The seed planting scheme depends on the characteristics of each variety, so it can vary within certain limits. The recommended distance is often indicated on commercial seed packages. Sowing depth - no more than 2 cm. There is no need to thicken the crops or sow seeds deeper: the plants may not germinate well, they will lack nutrition, lighting and air.
In the process of growing cucumbers in a garden bed in open ground, it is important to provide them with the required conditions for normal growth and development. The complex of agrotechnical works includes mandatory watering, loosening (or mulching), fertilizing, forming bushes, and harvesting.
Cucumber is a humid tropical plant, it needs good development constant hydration is required. Moisture deficiency immediately affects the condition of plants: they grow poorly and wither. It is undesirable to water this crop with cold water, which impairs the ability of the plant root system to absorb moisture from the soil. It is best to pour water under the root, retreating about 5 cm from the stem, and not pour it from a watering can onto the plants themselves. You need to loosen the ground around the bushes carefully so as not to touch the roots. In order not to loosen the soil and injure the roots, the beds are covered with mulch made from plant materials or agrofibre.
Measures for caring for cucumbers in the open ground include fertilizing, which provides the plants with everything they need during the growing season. nutrients. Cucumbers are fed 3 times per season: 2 weeks after planting, just before flowering begins, and when cucumbers begin to enter the mass fruiting phase. Use organic or ready-made mineral fertilizers(they are diluted in accordance with the instructions for use). At an early stage of development, cucumbers must be provided with nitrogen, and then phosphorus and potassium, so saltpeter or slurry is added as the first feeding. In the next 2 feedings, they are fertilized with superphosphate, potassium salt or ash, which contains all these elements.
The formation of bushes of cucumber plants is considered integral part caring for this crop in open ground. Its purpose is to stimulate the growth of lateral shoots on which female flowers. Formation is carried out by pinching the central stem of the plants above the 5th or 6th leaf.
Grow cucumbers on open beds you can do it in 2 ways: horizontally, leaving the plants to grow freely and vertically, that is, placing them on trellises, tying the lashes to them with twine.
Greens are harvested as soon as they reach the typical size and shape for the variety or hybrid. It is not advisable to overstay them in the beds, since the fruits of many varieties can outgrow. At the same time, they become large, barrel-shaped, lose their shape, and their skin becomes hard. But some of these overripe fruits can also be useful. For example, to collect seeds from your plants, you can leave several of the most successful cucumbers on the bushes until they are completely biologically ripened. The seeds obtained in this way can be used for cultivating cucumbers in your own beds for more than one season.
Preface
Only the lazy don’t plant cucumbers on their plot! Just a few seeds, planted and carefully nurtured, can provide a family with tasty, crispy fruits, with some left over for pickling. Growing cucumbers in open ground has a number of features that every gardener needs to remember.
Growing cucumbers in the garden is much easier. When choosing a location, it is important to remember two things: predecessors and lighting. It is fundamentally important to observe crop rotation - if melons, watermelons or cucumbers have been grown on the site for the past 2-3 years, cucumbers cannot be replanted in this place. It is advisable that the sun illuminates the selected bed as best as possible, although cucumbers will produce a harvest in partial shade.
The bed needs to be well fertilized. Since the root system of cucumbers is small, fertilizers can be applied pointwise, directly into the plant holes. Compost, when decomposed, will provide a lot of heat, thereby accelerating the growth of seeds, and the nutrients will last until autumn. It should be applied to a depth of about half a meter. The bed should be dug up in the fall; if the soil is heavy, add sand - cucumbers love it.
At first, the soil around cucumber plantings will stand idle, so you can freely plant lettuce or radishes. These plants produce a quick harvest, just in time for the cucumbers to begin to grow. It is also recommended to plant corn at a two-meter distance from the cucumber bed - in summer its stems will serve as good protection from the scorching sun and wind.
Growing cucumbers on summer cottage should begin when the risk of frost has passed. It is recommended to germinate.
To do this, lay them out on wet sawdust or a clean cloth and cover with another layer. In a day or two, the root will appear, and when its length is equal to half the length of the seed, you should start planting. Prepare shallow holes – 2-3 cm deep. You can make one common trench with a hoe, but the cucumbers should be planted at a distance of 15-20 cm. When the seedlings appear, they should be thinned out - the plants grow very quickly, so you can safely leave half a meter between them.
Cucumbers love generous watering. It is important to use well-heated water and water strictly at the root, without irrigating the foliage. Cold water will significantly slow down plant growth. If you skip watering even once, the cucumbers may become bitter. Weeding and loosening of the soil should be carried out as long as the growing fences allow it.
It wouldn’t hurt to mulch the beds - mulch (straw, leaves, sawdust) reduces moisture loss, improves soil aeration and promotes better and uniform heating. In addition, it is important to lightly hill up the seedlings so that moisture does not linger under them - this will prevent the occurrence of diseases. When 5-6 leaves appear on the stem, it should be pinched to stimulate the development of new shoots. This technique can significantly increase productivity.
Failure to observe crop rotation can lead to sudden withering of seemingly healthy plants. The risk of disease can be reduced by annually treating the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate at the germination stage. However, this does not always help - fungal diseases await plants in the soil. Often we ourselves become the reason for their appearance - either we were too lazy to heat the water in the sun, or we introduced fertilizer with pathogens.
Seed propagation in the garden strawberries we are used to, unfortunately, leads to the appearance of less productive plants and weaker bushes. But another type of these sweet berries, alpine strawberries, can be successfully grown from seeds. Let's learn about the main advantages and disadvantages of this crop, consider the main varieties and features of agricultural technology. The information presented in this article will help you decide whether it is worth allocating a place for it in the berry garden.
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Rhubarb can not be found on everyone garden plot. It's a pity. This plant is a storehouse of vitamins and can be widely used in cooking. What is not prepared from rhubarb: soups and cabbage soup, salads, delicious jam, kvass, compotes and juices, candied fruits and marmalade, and even wine. But that's not all! The large green or red rosette of leaves of the plant, reminiscent of burdock, acts as a beautiful background for annuals. It is not surprising that rhubarb can also be seen in flower beds.
Today, the trend is to experiment with unusual combinations and non-standard colors in the garden. For example, plants with black inflorescences have become very fashionable. All black flowers are original and specific, and it is important for them to be able to select suitable partners and location. Therefore, this article will not only introduce you to an assortment of plants with slate-black inflorescences, but will also teach you the intricacies of using such mystical plants in garden design.
3 delicious sandwiches - cucumber sandwich, chicken sandwich, cabbage and meat sandwich - great idea for a quick snack or for a picnic in nature. Just fresh vegetables, juicy chicken and cream cheese and a little seasoning. There are no onions in these sandwiches; if you wish, you can add onions marinated in balsamic vinegar to any of the sandwiches; this will not spoil the taste. Having quickly prepared snacks, all that remains is to pack a picnic basket and head to the nearest green lawn.
Depending on the varietal group, the age of seedlings suitable for planting in open ground is: for early tomatoes- 45-50 days, average ripening periods - 55-60 and late ripening periods - at least 70 days. When planting tomato seedlings at a younger age, the period of its adaptation to new conditions is significantly extended. But success in obtaining a high-quality tomato harvest also depends on carefully following the basic rules for planting seedlings in open ground.
Unpretentious plants“background” sansevieria does not seem boring to those who value minimalism. They are better suited than other indoor decorative foliage stars for collections that require minimal care. Stable decorativeness and extreme hardiness in only one species of sansevieria are also combined with compactness and very rapid growth - rosette sansevieria Hana. The squat rosettes of their tough leaves create striking clusters and patterns.
One of the brightest months garden calendar pleasantly surprises with the balanced distribution of days favorable and unfavorable for working with plants lunar calendar. Vegetable gardening in June can be done throughout the entire month, while the unfavorable periods are very short and still allow you to do it useful work. There will be optimal days for sowing and planting, for pruning, for a pond, and even for construction work.
Meat with mushrooms in a frying pan is an inexpensive hot dish that is suitable for a regular lunch and for a holiday menu. Pork will cook quickly, veal and chicken too, so this is the preferred meat for the recipe. Mushrooms - fresh champignons, in my opinion, are the best choice for homemade stew. Forest gold - boletus mushrooms, boletus and other delicacies is best prepared for the winter. Ideal as a side dish boiled rice or mashed potatoes.
I love ornamental shrubs, especially unpretentious and with interesting, non-trivial coloring of foliage. I have various Japanese spirea, Thunberg barberries, black elderberry... And there is one special shrub, which I will talk about in this article - viburnum leaf. To realize my dream of a garden that does not require great care, he probably fits perfectly. At the same time, it is capable of greatly diversifying the picture in the garden, from spring to autumn.
Evgeniy Sedov
When hands grow out the right place, life is more fun :)
Early harvest is obtained in greenhouse conditions. Late landing of most vegetable crops produced in summer in open areas of land. This also includes cucumbers. They are unpretentious, but care requires care when organizing watering, feeding and creating acceptable conditions for development.
It is better to arrange the garden bed on sunny side an area where the wind does not blow. Climbing and bush cucumbers should be planted in the summer, when there is no risk of frost returning (the first days of June). This culture does not tolerate excessive exposure to moisture, so it is not recommended to plant cucumber shoots on open areas with a shallow groundwater level. Such conditions have a negative impact, since the appearance of female ovaries can be significantly delayed.
If the question of how to properly grow cucumbers in open ground is being resolved, first prepare the bed, what is done before boarding seeds The garden is prepared in the fall: it is dug up and fertilized with manure. Planting material It grows more intensively after predecessors of a certain type: some root vegetables, onions, legumes, this also includes tomatoes. It is important to change the planting site. Disease-resistant varieties are suitable for open ground. One of the dangers is that this crop is difficult to tolerate the transplantation process.
You can plant a crop using several methods, all of which are characterized by their own nuances:
The first of the options is implemented under acceptable conditions: the prepared seed is planted in the summer (early June), when the cold has already completely receded and temperature regime does not exceed the limit below +15 degrees. The technology for planting cucumber seedlings is implemented in two stages: planting seeds in a pot in the spring (early-mid May); after a month, the young plants are transferred to a predetermined place.
Growing cucumbers in open ground is also achieved by other methods of planting planting material:
The peculiarity of the first option is the need for preparation supporting structure(trellises). A minimum area is used, because only two rows of plants are enough, and the distance between them is 1-2 m. When solving the problem of how to grow cucumbers in open ground using the spread method, you need to set aside a significant area for this purpose. It is impossible to shift or move the stems, because this will disrupt the orientation sheet plates, and the harvest will be later.
The assortment is unlimited, however, it is better to use certain types of crops:
High yields can be achieved only with flawlessly implemented planting technology, if you care for the plants in a timely manner, feed and water them. The temperature regime of the air and soil, the intensity of moisture, and growth conditions are taken into account. Agricultural technology is compiled from all these stages. If you miss one of them, cultivation will give poor results: bitter fruits instead of juicy, sweet and aromatic ones.
Some of the above varieties can be planted both in open areas and under film. The soil must be warm (minimum 17 degrees) and prepared, for which in the spring a trench is dug, the soil is excavated with further processing (potassium salt is taken per 1 linear meter in the amount of 10 g, superphosphate up to 20 g, humus within 5 kg, wood ash no more than 1 l). Seeds are planted on average no deeper than 3 cm; it is better to plant cucumbers closer to the surface (1-2 cm). There are 6-7 bushes per minimum open area (1 sq. m).
Feeding is given up to 6 times throughout the entire plant development cycle. The first portion of nutrients is added at the initial stage of the formation of flower ovaries. Then the cucumbers should be fed every 14 days during the period when the plants bear fruit. Cultivation is carried out by treatment with organic/mineral fertilizers. Mullein is popular (1 share per 10 shares of water).
The pinching method promotes the growth of side shoots. The scheme depends on the variety: remove the stepsons from 3-4 leaves of the central stem; The formation of varietal cucumbers is carried out by pinching after 6-7 leaves. This technology is also called stepsoning. It is recommended to apply it not to all plants, but to medium- and late-ripening varieties.
Do not direct a direct stream of water at cucumber bushes. The preferred option is drip irrigation. It is not always possible to organize it, so more often the holes are carefully filled with water. This should be done in due time, so often that the soil does not dry out and is constantly moistened. Watering is carried out in the morning before the onset of heat or in the evening, for this purpose take warm water.
There are many subtleties of growing technology that make it easier to care for shoots throughout their entire growth cycle. The main mistake is loosening the soil. Theoretically, such a measure will enrich the soil with oxygen, but in practice this will lead to disruption of the root system, which grows closer to the soil surface. It is better to use mulching, which is especially effective during maintenance if the Mittlider method (narrow beds) is implemented.
The main secret is right choice varieties, another feature is the produced preventive work before landing. Actions step by step:
Healthy seedlings grow in rich nutrients substrate, for which it is advisable to buy a ready-made mixture. Without fertilizers, growing cucumbers in open ground will give modest results. In addition to the main portion of fertilizing, plants are additionally sprayed with the same compositions every 14 days. For this active substances taken in half the volume. It is important to promote the formation of female cucumber flowers; the following measures have proven themselves to be effective:
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