Cucumber is the most demanding crop in terms of soil fertility. To form high yields of cucumber - 30-35 kg/m² and above, it is necessary to have, on the one hand, a large amount of nutrients in the soil, and, on the other hand, the cucumber cannot tolerate high concentrations of nutrients in the substrate. Therefore, to meet the plant's need for nutrients, they resort to fractional application of fertilizers.
Cucumbers planted in the ground consume a significant amount of nutrients to form a unit of yield, which are commensurate with the doses of fertilizers used. Per plant, 23 g of nitrogen, 14 g of phosphorus, 58 potassium, 19 calcium and 5 g of magnesium are consumed. Per 1 kg of fruit, plants use 2.64 g of nitrogen, 1.55 g of phosphorus, 6.60 g of potassium, 2 g of calcium. 19 and magnesium 0.57 g. Cucumber is characterized by an extended period of nutrient absorption. However, during the period of fruit formation, each cucumber plant consumes a lot of nitrogen daily - 0.6 g of N and potassium - up to 1 g of K 2 O, therefore, a lack of nutrients during this period sharply leads to a decrease in fruit yield.
In general, with a yield of 25-30 kg from every 1 m², cucumber produces up to 100 g of K2O, 55 g of CaO, 45 g of N, 25 g of P2O5 and 8 g of Mg. The maximum requirement of the crop for nutrients occurs during the period of fruit formation, because the main amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium is contained in the fruits. This makes it clear why, with a lack of nutrients, the ovaries begin to fall off and the cucumber fruits take on an ugly shape. As for calcium, the main quantities of this element are concentrated in the leaves. The fruits contain significantly more magnesium than calcium. Therefore, you need to constantly ensure that there is a sufficient content of available nutrients in the soil.
2-3 days before planting in greenhouses, it is advisable to sprinkle the seedlings with a solution of microelements and feed them so that they can more easily survive stress and transplantation. permanent place.
To grow cucumbers in protected soil, you can prepare soil consisting of turf soil and manure. This mixture for pre-composting is prepared as follows: layers of turf 10-15 cm thick are laid with layers of manure 30 cm thick and sprinkled with phosphate rock. If the soil is acidic, add lime. In this case, the piles are made 2-3 m high. The compost prepared in this way is shoveled every two to three months and watered with slurry.
In greenhouses that have just been put into operation, layer-by-layer application of organic fertilizers and soil mixtures is recommended. Manure or compost is added to the underlying layer at the rate of 25-40 kg per 1 m² and dug to a depth of 20-25 cm. Fresh manure is added to this loosened layer. horse dung on sawdust (up to 70%). The soil-sawdust-manure bed serves as drainage and improves nutrition of the root system and microorganisms. Prepared composted material is applied to the prepared layer. soil soil with a thickness of 25 cm. Next, mineral fertilizers are applied. The main filling includes a full dose of phosphorus fertilizers, 0.75 doses of potassium fertilizers, 0.5 doses of magnesium fertilizers, 0.5 doses of nitrogen fertilizers. The rest should be applied in the form of fertilizing.
Distinguish the following degrees availability of greenhouse soil nutrients for cucumber: low, if the soil contains less than 40 mg of nitrogen, less than 120 mg of phosphorus, less than 160 mg of potassium per 100 g of soil; optimal - within 40-60 mg of nitrogen, 120-180 mg of phosphorus and 160-240 mg of potassium per 100 g of soil; increased - more than 60, 180 and 240 mg of elements per 100 g of soil, respectively.
The total doses of fertilizers to be applied to greenhouse soil when growing cucumbers are as follows:
1. For soil with a low supply of nutrients, add nitrogen - 25 (8), phosphorus - 20-30 (20), potassium - 35 (30), magnesium - 8-12 (5) g/m². The maximum doses of fertilizers applied to fertilizing at one time are shown in parentheses;
2. For soil with an optimal degree of supply – 10-18 nitrogen g/m², 10-15 phosphorus, 12-25 potassium and 5-8 g/m² magnesium.
If the amount of nutrients in the composted soil is at the level of the third group, where their excess is observed, then mineral fertilizers are not added to the main dressing for cucumbers. For soils with an excess content of nutrients, it is recommended either to remove part of the top layer (8-10 cm, which is replaced with new soil), or to flush the greenhouse soil by sprinkling, or to dilute the soil with fresh limed peat, which as the original one contains few nutrients.
When adding nitrogen fertilizers to the main filling, you should Special attention pay attention to the content of ammonia nitrogen in the greenhouse soil, since cucumber plants at a young age are very sensitive to increased content ammonia. In greenhouse soil, nitrogen in ammonia form should not exceed 25-30% of its total content.
Particular attention should be paid to this fact in winter time, in heated greenhouses, when, with a lack of light and carbohydrates, plants do not use ammonia to form amino acids and proteins. At this time, it is better to use nitrogen in nitrate form.
On soils that are reused, usually before planting cucumbers, manure is applied at the rate of 20-25 kg/m² and dug up. To improve the physical properties of the soil, loosening materials are added - sawdust, straw cutting. Then, after applying manure and loosening materials, the soil is taken for analysis.
Let us assume that the soil has an optimal supply of mobile nitrogen, a high supply of available phosphorus, and a low supply of mobile forms of potassium and magnesium. Based on these supply levels, before planting seedlings per 1 m², add 10 g of N (28 g ammonium nitrate) and 30 g of K 2 O in the form of potassium magnesia (approximately 100 g of salt per 1 m²). If there is no potassium magnesia, then add potassium sulfate (about 58 g of salt per 1 m²), as well as magnesium in the form of magnesium sulfate, if the soil contains a low amount of this element available to plants. Phosphorus fertilizers are not used until the content of available phosphorus decreases to a moderate level of availability of available phosphorus.
When growing cucumbers in protected ground feeding definitely needed. With a limited volume of soil in a greenhouse, it is difficult to retain in the soil-absorbing complex such an amount of nutrients that is necessary to produce 30-40 kg of cucumbers per 1 m². Nutrients such as nitrogen and potassium are washed out very quickly. In addition, when loosening materials are added, nitrogen is intensively consumed for the decomposition of organic matter and the nutrition of microorganisms.
Phosphorus can be excluded from fertilizing, giving it only in the main dressing. This especially applies to soils that are not in the first year of use. It is better to fertilize in the morning.
The first root feeding with mineral fertilizers is carried out four weeks after planting, taking into account the results of the next agrochemical analysis of soil samples. Feeding is given only at low and optimal levels of availability of mobile nutrients. At the same time, 20 and 10 g of N, 40 and 20 g of P 2 O 5 and 30 and 15 g of K 2 O per 1 m² are added to the cucumber fertilizer, respectively. The indicated doses of fertilizers are applied for a month until new results of agrochemical analysis of the soil are obtained. It is best to add these amounts of nutrients in 2-3 feedings. Of such kind root dressings based on agrochemical analyzes they are given until the end of harvesting.
If plants show signs of magnesium and iron deficiency, then the cucumber is sprayed with salts of these elements. For spraying, prepare a 0.1% solution of magnesium sulfate and a 0.1% solution of iron sulfate or citrate. If turf soil, manure or composts were used to prepare the soil, then a deficiency of microelements in plants does not appear.
To obtain a high yield, you also need to constantly monitor the air supply of cucumbers. The maximum productivity of photosynthesis in cucumber occurs when the carbon dioxide content in the air of greenhouses is maintained at 0.2-0.3% (by volume) during the daytime. To create such conditions, dry ice is brought into the greenhouses and placed above the plants in the morning. For every 10 m² of area, 200 g of dry ice is required daily.
When calculating the amount of fertilizer that needs to be added to one fertilizing, it should be taken into account that the total amount of fertilizer should not exceed 40-70 g per 1 m². Fertilizers in fertilizing are applied in dissolved form, and the total concentration should not exceed 0.4-0.7% when applied to the soil surface. Before fertilizing, the soil must be moistened. If nutritional elements in greenhouse soil are at the level of the first group, then fertilizing is carried out weekly - 50-60 g/m² or once every 10 days at 70 g/m²; at the level of the second group - 40-50 g/m² or once every two weeks 70 g/m². The content of elements at the level of the third group is considered optimal and fertilizing is not carried out.
It is useful to combine root feeding with foliar feeding. Spraying a fertilizer solution onto the leaves is especially effective during periods of poor lighting in greenhouses, at low soil temperatures, high saturation of soil with salts, etc., that is, when root system works poorly. Foliar feeding has a beneficial effect on diseased plants, especially those affected by root-knot nematodes. Such fertilizing can quickly compensate for the deficiency of one or another element, which is detected by soil analysis or by the condition of the plant. However foliar feeding cannot replace basic nutrition through the root system.
As a rule, foliar feeding is carried out on cloudy days; V sunny weather this is done in the afternoon towards evening.
For foliar feeding, an aqueous extract of superphosphate, a solution of potassium sulfate, urea and microelements (boron, manganese, copper, zinc, molybdenum) are used. A solution of macroelements is prepared per 10 liters of water: superphosphate - 10-12 g, potassium sulfate - 7-8 g, ammonium nitrate - 5-7 g or up to 20 g of urea.
To prepare a solution of microelements, add to 1 liter of water: boric acid- 2.86 g, manganese sulfate - 1.8, copper sulfate- 0.08, ammonium molybdate - 0.1 g. This is how the mother liquor is obtained. For 10 liters of macroelements solution, take 10 ml of microelements stock solution. Greenhouses consume 2.5-3 liters per 10 m² ready solution macro- and microfertilizers.
Gennady Vasyaev, associate professor, chief specialist of the North-Western Scientific and Methodological Center of the Russian Agricultural Academy,
Olga Vasyaeva, amateur gardener
Autumn preparation for growing cucumbers in open ground
Spring preparation for growing cucumbers in open ground
Planting cucumbers in a greenhouse
Features of recharge various types soil
Important to remember
cucumbers grow well on fertile soil. On soddy-podzolic soils, they should be planted in the second year after abundant application of organic fertilizers to the soil. During the short growing season, the crop needs to form a powerful leaf apparatus and a large number of fruits
It is not recommended to plant cucumbers in fresh manure due to strong vegetation to the detriment of fruiting. Although fresh manure in a volume of 5-10 kg per 1 m2 can be applied under the predecessor or in the fall when digging the soil. Carbon dioxide, which is released during the decomposition of fresh manure, significantly improves physical properties soil.
The main organic fertilizer for cucumbers can be considered semi-rotted manure, which is applied during spring digging of the soil, in rows when sowing seeds or in holes when planting seedlings. For these purposes, you can also use waste greenhouse soil, compost mixture, humus soil or well-decomposed peat.
Of the entire norm of fertilizers prescribed for cucumbers, two-thirds should be applied for digging, and the remaining part - along with pre-sowing loosening of the soil, in rows when sowing or in holes when planting seedlings, as well as in fertilizing. In all cases to organic fertilizer add complete mineral fertilizer: 90 g of nitrophoska or 50 g of nitroammophoska.
Complete mineral fertilizer can be replaced with a mixture of simple fertilizers, taking 20 g of urea, double superphosphate or ammophos, 20 g of potassium sulfate or 30 g of potassium magnesium per 1 m2. On acidic soils liming should be carried out (preferably under the previous crop) by adding 300-500 g dolomite flour per 1 m2 of plot.
You can apply the following set of fertilizers to the crop: 3 kg of humus and peat, 2 kg sawdust to loosen the soil, 30-40 g of superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium salt per 1 m2 of area. Fertilizers must be evenly distributed over the area and embedded in the soil to a depth of 20 cm by digging.
If you add granular superphosphate (5 g per 1 m2) to the rows when sowing, you can quickly get an early harvest of cucumbers. Powdered superphosphate must first be mixed with humus. Potassium fertilizers during spring tillage can be replaced with wood ash at the rate of 150-200 g per 1 m2.
Cucumbers in middle lane Russia is usually grown through seedlings, which are fed twice with mullein (1:8) or chicken droppings(1:10). The first time fertilizing with a liquid solution is carried out 2 weeks after emergence.
The second feeding is given 2 days before planting seedlings, adding 15 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate and 20 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of mullein or bird droppings solution. The solution consumption is 1 cup per 2 plants.
After planting cucumbers in a permanent place in the ground, you need to fertilize every 10-15 days, combining them with watering. Before flowering, cucumbers primarily need nitrogen to promote stem growth and leaf formation. For nitrogen fertilizing, 1 liter of mullein or 10 g of urea is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
At the beginning of flowering, when applying liquid fertilizer based on mullein, microfertilizers are added to the solution (1 tablet per 1 liter of solution). You can also prepare an aqueous solution consisting of 10 liters of water, 0.5 g of boric acid, 0.4 g of manganese sulfate and 0.1 g of zinc sulfate.
During the period of mass flowering, the need for phosphorus and potassium in cucumbers increases, and sandy loam soils they are often deficient in magnesium. Therefore, from the moment the buds form and throughout the entire flowering period, it is necessary to increase the feeding of the plants, using complete fertilizer. To do this, add 40 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium sulfate or 20 g of potassium magnesium to 10 liters of mullein solution. The solution consumption is 200-250 ml per plant.
For fertilizing, you can also use the following complex fertilizers: 25 g of nitroammophoska, “Stimul-1” or 30 g of garden fertilizer mixture with microelements, but without chlorine, per 10 liters of mullein solution. The solution consumption is 1 liter for 4-5 plants. If it is not possible to prepare a fertilizer solution based on mullein, the dose mineral fertilizers should be increased by 1.5 times.
During the period of active fruiting and when it subsides, cucumbers need nitrogen-potassium fertilizers. Fertilizing with soluble complex fertilizer (20 g per 1 m2) has a good effect, especially useful on light soils where plants may lack magnesium.
If cloudy weather sets in for a long period of time during the cucumber growing season, you need to carry out foliar feeding with urea (20 g per 10 liters of water).
To extend the fruiting period, fertilizing with phosphorus will be required. Superphosphate can be applied before watering or rain, but it is best with irrigation water. If there is sufficient phosphorus supply, cucumbers benefit from fertilizing with potassium nitrate, which does not contain chlorine, which is bad for cucumbers. With absence complex fertilizer You can apply a mixture of simple fertilizers by diluting 10 g of urea and 10 g of potassium sulfate or 20 g of potassium magnesia in 10 liters of water and using the resulting amount of fertilizer per 1 m2 of soil.
All watering of cucumbers can be combined with the addition of wood ash, a supplier of potassium and calcium (from 40 to 100 g of ash per 10 liters of water). Fertilizing with ash can also be done after rain.
Fertilizing with a week-old nettle infusion has a beneficial effect on cucumbers. The infusion should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 7 and the plants should be watered every other day.
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A non-seedling method of growing cucumbers
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Cucumber is delicious and healthy vegetable, widely used for preparing salads and canning. It is considered a rather capricious agricultural crop, so obtaining a rich harvest requires compliance with several rules for choosing a place for planting and fertilizing at various stages of cultivation. Applying fertilizers to the soil before planting cucumbers is the key to their rapid growth and active fruiting, so it is worth paying special attention to the preliminary preparation of the soil in the bed allocated for them.
Fertilizing cucumbers before planting allows you to get excellent harvests in the future.
There are different opinions regarding the method of feeding the soil before planting seeds, and each summer resident independently chooses which technologies to use to fertilize the land before planting vegetables. Most gardeners are of the opinion that it is best to fertilize the soil in an area intended for growing cucumbers in the fall, since for complete dissolution mineral mixture, used to saturate the soil with nutrients, will require several months and a large amount of moisture.
Fertilizing for cucumber seedlings grown open method, is prepared taking into account the quadrature of the site, based on the calculation that for each square meter future beds require 3-4 buckets of rotted manure, 3-4 cups of wood ash and 80-100 g of nitrophoska. In the fall, the mixture is evenly applied to the area, which in the spring needs to be dug up and covered with a 15-centimeter layer of black soil.
Quail manure is applied to the garden bed in the fall
If it was not possible to fertilize the soil in the fall, in the spring, at least a week before planting the seeds, in the place of the future cucumber bed, you need to dig a ditch about 40 cm deep, fill it with rotted manure, and cover the top with a 16-centimeter layer of fertile soil, after which the soil needs to be leveled, form sides and cover with thick film.
Only old manure can be added to the soil, since fresh mullein contains highly concentrated urea and nitrogen, which can burn young cucumber sprouts.
When fertilizing the soil, it is important to follow the proportions recommended by farmers, since an excessive amount of droppings on the site can cause the formation of voids in cucumber fruits and a decrease in yield.
Rotted hay, fallen leaves or sawdust are excellent fertilizers that can replace manure and fully fertilize the soil when planting cucumbers. Any of these substances is introduced into the prepared groove, compacted and covered with fertile soil, on which beds can already be formed.
In cases where it is not possible to fertilize the soil in advance before sowing cucumbers, 3-4 days before planting the seeds, the ground must be sprinkled with ash mixed with superphosphate in the proportion: 2 tablespoons of fertilizer per 1 cup of ash, after which one bucket of humus is applied to the soil. and rotten sawdust. Then the treated area is dug up and watered with 3-4 liters of humate solution prepared from 1 tbsp. spoons of concentrate of this fertilizer and 10 liters. water. This amount of fertilizing is enough to treat 1 square. meter of garden. After all manipulations, the soil is covered with a film to warm the earth.
In addition to replenishment made by gardeners themselves, ready-made complex fertilizers based on phosphorus and nitrogen, such as ammophos or diammophos, are also used. Due to their high mobility in the soil and easy solubility, phosphorus-nitrogen growth stimulants can be applied immediately before planting cucumbers.
Planting cucumbers in a greenhouse
moisturizing and fertilizing cucumber seeds;
Seeds intended for growing seedlings are kept for a month in a warm room at a temperature not lower than +25 ° C, which will allow in the future to obtain uniform germination, earlier fruiting and a minimum amount of barren flowers. Before germination, heated cucumber seeds must be placed for an hour in a disinfectant solution made from 100 g of cool water and 30 g of garlic pulp. After the destruction of pathogenic microbes, the seeds are placed in a cloth flap soaked in water for 12 hours. nutrient solution
Then the grains are placed on a damp cloth, where they are kept for 2 days at a temperature of about +20 ° C. When the seeds have swollen and slightly hatched, they are transferred to the refrigerator for 24 hours. These manipulations allow you to harden future shoots. Note that the seeds of hybrid varieties of cucumbers in pre-sowing preparation dont need.
To grow cucumber seedlings, use small containers 10-12 cm high filled with a nutritious soil mixture. This substance is obtained from 1 part of rotted sawdust, 2 parts of humus and 2 parts of peat. 10 liters of soil mixture blanks are fertilized with 1.5 tablespoons of nitrophoska and 2 tablespoons of wood ash. Place 1 sprouted seed in 1 pea. Seedlings are watered at least once a week. The presence of intense lighting is prerequisite normal growth of cucumber seedlings.
Before planting cucumber seedlings, the ground must be disinfected with potassium permanganate and sprinkled with phosphate fertilizer
Seedlings can be planted in greenhouse soil 27-30 days after sowing. Immediately before planting, the sprout must be fertilized with a solution obtained by mixing 3 liters of water and 3 teaspoons of nitroammofoska or nitrophoska.
Cucumber shoots are planted in warm earth, previously watered with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and sprinkled with a teaspoon of any phosphate fertilizer. When planting between seedlings, it is necessary to maintain an interval of 30-35 cm. This distance is sufficient for the full growth of the cucumber root system.
Fertilize depleted or clay soil you can use a mixture made from 5-6 kg of mullein, 30 g of superphosphate, 18 g of potassium magnesia and 50 g of nitroammophosphate, which can be replaced with 18 g of ammonium nitrate. All fertilizer components are thoroughly mixed and evenly applied to a planting area of 1 square meter. m. Also, before planting cucumbers, 5 g of granulated superphosphate is poured onto each meter of the bed.
For full development on sandy loam soil, cucumber sprouts require additional fertilizers in the form of magnesium, therefore, when planting seedlings and seeds on such soils, the soil is enriched with appropriate organic-mineral mixtures.
Calimagnesia - fertilizer for clayey and depleted soils
For planting cucumbers, it is better to choose slightly darkened ones. personal plots. The soil allocated for planting this crop should be thoroughly fertilized and heated with film. Seeds must be pre-soaked and subjected to disinfection treatment to avoid the development of various diseases.
Remember, cucumbers “love” phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers, as well as abundant watering.
Entry What fertilizers should be applied when planting cucumbers? SeloMoe appeared for the first time.
As any garden crop grows, it must be fed with nutrients. This is especially true for cucumbers cultivated on open garden bed. Regular nutrition will help plants resist diseases and weather vagaries. In the article we will look at how cucumbers are fertilized in open ground, what feeding methods and stages exist.
With appropriate nutrition, cucumbers also do well in open gardens.
Fertilizers for cucumbers grown in open garden beds are applied in several stages.
Apart from pre-fertilizing the soil, fertilizing cucumbers can be divided into root and foliar.
Root feeding of cucumbers, as the name suggests, is done by introducing nutrient mixtures directly to the root system. This does not mean that you need to pour fertilizer directly onto the roots by digging holes. It is enough to shed the soil around the plant well, being careful not to touch the green mass in order to avoid chemical burns of the vines and leaves.
Foliar feeding, on the contrary, involves applying nutrients directly to the tops, and, if necessary, to the ovaries and even to the fruits. This fertilizing is carried out by irrigation or spraying. The nutrient solution for it should be less concentrated than for root watering.
Periodic inspection of the plants will help determine what fertilizers cucumbers need. If the leaves have faded and the cucumber vines have drooped, then the plants urgently need food. Characteristic signs, indicating the need for feeding:
Tip #1: The fertilizing solution should be warm, because cucumbers are very sensitive to cold. For mixing fertilizers, it is better to take hot water. During the cooking process, the liquid will cool to a temperature comfortable for the plant.
The most effective organic fertilizer for an open cucumber bed is cow manure. The nutrients it contains provide complete nutrition, eliminating the need for additional fertilizers. Manure is applied in rotted form at the rate of 3-4 buckets per m² or used for irrigation in the form of a water infusion. To prepare mullein, take 1 part fresh manure to 10 parts water. Cucumbers are fed at the rate of 1 liter of the finished product per plant.
Chicken manure is sold dry in all gardening stores.
Cow manure can be replaced with chicken manure. The concentration of active ingredients in it is much higher, so before watering chicken droppings diluted with water in proportions of 1:20. The application dose is the same - 1 liter. for 1 plant.
Old proven methods of feeding cucumbers using natural fertilizers and the use of improvised means are very popular among gardeners.
Ash can be applied to cucumbers either in dry form or as an aqueous solution.
Yeast as a fertilizer for open ground cucumbers has been used by gardeners not so long ago. This method is often perceived as something exotic, however, the results of yeast feeding are impressive. Cucumbers do not get sick, grow faster, the fruiting period begins 2 weeks earlier, the plants tolerate heat and cold precipitation well. Yeast contains B vitamins, proteins, amino acids, organic iron, microelements. Yeast feeding:
Another plus is significant savings on fertilizers.
For feeding, use briquetted or dry (necessarily not expired) yeast. Methods for preparing the infusion are given in the table:
Nettle and yeast make an effective complex fertilizer
Tip #2: Yeast enriches the soil with nitrogen, but the fermentation process depletes potassium and calcium. In this regard, yeast feeding is used no more than three times, accompanied by the addition of ash, mineral fertilizers or eggshell extract.
Urea is a powerful fertilizer for any garden crops, concentration active substances she is very high. Therefore, you should strictly follow the recommended dosage - no more than 50 g per bucket of settled water. If you overfeed cucumbers with urea solution, you can completely lose the harvest. Do not water the cucumber bed with urea. hot weather in bright sunshine. It is better to do this in the evening, preferably before rain. If the weather is dry, the soil should be watered thoroughly before fertilizing.
Fresh horse manure cannot be applied to cucumbers! It contains a lot of ammonia, which is converted into nitrates in the soil. Cucumbers grown in such a bed become hazardous to health.
For correct use baking soda in the garden, you need to know the dilution proportions, dosage, and observe the plant treatment intervals. Excessive use of soda leads to a concentration of sodium bicarbonate in the soil. This negatively affects the presentation of cucumbers and the intensity of fruiting. A saturated soda solution can completely destroy the plant.
Potassium fertilizers are necessary for normal development plants. However, cucumbers do not tolerate the chlorine contained in many nutritional mixtures. To minimize the risk of damage to plants, potassium chloride is added during the autumn digging of the bed. By spring, all chlorine is neutralized under the influence of snow and rain, leaving only necessary for plants potassium.
Potassium fertilizers help plants resist cold
The optimal source of potassium for an unprotected cucumber bed is potassium sulfate, otherwise potassium sulfate. It is a highly soluble grayish crystalline powder. The main thing is that it does not contain chlorine, so it can be added regardless of the growing season.
Question No. 1: With sufficient watering, cucumber vines wither, the leaves lose turgor and sag. Additional soil moisture does not help. What is the reason?
There are signs of potassium deficiency. As potassium starvation intensifies, light green spots will appear on the leaves, which will soon become brown tint, similar to a burn mark. It is recommended to feed cucumbers with potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate, potassium magnesium, and kalimag. It is permissible to use any complex fertilizer that contains potassium - nitrophoska, nitroammofoska, karboammofoska. The method of application and dosage are indicated on the packaging.
Question No. 2: What type of feeding (root or foliar) is more effective for open method growing cucumbers?
Root feeding is good in hot weather. If the summer is warm, the root system of plants is sufficiently developed to respond to root application of fertilizers. In cold and cloudy weather, plants are fed by spraying the leaves with nutrient solutions.
Question No. 3: What are green manure fertilizers? Can they be used for cucumbers?
Green manures are predecessor plants, the green mass of which is used as organic fertilizer for the subsequent crop. Can be used as green manure fertilizer for cucumbers white mustard, oats, rye, oilseed radish. These crops are sown in beds freed up after harvesting. In autumn or spring they are dug up along with brilliant green.
Question No. 4: Despite observing all feeding periods, the cucumbers stopped developing. What is the reason?
This is how plants react to boron deficiency. Uogurtsov stops the growth point. It is recommended to add 2 g of boric acid to each bucket with a solution during the first feeding.
Question No. 5: Why does applying fertilizers not give the desired effect?
It depends on the composition of the soil. In order for plants to absorb nutrients as much as possible, the soil must be neutral. Before applying fertilizers, acidic soils are treated with lime, ash, dolomite flour, and chalk.
Cucumber is a tasty and healthy vegetable, widely used for salads and canning. It is considered a rather capricious agricultural crop, so obtaining a rich harvest requires compliance with several rules for choosing a place for planting and fertilizing at various stages of cultivation. Applying fertilizers to the soil before planting cucumbers is the key to their rapid growth and active fruiting, so it is worth paying special attention to the preliminary preparation of the soil in the bed allocated for them.
Fertilizing cucumbers before planting allows you to get excellent harvests in the future.
There are different opinions regarding the method of feeding the soil before planting seeds, and each summer resident independently chooses which technologies to use to fertilize the land before planting vegetables. Most gardeners are of the opinion that it is best to fertilize the soil in an area intended for growing cucumbers in the fall, since it will take several months and a large amount of moisture to completely dissolve the mineral mixture used to saturate the soil with nutrients.
Top dressing for cucumber seedlings grown using the open method is prepared taking into account the square footage of the plot, based on the calculation that for each square meter of future beds, 3-4 buckets of rotted manure, 3-4 cups of wood ash and 80-100 g of nitrophoska are required. In the fall, the mixture is evenly applied to the area, which in the spring needs to be dug up and covered with a 15-centimeter layer of black soil.
Quail manure is applied to the garden bed in the fall
If it was not possible to fertilize the soil in the fall, in the spring, at least a week before planting the seeds, in the place of the future cucumber bed, you need to dig a ditch about 40 cm deep, fill it with rotted manure, and cover the top with a 16-centimeter layer of fertile soil, after which the soil needs to be leveled, form sides and cover with thick film.
Only old manure can be added to the soil, since fresh mullein contains highly concentrated urea and nitrogen, which can burn young cucumber shoots.
When fertilizing the soil, it is important to follow the proportions recommended by farmers, since an excessive amount of droppings on the site can cause the formation of voids in cucumber fruits and a decrease in yield.
Rotted hay, fallen leaves or sawdust are excellent fertilizers that can replace manure and fully fertilize the soil when planting cucumbers. Any of these substances is introduced into the prepared groove, compacted and covered with fertile soil, on which beds can already be formed.
In cases where it is not possible to fertilize the soil in advance before sowing cucumbers, 3-4 days before planting the seeds, the ground must be sprinkled with ash mixed with superphosphate in the proportion: 2 tablespoons of fertilizer per 1 cup of ash, after which one bucket of humus is applied to the soil. and rotten sawdust. Then the treated area is dug up and watered with 3-4 liters of humate solution prepared from 1 tbsp. spoons of concentrate of this fertilizer and 10 liters. water. This amount of fertilizing is enough to treat 1 square. meter of garden. After all manipulations, the soil is covered with a film to warm the earth.
In addition to replenishment made by gardeners themselves, ready-made complex fertilizers based on phosphorus and nitrogen, such as ammophos or diammophos, are also used. Due to their high mobility in the soil and easy solubility, phosphorus-nitrogen growth stimulants can be applied immediately before planting cucumbers.
Planting cucumbers in a greenhouse
moisturizing and fertilizing cucumber seeds;
When fertilizing the soil, it is important to follow the proportions recommended by farmers, since an excessive amount of droppings on the site can cause the formation of voids in cucumber fruits and a decrease in yield.
After the destruction of pathogenic microbes, the seeds are placed for 12 hours in a cloth flap soaked in a nutrient solution, the preparation of which requires 1 tablespoon of water, 1 teaspoon of fine wood ash and the same amount of nitrophoska.
Then the grains are placed on a damp cloth, where they are kept for 2 days at a temperature of about +20 ° C. When the seeds have swollen and slightly hatched, they are transferred to the refrigerator for 24 hours. These manipulations allow you to harden future shoots. Note that the seeds of hybrid varieties of cucumbers do not require pre-sowing preparation.
Before planting cucumber seedlings, the ground must be disinfected with potassium permanganate and sprinkled with phosphate fertilizer
Seedlings can be planted in greenhouse soil 27-30 days after sowing. Immediately before planting, the sprout must be fertilized with a solution obtained by mixing 3 liters of water and 3 teaspoons of nitroammofoska or nitrophoska.
To grow cucumber seedlings, use small containers 10-12 cm high filled with a nutritious soil mixture. This substance is obtained from 1 part of rotted sawdust, 2 parts of humus and 2 parts of peat. 10 liters of soil mixture blanks are fertilized with 1.5 tablespoons of nitrophoska and 2 tablespoons of wood ash. Place 1 sprouted seed in 1 pea. Seedlings are watered at least once a week. The presence of intense lighting is a prerequisite for the normal growth of cucumber seedlings. When planting between seedlings, it is necessary to maintain an interval of 30-35 cm. This distance is sufficient for the full growth of the cucumber root system.
Features of recharge of various types of soil Also, before planting cucumbers, 5 g of granulated superphosphate is poured onto each meter of the bed.
For full development on sandy loam soil, cucumber sprouts require additional fertilizers in the form of magnesium, therefore, when planting seedlings and seeds on such soils, the soil is enriched with appropriate organic-mineral mixtures.
You can fertilize depleted or clayey soil with a mixture made from 5-6 kg of mullein, 30 g of superphosphate, 18 g of potassium magnesia and 50 g of nitroammophosphate, which can be replaced with 18 g of ammonium nitrate. All fertilizer components are thoroughly mixed and evenly applied to a planting area of 1 square meter. m.
Calimagnesia - fertilizer for clay and depleted soils
For planting cucumbers, it is better to choose slightly shaded garden plots. The soil allocated for planting this crop should be thoroughly fertilized and heated with film. Seeds must be pre-soaked and subjected to disinfection treatment to avoid the development of various diseases.
Remember, cucumbers “love” phosphate and nitrogen fertilizers, as well as abundant watering.
Cucumbers grow well in fertile soil. On soddy-podzolic soils, they should be planted in the second year after abundant application of organic fertilizers to the soil. During the short growing season, the crop needs to form a powerful leaf apparatus and a large number of fruits.
It is not recommended to plant cucumbers in fresh manure due to strong vegetation to the detriment of fruiting. Although fresh manure in a volume of 5-10 kg per 1 m2 can be applied under the predecessor or in the fall when digging the soil. Carbon dioxide, which is released during the decomposition of fresh manure, significantly improves the physical properties of the soil.
The main organic fertilizer for cucumbers can be considered semi-rotted manure, which is applied during spring digging of the soil, in rows when sowing seeds or in holes when planting seedlings. For these purposes, you can also use waste greenhouse soil, compost mixture, humus soil or well-decomposed peat.
Of the entire norm of fertilizers prescribed for cucumbers, two-thirds should be applied for digging, and the remaining part - along with pre-sowing loosening of the soil, in rows when sowing or in holes when planting seedlings, as well as in fertilizing. In all cases, complete mineral fertilizer is added to the organic fertilizer: 90 g of nitrophoska or 50 g of nitroammophoska.
Complete mineral fertilizer can be replaced with a mixture of simple fertilizers, taking 20 g of urea, double superphosphate or ammophos, 20 g of potassium sulfate or 30 g of potassium magnesium per 1 m2. On acidic soils, liming should be carried out (preferably under the previous crop) by adding 300-500 g of dolomite flour per 1 m2 of plot.
You can apply the following set of fertilizers to the crop: 3 kg of humus and peat, 2 kg of sawdust to loosen the soil, 30-40 g of superphosphate and 10-15 g of potassium salt per 1 m2 of land. Fertilizers must be evenly distributed over the area and embedded in the soil to a depth of 20 cm by digging.
If you add granular superphosphate (5 g per 1 m2) to the rows when sowing, you can quickly get an early harvest of cucumbers. Powdered superphosphate must first be mixed with humus. Potassium fertilizers during spring tillage can be replaced with wood ash at the rate of 150-200 g per 1 m2.
Cucumbers in central Russia are usually grown through seedlings, which are fed twice with mullein (1:8) or chicken manure (1:10). The first time fertilizing with a liquid solution is carried out 2 weeks after emergence.
The second feeding is given 2 days before planting seedlings, adding 15 g of ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate and 20 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of mullein or bird droppings solution. The solution consumption is 1 cup per 2 plants.
After planting cucumbers in a permanent place in the ground, you need to fertilize every 10-15 days, combining them with watering. Before flowering, cucumbers primarily need nitrogen to promote stem growth and leaf formation. For nitrogen fertilizing, 1 liter of mullein or 10 g of urea is dissolved in 10 liters of water.
At the beginning of flowering, when applying liquid fertilizer based on mullein, microfertilizers are added to the solution (1 tablet per 1 liter of solution). You can also prepare an aqueous solution consisting of 10 liters of water, 0.5 g of boric acid, 0.4 g of manganese sulfate and 0.1 g of zinc sulfate.
During the period of mass flowering, cucumbers have an increased need for phosphorus and potassium, and on sandy loam soils they often lack magnesium. Therefore, from the moment the buds form and throughout the entire flowering period, it is necessary to increase the feeding of the plants, using complete fertilizer. To do this, add 40 g of superphosphate, 10 g of potassium sulfate or 20 g of potassium magnesium to 10 liters of mullein solution. The solution consumption is 200-250 ml per plant.
For fertilizing, you can also use the following complex fertilizers: 25 g of nitroammophoska, “Stimul-1” or 30 g of garden fertilizer mixture with microelements, but without chlorine, per 10 liters of mullein solution. The solution consumption is 1 liter for 4-5 plants. If it is not possible to prepare a fertilizer solution based on mullein, the dose of mineral fertilizers should be increased by 1.5 times.
During the period of active fruiting and when it subsides, cucumbers need nitrogen-potassium fertilizers. Fertilizing with soluble complex fertilizer (20 g per 1 m2) has a good effect, especially useful on light soils where plants may lack magnesium.
If cloudy weather sets in for a long period of time during the cucumber growing season, you need to carry out foliar feeding with urea (20 g per 10 liters of water).
To extend the fruiting period, fertilizing with phosphorus will be required. Superphosphate can be applied before watering or rain, but it is best with irrigation water. If there is sufficient phosphorus supply, cucumbers benefit from fertilizing with potassium nitrate, which does not contain chlorine, which is bad for cucumbers. In the absence of complex fertilizer, you can use a mixture of simple fertilizers, diluting 10 g of urea and 10 g of potassium sulfate or 20 g of potassium magnesia in 10 liters of water and using the resulting amount of fertilizer per 1 m2 of soil.
All watering of cucumbers can be combined with the addition of wood ash, a supplier of potassium and calcium (from 40 to 100 g of ash per 10 liters of water). Fertilizing with ash can also be done after rain.
Fertilizing with a week-old nettle infusion has a beneficial effect on cucumbers. The infusion should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 7 and the plants should be watered every other day.
