Thanks to their excellent taste and relative ease of cultivation, cucumbers have become regular regulars in every garden (they are even grown!). Despite the fact that this culture is very unpretentious, not every gardener manages to grow cucumbers with a reckless method. The reasons for such failure, as a rule, lie in the improper conduct or lack of seed preparation, as well as in the direct planting procedure, or incorrect subsequent care of the seedlings. However, you can succeed in this business without any problems if you follow quite simple rules!
To learn how to properly plant cucumbers in open ground with seeds, read further in this article, in which you will find tips, recommendations and step-by-step instructions for sowing cucumbers.
Because this pumpkin culture belongs to the number of fairly heat-loving plants, it is recommended to plant cucumber seeds in open ground only when the soil will warm up to +12 degrees, and the ambient temperature will be consistently above +14 degrees.
There is no point in sowing earlier, as the seeds will sit in the ground for a long time and not germinate. As a result, they may not rise at all, but simply rot in a humid and cold environment.
But don't put it off too much, because optimum temperature for the growth of cucumbers +14..+30 degrees, and if the peak of their development coincides with the July heat, they simply stop growing and begin to dry out.
Obviously, in the greenhouse the soil warms up faster, so you can plant cucumbers earlier (1-2 weeks).
Due to the fact that the climate in different parts countries is very different, there are no uniform sowing dates. It is necessary to choose the time for planting cucumbers in open ground, based on the climatic features of each individual region, namely, on the weather conditions of the current season.
Terms of sowing cucumbers in open ground in the North-West (Leningrad region), as a rule, are shifted 1-2 weeks ahead of those near Moscow.
In the Urals and Siberia- in the second half of May - early June.
By the way! In regions with short summer cucumbers are often grown.
But in the South of Russia cucumbers can be sown in open ground in the second half of April.
We repeat! The main condition when choosing a landing date cucumbers in open ground is the temperature environment, which should not fall below +14-..15 degrees, and the temperature of the soil, which should warm up to 12 degrees. Otherwise, the seeds will not sprout.
Advice! Varieties of cucumbers are divided into early ripening, mid-ripening and late-ripening. To feast on crispy cucumbers continuously, it is better to sow immediately different planting material. Thanks to this “little trick”, the plants alternately bear fruit, which allows you to enjoy cucumbers throughout the season.
Specific dates for planting seeds of cucumbers of the selected variety (or F1 hybrid) can often be found on the back of the package.
The lunar calendar can help you choose specific dates for planting cucumbers in open ground.
Everyone has long known the fact that the moon affects not only the waters of the oceans, but also the juices inside plants. So, the most favorable period when you can sow cucumbers falls on the growing moon.
According to the lunar calendar, in 2019, the following dates are considered favorable days when you can plant cucumbers in open ground:
The bad days are:
According to lunar calendar, from the magazine "1000 tips for summer residents."
Plant several varieties of cucumbers at once - 3-4 pieces, and preferably 5-6. After all, it is difficult to guess what the conditions of the current year will be, so varietal diversity will increase your chances of getting more stable crops. In addition, different varieties different years, depending on weather conditions, have their advantages, since some are better adapted to moisture deficiency, the second are more cold-resistant, and the third are resistant to certain diseases.
If you plant only one or 2 varieties, then it is quite difficult to guarantee a stable crop.
The following detailed review articles about most popular and the best varieties cucumbers:
In order for the planting of cucumbers to be successful, it is not enough just to buy seeds and sow them in the first available free hour: you need to carefully prepare not only the seeds, but also the soil (beds), and also follow a number of rules for direct sowing seeds in open ground.
So let's figure out how to plant cucumber seeds correctly.
As a rule, most gardeners sow this crop with dry seeds, because. cucumbers are doing great.
By the way! Cucumber seeds remain viable for 5-6 years, but it is better to sow already 3-4 years old (if you.
However, in order to be completely sure of their germination, if desired, pre-sowing treatment of cucumber seeds can be carried out.
So, even before the preparation of cucumber seeds, they need to be calibrated. Large, even seeds with a light shade are suitable for planting ( without any dark spots).
Important! On sale you can find coated or glazed seeds that do not require any preparation, they must be sown exclusively in a dry form, because. they are already pre-treated by the manufacturer.
Certainly much more popular. disinfection seed dark pink (1%) solution of potassium permanganate.
Worth knowing! Potassium permanganate is a very weak and ineffective disinfectant. Where is the best place to prepare the solution? brilliant green(take 1 ml of 1% pharmacy solution and dissolve in 100 ml of water) or disinfect in chlorhexidine(take 0.05% pharmacy solution). If you are a supporter of organic farming, then your choice is garlic infusion(2-3 crushed cloves pour 100 ml of water and let it brew for a day) or 50% aloe juice(to get 100 ml of solution - take 50 ml of juice and 50 ml of water). Etching time - 30 minutes. After that, be sure to rinse the seeds under clean (filtered, bottled) water.
In general, the most efficient way seedbed preparation seeds, many rightly consider them soaking and sprouting.
Before direct germination, they can be disinfected.
To do this, you need to wrap the cucumber seeds in a damp cloth (or gauze), then put the bundle on a saucer or other container, which should be wrapped in a plastic bag and put away in a warm place where the air temperature is about + 22-26 degrees (optimally + 24-28 degrees ). Under such conditions, the seeds will germinate within 24-48 hours.
In regions with a harsh climate, it is even recommended to carry out hardening cucumber seeds. To do this, the seeds (you can even sprouted) need to be wrapped in a cloth, soaked and placed in refrigerator (not freezer) for 4-5 days, and then planted in the ground.
Video: how to prepare cucumber seeds for planting in open ground
The choice of a place for growing cucumbers should be approached with all seriousness, because this culture is very warm and light-loving, which means that even a slight drop in temperature and shading will necessarily negatively affect its yield (although there are relatively shade-tolerant ones, as well as cold-resistant ones, you just need to choose the appropriate hardy variety or hybrid).
A place for cucumbers should be selected in accordance with the rules of crop rotation. So, it is advisable to plant cucumbers after the following crops:
You can also do mixed landings cucumbers with tomatoes, cabbage, turnips, radishes, corn, legumes and greens.
Note! But after pumpkin and gourds(pumpkins, zucchini, squash, melons, watermelons) cucumbers cannot be planted, as they have common diseases. The same goes for re-planting cucumbers in the garden where they have already grown.
The basis for obtaining rich yields of cucumbers is high soil fertility. Naturally, it should be light and loose, as well as neutral in acidity.
Of course, ideally, a bed for planting cucumbers (and other crops) should be prepared in the fall, but if you haven’t done this, then it’s okay - you can dig and apply the necessary fertilizers in the spring, at least a month or 2 weeks before planting seeds.
Alternatively, you can apply organic matter or mineral fertilizers directly to the planting holes, making them 25-30 cm deep (per shovel bayonet). Then mix everything thoroughly with garden soil and sow at the recommended depth (1.5-3 cm).
In addition, humus or compost (approximately 5-8 kg per 1 sq. Meter) can be decomposed in a thin layer on the area allocated for sowing Zelentsy, wood ash (100-200 grams per 1 sq. M.), And then deep (on shovel bayonet - 25-30 cm) dig everything.
By the way! Cucumbers love manure.
Contributed organic fertilizers make the soil looser, and also saturate it with the nutrients necessary for the active growth and fruiting of the crop.
If you allow the use of mineral fertilizers, then the whole complex of macroelements should be added for digging, for example, you can use one nitroammophoska (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium - all 16% each) or take all the elements separately - urea or ammonium nitrate, superphosphate, potassium sulfate (according to instructions).
Note! In autumn, it is recommended to apply phosphorus and potash fertilizers (they are absorbed and dissolved for a long time), and in spring - nitrogen fertilizers(act quickly).
Worth knowing! No matter how you prepare the garden for planting cucumbers, you will in any case you have to feed them during the growing season, and do it quite often - during the entire period of fruiting.
Important! Do not initially apply an excess amount of fertilizer to the soil, because. exceeding their norm can simply destroy your plant (its roots).
All gardeners plant cucumbers on their plot in accordance with their capabilities. However, there are several rather original and quite effective ways to grow cucumbers.
Perhaps this is the most original way planting cucumbers, which has enough simple technology preparation of the barrel itself, sowing seeds, as well as further care and harvesting.
In general, this method is similar to the previous one, except that now dense plastic bags or sugar (or flour) bags are used as landing containers. However, in this case, you will have to make supports and tie whips on them, as well as monitor watering, in other words, get pretty seriously confused.
By the way! It is possible in the same way.
However, his (of this method) efficiency is questionable.
There is a huge variety of ways to garter cucumbers.
Of course, the most popular and effective of them is on the trellis, but there are also much more original ones.
Alternatively, you can grow cucumbers on black agrofibre.
What needs to be done?
Lay agrofibre, make cuts at the required distance (according to the recommended pattern) and plant seeds.
Or you can do the opposite, that is, first sow the seeds, wait for the shoots, and only then cover the bed with spunbond.
Planting cucumbers under a black film reduces the temperature of the soil by 2-4 degrees, so in the summer heat such cucumbers feel better.
Since there is always a risk of returning spring frosts in the temperate zone, it is most reliable to plant cucumbers on warm (high) beds.
And already on warm garden you can (grow) cucumbers in any way that is most suitable (convenient) for you.
Video: 4 ways to plant cucumbers
Step-by-step instruction planting cucumber seeds in open ground:
The planting depth of cucumber seeds is 1.5-2 cm (maximum 3 cm if you have very loose and sandy soil).
It is better to put 2-3 seeds in one hole at once, in order to subsequently remove the weaker ones.
Advice! To protect your seeds from ants, after you put the seeds in the holes or grooves, you can sprinkle tobacco dust or mustard cake on top of them (because you say mulch the seeds), and only then cover them with earth.
By the way! Tobacco dust is also a prevention against nematodes.
Video: the most easy fit cucumbers in open ground
Video: planting cucumber seeds on high beds
To create high humidity, which cucumbers love so much, after sowing, the bed is covered with polyethylene (and even better with white spunbond).
Some gardeners mount over plantings mini greenhouse on arcs.
Cucumbers covered in this way, due to high humidity, will quickly germinate and will not suffer from return spring frosts.
And as soon as the seedlings germinate and shoots appear, the film will need to be removed promptly.
In the case of a mini-greenhouse, it will need to be periodically opened (ventilated), gradually increasing the time the plants stay outdoors.
In the future, when the flowering period begins, it is recommended to completely remove the shelter (greenhouse) or open it from the end sides so that bees can fly inside (if you grow bee-pollinated varieties).
Video: planting cucumber seeds in a greenhouse for an early harvest
After the emergence of seedlings, after waiting for some time, they should be thinned out, leaving the strongest plants.
Thinning should be carried out in accordance with the selected growing scheme (as a rule, it is given on the seed packaging).
To get a rich harvest of delicious greens, in the future you need to fully care for cucumbers.
What exactly needs to be done? What is included in the list of basic agricultural practices for the care of cucumbers in open ground?
Briefly, for successful cultivation need cucumbers regularly water and feed, necessarily tie up, mulch or periodically loosen, as well as pinch, pinch and shape. And, of course, quickly fight possible diseases effectively resist pests. At the same time, it is important to do everything in a timely manner and with high quality.
By the way! Do not forget to regularly harvest ripe greens, as untimely harvesting will inhibit the growth of new cucumbers.
Video: how to grow cucumbers in the open field
As a rule, it is not necessary to moisten the soil under the shelter before the start of active seed germination, since the covering material prevents moisture from evaporating. But it is still necessary to control the condition of the soil, since the slightest drying out can cause the death of hatched seeds.
In the future, it is very important to carry out competent and timely watering of cucumbers.
In short, the basic rules for watering cucumbers are:
Advice! More information about the features of watering cucumbers you can find!
Cucumbers are able to bear fruit for a sufficiently long period of time, which means that they (the bushes) must be regularly provided with good nutrition throughout the entire period of their growth and especially fruiting.
Moreover, cucumbers require so much nutrition that even if you initially put in the soil, in your opinion, a sufficient amount of useful macro- and microelements, this will still not be enough.
We repeat! It is also wrong to make initially excessively “fatty” soil: cucumbers should be fed gradually - in the course of growth.
Now on sale there are a lot of ready-made special fertilizers such as "Agricola" for cucumbers, zucchini, squash.
However, for feeding cucumbers, you can cook perfectly.
So that all plants have enough sunlight, as well as to reduce the risk of fungal diseases in cucumbers due to cramped growing conditions (including bushes for this, and also, in order to simplify planting care, cucumbers are tied to horizontal or vertical trellises.
By appearance cucumbers (namely by leaves) can be determined what is the plant missing?, as well as what and how best to feed it:
In each of the above cases, it is necessary to promptly feed cucumbers with a liquid solution of micro or macro elements. For example, dolomite flour contains both calcium and magnesium, so you can make liquid root dressing this solution, and it is desirable to add 100 grams of 9% vinegar to it (for better absorption and conversion of the fertilizer into a chelated form).
In addition to the fact that the color of the cucumber leaves themselves changes, indicating a lack of nutrition, trouble may be happening and with the fruits of cucumbers themselves:
Like all plants, cucumbers are subject to a number of diseases and pest attacks.
Cucumbers can infect the following diseases: powdery mildew, peronosporosis (downy mildew), olive blotch (cladosporiosis), gray rot, root rot.
Gray rot
Advice! It is easier to prevent any diseases than to fight them later, therefore, for example, when planting and in further care, it is advisable to periodically spill the wells with a solution of Fitosporin or Trichodermin to protect cucumbers from root rot.
Which main pest of cucumbers? That's right, this aphid.
Therefore, every gardener should know.
In addition, cucumbers have other pests - the same whitefly, (aphid carriers).
Thus, it can be said that, as such, some special secrets there is no planting cucumbers in open ground, but there are some nuances and rules that need to be considered. In addition, planting is only half the battle or even a quarter of the battle. To get a rich harvest, you need to properly care for and grow. Good luck!
Video: growing cucumbers in the open field - planting and care
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Vegetable growers want to get the first cucumbers as early as possible in early summer. It is not difficult to fulfill these dreams by planting seeds for seedlings. in early spring in pots on windowsills in the house, getting a run in time of about two to three weeks. But success largely depends on the conditions for the development of seedlings, on various factors that need to be taken into account when planting cucumber seeds and creating a favorable atmosphere for revealing the properties stated in the description of the variety and obtaining an early quality harvest.
In the southern regions of our country, cucumbers are sown with seeds immediately in the beds. Where the climate is cooler, only part of the seeds are sown early for seedlings. And they nurse her while it is cold, indoors. Planted in greenhouses to try the first cucumbers at the very beginning of summer. And with the onset of stable heat, the remaining seeds are sown in open ground. In cool regions with short summers, only the seedling method of sowing cucumbers is used, for growing them in greenhouses or under shelters in the beds. And the yield directly depends on the quality of the seedlings.
Important to find comfortable spot for containers with seedlings. As a rule, this is the window sill of a window facing south or southeast. If the windows of a house or apartment face other parts of the world, the seedlings will have to be illuminated with special lamps, otherwise it will be thin, stretched and pale. direct sun rays best avoided by lightly shading the plants during the hours of maximum sun exposure.
The timing of the onset of fruiting and the size of the crop depend on the quality of the seeds. You can not buy seeds from random sellers. There is a huge risk of buying low-quality, expired, unknown varieties. It is best to buy hybrids from trusted companies to avoid regrading. for sowing it is better to collect your own. It must be remembered that the seeds fully germinate and grow for 3–4 years of storage, and remain viable for up to 5–6 years. For sowing, full-weight seeds without damage are selected. empty, broken, irregular shape must be sorted and discarded.
The timing of planting seeds for seedlings depends on several factors:
As a rule, in middle lane cucumber seeds are sown for seedlings in early or mid-April. From sowing to planting seedlings in the greenhouse should take 25-30 days. The planting date depends on the quality of the greenhouse (heated or not), the weather. Based on this, the day of sowing seeds is calculated. It is not recommended to keep seedlings indoors for more than a month. Overgrown plants do not take root well and will not be able to develop into a full-fledged plant.
If there is no greenhouse, seedlings are planted on a bed with installed arcs. They cover with agrospan, and on top of it, when it gets cold, they also throw a film. The shelter is folded when the temperature at night is not lower than 15 ° C.
In order to get seedlings in time for planting in open ground without shelter, the date of the end of late frosts and the establishment of warm (not lower than 15 ° C) nights in this region is determined, and seeds are sown 30 days before this date.
In order to stretch the fruiting of cucumbers for the whole summer until the cold weather, varieties are selected that are different in precocity, given that:
The days of sowing seeds for seedlings can be determined by the lunar calendar. It has been noticed that cucumbers grow best when sown in the growing moon. Or when she is in such zodiac constellations as Capricorn, Pisces, Taurus and Cancer. You need to check your actions with the lunar calendar and not sow cucumber seeds on unfavorable days. The time of day for sowing does not matter.
Preparation for sowing in hybrid and varietal seeds is different. Hybrid seeds go on sale already treated with various disinfectants. They also should not be warmed up, since high temperatures stimulate the development of female flowers on future plants, and in parthenocarpic hybrids they are already female.
Varietal seeds, especially those collected with your own hands, must be warmed up and disinfected before sowing. It is possible to warm up seeds wrapped from drying in a plastic bag on a battery central heating within 20-30 days.
There are many ways to disinfect. The simplest of them: hold the seeds for 15–20 minutes in a strong, dark purple solution of potassium permanganate, then rinse with cool water and dry.
The shorter the shelf life of varietal seeds (up to two years), the more they need to be warmed up to awaken and form female flowers. By heating them for 15–20 minutes in a thermos with water heated to 53 ° C, you not only stimulate germination, but also destroy pathogens such as bacteriosis and anthracnose.
To awaken the growth processes, the seeds need oxygen, moisture and heat. It is optimal to provide future plants with this by soaking the seeds in cotton pads or napkins soaked in melt water. Seeds selected for sowing are placed between two such disks placed on a saucer. So that they do not dry out, the container is placed in a plastic bag and tied. The temperature in the house should be 23–26 ° C. Sprouted seeds should be planted immediately in moist soil.
The quality of seedlings directly depends on the composition of the soil in which it is planted. Soil can be bought ready-made, but it is better to prepare it yourself. Cucumbers grow well in light, loose, moisture-intensive soil. It should not be too nutritious so that the plants do not stretch. It is assembled from several components:
If hydrogel is added to the soil for seedlings, 1 tablespoon of soaked granules per 0.5 l of earth, the number of waterings will be halved and the plants will be provided with constant moderate humidity.
For cucumber seedlings, it is especially important to maintain the integrity of the root system. If, when transplanting grown seedlings, the tender suction roots that are not restored are damaged, the development of the ground part will stop until new roots grow. Therefore, plants planted later directly into the ground with seeds often outstrip seedlings in development and fruiting. Container for cucumber seedlings should ensure the integrity of the roots during transplantation. For this, peat-humus or paper pots are suitable, which, dissolving in the soil, enable the roots to continue their development after being transferred to a greenhouse or garden bed without a delay in recovery.
The simplest and most affordable containers for seedlings can be made from old newspapers, folded in 3-4 layers, wrapped around a jar. The resulting container is filled soil mixture 2/3 and watered. A seed with a hatched root is very easy to damage. Therefore, they take it carefully, with tweezers, put it on a damp surface and sprinkle it with soil on top, deepening it by 1.5–2 cm. After that, water it again. Before germination, the temperature in the room should be at least 23 ° C.
When transplanting finished seedlings into the ground, a paper or peat-humus pot is placed in a hole made according to its size and watered abundantly. The walls of the pot get wet, and the roots grow freely further.
Peat-humus pots are not always of high quality, they may turn out to be too strong, and the roots of the plant will not be able to develop. Therefore, before sowing seeds, you need to check the ability of the walls of the pot to soak by immersing it in water for several hours.
Grow good seedlings possible, subject to certain conditions. The most important are light, a certain air temperature, moisture and nutrition.
In April, when cucumber seeds are sown for seedlings, the day is still not long enough. Yes and conditions enclosed space do not give plants the level of light that is required for normal plant growth. If the house is too warm, the seedlings will turn out to be elongated, pale, weak. She needs additional illumination with special lamps. Ordinary houses are not suitable for lighting, they have the wrong spectrum. For proper development, cucumber seedlings need LED bulbs with blue and red parts of the light spectrum. Plants need to be illuminated for at least 12 hours a day.
It should be remembered that plants need at least 6 hours of complete darkness for normal growth.
After the emergence of shoots, so that the seedlings do not stretch, the temperature in the room should not be higher than 20–23 ° C during the day and not lower than 18 ° C at night. Cucumbers stop growing already at 15 o C, and at temperatures above 28 o C, seedlings are strongly drawn out, especially with a lack of light. The room in which the plants are located must be ventilated, given that drafts for cucumbers are detrimental. When planting seedlings in the ground, it is desirable that the bed warms up to 18 ° C, and night temperatures do not fall below 15 ° C.
Plants should be fertilized as soon as the first true leaf appears. Nitrogen fertilizers can cause undesirable increased growth and elongation of seedlings. Cucumbers at this time it is better to give mineral dressings. Best suited infusion of wood ash. To make it, 0.5 cups of ash is poured into a glass of boiling water, insisted for a day, mixed with 5 liters of water, filtered and watered with this solution once a week. Top dressing is carried out on moist soil. Plants are watered in the evening and fed in the morning. Pour 0.5 cups of infusion into one pot. As a foliar top dressing, it is useful to spray seedlings with Humat EM. One such feeding is enough. Seedlings are watered regularly, only with settled warm water, avoiding strong waterlogging, but also preventing the soil from drying out. The leaves and the central shoot are not moistened to avoid diseases.
From germination to planting, seedlings grow 25–30 days. All this time, they monitor the air temperature and the illumination of plants. It is important to maintain a constant moderate soil moisture, feed the seedlings with fertilizers. During these 30 days, it is enough to carry out two or three root and one foliar top dressing of cucumbers. To prevent diseases, it is useful to spray the plants every week with a pink solution of potassium permanganate with the addition of boric acid(powder at the tip of a knife for 3 liters of solution).
The future harvest of cucumbers depends on the quality of the seedlings. By following simple care rules, maintaining the right temperature, highlighting, watering and fertilizing their plants, vegetable growers lay the foundation for further abundant fruiting.
The most common practice is to grow cucumbers in open ground on a trellis. But there are also such gardeners who cultivate these vegetables without a garter, that is, they leave the whip to curl on the ground. Indeed, the yield of such plants is no worse, the only thing is that such cucumbers are often twisted, therefore they are not suitable for harvesting in jars. Otherwise, this method is no worse, it's just not very common yet.
A site for growing cucumbers in open ground should be selected highly fertile, with loose, light soils and a neutral reaction of the environment.
If nothing has previously been grown on the selected site, then the first thing to start with is to carefully remove weeds, especially perennial and quarantine ones. Cucumber does not tolerate the infestation of plantings, the quality of the fruit is changing for the worse, especially with regard to the shape and color of greens. In addition, in dense thickets of weeds there are favorable conditions for the development of diseases. Consideration should also be given to drainage root system cucumber does not tolerate stagnant moisture.
This article is about how to properly grow cucumbers in the open field using the trellis method.
Soil preparation for planting cucumbers in open ground begins in the fall: at this time, the main cultivation should be carried out to a depth of 25-30 cm with the simultaneous application of phosphorus and potash fertilizers, and, if necessary, lime.
Organic fertilizers can be applied in both autumn and spring, but preferably late autumn. The dose of organics is determined depending on soil conditions. On poor soddy-podzolic soils with low humus content, it is 8-10 (up to 15) kg/m2. On light mechanical composition loamy and sandy loamy soils - 6-7 kg/m2, on chernozems and floodplain soils - no more than 3-5 kg/m2. If there is little organic fertilizer, then it is better to apply them in the spring to holes or furrows, that is, directly to the place where you will sow seeds or plant seedlings. However, fresh manure is not entirely suitable for these purposes, as it can cause burns to the root system.
In the spring, after the earth dries out a little, to prepare the soil for cucumbers in open ground, loosening (harrowing) should be carried out in two mutually perpendicular directions, which will keep moisture in the ground and prevent its excessive evaporation. The readiness of the soil for further processing is easy to determine by taking a handful of earth from a depth of 10-15 cm, squeezing it into a lump and laying it on a flat surface. If the soil is “ripe”, then the lump will fall apart into several small parts. If the time has not yet come, then it will not fall apart. Delay in tillage for cultivation and care in the open field will lead to the drying of the earth, and the clod will quickly crumble. In some cases, the earth is even difficult to form into a lump. Digging the site should be carried out on clay soils to a depth of 10-15 cm, and on clay soils - by 15-18 cm. Simultaneously with digging, nitrogen fertilizers are applied, as well as phosphorus and potash fertilizers, if they were not applied in the fall. When applying fertilizers, attention should be paid to their compatibility. A few days before sowing or planting a cucumber, it is necessary to loosen the site to a depth of 4-5 cm.
During spring digging on clay and heavy loamy soils, it is recommended to introduce loosening materials (stale sawdust, straw cutting, rice husks) at the rate of 1-2 buckets per 1 m2.
In the northern regions, it is preferable to grow cucumber on ridges or ridges. The soil there warms up faster, there is no excessive waterlogging, which means that favorable conditions are created for the growth and development of cucumber. It is better to orient the beds for planting and caring for cucumbers in the open field from north to south, which will ensure uniform coverage of plants throughout the day.
In the southern regions where climatic conditions favorable for cucumber, it is cultivated on flat surface. On light-textured soils, ridges and ridges can be prepared in the fall, and in the spring it remains only to correct them. On medium loamy and clayey soils, preparation for growing cucumbers in open ground on ridges and ridges is carried out in the spring. The width of the ridges, as a rule, is from 1 to -j 14 m, and the height is 20-30 cm. In the northern regions, the surface of the ridges can be made with a slight slope to the south, which will increase the flow of heat to the plants. Ridges form a width of about 0.7 m at the base. Do not forget to leave paths 0.4-0.5 m wide between the ridges and ridges, otherwise you will not be able to get to your crop in the future.
This video demonstrates how to prepare the soil for growing cucumbers in the open field:
The next section of the article is devoted to how to properly plant cucumbers in open ground.
Most often, two-line cucumber sowing schemes are used in open ground: the distance between two rows in the tape is 50-60 cm, and between adjacent tapes (spacing) is 90-120 cm. In the northern regions, the row spacing for planting cucumbers in open ground can be reduced to 70 cm. The distance between plants in a row is 20-30 cm. For bee-pollinated hybrids, as well as hybrids with limited lateral branching, this distance is minimal, and for parthenocarpic hybrids and highly branching forms, this distance is maximum. If you decide to grow cucumbers in one line, then the distance between plants can be reduced to 12-15 cm, but in this case, the lashes of plants should be distributed alternately, either in one direction or the other. The nesting method of growing is also used, which lies in the fact that the distance between rows and plants in a row is 60-70 cm. different sides. This method is most effective when grown through seedlings. But due to the proximity of the plants can oppress each other, so they should be given more attention.
Before planting cucumbers in open ground, grooves should be made 2-3 cm deep on sour and waterlogged soils, or 5-6 cm on light and quickly drying ones. Then they should be well watered, and it is better to use warm water (+ 30 ... 35 ° C). If there is a threat of root rot development, then the grooves can be additionally shed with a fungicide solution. Planting seedlings of cucumbers in the ground can be carried out with both dry and germinated seeds. After sowing, the seeds should be sprinkled with humus, peat, dry earth and lightly slapped with the palm of your hand or a special rammer to ensure Full contact seeds with soil.
See a photo of how to plant cucumbers in open ground:
To prevent excessive evaporation of moisture, as well as to increase the temperature of the soil, crops are covered with a film or non-woven material.
In areas with a prolonged cool spring, cucumber seeds are sown in holes or furrows 15-20 cm deep, and after sowing, the beds are covered with a film. Young plants in these recesses find themselves in a mini-greenhouse, so they develop quickly and suffer less from cold snaps. As soon as their leaves begin to come into contact with the film, it is carefully cut, the plants are released into the "white light", and the film begins to act as a mulch.
You can start planting seedlings outdoors after the danger of late frost has passed. Under temporary shelters, seedlings can be planted 7-10 days earlier than this period.
The correct technology for planting cucumbers in the ground is shown in this video:
To grow cucumbers in the open field as required right technology, until the plants close up, 3-4 treatments are usually carried out between the rows and 2-3 weedings in the rows. When processing row spacing, cucumbers can be slightly spud, raking the ground to the base of the plant. This technique will allow the plant to acquire additional roots, which is important for obtaining high yields. In addition, it will hold tighter in the ground, which means it is better to resist the wind. Actively use such a technique as “dry watering”: a few hours after watering or rain, the soil needs to be loosened to a depth of 4-8 cm. This reduces the evaporation of moisture and reduces the number of weeds.
If you generously sowed the seeds, and a large number of seedlings appeared, then they should be thinned out. The first time this operation must be performed in the phase of cotyledons or 1-2 true leaves. Leave a few more plants than you need, as they say, "just in case." If the shoots are uneven, then you can plant the plants in empty places. The final thinning should be carried out in the phase of 3-4 true leaves, leaving the number of plants provided for by the technology: for bee-pollinated hybrids 6-7 plants/m2, for parthenocarpic hybrids 4-5 plants/m2.
And what about caring for cucumbers in the open field to protect them from birds that cause great damage to crops, pecking out seeds and young shoots? A good result is given by stretching a fishing line over a bed, to which narrow long strips of foil are attached. The stripes sway in the wind and play with light, thereby scaring away intruders.
When caring for cucumber plants, try to injure the lashes as little as possible, and even more so do not shift them from place to place and do not turn them over! Cucumber leaves are guided by a light source - the sun. After inaccurate manipulations, the established orientation of the leaves is drastically disrupted. Of course, the plant is rebuilt and again turns its "look" to the sun, but this consumes energy, which could well be used to form a crop. Under a layer of mulch, the soil warms up better and cools more slowly. Mulch inhibits the germination of weed seeds, and when it decomposes, nutrients in an easily accessible form immediately reach the plants.
The soil under the plants is covered various materials organic (semi-rotted manure, deoxidized peat, humus, stale sawdust, chopped straw, etc.) or synthetic (film, non-woven material, etc.) origin. The thickness of the layer of mulch of organic origin should not exceed 7-10 cm, it must be evenly distributed over the surface of the ridge. If your plants are weak and fragile, then you should not add mulch directly to the plants, but rather leave them in a hole with a diameter of 5-7 cm. After the plants "come into force", this hole can be eliminated by pouring mulch under the cucumber. In order for the soil between the rows to be less compacted, and the roots to better master new horizons of the soil, it is also necessary to use mulching with organic materials.
If rolled material is used, it should be spread out and securely fastened to the bed, sprinkling the edges with earth or pinning with small pegs. In the future, cross-shaped incisions should be made on the material, the length of which depends on the size of the seedling containers used, and the distance between them should correspond to the chosen planting pattern.
Before planting, the edges of the cuts are bent, seedlings are planted in the usual way, and then the edges are carefully returned to their place.
In order to properly care for cucumbers in the ground, as practice shows, it is enough to water the plantings in two or three days, spending up to 10 liters per 1 m2. The need for cucumber water depends not only on the phase of plant development, but also on temperature, solar radiation, and wind speed. It reaches its maximum values during the period of mass fruiting, as well as in dry, hot weather. Therefore, during these periods, try to increase the frequency of watering or, in extreme cases, the watering rate (up to 15 l / m2). If the soil is very dry, then the irrigation rate should not be spent at once, but divided into several small waterings with an interval of about an hour. This will wet the ground to a greater depth. AT rainy weather cucumbers can be watered less often, sometimes watering is not needed at all, but you should not forget about top dressing.
Do not use cold water from a tap or well for irrigation. Try to water only with warm water (not lower than + 18 ... 20 ° C).
Growing cucumber on a trellis in the open field allows not only to increase the yield, but also to improve the quality of the resulting greens.
To install a trellis, it is necessary to install supports every 1.5-2 m, orienting them from north to south. A strong steel wire should be stretched between the pillars in three rows. The lower one is at a height of 5-15 cm above the soil level, the middle one is 100-110 cm, and the upper one is 180-200 cm. A grid of light-resistant synthetic materials is fixed on the wire, which will be braided by cucumber plants. The size of the cells is selected depending on the planting pattern, more precisely, on the distance between plants in a row, usually it is 15-20 cm.
As shown in the photo, when growing cucumbers on trellises in open ground, for the convenience of plant formation, they are usually placed under the vertical grid guides:
They play the role of a support on which the main stem is fixed, gently passing it through the cells. Blinding of plants is carried out up to the third node.
Then, at the fourth to sixth nodes, the rudiments of flowers are removed, leaving side shoots, which are not fixed on the grid. Their length is usually limited to over 3-4 leaves, and removed as soon as they have finished fruiting.
All side shoots appearing above the 7th node are left and fixed on the horizontal guides of the grid. In hybrids with a pronounced bouquet type of flowering (Atos F1, Multi-Pulti F1, D'Artagnan F1, etc.), all side shoots are pinched by 1-3 leaves, and on hybrids with a weak manifestation of this trait (Avoska F1, Guidon F1, Carolina F1, Fast and Furious F1, Bodrik F1, Dasha F1, etc.) leave longer side shoots, limiting their growth above the 4-5th leaf. If the weather conditions in the open field are favorable for the intensive growth of cucumber ( high humidity air on the background high temperatures), then part of the side shoots should be removed to avoid thickening of the plantings. When the main shoot reaches the top wire of the trellis, pinch it.
Here you can watch a video of growing cucumbers on a trellis in the open field:
Planting cucumber seeds in open ground requires the implementation of certain rules.
It is necessary to pay attention to what depth to plant, and most importantly, when to plant cucumbers in order to provide the family with a prolific and tasty harvest. What is the best way to grow?
Growing cucumbers is not a difficult process, it is necessary to act in stages. Step by step cultivation of these vegetables will look like this:
Each presented stage has its own nuances, during the execution of which you can expect a quality harvest.
After that, further care is required during germination, that is, for almost full-fledged plants.
It is also possible to first grow seedlings on the windowsill, and then, already sprouts, plant them in the garden, but in general, the rules for growing will not change.
In addition, experienced gardeners claim that it is much more convenient to plant cucumbers in open ground with seeds, while the vegetable will independently choose the growth rate and power gain depending on weather conditions.
The same plants that were first grown at home will be weak and can quickly get sick, because transplanting is a kind of stress for them.
Cucumbers are known for their love of warmth and light, so the location must be chosen accordingly.
An area not obscured by fertile bushes and trees will do. At the same time, it is advised that if the cultivation takes place on trellises or other supports, the beds should be formed from west to east, and in the case of cultivation without a garter, it will be correct to position the bed from south to north.
It should also be remembered that in those places where cucumbers or zucchini and other pumpkins already grew last year, it is not worth waiting for a new good harvest, there will be few fruits or the plants will constantly get sick.
It is best to plant cucumbers with seeds in the ground at the place where the cabbage used to grow, and if, nevertheless, the gardener decided to grow seedlings first, then it is better to plant it after the radish.
For reference!
Not all gardeners share positive opinion about planting cucumbers after radishes, some say that it is after radishes that microelements remain in the ground, which prevent most fruits from setting.
It is worth taking care of which plants will grow nearby. The best neighbors for cucumbers there will be the following crops:
Fruiting will be increased by several tens of percent, while the resistance to some diseases will be mutually beneficial.
For reference!
Corn and sunflower, thanks to both powerful and tall stems, are used as a natural support for cucumbers, instead of artificial trellises.
If we talk, on the contrary, about bad neighbors, then they primarily include tomatoes. About 76% of inexperienced gardeners admit that in order to save space and provide temporary thermal shelter, they often plant tomatoes and cucumbers on the same bed.
This cannot be done, due to the fact that these types of crops different conditions for successful development, they will interfere with each other and you can not wait for the fruits from both.
In addition, it should be remembered that not every variety of cucumbers can be planted next to another.
Self-pollinating plants of different varieties, if cross-pollinated with the help of insects, will bring unforeseen results, perhaps some properties of one species will pass to another.
That is, you can plant next to those varieties that are similar in certain properties, if you plant the seeds of long-fruited and teardrop-shaped plants, the result will most likely be short and thick fruits.
For reference!
Biggest Harvest will bring precisely self-pollinated varieties of cucumbers.
Cucumbers are plants that love loamy or sandy soil while their acidity should be low.
It can be determined by taking a small amount of land to the laboratory for analysis or by seeing which weeds most often climb in this area.
On the acidic soil plantains, wood lice will grow. As a last resort, hyperacidity you can try to eliminate by adding lime - chalk, ash.
Soil preparation should begin about a week before sowing cucumber seeds in open ground.
Fertilizers should be applied in the fall, organic fertilizers containing alkali are suitable.
If this was not done last year, it makes no sense to introduce them at the beginning of the garden season.
In the spring, it is necessary to dig the proposed site to a depth of 20 cm in order to soon sow cucumber seeds.
Then it is required to add last year's humus to the soil, mix with the ground with a rake or pitchfork.
After that, abundantly water the future bed for planting cucumbers and cover with a film for several days, so that the earth warms up.
The height of the beds on which cucumbers will be planted with seeds should be at least 30 cm, while taking into account the fact that after the bed is made, the earth will settle a little and it will become somewhat lower. Their width must be at least a meter.
For reinsurance, many summer residents spill the beds with boiling water and cover them with a film. Thus, the likelihood of plant disease is reduced significantly, in addition, the warming up process is faster.
Before you start germinating seeds, they must be selected. The easiest option is to purchase several bags of seeds in a specialized store.
Another option is to take seeds saved in advance from past crops. It is important to remember that seeds harvested from last season will not work, older seeds are needed.
Also, seeds of hybrids are not suitable for planting, since the harvest can be unpredictable, new generations from hybrids lose quality features, producing more often cucumbers with deficiencies, such as those with unnecessarily large seeds or a bitter taste.
Most popular varieties, which are sown immediately in the garden, according to experienced gardeners, the following:
"Muromsky 36" or "The Secret of the Firm" is sown even in shady areas, they always get a quality crop.
Seeds in both cases must be checked, defective ones should be thrown away. To do this, take a stone spoon table salt and dilute in a glass of warm water.
Then mark the seeds in a container with the prepared liquid, those that settle at the bottom are of high quality, and those that remain afloat will not germinate.
AT recent times seeds treated with special compounds appeared on sale, which not only accelerate germination and development, but also serve as a barrier to most diseases.
In the event that the seeds are not purchased, they should also be disinfected and strengthened. For this, a weak solution of potassium permanganate is suitable.
It is necessary to place future cucumbers in it for half an hour. Then steam a little in warm water, usually 5 minutes is enough.
After this stage, you need to wrap the seeds in a damp cloth and place in a cold place, you can in the refrigerator for several days.
This is done in order to harden cucumbers. At the same time, they practice both a sharp change in temperature, that is, they expose the planting material to heat after the cold, and leave it in the cold.
If the gardener will plant cucumbers without waiting for their germination, you just need to soak the seeds in warm water.
Usually soaked for 10 - 12 hours, while you need to change the water several times, in this case you can try to change the temperature of the water to carry out easy hardening.
Hatching seeds, even if the sprouts are small, are ready for planting. That is, the timing of the preparation of seeds depends on the period in which they need to be placed on the garden. Many questions are asked about when to plant cucumbers.
The time for planting cucumbers in open ground depends on their variety, but the differences in timing are not significant.
In any case, the soil should be warmed up to a depth of 10 - 15 cm, while at night the temperature should not be lower than 15 ° C.
It is usually suggested to plant cucumber seeds in late May - early June. But you need to focus on the absence of frost and sunny weather.
Most gardeners resort to the help of the lunar calendar when choosing a date when it will be possible to plant cucumbers.
Most often they are guided by the growing moon, for example, in 2017, the most successful days for a good harvest of cucumbers are from May 27 to 28, after this period, cucumber seeds can be planted from June 3 to 7.
Newly minted summer residents approach the question of when to plant cucumbers incorrectly, believing that the later the plant, the better.
This is not so, in most cases, it is precisely those plants that are planted later that are affected by diseases, the reason for this is dew and high humidity mid summer.
The best option for planting cucumbers in the ground is the one indicated on the bag of seeds, taking into account the territorial features of the climate.
If the summer resident wants to get cucumbers as quickly as possible, you can sow the plants in early April, but then you should make sure that the garden bed is constantly covered with at least three layers of dense film.
As the air temperature warms up, the film layer can be removed one by one.
You can grow a decent crop only if you plant cucumbers correctly.
When the beds are prepared, and most of the seeds have finally hatched, the question arises - what is the sowing depth of cucumber seeds?
There are two landing options. The first involves planting in small holes, with the second option, cucumbers should be sown in small grooves.
At the same time, the depth of the holes should be slightly greater than the depth of the grooves, about 4 cm. In order for the plant to sprout for sure, 2-3 seeds are planted in one hole.
If all cucumbers grow from seeds in one recess, they should be thinned out. The thinning method must be chosen not the same as, for example, for carrots, that is, there is no need to uproot the plant, you just need to break the extra stems. Thus, the common root systems will not be damaged.
Thinning should be started only after the third leaf is formed on the sprout.
The depth of the grooves should be no more than 3 cm if the soil is loose, but if the soil is dense, cucumbers can be planted higher.
When planting seeds, they are also guided by the degree of their germination. That is, if the sprouts are small, or unprepared seeds are sown, the depth may be less.
Such cucumbers will be in the ground longer, which means they will not be able to freeze. Seeds with long sprouts should be planted deeper.
Cucumber seeds in open ground should be planted at a certain distance from each other. In this case, it is necessary to choose a distance not only depending on the variety, but also based on the method of cultivation.
Before sowing cucumbers, holes or grooves should be shed abundantly with water, the soil should be moist.
Those varieties that let short lashes can be planted closer to each other, those that have long lashes - respectively further. In addition, hybrid cucumbers require a greater distance for development.
If we compare the distance between mid-ripening or late and early maturing varieties, then the first one needs more space.
Therefore, between plants in a furrow or hole, they usually leave about 20 - 35 cm, and I choose the space between the furrows depending on the variety in this way:
If there are several beds, then in any case an opening of at least 90 cm is made between them.
Planted cucumbers will grow better if you choose a vertical growth method for them, that is, using trellises.
But they need a slightly different space if we are talking about the support immediately on 2 rows.
Between rows, holes or grooves, at least 1.2 m is required in order for the crop to be larger.
Varieties that give short lashes are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other, and long vines require up to 35 cm of space.
The trellis is equipped in such a way that cucumbers can cling to it as they grow, that is, first to wooden structure attach a string or wire horizontally at a height of 10 cm first, and then additional rows at a height of 50 cm and 100 cm.
Immediately after planting, cucumbers must be covered with a film, so as a result of artificial humidity, their germination will occur more actively. In addition, the film will protect from the cold.
After a couple of days, you can check the bed, it is important that it does not crust, the earth should be loose all the time.
You can carefully, without any additional means, so as not to damage the seeds, remove the top crustal layer of soil.
It is also worth following the simple rules for the further care of growing cucumbers from seeds:
Immediately after the antennae appeared on the cucumber, that is, modified shoots, it is necessary to tie the plants to the trellis, if the vertical method of cultivation is meant.
In addition, plants need care, which includes the following actions:
In addition, in order to finally get the ovaries, those cucumbers that are pollinated by insects must be sprayed with a composition that attracts bees.
For liquid, you need to take sugar and water in a ratio of 1 to 10, and a few granules of boric acid.
For reference!
Some gardeners are of the opinion that cucumbers in the open field do not need to be pinched, believing that such plants have enough female and male flowers. However, it's all about the vegetable variety - in hybrid varieties, both types of flowers are always present on the main stem.
Already after the plants are grown and after the first cucumbers appear, the new crop should be checked daily, the vegetables should not be allowed to overripe and the fruits should be removed on time. In this way, longer fruiting can be achieved.
In order to grow cucumbers from seeds in the open field, less manipulation is required than with the method of growing from seedlings.
But in both cases, only right approach to care, it is possible to achieve good results in the harvest.
For many gardeners, growing cucumbers outdoors is the only way to get good harvest. Not everyone has greenhouses. What will the harvest depend on? Firstly, on what seeds you bought, on the selected variety. Secondly, from the method of planting, from the care, from the agricultural technology of cultivation. Cucumbers belong to the gourd family and are grown almost everywhere. In the Kuban, they grow well both under the sun and in a greenhouse. Planting cucumbers in open ground can be carried out grown or on a trellis.
According to scientists, cucumber does not have a high nutritional value. But it is a very valuable dietary vegetable. After all, you probably noticed more than once that a salad with fresh or pickled cucumber improves appetite. And doctors believe that metabolism improves with regular consumption of food, which includes cucumber.
If you eat only cucumbers from your garden for 4 days - only they and nothing more, then you will completely renew all the blood in the body.
Cucumber juice can quickly reduce the acidity of the stomach. You can even bring down the temperature of the patient, giving him a fresh cucumber to eat or drink cucumber juice, as it has diuretic properties.
Beauticians willingly use it to prepare whitening, refreshing, anti-aging masks.
Cucumber is a thermophilic plant. The most comfortable temperature during the day for him is + 22-26ºС, and at night it is desirable that it does not fall below + 18-20 degrees. In cold weather, when the temperature drops to 10 degrees, the growth of the plant slows down, the vegetation stops, and with a prolonged cold snap, the vegetable may die. Low air temperature is one of the main reasons for growing failures. This feature applies to all heat-loving pumpkin plants.
The best predecessors of cucumbers are potatoes, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, peppers, peas. But after legumes, although after them the soil is enriched with nitrogen, experts do not advise planting them. The reason is that both of these plants are affected by white rot.
I keep my seeds warm in winter, but so that they do not dry out, this can then affect the germination energy.
Before planting, I warm up the seeds: I put a plank on top of the battery, I put a paper open box with seeds on top, I keep them there for 5-6 hours. Just keep in mind that the temperature of the battery should not be higher than 60 ° C. The thermal effect is well reduced by a newspaper from several layers or plywood placed under the box. It is believed that such warming contributes to the greater formation of female flowers.
I disinfect the heated seeds - I treat them with a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 20-25 minutes, then I put them in a fine strainer, rinse with cold running water(under the faucet). Now more often instead of potassium permanganate (disappeared from pharmacies) I use a 2-3% solution of hydrogen peroxide, which I preheat to a temperature of 38-40 degrees - I can withstand 7-8 minutes; or a solution of boric acid - ½ teaspoon of powder + 1 glass of water - stand for 2-3 hours at a temperature of 25-30 degrees. Then the seeds should also be washed under running cold water.
After disinfection, I dry the seeds to flowability - this way it is easier to sow them.
I plant cucumbers after April 20 - a depth of 1.5-2 cm. You don’t need to go deeper - it will be difficult for seedlings to break through a thicker layer of earth. I put 4-5 seeds in the hole. This is if the seeds are their own. But if the variety is new, there are few seeds, then I put one at a time, so as not to break through later, not to lose valuable seed material.
Of course, with the single-seed method, there is a loss of holes (emptiness). Cucumber seeds have the shortest germination period (3-5 days), so I re-plant there, only now with germinated seeds.
I plant cucumbers in open ground both without support and with support (on a trellis or next to a corn stalk). If this is an unsupported method, then I place the rows at such a distance from each other that there is free space for movement when picking fruits - usually from 70 cm to 1 meter. By the way, there are also bush forms, they do not weave, so the distance between such plants is 50-60 cm.
The first thinning of cucumber seedlings (if several seeds are sown) is carried out when 1-2 true leaves appear, the next - 3-4 leaves, removing weakened or ugly plants. I usually leave one plant per hole.
In vain, many believe that leaving one plant, not two, the crop will fall twice. Practice has shown that this is not the case. Cucumber, although it has a poorly developed root system, sucks a large amount of nutrients from the ground. If two plants are left in the hole, they fight for a place in the sun. Each gets less food, and they shade each other.
It is very important, when thinning, to water the soil well.
Do not pull out a plant if another is nearby. These must be cut off near the ground. Why cut? Because the cucumber has a weak root system. The roots of closely growing plants are intertwined and you can inadvertently pull out both. In addition, pulling out extra bushes, we thereby damage the roots of the main plant. They are in shock for a while. Vegetation is delayed until the damaged place where the sucking root hair was torn off heals. Broken hairs are not restored. A new root should grow, hairs should appear on it, only then the nutrition of the plants is restored. That is, five days pass, sometimes a week, and this is bad. Since we want to get the fruits as soon as possible, any delay is undesirable.
I strongly advise after thinning, even if you are sure that you have not damaged anything, spray cucumbers with a solution of natural growth stimulator HB-101 (1-2 drops + 1 liter of water). It will strengthen, revitalize your plants, stimulate them further growth, increase their resistance to strong wind, acid precipitation. The instruction from the manufacturer gives advice to carry out treatments with this drug at least 1 time per week. Spraying will not be superfluous from the emergence of seedlings until the fruit ripens.
Very good results are obtained by sowing 4-5 varieties per bed. This is especially true of female-type varieties that do not have male flowers at the beginning of flowering and cannot bear fruit without pollinating varieties.
I once read that the cucumber plant itself regulates the number of fruit being laid, so the female flowers, which are usually many, fall off. But my observations do not support this. Perhaps because I always plant 5-7 varieties, and such as Phoenix-640, starting to bloom, they give predominantly only male flowers.
An important agrotechnical technique for growing cucumbers in the open field is the direction of the lashes "downwind". If this is not done, then the wind blowing from the side of the whip or directly to the point of growth can turn the whip over, and the leaves of the cucumber all the time stretch towards the sun. In an inverted whip, the leaves will tend to take their usual position, and for this they need additional energy, which they take from the growth and formation of hearths. Of course, it is necessary to lay the lashes in the direction of the wind at the very beginning of their formation. For example, in our summer the most frequent wind direction is southwest or west. So, as the lashes grow, I periodically direct the growing end so that it grows to the northeast.
A turned or inverted lash is a shock, a crisis for the plant. This should be taken into account. When collecting fruits, if possible, do not injure the lashes, leaves.
The destruction of weeds should be carried out as they grow. Those who claim that weeds protect cucumber plants from the burning rays of the sun are wrong. No, weeds are a favorable environment for the development of pests, fungal and bacterial diseases. In addition, weeds take some of the nutrients from the soil.
Loosening is usually combined with weeding. While the cucumber plant is upright, when loosening it is necessary to make a slight hilling.
I advise you to make summer plantings of this vegetable, for example, after harvesting onions. The place has been vacated, and the cold weather is still far away - it can be occupied by cucumbers. I have a summer sowing is not worse than spring. Such varieties as Stork, Nightingale, Rodnichok, Golubchik have proven themselves well during summer planting.
Cucumber is a moisture-loving plant, but it should be watered only with warm water. When watering with cold water, root rot, powdery mildew, and other diseases may appear. I have a barrel of water in the sun especially for such heat-loving plants. I water in the evening, the water heats up well by this time.
A good protection for cucumbers from diseases is abundant watering (1-2 times per season) over the leaves from above or spraying with a milk-iodine solution - 1 liter of real, from under a cow (not store-bought) milk + 5 drops of iodine + a bucket of water (10 l).
Cucumbers are very sensitive to water disturbance. With a lack or excess of moisture in the soil, the development of plants is disturbed: the fruits are deformed, the ovaries fall off, and the yield decreases. It is better to water them less often, but plentifully, preventing the soil from drying out.
Good results are obtained if you arrange a shower from a watering can or sprayer. Cucumbers love these refreshing waterings, but they must be carried out with the expectation that the plants leave with completely dry leaves at night. The remaining drops on the leaves create favorable conditions for the development of fungal or bacterial diseases.
Now about your own seeds. When planting several varieties, even if there are no other cucumber beds around for a whole kilometer, it is still not recommended to collect seeds due to over-pollination. All cucurbits are highly pollinated. If you still want to have your own seeds, then if it is not a hybrid (there is no F1 designation), you need to do this.
On the best plants pick a male flower (unopened bud), cut off the corolla (yellow petals). Place a column of anthers on the stigma of the pestle female flower how to "anoint" him. Then wrap the female bud, together with the anthers of the male flower, with a thin layer of cotton wool or a piece of gauze bandage so that the bees cannot reach the stigma and bring pollen from other plants. Tie a label to the stem of the pollinated flower.
Pollination should be carried out in the early morning (before 8 o'clock), when the male and female buds are not yet open. If there are no male flowers on the plant, then they can be taken from other cucumbers, but always of this variety.
This is very painstaking work. You can be proud of your own varietal seeds of the pumpkin family, if, of course, there is confidence that pollination is done correctly, cross-pollination is not allowed.
Varieties or hybrids should be chosen in which bitterness is genetically absent. Fortunately, now seed manufacturers place information about this on bags. Such varieties, even at high summer temperatures, will not be bitter.
And now briefly about those varieties and hybrids of cucumbers that I grow in open ground.
Hybrid selection of the Crimean Experimental Station for open ground. I advise you to try. Very fruitful. Each knot has 4-5 fruits. Early maturing, bee pollinated. Elliptical-shaped cucumber, large-tuberous, 11-12 cm long, weighing 80-110 g. The taste of fresh and canned fruits is excellent, that is, the variety is universal. You will collect the fruits until September. Resistant to powdery mildew, bacteriosis. Moderately resistant to downy mildew or downy mildew. There is no bitterness.
Hybrid selection of the Crimean Experimental Station for open ground. Can be grown under film. Early ripe, bee-pollinated, begins to bear fruit in 44-50 days. The shape of the cucumber is oval-cylindrical, I would say elegant. Color - bright green. Beautiful. Fruit length 8-11 cm, weight 70-95 g. The taste qualities of fresh, canned, pickled cucumbers are excellent. No bitterness. Resistant to powdery mildew, downy mildew, angular blotch, tobacco mosaic virus.
Early ripe bee-pollinated hybrid of the Crimean Experimental Station. Suitable for outdoor and greenhouse cultivation. This is an improved Nightingale, it repeats all its qualities, properties, but even better. Resistant to true and downy mildew.
Hybrid selection of the Crimean Experimental Station. Cucumber of the XXI century! Zelentsy type gherkin, without bitterness. The taste qualities of fresh, canned, salted fruits are excellent. Resistant to powdery mildew downy and true, to fungal and bacterial diseases.
Hybrid selection of the Pridnestrovian Research Institute of Agriculture for open ground and spring film greenhouses, bee-pollinated, mid-season, begins to bear fruit in 50-55 days. Reliable variety. Never failed. Zelentsy cylindrical, 9-10 cm long, weighing 80-100 g. High palatability, without bitterness. Pickling. Resistant to anthracnose, bacteriosis, olive blotch.
Breeding variety of the Crimean Experimental Station for open ground. Bee-pollinated, mid-season. Most resistant variety to downy mildew. Zelenets is about 10 cm long. The fruits quickly increase, become pot-bellied, but this does not affect the taste. It has excellent taste and pickling qualities. Reliable, proven variety. I plant it every year.
Breeding variety of the Crimean Experimental Station for open ground. Early ripe, bee-pollinated, begins to bear fruit in 45-50 days. Pickling. The fruits are 10-14 cm long. The stalk is very long - 5-7 cm. It is valued for its resistance to downy mildew.
What more can be said? outdoors is not easy. More and more often I hear that the yields in the greenhouse are greater. Recently, the abnormal heat has been the cause of failures. I try to plant cucumbers in partially shaded areas of the site or stretch the canopy on the south side of the garden. Helps. I can't go without cucumbers! What do you wish!
