To get a good harvest, plant cucumbers in open ground carried out in a sunny area, protected from northern winds. Along the perimeter of the selected plot, fast-growing tall crops (legumes, sunflowers or potatoes) should be planted, which will help create a microclimate favorable for cucumbers.
Depending on the region, cucumber crops are planted in spring time when the soil warms up enough. You can plant cucumbers using seedlings or sowing seeds.
To grow cucumbers in open ground, the site is prepared in the fall. To do this, you need to dig up the soil and add fertilizer. To disinfect the soil and destroy pathogens, you need to treat the soil with a solution of copper sulfate and add a portion of superphosphate and.
For successful cultivation For cucumbers, “warm” beds with an internal organic “cushion”, 20-25 cm high, are well suited. Organic matter will help provide vegetables essential microelements and protect root system from freezing.
Planting cucumber seedlings in open ground will give a good harvest in the middle and northern latitudes, and in the southern regions with in early spring vegetables can be sown in the soil.
Experienced farmers recommend sowing seeds in 2-3 doses to insure seedlings from unexpected return frosts and prolong fruiting. Planting cucumbers in open ground with seeds is carried out from mid-spring to early summer. It is important not to miss the moment, because the summer heat negatively affects the development of the plant.
Seeds can be purchased at specialized places or collected independently. Their shelf life must be at least two years so that the shoots are strong and friendly.
Cucumber seeds for sowing must be High Quality. To identify unsuitable material, place it in a container with warm water. Poor quality seeds will float to the surface. Cucumber seeds that have sunk to the bottom can be used for sowing after pre-treatment. To obtain earlier shoots, the seed is germinated by placing it in damp sawdust, peat or cloth. During germination, weak seeds are additionally discarded.
Preparation seed material includes several stages:
If there is no information on the packaging about the purpose of vegetables, then you should take a closer look at the photo: cucumbers suitable for canning are covered with dark pimples, and those that are consumed fresh are white.
Cucumber seeds should be planted in open ground when the weather is warm and the soil has warmed up sufficiently. If there is still a threat of frost, it is recommended to cover the crops with film.
Planting holes are formed on the prepared ridges and watered. Seed material is laid out in them, deepened by 2 cm, at intervals of 8-10 cm, sprinkled with humus mixture or soil with the addition of sawdust. On 10 square meters on average you will need 50 grams of seeds. If the quality of the seed material does not inspire confidence, then 2-4 seeds can be placed in one hole.
You can grow cucumber seedlings in a warm, well-lit room. Planting containers are filled with a substrate made from a mixture of peat and sawdust with the addition of ammonium nitrate and water it.
The seeds are deepened into the substrate by 1 cm and dropped in drops. The containers are covered with polyethylene until the first shoots. As the seedlings grow, you need to ensure that the soil is constantly moist. Before planting cucumbers in open ground, the seedlings need to be hardened off for a week, gradually accustoming them to fresh air.
The day before planting, the seedlings should be watered well. The procedure is carried out in a clear warm weather. Cucumber seedlings are planted in open ground at intervals of 10-15 cm so that the plants do not interfere with each other. Only the roots go deep into the ground, otherwise there is a risk of root rot.
Growing a cucumber crop requires compliance with a number of rules, which include irrigation, fertilization, loosening and hilling, protection from diseases and pests.
After planting cucumbers in open ground, they need careful care, because the plants are not yet accustomed to the new conditions and are vulnerable:
Fertilizers must be applied carefully so as not to scorch the leaves. The procedure is carried out in warm, clear weather, otherwise the nutrients will not be fully absorbed by the root system.
The cucumber crop has many enemies. But the most common and dangerous disease is cladosporiosis. The causative agent of the disease is fungi, which activate their activity during sudden changes temperature regime And high humidity. Black spots with a sulfur coating form on bushes and young cucumbers. The fruits become distorted and stop growing.
For treatment, drugs with benzimidazole are used, in the form of a spray solution.
Cucumbers can also be affected. This is a fungal disease that appears on the foliage white plaque. The disease spreads rapidly and the plant dies.
For treatment, sulfur-containing and fungicidal preparations are used to remove weeds and damaged parts of the plant.
A good harvest of cucumbers directly depends on quality care and correct landing. Detailed tips You can watch the video on planting cucumbers in open ground.
Harvesting should be done in the morning or evening, and to keep the vegetables firm, they should be covered with a tarp or placed in a cool, shaded place. If you follow all the rules of agricultural technology and select the appropriate crop variety, the harvests will be stable and rich.
Having your own vegetables is a huge help in the household. If you are concerned about the question of how to plant cucumbers in open ground, do not rush into sowing the crop. Cucumbers are a heat-loving plant; they are afraid of night frosts, and they develop diseases from cold watering. Growing a vegetable begins with choosing soil, variety, and time of year. Planting this crop requires gardeners to have patience, knowledge of the tricks and characteristics of the plant.
Hybrid varieties of vegetables are considered more suitable for cultivation (marked F1 on the bag). Cucumbers from such seeds germinate faster, pollinate better, and produce a good harvest. Three-year-old seeds of the crop are best suited for planting. They develop more slowly, but form more inflorescences and are famous for their rich yield. Plants grow resistant to diseases. The best varieties vegetables for planting open ground:
Best time for sowing crops - when stable weather arrives, the average daily air temperature is +25C°, the night temperature will not fall below +10C°. According to folk signs, the vegetable is sown on Yuri - May 6. Early varieties cucumbers such as Competitor, Universal, Altai are planted before the middle of the last spring month. The best time for planting late-ripening cucumbers (Antoshka, Emelya, Velikolepny) is the end of spring, June.
When upper layer The soil will warm up well, and you don’t have to worry about the germination of the crop; you can start growing the vegetable. To prevent planting from giving you any unpleasant surprises, use the advice of candidate of agricultural sciences Oktyabrina Ganichkina. To grow cucumbers, choose a spacious, well-lit place in your garden that is protected from the wind and fertilized with manure.
So that the earth warms up well, dig and loosen it. Place the cucumber planting in the place in the garden where tomatoes, herbs, vegetables or legumes (except beans) previously grew. This culture does not like pumpkin predecessors. Cucumbers are planted as seeds or seedlings directly into open soil. The planting is watered with warm water. If you follow reasonable agricultural practices, you will get good germination culture.
Before planting, soak the material for 10 hours until it swells. To be on the safe side, mix the swollen seeds with dry ones, then proceed to sowing. Colored (treated) seeds are sown without prior soaking in water. When the crop sprouts, begin to trim the tendrils regularly so that they do not take away nutrition from the fruits of the plant. Water the cucumbers carefully so that the water does not touch the leaves. To get a good harvest, provide the crop favorable conditions, sufficient nutrition.
Feeding cucumbers is one of the most complex tasks, which gardeners constantly have to solve when cultivating this crop. Fertilize the plant for the first time 2 weeks after planting, the second when pollination begins, and the third during the fruiting period. Spray on a sunny, windless day. Optimal period treatment of the plant - morning or evening. Use a superphosphate based fertilizer. Handle cucumbers carefully so as not to damage the seedlings, fruiting flowers and leaves.
Cucumbers are sown in a hole 3 to 5 cm deep, previously watered. Seeds are placed along or across the bed.
When sowing lengthwise, pull a string in the middle and make furrows at a distance of 15-20 cm from each other with a depth of 7-9 cm.
If you sow across the bed, make equal distances between the grooves. The crops are sown at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other, and then the ditch is covered with a layer of soil of 2-3 cm, and the bed is mulched with peat on top.
Experienced gardeners The recesses are made deep (10-12 cm) so that after sowing they can be covered with glass or garden film to stimulate the appearance of the first shoots and protect them from frost.
Before planting the vegetable, prepare the cups. This will save the crop from replanting in the future, since cucumbers tolerate it extremely poorly.
Fill the containers with soil, pour with a warm, weak solution of potassium salt (potassium permanganate).
After standing for about 30 minutes. sow the seeds. Deepen one grain into each container, after making a small hole in the center. The depth of the hole is approximately 1.5 cm. Place the seed flat.
Then fill it with sifted soil and irrigate with warm water. To retain moisture, place the container on a stable tray and cover with garden film.
Place the tray in a warm, well-lit place and wait for the shoots to appear. A greenhouse or window sill is great for this.
Loosening and watering - prerequisites good seed germination.
Since the formation of culture occurs in greenhouse conditions, it must be strengthened - gradually accustomed to natural conditions: air, sunlight, lower temperatures. To do this, open the windows at home or take the seedlings out onto the balcony during the day. The time of her stay fresh air increase gradually. When growing a crop in a greenhouse, the film is opened to strengthen the plant.
High-quality seedlings have a thick, strong stem and thick green leaves. Only in this form is it ready for transplanting into open ground. If the seedlings have weak roots and large leaves, then reduce its watering. Do not rush to replant the crop; the fragile plant will die. The video material below will help you prepare cucumber seedlings for transplanting into open ground.
How to grow cucumbers from seeds in open ground is a question that worries many novice vegetable growers every spring. Success in this case will directly depend on correctly selected planting dates and compliance with simple agricultural practices.
As you know, cucumber is a heat-loving crop, so you can start sowing seeds only when the ground warms up to 15-18°. In central Russia, this is approximately the twentieth of May; it largely depends on climatic conditions each specific region.
Well, to find out until what date you can sow cucumbers in the soil, it’s enough to carry out simple calculations. At least 45 days pass from germination to harvesting the first harvest., that is, having planted the seeds on May 20, you will see the first cucumbers on July 5. Thus, the latest time for sowing seeds should be at the beginning of July. Sowing after this date makes no sense; the cucumbers will die from frost without having time to produce a harvest.
When sowing directly in open ground, you can use both dry seeds and pre-soaked ones. Whether it is necessary to soak cucumber seeds before planting or not, every vegetable grower has his own opinion on this matter.
We will describe the most common methods of soaking seeds before planting in the ground, which do not involve the addition of growth stimulants, which will allow us to grow ecologically clean harvest cucumbers
If you still decide that you can’t do without such preparations, then you can use the preparations “Epin” or “Zircon” when soaking cucumber seedlings - according to the instructions, all their components are based on plant components, therefore they do not harm the quality of the seedlings and help the crop adapts to new environmental conditions, light, humidity levels, and also strengthens the plant’s root system.
So, now let's get back to the main point.
When sowing in early dates It is better to use dry seeds, since during a short-term cold snap the hatched ones may die. Below we will take a closer look at how to sow cucumbers in open ground.
For sowing cucumber seeds prepare the holes by keeping between them distance about 60 cm. They can be placed in rows, in a checkerboard pattern, or along the edge of strawberry or potato beds. If in the future it is planned growing cucumbers on a trellis in open ground, then the distance between the holes can be reduced to 20 cm. 4-5 seeds are sown in each hole, to a depth of about 2 cm.
Basically, every gardener knows how to properly sow cucumber seeds in the ground; everyone has their own proven methods and methods.
Attention! When sowing, it is best to place the seeds flat or with their spout facing up.
After germination, excess plants are removed, leaving 2-3 cucumber roots in the hole. Thinning cucumbers begin after a pair of true leaves appear; it is best to break out unnecessary plants rather than pull them out; this technique will help prevent unnecessary damage to the root system of the remaining cucumbers.
Some varieties of this vegetable may also require pinching out the apical bud when the plant has developed 4-5 true leaves. This will help speed up the process of ovary formation, and will also greatly increase the number of female flowers. Cucumbers do not tolerate strong thickening, because of this they do not develop side vines, on which the entire crop mainly grows. Therefore let cucumber plantings will be rare and with a plentiful amount of cucumber than thick and consisting of only tops.
Caring for seedlings is not particularly difficult; the most important thing is timely and abundant watering with warm water, preferably in the middle of the day.
When the plants reach the size of 3 knees, they need to be earthed up; this technique will help the cucumbers form additional roots and significantly increase the future harvest. Also, adult cucumber plants really don’t like having their vines moved from place to place. Because of this, plants can shed some of their ovaries and even slow down in growth, so when planning holes, this must be immediately taken into account.
I would like to add that many gardeners prefer to do it at home - this allows you to see what the cucumber seedling will be like, it will also be possible to distribute the seedlings more evenly when planting in the ground, so think about it, maybe you should first grow cucumber seedlings on a windowsill, and then plant them outdoors priming.
People having summer cottages or even small gardens, they prefer to grow vegetables in them. And the most popular of them are cucumbers. However, when we plant cucumbers in the ground, we hardly understand whether we are doing it correctly. After all, to get a good harvest, it is important not only to properly care for the plants, but also to correctly plant them in the soil, having previously prepared it, choosing appropriate place on the existing site.
Growing cucumbers will not cause any additional difficulty if gardeners approach the task correctly. First of all, you should understand that this crop has its own special requirements, taking into account which you can achieve high yields. For example, cucumbers love a lot of light, moisture and heat, being one of the most heat-sensitive vegetable crops. Cucumber is a crop that is suitable for growing in absolutely any soil. Nevertheless, preference should still be given to fertile loamy options or those chemical composition which is close to neutral. These soils have a light texture and clean moisture, moreover, air penetrates easily into them.
When choosing a place to grow cucumbers, summer residents should also consider the issue regarding the level groundwater on the site, since cucumber roots cannot tolerate cold water being too close. Planting almost all plants on the site, including planting cucumbers, involves introducing crop rotation, that is, the same crops cannot be planted on the same plantation from year to year. For getting good harvests Several plants have been identified that are the best predecessors of cucumbers in the garden. This is almost any greens - onions, cabbage, beans and even tomatoes and potatoes. They can be planted in the ground before sowing cucumbers in it. It is not allowed to plant cucumbers in soil where beets or pumpkins previously grew.
In addition to preparing the site for productivity and efficient growth cucumbers are also affected by maintaining proper temperature conditions in the greenhouse. Gardeners who are encountering it for the first time should learn that this plant cannot tolerate frost and quickly reacts to temperature changes environment: even when it drops to +15°C, plant growth slows down sharply, and at 10°C and below it stops completely. Considered optimal for cucumbers following conditions environment: air temperature should vary from 25 to 30°C, humidity level should be below 80%.
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One of best neighbors cucumbers are corn. It is recommended to plant it on the north side of the bed in two or three rows, preferably in a checkerboard pattern. Moreover, it is recommended to plant radishes and coriander near the cucumbers, which will attract pollinating insects with their flowering. Good cucumbers grow next to peas, beans, cauliflower, celery and regular cabbage, sunflowers and different types salad
Cucumbers need to be watered differently, depending on the stage of growth. For example, at the beginning of the growing season, even before flowering, watering should be moderate - 3 - 6 liters per 1 m². Watering should be repeated every 5 days. During the flowering and fruiting period, plants need to be watered abundantly, pouring 10 - 12 liters per 1 m². During this period, cucumbers should be watered every other day. These rules should not be neglected, since a lack of moisture will not only reduce the number of cucumbers collected, but will also affect their quality and taste, adding bitterness. Plants should only be watered with warm water. In the case when you grow them outdoors, it is recommended to water them in the evening, and those cucumbers that grow in a greenhouse should be watered only in the morning.
To maintain the structure of the soil and prevent damage to the roots and shoots of plants, it is necessary to use a watering can with a fine spray during irrigation. By the end summer season The frequency of watering, as well as its volume, needs to be reduced. Otherwise, excess moisture in cool soil will cause the development of root rot. Moreover, regular feeding is recommended. The first fertilizing is done when the first flowers appear on the plants, and subsequent ones every two weeks until the first fruits appear. Thus, your cucumbers should be fed up to 8 times in one season. Before fertilizing, the soil should be well watered.
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Cucumber seeds, like almost all others, are best treated before sowing.
Exist various methods growing cucumbers. Most often they are grown on ridges. The uniform distribution of plants on it allows maximum use sunlight. Therefore, the process of growth and ripening of fruits will occur more actively. However, this method of growing plants requires very careful care, in which it is important not to disturb the stems and leaves of the plants. After all, changing the position of the stems leads to disruption of the orientation of the plates in space, the restoration of which requires a long time and effort from the entire bush.
You can also grow cucumbers on a trellis. This method is suitable for those who want to plant and harvest a high yield of cucumbers. With this method of cultivation, cucumbers are planted in two rows on ridges protected from drafts.
Growing cucumbers in barrels is also a good way. It uses metal or wooden barrels, filled with hay, manure and a layer of soil on top. Before sowing the seeds, it is better to cover the barrel with film for a week. Then the seeds are placed in it, which are sprinkled with a thin layer of earth. When the third leaf appears on the plant, you need to put up supports and start watering them regularly and abundantly.
This non-standard method allows you to save space, minimize maintenance work, while vegetables remain clean and convenient to collect without disturbing the stem and foliage.
And the harvest appears much earlier than with the traditional growing method.
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There are several cultivation options; they can be planted with dry seeds directly into the ground, or they can be pre-soaked so that they sprout roots and sprout. The best option will happen if you spend time and effort on full preparation seeds and beds, including not missing the stage of soaking and germination of seeds. Seeds can be sown in open ground only when the soil has warmed up, that is, its temperature is at least 17°C. Prepare holes 50-60 cm deep for planting; it is recommended to place them in 2 rows. If you decide to grow cucumbers on a trellis, then the holes should be made 20 cm deep, leaving 30-40 cm between adjacent rows. Place 5 seeds in each hole. The permissible planting depth is up to 2 cm. After some time, the plant seedlings need to be thinned out. In this case, excess seedlings are not pulled out, but carefully cut out of the soil, so as not to in any way injure the roots of the transplanted plants and those remaining in the garden bed.
Cucumbers - famous and loved by everyone vegetable crop. But not everyone succeeds in growing it in the garden. Planting cucumbers in open ground requires practice; you need to be able to select seeds, process them correctly, and prepare the soil in order to get a rich harvest. The intricacies of all this work will be described below in the article.
It is difficult to say for sure when to plant cucumbers in open ground. IN different regions and with different climates, months and dates will differ significantly. This crop is a heat-loving crop, so planting cucumbers in open ground is done after the ground has warmed up well. IN middle lane this time falls in the middle - end of May, in the southern regions - mid-April. As for the northern regions, it is recommended to grow cucumber varieties only in a greenhouse in order to increase the chance of germination and the amount of harvest.
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You need to choose a sunny place for cucumbers, so that after planting, the seeds do not begin to rot in the ground. The sun will provide them with warmth and an incentive to germinate. The crop takes root best in places where tomatoes, cabbage or peppers were previously grown. But melon and watermelon greatly deplete the soil; it is better not to plant cucumbers in their place.
For convenience, it is recommended to make racks on which the mesh will be stretched. Thanks to this approach, the plant will curl upward rather than creep along the ground. This will simplify harvesting, save space and provide the plant with maximum sunlight.
Having selected a site, it needs to be dug up and fertilized. copper sulfate, ash and superphosphate. They do this in the fall. In the spring the area is only loosened. If desired, to speed up planting or improve the survival rate of seeds, you can warm the soil by watering it with boiling water and covering it with film, but this is an optional procedure.
Many summer residents collect seeds from cucumbers themselves, sow them the next year and are surprised at the meager harvest. Yes, collecting seeds yourself allows you to verify the quality of the product, its resistance to the local climate, and the variety will be known for sure. But the best seedlings come from seeds collected several years ago, not fresh ones - this is important to consider!
If you collect seeds yourself, you must take those collected more than 2 years ago. If they are purchased, it is worth checking their preparation time. Some packages indicate this.
Having decided on the age, you can proceed to the variety. It is selected in accordance with the climate, planting location (greenhouse or open area) and when the harvest is needed (early, mid-ripening, late-ripening). Cucumber seeds are divided into two types: and, each type bears fruit well in its own environment.
Be sure to identify and remove empty, damaged and very small seeds before planting. You can feel them or put them in water for half an hour - the hollows will float up, but small, torn ones are noticeable upon inspection.
As for processing, it is not always necessary, but it is recommended to get seedlings at about the same time. To begin, the seeds are dipped in warm water (40 degrees) for 2 hours. Then they take it out, put it in a wet rag, wrap it and put it in a warm place for several days. It is advisable to put a rag in a bag and sometimes take it out to ventilate and moisten it with fresh water. Before planting, unroll the cloth. All good seeds By this time they should have hatched.
Planting cucumbers in open ground is carried out according to certain rules. Departure from them can lead to crop loss.
For some summer residents, growing cucumbers is not difficult, while others cannot “tame” the heat-loving crop. It is for those who cannot grow cucumbers by planting them in open soil in the form of seeds that it is recommended to grow seedlings. The reason for failure may lie in the type of soil or very cold soil, lack of fertilizing, nutrients in the ground, bad seeds and so on. But, unlike seeds, seedlings have more durable and strong qualities, and sometimes take root in extreme conditions.
One more positive quality seedlings is that it can produce an earlier harvest. Planting cucumber seedlings in open ground can be done as early as mid-April. True, under film cover, but the sprouts take root well. And if frost suddenly strikes, the plant on top of the film is additionally insulated with any thermal insulation material. When warm days arrive, the film is removed and the crop is cared for as usual.
