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Probably, there is no such person who would not like cucumbers. Salted, pickled and fresh - these vegetables are the first to appear on tables after a long winter and are among the last to leave them. It is cucumbers that housewives most often preserve, creating provisions for the winter. They are a constant component of salads and an appetizing independent dish.
Experienced summer residents and gardeners know all the rules for growing cucumbers, but what about those who want to start planting seeds for the first time? All the rules and intricacies of growing cucumbers will be discussed in this article.
Methods for growing cucumbers
The methods of planting cucumbers are divided into only two types:
- seeds;
- seedlings.
The choice of the method depends on several factors, the main of which is the climatic characteristics of the region.
Cucumbers can be planted both outdoors and indoors. For the second method, there are various greenhouses, greenhouses and films. Planting cucumbers in the ground does not require any complex preparation, but the first cucumbers in an open area will appear later than in a greenhouse.
Another factor is yield. Experienced gardeners assure that it is more realistic to get high yields of cucumber in the greenhouse than in the open field. Indeed, in a greenhouse it is easier to control temperature and humidity, there cucumbers are not afraid of cold snaps and frosts, which have a detrimental effect on a thermophilic plant.
However, for the family's own needs, there will be enough cucumbers grown in the garden. With proper care, fresh vegetables will delight the owners from early summer to mid-autumn.
Soil preparation
For planting cucumbers, choose a sunny and wind-protected area. If natural wind protection is not enough, corn can be planted along the edges of the plot.
It is necessary to prepare the soil for planting cucumbers since the fall. To do this, choose a site where onions or garlic were planted - these are the best predecessors for a cucumber. As a last resort, you can plant cucumbers in one place, but not more than five years.
It is also necessary to avoid other representatives of pumpkin: zucchini, squash.
In autumn, the land on the site for cucumbers is dug to a depth of 25-27 cm and abundantly fertilized: per square meter, you need about a bucket of chicken droppings or mullein.
In the spring, the earth must be thoroughly moistenedif there is not enough rainfall, then you will have to water it with a hose. Remove roots weeds and disinfect the soil with a weak solution of manganese.
Now you can tackle the cucumber trenches. Climbing varieties of cucumbers are planted in the trenches, which are subsequently tied up on a trellis. The depth of the trench should be about 25 cm if the cucumber is to be planted as seedlings. The seeds are buried shallowly - 2-3 cm, therefore, the trenches in this case should be shallow.
The distance between cucumbers should be about 30 cm, and between adjacent trenches - 70-100 cm. The main thing is that the whips do not shade the neighboring bushes. For greenhouses, it is better to choose varieties of cucumbers with high shoots without strong branching, suitable for vertical cultivation, because there is not enough air circulation - the stems on the ground can rot and hurt.
Horizontal way planting involves the use of cucumbers, which spread along the ground and grow either as bushes or have highly developed lateral lashes. Such cucumbers are also planted either with seeds or seedlings, 4-6 holes are made on one square meter, observing an approximate distance between plants of 50 cm.
Seed preparation
Regardless of the method of planting cucumbers in the ground (seedlings or seeds), the seeds are prepared in the same way.
Seeds collected by hand from the previous harvest of cucumbers require careful preparation. So, you need to follow the following points and rules:
- You need to plant seeds that are at least two years old. The seed collected last year is not suitable and will not yield a good harvest.
- First of all, the cucumber seeds need to be thoroughly warmed up. To do this, they are poured into a linen bag and hung near a radiator or other heat source. The bag is left in this position for 2-3 days, the temperature in the room should be more than 20 degrees.
- Now the seeds need to be discarded. Salt is added to a container with water (at the rate of 25 grams of salt per liter of water), seeds are poured there and mixed. Cucumber seeds, which settle to the bottom, need to be collected, and the ones that have surfaced can be thrown away - they are empty, nothing will grow out of them.
- Decontamination will help protect seeds from diseases, most often, I use manganese for this. Cucumber seeds are placed in a strong solution of potassium permanganate for no longer than 20 minutes. Then they need to be removed and rinsed thoroughly with warm water.
- Normal wood ash will fill the seeds of cucumbers with nutrients. It is added to warm water in a proportion of 1 tablespoon per liter of water and mixed. The seeds are left to nourish with nutrients, it will take 1-2 days.
- The washed and dried cucumber seeds are wrapped in clean gauze and placed on the lower shelf of the refrigerator for 1 day. Such hardening will help cucumbers withstand temperature extremes and possible cold snaps.
- The seeds are placed on gauze moistened with water, covered with a film or a lid and left in a warm place for 2-3 days. The room temperature should be 25-28 degrees (you can put the seeds on the battery).
- The hatched cucumber seeds are ready for planting in the ground.
How to grow seedlings
Cucumbers are grown by seedlings mainly in open ground. In the greenhouse, you can control the temperature of the soil, there the seeds will germinate quickly. But the temperature of the ground in open areas often does not meet the requirements of a heat-loving cucumber, because this plant can be planted in the ground heated to at least 15 degrees.
Cucumbers have very delicate stems and roots, so you need to sow seeds for seedlings in disposable or peat cups... The first ones are subsequently cut to painlessly extract the cucumbers, and the peat dissolves in the ground, so the seedlings can be planted directly in such a container.
The earth is poured into cups, filling them by two-thirds. Then the soil is watered with a heated weak solution of manganese. After 30 minutes, you can plant cucumber seeds. 1-2 seeds are placed in each glass, placed horizontally. Sprinkle on top with sifted earth 1.5-2 cm and sprinkle with water.
For cucumber seedlings to sprout, you need a warm and sunny place with a temperature of at least 20 degrees. It is better to cover the cups with foil or transparent lids so that the moisture does not evaporate and the temperature is more uniform.
On the third day, cucumber sprouts will appear, now the cups can be opened and placed on the windowsill. The main thing is that the cucumbers are warm and light, drafts and open vents are very dangerous for them.
Seven days before planting in the ground, the seedlings can be hardened. To do this, the cucumbers are taken out into the street or a window is opened, the procedure should last about two hours.
Transplanting seedlings into the ground
Cucumbers are ready for transplanting about 30 days after planting seeds in pots. By this time, the cucumbers should have reached a height of 30 cm and have one or two true leaves, elastic and green.
The timing of planting seedlings in the ground depends on the climatic characteristics of the region, the main thing is that there is no longer a threat of frost.
Planting cucumber seedlings by transshipment along with the soil, or simply buried in peat cups (while the edges of the glass should be flush with the trench or hole).
Why plant cucumbers with seeds
Cucumber, unlike tomato, is most often planted with seeds. The fact is that cucumber seedlings are very delicate, with delicate roots and stems. It is not only easy to damage it, but the seedlings do not tolerate acclimatization to new conditions (temperature, sun, wind, other soil composition) very well.
Only very experienced farmers who know all the secrets and subtleties of this business can get a good harvest from seedlings of cucumbers.
For simple summer residents and gardeners, the method of planting cucumbers with seeds in the ground is more suitable. In this case, the first vegetables will appear just a week later, but the cucumbers will be strong and resistant to external factors.
Seeds are prepared in the same way as for seedlings, and purchased cucumber seeds can be planted directly from the package. Each hole is abundantly watered with a manganese solution and seeds are placed there. The roots of cucumbers are shallow and shallow, so the seeds do not need to be buried too much. They are sprinkled with a 2-3 cm layer of soil and do not tamp it. Sprinkle a little warm water on top.
If the night temperatures are still too low, you can cover the area with a film that is removed after the appearance of the real sheets.
The process of planting cucumber seeds in the soil is quite simple:
- Prepare holes or trenches.
- Pour organic fertilizers into them and mix with the soil.
- Sprinkle this layer with earth and put one or two seeds there.
- Close the seeds with 2-3 cm of soil.
That's the whole process.
Planting cucumbers is absolutely not a difficult task that anyone can handle. Growing seedlings is, of course, more laborious than sowing seeds into the soil, but both of these processes are quite feasible. It is much more difficult to care for mature plants, cucumbers constantly require watering, feeding, weeding, plowing the soil and harvesting.
