Fertilizers for cucumbers

Cucumbers are the most common vegetable crop in the garden and suburban areas of Russia. The cucumber is unpretentious, easy to grow, and yields good yields of delicious fruits that can be eaten fresh or preserved for the winter. But even such a simple vegetable needs regular feeding, because fertilizers help to improve the composition of the soil, saturate plants with deficient mineral components, increase yields and extend the growing season.

How to make a diagram top dressingwhat fertilizers are needed for cucumbers at all stages of culture development, as well as feeding for cucumbers in a folk way - the answers to all these questions can be found in this article.

What are fertilizers for cucumbers

Before feeding vegetables, you need to understand the fertilizers themselves and understand what these or those components are for.

So, fertilizers for cucumbers are divided into two large groups:

1. Mineral fertilizers.
2. Organic fertilizers.

Mineral fertilizers - these are chemical components from the periodic table, such as nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium and others. Such elements are found in any soil, but their amount may be insufficient, and in soils of different composition, various microelements are contained.

For example, in clay soils, there is a deficiency of iron and manganese, while sandy soils usually lack the potassium and nitrogenous components of the fertilizer. Exactly mineral fertilizers existing limitationsby simply watering the ground with a solution with the necessary additives.

On sale exist as complexand simple mineral fertilizers for cucumbers. A simple top dressing consists of only one component, it can be only potassium or only zinc. But in a complex fertilizer there should be at least two components, the use of such compositions helps to immediately saturate the soil with all the necessary substances.

Mineral components are called inorganic, because their origin is artificial - synthesis from chemical elements. But plants, including cucumbers, are able to independently process such substances and convert them into organic ones, and then assimilate them.

Organic food is called fertilizing, consisting of natural ingredients. They consist, in fact, of the same chemical elements as mineral fertilizers. The difference is that such feedings are natural - they are either animal waste products, or compounds obtained in the process of decay, fermentation or decomposition of organic materials (greenery, food waste, sawdust and much more).

Organic fertilizers include:

• compost;
• cow or horse manure;
• poultry droppings (chickens or quails);
• humus;
• woody ash;
• various folk remedies;
• herbal infusions.

But there are times when vegetables need such additives that cannot be found in organic matter, or the gardener does not have access to such compositions (fresh manure or poultry droppings are not found in any dacha farm). Then it is advisable to use mineral fertilizers for cucumbers.

Most often, gardeners use a mixed feeding system - the use of both mineral and organic fertilizers for cucumbers, as well as their competent alternation.

How to fertilize cucumbers

There are also methods of fertilizing vegetable crops. There are two ways to fertilize cucumbers:

• root;
• foliar.

Root feeding of cucumbers is considered a standard procedure, it consists in introducing the desired nutrient directly under the root of the bush, that is, in the soil.

Thus, the fastest saturation of the root system of cucumbers with deficient microelements occurs - all useful substances are simply absorbed by the roots of plants.

It is necessary to apply root dressings for cucumbers in the evening, when the sun goes down and the heat subsides; a cool, cloudy day is also suitable for this procedure. Before applying fertilizers for cucumbers, the bushes should be watered abundantly - the ground should in no case be dry, this will lead to burns of the root system of cucumbers with too concentrated fertilizers.

Foliar feeding of cucumbers is necessary under the following conditions:

• low nighttime temperatures;
• cool and rainy summers;
• lack of sunlight (for example, when growing cucumbers in greenhouses or in shaded areas);
• some diseases of cucumbers that damage the root system;
• poor root development of cucumbers.

Each of these factors leads to the fact that the roots of cucumbers do not develop properly, become superficial and weak. As a result, plants cannot absorb fertilizers applied in the standard way - at the root.

In such cases, foliar feeding is needed, the use of which allows you to fertilize even cucumber bushes with a weak root system with fertilizers. The essence of the method is to irrigate the stems, leaves and flowers of cucumber with special solutions with the necessary mineral components.

It is convenient to spray cucumbers from an ordinary garden spray, and this should be done in the evening or on a cloudy day, so that the sun, combined with fertilizers, does not cause burns of the green mass of plants.

Cucumber feeding scheme

Of course, any fertilizers must be applied in a timely manner, because at different stages of development, cucumbers, like any garden crop, need completely different microelements and nutrients. If you do not take into account the needs of the culture, all efforts and costs for fertilization will be in vain - improper feeding can harm cucumbers even more than a lack of organic elements.

But most of the Russian sites cannot boast of fertile soils, besides, the land is gradually depleting - almost all summer residents and gardeners of the country have to restore the composition of the soil.

For example, before planting, fertilizers for cucumbers are not needed - the first feeding is carried out at the stage of forming a pair of true leaves. Good soils will not need this fertilizer either - in areas with black soil, you can use cucumber fertilization only at the stage of flowering and the appearance of ovaries.

The classical feeding scheme consists of four stages, but it must be adjusted taking into account the characteristics of the soil and the way of growing cucumbers. (in a greenhouse or outdoors).

The first feeding of cucumbers

You need to feed the cucumbers no earlier than the first real leaf appears on them (not to be confused with a cotyledonous pair of leaves). At this stage, not all plants need fertilization, but only those that look weak and grow slowly.

The most important component in this phase of cucumber development is nitrogen. Therefore, it is necessary to feed the plants with fertilizers with a high nitrogen content. It can be as mineral fertilizers, such as ammophoska or azofoski, or organic feeds such as chicken droppings, herb infusion, liquid mullein.

The gardener can fill the deficit nitrogen in cucumbers in one of the following ways:

1. Feed the cucumbers with a solution urea and superphosphate. To do this, dissolve a tablespoon of urea and 60 grams of superphosphate in a bucket of water (10 liters). Fertilizer is applied under the root of the cucumber, along with watering.
2. In combination with loosening the soil around young cucumbers, root feeding with ammophos (5 grams) or diammophobic (15 grams). This amount of fertilizer is needed for every square meter of land. Mineral components are scattered between the beds with cucumbers and a little embedded in the soil.
3. A freshly prepared solution of poultry droppings can also be poured over cucumbers. For this, one part of chicken or quail droppings is dissolved in 15 parts of water. Cucumbers are poured over the prepared solution.
4. Slurry is prepared in a ratio of 1: 8 - part of the cow dung is dissolved in eight parts of water and the plants are watered.
5. An herbal infusion is prepared for cucumbers in a ratio of 1: 5, after soaking the grass with water and pressing it down with a press.

Second feeding of cucumbers

The second stage of fertilization of young plants is carried out when the first flowers appear on the cucumber bushes. Such feeding is designed to make flowering more abundant, increase the number of ovaries, and prevent flowers from falling off.

You can also perform the second feeding of cucumbers in several ways:

1. Water the cucumber bushes with a solution of complex fertilizer. To do this, prepare the composition: dissolve 40 grams of superphosphate, 30 grams of ammonium nitrate and 20 grams of potassium nitrate in 10 liters of water.
2. Use a more accessible component - stir a glass of wood ash in a bucket of water, pour cucumbers with a solution.
3. Mix dry wood ash with superphosphate and sprinkle the soil between the cucumber bushes with this mixture, slightly embed the fertilizer into the soil.
4. Spray the cucumbers with a superphosphate solution (2 tablespoons per 10 liters of water).
5. A solution of boric acid (1 teaspoon) and potassium permanganate (10 crystals), applied to the leaves and stems, will help to activate the flowering of cucumbers.
6. You can attract insects for pollination of cucumbers with a solution of boron and sugar: dissolve 100 grams of granulated sugar and half a teaspoon of boric acid in a liter of hot water. When the mixture has cooled, sprinkle the flowers with it.

The third feeding of cucumbers

Next time, you need to fertilize cucumbers at the stage of abundant fruiting - when the plants begin to give away greens in large batches. It is at this stage that cucumbers consume the largest amount of nutrients from the soil - their content must be restored with fertilizers.

All that cucumbers need now is potassium, nitrogen and phosphorus. It is necessary to fill the fertilizer deficit in several stages, and this can be done in the following ways:

1. Water the bushes with nitrophoska solution - dissolve a tablespoon of complex fertilizer in a bucket of water. This top dressing is performed when the first greens appear on the bushes of cucumbers.
2. A week after that, the cucumbers are watered with this composition: a teaspoon of potassium sulfate and 0.5 liters of fresh are diluted in a bucket of water mullein.

In the stage of active fruiting, it is recommended to use only organic fertilizers in order to avoid saturation of the cucumber fruit with nitrates and other harmful additives. Therefore, it is better to use mullein, chicken droppings, humus, replacing them with mineral fertilizer complexes.

The fourth feeding of cucumbers

The last feeding of the bushes is necessary in order to prolong fruiting, thereby increasing the yield of vegetables. Fertilizers for cucumbers at this stage should stimulate the formation of new ovaries and saturate the soil with those components that are needed for the ripening of large and even fruits.

So, There are several ways to make up for the fertilizer deficit in cucumbers:

1. Pour the baking soda solution over the bushes - take four teaspoons of baking soda in a bucket of plain water.
2. Dissolve a glass of wood ash in 10 liters of water and pour over the cucumbers with the composition.
3. Foliar feeding of cucumbers can be done with infusion of rotted hay. Equal shares of hay and warm water are mixed and left for a couple of days. The resulting composition is sprayed on the leaves and stems of cucumbers.

To achieve a greater effect, you need to alternate root and foliar feeding of cucumbers, use both organic compounds and purchased mineral fertilizers.

It is not at all necessary to use all four dressings - it is necessary to monitor the condition of the cucumbers at each stage of development.

Folk remedies for fertilizing cucumbers

Those who are afraid of complex fertilizers, but do not have access to fresh organic matter, can be advised to use folk remedies for feeding cucumbers.

There are many such methods, but the following are considered the most popular:

• Bread leaven... You can prepare it from fresh brown bread crumbs or from bread crusts. To do this, two-thirds of an ordinary bucket or other container is filled with breadcrumbs, all this is poured with water and covered with a plate or a lid, the diameter of which is slightly smaller than the size of the container itself (this is necessary to remove air). A weight must be placed on top of the lid to create pressure. The container with bread is placed in a warm place and left there for a week. When the fertilizer is ready, it is diluted with cold water and used to water the cucumbers. You can feed with bread every 10 days - this can replace all other fertilizers.
• Yeast fertilizer for cucumbers. In a ten-liter bucket of warm water, a one-hundred-gram pack of ordinary baker's yeast is dissolved. Leave the composition for fermentation for 2-3 days. Each cucumber bush will need about 0.5 liters of such fertilizer, it is applied at the root. Yeast top dressing cannot replace a full-fledged complex, but they are good as an intermediate plant nutrition.
• Onion husk infusion... Onions will help when the foliage of the plants turns yellow, which may indicate both a lack of fertilizer and an infection of cucumbers. Add a glass of onion husks to a bucket of water, put the container on fire and bring to a boil. After that, the solution is left under the lid for several hours so that the fertilizer is infused. The finished composition is simply poured over the bushes, having previously filtered the infusion through a sieve.
• Wood ash... An excellent fertilizer option using only natural ingredients, because ash contains a lot of useful microelements, besides, it loosens the soil, providing oxygen to the roots. Fine ash from burned deciduous trees should be dissolved in water in the proportion of a glass to 10 liters. This solution is simply watered on the ground every 7-10 days - such feeding may well be enough for cucumbers at all stages of development. Ashes from burnt tops, hay, sawdust, dry leaves can be used to fight insects and various infections - you just need to dust the ground in cucumber beds with such ashes.
• Green fertilizers... Such compositions are prepared on the basis of infusion of weeds, you can use ordinary grass left over after weeding the beds or pick nettles, wormwood. The greens are poured with water and left in the sun under heavy pressure - in a couple of days the infusion is ready, it can be diluted with water and water the cucumbers. Such feeding will additionally help prevent attacks of insect pests and protect cucumbers from diseases.

Let's summarize

All methods of feeding cucumbers have a right to exist - each gardener will eventually determine the most suitable option for himself. Fertilizing cucumbers is necessary for normal growth, larger yields and prolongation of the fruiting period. Whereas cucumbers from unfertilized beds can be easily distinguished by twisted small fruits, a bitter taste and a slightly saturated color of the peel.

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