Content
Cucumbers have appeared in our life for a long time. This vegetable in Russia was known back in the 8th century, and India is considered its homeland. Seedlings of cucumbersgrown on the balcony, then planted in a greenhouse or in an open priming... Let's talk about the basic rules for planting cucumbers with seeds and seedlings, so that the resulting crop meets all your expectations.
Features of planting cucumbers
Cucumbers can be grown in special cassettes, planted in pots, or immediately plant seeds of this plant on the garden bed.
To increase the yield of cucumbers, certain nutrients are required. For example, cucumber seedlings in the middle lane are planted in early June.
Option for planting cucumbers with seeds
Planting seeds and growing cucumber seedlings in cassettes requires some theoretical knowledge. Let's talk about the basic rules for growing seedlings, some of the intricacies of this process.
Cooking seeds
If you decide not to waste time on seedlings of cucumbers, do not look for pots for it, but immediately plant seeds in the soil, do not forget that you have laborious work ahead of you.
Before planting, they must be treated in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (manganese permanganate) in order to protect them from various diseases. Next, the cucumber seeds are placed in a container of water for a few minutes. All empty cucumber seeds float up and need to be removed. The rest of the seeds are germinated by placing them in pots or other containers, or immediately planted in open ground.
Before the direct planting of seeds or seedlings of cucumbers, it is necessary to pay attention to the preparation of the soil. Have you decided to use seeds for growing cucumbers? In this case, warm them up before planting using a gauze bag. Hang it along with the planting material above a battery or next to a warm stove. Don't forget that cucumber is considered a heat-loving plant. Its seeds are able to germinate when temperature not lower than 12 degrees. Plant cucumber seeds into the ground to a depth of 2 centimeters. It is necessary in the process of sowing to take into account the fact that in the process of growth, seedlings grow. Try not to sow them at a small distance from each other. If planting is carried out using seedlings, this problem practically does not arise.
Such problems do not arise if quality seedlings are taken instead of cucumber seeds. This option is convenient for those who are ready to look for seedling pots, spend time looking after cucumber seedlings. There is a small risk that the crop will be of poor quality if the seedlings are not properly grown. There are also certain difficulties in the process of growing cucumber seedlings at home. First of all, it must be borne in mind that this plant has a rather fragile root system, therefore, in the process of transplanting cucumber seedlings into the soil, there is a risk of damaging the root system. In this case, the plant will die, and you will not wait for the desired cucumbers.
In addition to peat pots, yogurt, kefir, sour cream cups can be used as containers for future cucumber seedlings. By planting cucumber seeds in boxes, you will receive significant savings in free space on the windowsill, but in the process of transplanting into the ground, the risk of disrupting the fragile root system of plants increases, and their survival rate decreases.
Professionals do not advise using bags of fermented milk products for seedlings, since bacteria can remain in them that cause serious diseases at the roots of cucumber seedlings. The best option for containers for seedlings are peat humus pots. They have porous walls, so the planted seed is provided with a full-fledged water-air regime. In addition, they can withstand changes in soil moisture, that is, you can water the plants without fear that the pot will leak. Interesting tips for planting seeds, cucumber seedlings are presented in the video:
By planting a cucumber in the soil together with a peat pot, you get one hundred percent guarantee of seedlings survival. In addition, the pot itself will serve as an excellent fertilizer for the developing plant, allowing you to count on an early harvest. Gradually, the pot will decompose, and you do not have to remove it from the soil. Before sowing cucumber seeds, the pots are filled with nutritious moist soil, it is carefully compacted. Next, cucumber seeds are placed in prepared peat pots, then they are placed on pallets, a layer of gravel or on plastic wrap. Periodically, the seedlings are watered with water at room temperature.
Once the plants begin to grow, the seedlings are spaced further apart to ensure that each individual plant has enough natural sunlight.
Seedling characteristics before planting in the ground
Before planting a plant outdoors, check if it meets certain requirements. The plant should be at least 25 centimeters high, and there should be 4-5 full leaves on the trunk. The seedlings should be placed vertically, for this they are tied to a special vertical support.
Seedlings are planted in a greenhouse or in a soil unprotected with a film only after the soil has been sufficiently warmed up by the sun's rays.
Features of soil preparation
Cucumbers can be grown on almost all types of soil, if sufficient aeration is carried out on the site, and high-quality drainage is performed. The best option for obtaining a good harvest of cucumbers is soil enriched with humus. The place on the site where you plan to plant prepared cucumber seedlings must also meet certain requirements. It is desirable that pumpkin crops (squash, pumpkin, zucchini) were not planted on this site a year before planting the cucumbers. In this case, you will not allow the accumulation of various pests in the young seedlings, you will save the plants from numerous diseases.
Thanks to such measures, you will not only protect your seedlings from pests, but you will also be able to count on an excellent harvest. If this is not possible, a change of landing site is allowed approximately once every five years. During cultivation, cucumbers will need systematic feeding with nutrients. Ideal for planting cucumber seedlings will be the soil in which cabbage and cereals were previously planted. The beds in which the plants will be planted must be carefully prepared in advance. The entire area is dug about 25 centimeters deep, then manure is introduced into the ground.
Manure is taken at the rate of one bucket of humus per square meter. The next year, organic fertilizers are replaced with mineral fertilizers, then manure can be applied again. The garden bed is sprayed with a 1% solution of copper sulfate, then all the plants are removed from the soil, and the roots are removed. Before digging, you can additionally prepare a mixture of a glass of dolomite flour and 2 tablespoons of superphosphate.
Then you can start digging the site for one shovel bayonet.
Soil insulation option
As soon as the soil is dug up, it is leveled, watered with hot water. Potassium permanganate solution can be used as additional soil protection against harmful bacteria. Further, the bed is covered with plastic wrap, left under the wrap for several days.
Features of seedling care
If we are talking about the peculiarities of caring for seedlings planted in the ground, then it should be noted the need for fertilizing, weeding, loosening the soil, watering. Professionals recommend feeding every two weeks. To do this, you need to use a thick fresh mullein (organic fertilizer), 2-3 tablespoons of ammonium nitrate. After flowering cucumbers, they need to be fed with potash fertilizers. It is enough to prepare a liter of a solution of any potassium salt for four plants. As soon as the cucumbers begin to bloom profusely, it is imperative to feed the seedlings with micronutrient fertilizers. Professionals recommend for these purposes to use a mixture of zinc sulfate (zinc hydrogen sulfate), manganese sulfate (manganese hydrogen sulfate), as well as a small amount of boric acid. The optimal time for feeding cucumber seedlings is evening.
After completing each watering, it is advisable to add fertile soil under the roots of the plants. In this case, there is no need to carry out additional loosening of the soil. Since the root system of cucumbers is located only in the upper layer, with classical loosening of the soil, there is a high probability of damage to the roots of cucumbers. Loosening of the soil is allowed only between individual beds. In order for the cucumbers to produce the desired harvest, it is important to water the plants with warm water. It is best to pour water into the barrel in the morning so that it has time to fully warm up during the day.
Conclusion
Depending on what the climate in your region is, you can grow cucumbers by seedlings or immediately plant sprouted seeds in open ground. Regardless of which option is chosen, it is important to comply with all the basic requirements for growing, feeding, watering these heat-loving crops.
Particular attention should be paid to the selection of seeds. For example, hybrids produce good yields, but they cannot be used for replanting. They do not like cucumbers, despite the fact that they contain a huge amount of water, abundant watering. Instead of beautiful and tasty cucumbers, you will get long stems with huge leaves, but the number of fruits will be minimal.
