Ideal conditions for growing cucumbers: watering, fertilizing and lighting
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The best conditions for growing cucumbers
From variety of varieties and hybrids of a cucumber, the eyes literally run up: with giant and tiny fruits of all shades of green, only with female flowers, not requiring pollination (parthenocarpic).
And ask for beds!
To grow beautiful, tasty, crispy - in a word, the perfect cucumber is even within the reach of a novice spring. The main thing is to approach the matter responsibly, with a certain amount of knowledge.
How to water cucumber
Culture is extremely demanding for soil and air moisture.
The need for water increases with the beginning of fruiting, but its excess is harmful, especially in places with cold soil.
Favorable conditions are formed in a warm summer with frequent rains, but long-term watering with cold water or prolonged cold rains adversely affect plants.
How to fertilize cucumbers
Cucumber likes medium-loamy or sandy soils rich in organic substances Autumn before digging into the ground, manure, humus or compost is applied according to 10-20 kg / m2.
The basic quantity of nutrients the cucumber consumes during the period of fruiting. At the beginning of vegetation, nitrogen is needed, which ensures a rapid increase in the vegetative mass and growth of the leaves.
Phosphorus promotes the timely flowering of cucumbers.
See also: Cultivation of cucumbers in the open ground: planting and care
Lighting for cucumbers
Cucumber plants need good lighting. In the thickened shoots, the illumination of the leaves decreases, as a result, the growth of lateral shoots stops, and fruiting occurs later.
When grown indoors in winter, lighting is required on all windows. In November - January, plants are illuminated with fluorescent lamps of white or daylight with a power of 300 W per 1 m2
In February, the duration of additional lighting can be reduced to 6-8 hours.
In the summer and at very high temperatures (more than 30 ″ C) it is recommended to shade the southern side of the upper part and the lower 0,8 m of the lateral part of the greenhouse with white covering material.
This measure will protect plants from intense solar radiation at noon, and in the morning and in the afternoon there will be enough light in the greenhouse.
© Author: T. Steinert
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I try to take into account all the preferences of this vegetable in order to grow a good harvest of sweet and juicy cucumbers. Especially the need for water.
During growth, cucumber plants evaporate a large amount of moisture due to the growth of a huge green mass of stems and leaves. At the same time, their roots are weak and are located in the top layer of soil, so they do not tolerate both soil and air drought. For the same reason, cucumbers need to be watered regularly and often, especially at the beginning of fruiting. I grow several parthenocarpic (self-fertile) plants in a warm bed in a greenhouse. Here I water more often than in open ground, since the soil there is more porous, and the water tries to go deeper without lingering in the root layer.
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I water plants in the open field in the evening, and in the greenhouse - in the morning before the heat.
Cucumbers are especially capricious in this regard. They feel a little lack of moisture - bitterness appears in the fruits, and if they overdo it a couple of times with liquid, they become watery, they can rot. To avoid problems, 7-10 cm from each bush with the neck down, I dig in 1-1-liter PET bottle without cork and bottom. I water the cucumbers first from a watering can over the leaves (5-10 liters for 15-8 plants), then pour 10 liter of water into each bottle. Moisture is slowly absorbed by the roots - and the plants feel great!
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Nurse bottle
It is known that cucumbers need a teaspoon of fertilizer per hour. And if the soil is sandy, like mine, then its own difficulties arise: the water simply rolls off the surface, not moistening the roots. And I figured out how to make it easier for myself to take care of plants.
After planting the plants in a permanent place, I take 5-liter bottles, cut off their bottom and make several holes with a diameter of 2-3 mm in the cork. Then I take it off, tighten the neck of the bottle with two layers of non-woven material and screw the cap back on. This is what a filter looks like to prevent the holes from being silted up.
Then I fill the bottle with fresh or rotted manure, mixing it with sawdust and ash. Turning the bottle over, I screw it upside down near the root. And from above in the manure I make a small hole.
I water the plants only through bottles - and feed them at the same time. The water goes straight to the roots. By the way, this technique allows you to use even water from a well. While it passes through the warmed-up backside, the manure will heat up.
A couple of times a season I change the "filler" of the bottles and, as a result, I harvest cucumbers in buckets!
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In early summer, I look forward with special impatience to the appearance of cucumbers. I deduced that the waiting time can be reduced if the number of waterings is reduced at the beginning of flowering. Two bushes of the same variety were watered differently: the first - once every 2-3 days, the second - once a week. As a result, the second one pleased the first fruits a week earlier than the first.
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In our country, cucumbers are grown for a long time. However, until the 80-ies. The last century the choice of varieties was small. In general, they yielded a moderate yield from the average size of thorny greens. Now the number of varieties and hybrids reaches several hundred, from them you can choose cucumbers for any natural zone and destination.
Nevertheless, old varieties have not lost their value. They are well adapted to local conditions, ideal for pickling. It is also important that these are not hybrids of F1, but varieties. Hence, they can independently receive seeds that preserve varietal qualities.
Muromsky - one of the oldest and most adapted to short, cool and damp summer varieties- This is one of the record for early maturity, fruiting
comes already on 35-40-th day after emergence. Suitable for growing outdoors even in northern regions. Disadvantage: the greens are quickly overripe, so they need to be collected daily.
Vyaznikovsky - gives a crop 1-2 weeks later than Murom. Zelentsy characteristic "pickling" type: medium-sized, with black spikes. Fresh stored for up to a week, well tolerated transportation. They work best in the middle zone and non-chernozem regions of Russia.
Nezhinsky - originates from Ukraine. It is later, therefore, in the cold summer, the crop may suffer, but for the southern regions, the variety is ideal. Zelentsy crispy, great for fresh consumption, and for canning.
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I prefer parthenocarpic cucumbers, that is, self-pollinated. Favorite varieties - Herman; Masha, Adam. To get the maximum yield from such hybrids, plants should be formed. Otherwise, many ovaries will turn yellow and fall off due to lack of nutrition. Moreover, thickening is a direct path to the appearance of fungal diseases, and it is much harder to fight pests, especially aphids, in cucumber jungle.
So, how do I shape the cucumber. In "parthenocarpic" the most part of the ovaries is formed on the main stem. To strengthen it, I remove all lateral shoots and lower flowers from 1-th to 5-th sheet. Do not feel sorry for these ovaries, they grow slowly and restrain the growth of the ovary on the upper levels of the cucumber. Starting from 6-th on 12-th sheet I leave shoots up to 25 cm, and then pinch them. The next 6 shoots are left in length 35-40 cm and plucked again. The next six shoots grow to 50-60 cm. The central stem is also pinched when it reaches 1,5-2 m in length. The plant must be tied with a strong twine. This formation of the creeper allows you to get a neat plant, and each ovary lacks food for growth.
By the way, if the aphids attacked aphids, I have a proven remedy. In 1 l milk should be diluted 1 st. l. iodine, stir and dissolve in 10 l of water. Spray 1 times in |. Aph was retreating!