Growing cucumbers in tunnels - planting and care, my reviews (Kaluga region)
CUCUMBERS IN THE TUNNEL - LANDING, GROWING AND CARE
For a long time I wanted to learn how to grow real cucumbers, i.e. those that live in the open field. Say what you like, but the taste and aroma of "street" fruits is still completely different than that of those grown in greenhouse conditions. And a few years ago, my dream finally came true. And my husband, Evgeny Alekseevich, helped me in this.
First, he made a high warm bed 1 × 7 m in size: he dug a cauldron with a depth on the bayonet of a shovel, put small branches, flower stems and compost on the bottom, then replaced the previously removed fertile soil, poured humus on top, and ash , crushed egg shells and dug it all up a little. And then I installed five arcs, which I made from a thick cable. The bed was about 60 cm high.
After that it was my turn to work for the good of the future harvest. Sowing was carried out from 4 to 8 May, laying out dry seeds every 30 cm into rows dug in advance and spilled with clean water, which I made along both sides of the garden, stepping back from the sides by 15 cm.Immediately after that, I pulled a film over the arcs.
Moreover, from one end, the husband nailed to it wooden planks of a small section, and from the other - thick bars. I laid two bricks on both of them, so that the shelter of the garden would not be blown away by the wind. With bricks, he pressed the film to the ground at the ends of the resulting tunnel.
Our efforts were not in vain - sprouts soon appeared, and it was clear that they really like the microclimate that has developed in the film tunnel - they quickly gained strength. To water the plants, I raised the edge of the shelter where there were thin wooden planks. Yes, I forgot to say this: to prevent the film from sagging, the husband pulled copper wire along the entire length of the bed in arcs on both sides.
So the return of the shelter to its place after the end of the water procedures took me just a couple of minutes. Well, when at the end of May a stable warm weather set in and the threat of recurrent frosts passed, I completely removed the film.
And when, because of this, the frame of the tunnel was completely exposed, I tied pieces of linen twine to the wire stretched between the arcs, the lower ends of which I fixed to the ground with hooks stuck near each bush.
The growing lashes of cucumbers immediately began to cling to these supports and climb along them to the very top of the arcs. In general, I had the impression for a long time that the plants begin to actively grow just when they understand that they can freely develop from the lash thanks to the tapestries.
This is how my cucumbers grew in the fresh air, having arranged a new tunnel on the arcs and wire, but already green.
The most important thing is that the plants were comfortable (here you have airing, and freedom, and good lighting), and it was very convenient for me to take care of them. It’s so nice to pick ripe fruits, it’s impossible to convey!
You stick your hand in and pick clean, strong cucumbers. Plants on this garden bore fruit well and until the beginning of September: it was enough to eat the greens in plenty, and to prepare them for the winter. In general, the experiment was successful, and my husband and I put this technology, as they say, on stream. Moreover, we operate the same proven "tunnel" bed, adding humus to the landing holes every spring.
And in order to extend the cucumber season, I also plant a few bushes in an iron barrel at the beginning of June. I'll tell you a little about how I first prepared her for such an important mission.
In the fall, I filled this barrel to the top (with a dense tamping) with peppers removed from the greenhouse and marigolds plucked from the garden. And in the spring I added rotted compost there, at the very beginning of summer I dug several holes in a barrel, spilled them with water and placed several dry seeds in them.
The husband then hammered into the center of the barrel a long stick with a crossbar on the upper end, to which I tied several pieces of twine. The cucumbers in the barrel quickly rose, just as quickly began to grow and climbed up the twine. And when they reached the crossbar, they began to hang down (you can see this in one of the photos). They bore fruit until October. Rather, they bear fruit, because I also now use this method of growing every year.
I tried to plant tomatoes with peppers in open ground, but late blight nullifies all my efforts. We have to grow these crops only in greenhouses. Tomatoes are especially good for me there.
Thanks to you, I learned to use iodine, boric acid and milk with great benefit to protect tomatoes from all kinds of ailments. Thanks to everyone who shares their experience! Good luck in the new season!
Reference by topic: Cultivation of early cucumbers in tunnels
© Author: Tatyana Karpenkova Balabanovo, Kaluga region.
Below other entries on the topic "Dacha and garden - with their own hands"
- Forming tall cucumbers is a very good scheme!
- That the cucumber was smooth and beautiful
- Cultivation of early cucumbers in tunnels
- Why do cucumbers turn yellow - the reason for the double-tail!
- Growing early cucumbers in a vertical culture - planting and care
- Early cucumbers in the suburbs - my advice
- Why cucumbers crochet and curves
- Cucumbers at home - hybrids, cultivation and care, shaping and feeding
- Seedlings of cucumbers. A few words about varieties and hybrids
- Do-it-yourself wigwams for cucumbers - my reviews
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My article "Cucumbers in the Tunnel" about their cultivation in the open field was published in 2021, but in the summer I supplemented my method. When the plants have five or six true leaves, I dig five-liter bottles of water between the bushes, where they lie until the end of the season (photo).
Tanks heat up during the day and keep warm at night.
I also tried to grow Exhibition onions and was pleased with the result (photo 2) - the bulbs are large, juicy, sweet. I harvested three large buckets of crops from just one bag of seeds! This year I will plant twice as much.
Nothing complicated: in mid-March, I sow the seeds at a distance of 5 mm from each other in two-liter juice boxes. Exhibition grows well, I water as needed. I plant seedlings in the garden in mid-May at a distance of 10 cm, so that the bulbs have enough space for development. The only drawback is the shelf life: only until the end of December. But the onion is so tasty that it does not lie in the cellar!