Potassium fertilizers for cucumbers: which ones are best to use, how to feed them correctly

What microelements do cucumbers need?

Like all plants, cucumbers need nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus . These are essential nutrients, without which the growth process will occur unevenly. Especially if you grow crops on the plot every year. Over time, the soil becomes depleted and the plant cannot even gain green mass, let alone produce a harvest. The ovaries may crumble, and the plant may dry out or become sick.

1. At the first stage, greens consume nitrogen in large quantities. If there is enough of it in the soil, then the stem and leaves of the plants have a bright green color, look healthy, without various inclusions. A lack of nitrogen weakens the bush and prevents it from developing further, even if the soil contains other important substances - potassium and phosphorus.
2. Phosphorus helps form the root system. When a plant tries to grow, it consumes all its nutrients through the root. Therefore, to get a good harvest, you need the roots to be strong and able to provide the stem and leaves with potassium, which is directly responsible for the harvest - its quantity and quality.
3. Fertilizing cucumbers with potassium fertilizers should begin before fruit set. Not during the process, not after it - just before the flowers appear. Because the number of ovaries and the future harvest will depend on the presence of potassium. At this moment you need not to be lazy and do everything possible to ensure that there are many flowers.

By starting to feed cucumbers before setting fruit, you will get a high yield.
Potassium fertilizers for cucumbers can be used organic and mineral. It is necessary to ensure that fertilizing is applied in a balanced manner, otherwise it will be of no use. For example:

• In the spring, nitrogen supplements were not added to the soil - the plant did not gain mass, therefore, potassium will not help it and there will be no harvest;
• Phosphorus was not added in the fall, so in the spring the cucumbers have nothing to develop roots, even if there is sufficient nitrogen in the soil - it’s the same as taping a person’s mouth and putting a bowl of food in front of him.

The surest way is to buy a complex mixture for feeding cucumbers and use it after reading the instructions.

What is it, composition and action

Potassium nitrate is a type of potassium fertilizer. They are colorless crystals of various structures of inorganic origin, highly soluble in water. Does not have a pronounced odor.

Melts at a temperature of 334-335 degrees. C, at an elevated melting point, the compound decomposes with the further release of oxygen. It is characterized by a slight degree of hygroscopicity - it absorbs water vapor from the air (caking over time).

According to toxicometric indicators, according to international standards, the fertilizer is practically non-toxic.

The main source of potassium nitrate is the mineral nitrocalite. In nature, large deposits are found in India and the countries of South and Southeast Asia. The fertilizer has a synonymous name - Indian saltpeter.

Chemical formula – KNO3. The active ingredients of potassium fertilizing are potassium + nitrogen + oxygen.

In potassium nitrate up to 45-46% potassium is the main nutritional element:

• regulates the full and uniform development of plants;
• optimizes water and protein metabolism;
• protects open ground crops from daily temperature changes, from heat in summer and hypothermia in the cold season;
• stimulates the germination of seed material;
• directly affects cell formation;
• prevents the proliferation of pathogenic environments.

Nitrogen (up to 13%) is a vital element for soil, garden and garden plants:

• is part of proteins (the basis of life of all cultures), nucleic acids (transmission of hereditary, varietal properties), chlorophyll (accumulation of solar energy during photosynthesis), enzyme catalysts of biochemical processes, vitamins, alkaloids and other compounds involved in metabolism;
• nitrogen nutrition stimulates protein synthesis and affects the intensity of growth processes;
• ensures the development of vegetative organs (enhances fruiting, increases productivity and the amount of protein in fruits and root crops).

Important : nitrogen is contained in the exact combination and form, which ensures immediate absorption of fertilizer by plants.

If cucumbers lack potassium

Let's assume that the gardener did everything correctly in the fall and spring - he prepared the soil for planting cucumbers with the help of mineral fertilizers - nitrogen and phosphorus, planted seeds or seedlings, and it began:

• the edges of the leaves began to dry;
• the color changed, the color became more blue than green;
• new leaves grow curly and irregular in shape;
• the first fruits are deformed.

Don't worry: the signs described above are an extreme degree of potassium deficiency in cucumbers . But if something like this begins, then you should take action immediately, do not wait until the foliage falls off or the flowers fall off.

Video: How to fertilize cucumbers with potassium

The plant also has its own natural mechanisms for protecting the crop - first the old leaves die, then the young ones, then the flowers fall off. Therefore, the summer resident has time to notice the problem and save his future preserves - salads and pickled cucumbers.

Of course, it would be good to take care of the soil in advance so as not to get nervous and run to the store for potash fertilizers for foliar feeding. It is better to do this in the fall for several reasons.

Firstly, because potassium is an immobile element, it is not washed out of the soil over the winter. On the contrary, it manages to dissolve and transform into an accessible form for plant nutrition. Secondly, organic mixtures, such as unrotted manure, rot over the winter and will not burn the roots in the spring. Thirdly, chlorine-containing mineral fertilizers will not harm plants, since the chlorine will evaporate over the winter.

When to add potassium to cucumbers - soil preparation

Potassium sulfate (potassium fertilizer for cucumbers) is the most suitable additive. It is produced from the natural mineral shenite, so it dissolves well in the soil. It looks like small white granules. Can be applied in liquid or dry form. Lighter and simpler - dry.

Potassium fertilizer brings the greatest benefit to the following soils:

• peat;
• limestone;
• sandy;
• loamy;
• chernozems.

It is not recommended to use it on solonetzes, since such soil already contains enough natural mineral fertilizers. On acidic soils, it is better to apply potassium sulfate together with lime.

Video: Cool top dressing for cucumbers

It is better to add potassium in autumn. It's not too late - in the spring. Urgently - during flowering. In the latter case, you will have to use foliar feeding to help the cucumbers. Through the root system, nutritional supplements will reach the leaves longer.

Professional gardeners do the following:

• In the fall, potassium fertilizers are applied if the soil is heavy and clayey;
• in spring, if it is light – sandy or sandy loam;
• in autumn and spring - if it is peat, plus the plants are sprayed in the process - foliar feeding is done.

In order for the fertilizer to reach the roots, it is distributed throughout the area and dug in with the soil . Further rain and snow will take their toll. In spring, the required amount of potassium in granules is placed in a hole under cucumber seedlings and watered. Or they add it a few days before planting the cucumbers along with nitrogen.

Types of fertilizing - which is better

It is impossible to say for sure what to use to feed cucumbers - water at the root or spray. If a person has just started gardening, then he most likely does not know the type of soil on his plot. This means he doesn’t know what to expect from plants.

Fertilizing depends on the type of soil.
You should be guided by the cucumbers themselves:

• what greenery looks like;
• how many colors;
• are there first fruits?
• The shape of cucumbers is normal or deformed.

If something goes wrong in the growth of cucumbers, then you should experiment.

Root

Root feeding is carried out with a diluted composition or dry granules of potassium sulfate. To prepare the solution, you need to take 10 liters of water (a bucket) and add 2 - 3 tablespoons of granules, stir and pour over the cucumbers . Watering brings quick results on lighter soils.

Foliar

On heavy loamy soils, you can achieve results faster if you spray the leaves of cucumbers with a solution of potassium fertilizer. For foliar feeding, you need to use a less concentrated solution.

For foliar feeding, a small concentration of the solution is made.
For 10 liters of water, you can add 1.5 - 2 tablespoons of fertilizer for cucumbers. You need to spray the greens early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun has set, so as not to burn the leaves. The ideal time for spraying is after rain in cloudy weather.

Safety precautions

When working with drugs, a number of rules should be observed:

• All formulations containing chemicals must be stored in closed bags, away from children and animals.
• The room where mineral compounds are stored must be periodically ventilated.
• When using fertilizers, you should wear rubber gloves and a respirator to avoid inhaling fumes when spraying the solution.
• When processing plants, do not rub your eyes or touch mucous surfaces.
• After work, you need to wash your hands with soap and wash your eyes.

Organic food for cucumbers

Potassium is found in organic mixtures and substances in large quantities. It could be:

• mullein or bird droppings;
• ash;
• green manure.

You can make compost from manure or droppings to feed cucumbers. To do this, they put the following into the pit in layers:

• manure;
• weed residues;
• priming;
• food waste – peelings, bread, yeast, dairy waste;
• can be filled with liquid that speeds up the process of overheating - Baikal.

Compost is also a very good fertilizer.
The ripening process of compost is long - up to 9 months . If there is no time to compost, then fresh manure is added to feed the cucumbers in the fall (always in the fall) and dug in with the soil. Over the winter, the substance is processed by soil microorganisms and in the spring it enters the root system of cucumber seedlings.

The compost mixture can be used in the spring. It is safe for the young root system. Organic potassium fertilizer can be obtained by infusing fresh manure.

To do this, you need to take 2.5 kg of manure per 10 liters of water . To put it simply, fill ¼ of a bucket with water and leave for 3 – 4 days . You need to stir periodically to remove excess ammonia. Next, a bucket of slurry is diluted with 4 buckets of water and you can water the roots.

Ash

Wood stove ash is a rich source of potassium for feeding cucumbers. They get it by burning rye straw, which itself is a deficiency. To provide cucumbers you need 5 kg of ash per square meter. Such an amount cannot always be found, so ash is used in combination with manure or green fertilizers.

Green fertilizers

These are ordinary weeds or green manures that are specially grown “for nitrogen-potassium fertilizers.” The easiest way is to cut the grass, put it in a barrel and fill it with water for 10 days . When it’s brewed, you can spray or water the cucumbers.

Mineral supplements for cucumbers

In addition to potassium sulfate, potassium nitrate is used when growing cucumbers. This is a two-component mineral fertilizer containing nitrogen. It is more suitable for spring use because in summer plants do not consume large quantities of nitrogen. This can provoke the growth of greenery, as a result of which the ovaries will lag behind in development and the harvest will be small.

Potassium nitrate is applied in the spring.
In the spring, 10–12 days before planting, you can use a three-component mixture consisting of equal parts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Instant fertilizers should be used, such as:

• Ammofoska;
• Nitroammofoska;
• Kemira;
• Rosesol.

If you want to combine fertilizers yourself, you can use one-component mixtures and combine them using the instructions. It is important to strictly adhere to dosages - how many liters of water and what amount of substance is used for root or foliar feeding.

Types of potash fertilizers

There are a number of types of potash fertilizers. The owner of a garden or greenhouse can, without the help of others, choose the type of fertilizer that is easier for him to work with and which will be more effective. Let's take a closer look at what you can feed cucumbers to satisfy their need for potassium.

All fertilizers are divided into 2 groups:

• mineral;
• organic.

They can also be dry (in the form of powder, granules, crystals) or watery.

Mineral baits used to replenish potassium include:

• potassium nitrate;
• potassium humate;
• potassium sulfate;
• potassium chloride;
• potassium sulfate.

Naturally, it is better to use organic matter for vegetables.

Potassium is found in:

• wood ash;
• manure;
• bird droppings;
• green fertilizer.