What is pinching cucumbers and why do cucumbers need it in a greenhouse?
The cucumber plant is designed in such a way that first the main stem (lash) grows, and then, as the plant grows, shoots begin to grow from it, which over time can also turn into a full-fledged lash. An entire cucumber bush can grow this way.
But due to the fact that the roots of the cucumber are small, located close to the surface of the earth and cannot take useful elements from the depths of the soil, they therefore cannot nourish a large bush. Due to the lack of nutrients, the ovaries of such a cucumber will be small and they will hardly grow. This way you will get a plant with gorgeous greenery and small fruits.
It is unlikely that a gardener wants to get such a result.
To prevent this from happening, all side shoots - stepchildren - should be removed at the very beginning. This process is called stepsoning. By removing excess shoots from the plant, the gardener does not allow the nutrients to be distributed over several vines, but directs them into one specific stem, on which full-fledged fruits will grow.
In a greenhouse, pinching cucumbers is especially important because the space for plants to grow is limited. Bushes with many vines will block each other's sunlight, tangle their shoots and intertwine their tendrils, which will complicate the process of collecting cucumbers.
The soil in the greenhouse also has limited resources. It is difficult to arrange crop rotation in a greenhouse; the soil in it is depleted faster. In such conditions, it is difficult for the plant to grow fruits on several vines at once. But it also cannot avoid bearing fruit. Therefore, you will get many small ovaries, without further growth.
In addition, in a greenhouse the plant matures faster and the stepsons grow faster there too. In order not to miss the moment of removal, look into the greenhouse more often. With proper pinching, you can increase the yield of cucumbers and speed up their ripening.
Why do you need a pinch?
There is an opinion among some gardeners that in order for cucumbers to bear fruit well, it is not necessary to pinch them. Perhaps in some cases this is true, since much depends on the characteristics of each variety. But most often barren flowers grow on the vines that form without pinching. They are not able to set fruit and fall off after drying.
Pinching allows the bush to form female flowers produced on the side shoots. In addition, it will prevent the occurrence of various diseases that form in thickened plantings. And also the fruits, set on the side branches, are formed abundantly, in a beautiful (not hook-shaped) configuration, for the most part, without bitterness.
When to plant cucumbers
There is no specific date or time for this process. Moreover, pinching is carried out in several stages as the plant grows.
They begin to take stepson when 5 true leaves appear on the plant and it is approximately 40 centimeters in height. On such a plant, the stepsons are about 5 cm in size. Depending on the method of forming the cucumber bush, they should be removed. Stepchildren must be removed throughout the plant's growth. It is better to cut them off with a sharp object rather than twist them with your fingers. This way the wound of the plant will heal faster.
Usually, cucumbers are planted at the beginning of summer. If the cucumbers are planted in the greenhouse in May, then by the end of July the pinching should be completed.
Adviсe
Pinching is a universal procedure. In this way, they not only increase the yield and stimulate the development of plants, but even rejuvenate them. However, in order for pinching to bring maximum benefit, you need to follow some rules:
- The procedure is traumatic, so before performing it it is recommended to wash your hands with warm water and soap. All pruning areas must be treated with crushed charcoal or ash to prevent infection of the cucumbers;
- The procedure must be carried out with a sharpened pruner or knife. This reduces the risk of powdery mildew;
- It is important not only to maintain the required number of side vines, but also to properly care for them: remove diseased and yellowed ones, tie them up, avoiding deformation of the stem, and do not allow them to grow excessively, since the abundant green mass draws out nutrition;
- Before pruning, you must read the instructions, if there were any when purchasing the seeds. For different varieties, the timing of pinching and recommendations for the number of shoots and flowers removed may vary markedly;
- pinching “rejuvenates” the plants - a procedure required for year-round cultivation of cucumbers. It is carried out after a relatively low night air temperature has been established. At the same time, remove all yellowed and weak shoots and pinch out the internal ones. The soil around the bushes is loosened, fertilized, mixed with wood ash or peat, and then watered with a warm decoction of onion peels. After this procedure, the plants actively bloom and bear fruit, although the size of the fruits will be smaller than in early autumn.
The tops of early-ripening cucumbers are almost never removed. Here it is only important to monitor the number of side shoots and remove barren flowers.
How to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse step by step guide
Pinching restricts plant growth. Pinching is carried out in the morning so that by evening the wound is overgrown. To do this, use a sharp knife or pruning shears.
Pinching is carried out in order to reduce the number of empty lashes on which the plant spends resources. Prevent the development of stepsons, whiskers that intertwine with each other and block sunlight for the plant.
Pinching begins when the plant has reached 40 cm in height. During this period, all shoots, flowers and ovaries are removed.
When the plant reaches the top of the greenhouse, it should be wrapped twice around the trellis and pinched.
The stepsons are pinched based on the chosen method of forming the cucumber lash.
What to do after pinching
The area where unnecessary shoots are cut must be treated with powdered charcoal or activated carbon. This will help disinfect the wound, dry it a little and reduce the risk of infection of the plant.
Any operations to remove parts of a plant lead to stressful situations. To help the crop survive pinching easier, it is recommended to apply fertilizer to the roots. Organic matter is best suited for this: humus, compost or manure.
Care must be taken when watering. Water should not get on fresh wounds.
Features of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse
The main feature of pinching in a greenhouse is that this process is carried out in several stages. The first time the stepsons pinch when the plant reaches a height of 40 cm. Then with some frequency. The main thing is to make sure that the stepchildren do not become very large. Because for their growth they will take useful elements from the main stem. Thus weakening it.
In addition, removing large stepsons can greatly harm the plant. And here a second feature appears, related to the growth of cucumbers in a greenhouse. It is much warmer inside than outside, so the plant grows faster. And stepchildren too. And you need to watch them very carefully so as not to miss the right moment for pinching.
Scheme for pinching cucumbers
There are several schemes for pinching cucumbers. They all have their pros and cons. Why they are good and bad and what they consist of will be explained below.
Classic scheme for growing cucumbers in a greenhouse
In the classical scheme, pinching of cucumbers is carried out starting from the moment the plant reaches a height of 50 cm. To begin with, remove everything except the leaves. This will allow nutrients to be directed to further growth of the plant.
When the plant doubles in size, the next leaves are left with one flower emerging from the leaf axil, and the lower leaves, where everything was previously cut off, are removed altogether. Thus, at a height of 50 cm, the plant has nothing left, and higher up there is a leaf with one flower.
When the bush grows another 50 cm, the shoots are not removed. And on them they leave one leaf with a flower.
When the plant grows another 50 cm, pinching is stopped. Further formation of the bush can be completed by pinching the main bush when it reaches the top trellis. First wrap the cucumber around it. Further care for cucumbers consists only of watering, fertilizing and loosening.
Grandfather's scheme of stepsoning with pinching of the main lash
This method is old, but no less effective.
- On the first 4 leaves, all stepsons, tendrils and ovaries are removed.
- After the 7th leaf, 1 stepson is left in the axil. And 1 leaf and 1 ovary are left on it.
- After the 10th leaf, the stepson is pinched after 2 ovaries and 2 leaves.
- After the 12th leaf, 3 ovaries and leaves are left per stepson.
- When the plant reaches the height of the greenhouse, it is pinched.
For hybrids, this scheme is slightly modified.
- Up to 4 sheets are all removed, as in the first case.
- After 4 and up to 17 leaves, the ovaries are left without stepsons.
- And from 18 to 20 the stepsons pinch up to 2 leaves.
- Then, just like in the first case, the plant is pinched when it reaches the trellis. At the same time, they wrap it around it a couple of times and pinch it.
Danish umbrella
This method is difficult to implement, but then cucumbers processed in this way are easier to care for. All the fruits are concentrated at the top and are sufficiently illuminated there.
The Danish Umbrella Method consists of the following steps.
- Up to the fifth leaf, both shoots and ovaries are removed.
- From the fifth to the ninth, only one ovary is left per leaf, and the stepsons are removed.
- Up to the thirteenth leaf, 2 ovary leaves are left.
- The stepson is left on the 14th leaf and the ovaries are removed. When the stepson grows to 2 leaves, pinch it.
- From leaves 14 to 20, 2 more shoots are left, as in leaf 14, with a distance of at least 1 leaf between them.
- Leave the stepson in the 20th leaf and pinch it after the 8th leaf.
- The main stem is placed across the trellis and pinched, leaving 3 leaves.
- On the second sheet, leave the stepson on top, pinch it after the 5th sheet.
Rules for the procedure
In order not to harm the planting during its formation, you must first study the following rules:
- Cucumbers have a superficial, weak root system. Therefore, activities must be carried out very carefully.
- Along with pinching, loosen the soil in the garden bed around the bush.
- Remove weak shoots and male inflorescences in a timely manner.
- To prevent plant infection, tools must be sterilized before work.
- Each ovary must have at least one leaf.
- Caring for plants: remove unnecessary leaves at the very base. If you leave stumps on them, the plant can be affected by powdery mildew, negatively affecting its further development.
- Bush cucumbers do not pinch.
Preserving healthy leaves is a prerequisite for any manipulation with cucumbers. Each leaf contains a large amount of useful substances that pass into the developing fruits.
The bushes must be looked after: damaged leaves that are beginning to rot must be removed, otherwise they can infect the bush with various diseases.
The rules for the procedure for forming cucumbers are simple, and following them will help the gardener grow healthy bushes that produce a bountiful harvest throughout the season.
Cucumbers that do not require pinching
Modern breeders have developed several varieties of cucumbers that do not require pinching.
These are plants that grow in 1 vine or as a bush without climbing shoots. There are varieties that can produce short shoots and plants with predominantly female flowers.
This is usually clearly highlighted on seed packages. These are the varieties Valdai, Severyanin, F1 Saratovsky, Petrovsky, Vyuga.
The remaining cucumbers will have to be pinched. Without this it is difficult to achieve a good result.
Possible mistakes when picking cucumbers
Inexperienced gardeners often make mistakes when carrying out pinching. The correct frequency of their removal is very important. If you rarely pinch the stepsons, then by the time they are removed they will have already grown and taken many useful substances from the main stem. And such removal can cause more harm to the plant than good.
It happens that due to the introduction of a large amount of fertilizer into the soil, the stepsons continue to grow.
It is very rare, but it happens that due to dirty equipment, an infection can be introduced into the wound of a plant, especially if you previously used the same equipment to fight infected plants.
