To get a good harvest of homemade cucumbers, it is necessary to provide them with adequate nutrition and protect them from possible diseases and pests. In this case, vegetable growers, in addition to other traditional agrochemicals, may benefit from a tincture of an ordinary pharmaceutical iodine solution. Iodine for cucumbers is not only a good fertilizer, but also an excellent preventive and therapeutic agent. Let's look at how to prepare nutritious and medicinal solutions of this drug at home and how to use them in cucumber beds.
Why is iodine used in gardens?
There are quite a few cases when you can use iodine solution on cucumber plantings in open ground or in greenhouses. For example, in the following cases:
- used to fight infections;
- used as fertilizer along with other components;
- used to prevent the occurrence of diseases and pests;
- The seeds are treated and iodine is used for better germination.
It turns out that this simple antiseptic can be used literally at all stages of plant development and in all main cases of its agricultural technology. In addition, it is always available, costs a penny, which allows you to save on more expensive preventive and protective agrochemicals, and is also completely environmentally friendly, which means that the fruits collected from the bushes after spraying can be eaten immediately, simply by washing them with clean water.
Advantages and disadvantages of ash as a fertilizer
Ash, as a fertilizer, has undeniable advantages, proven over decades of use:
- completely natural composition;
- ease of use;
- high efficiency of application;
- high coefficient of penetration into the soil due to the fine fraction;
- neutralization of soil acidity;
- no material costs for obtaining fertilizer.
Despite the apparent benefits and complete environmental friendliness, obtaining ash is not as simple as it seems.
Harmful use:
- when burning wood and especially grass, acrid smoke appears, which irritates the mucous membranes;
- it is necessary to prepare a special place for the fire and prevent household waste from getting into it;
- when there is an excess of ash in the soil, a reverse reaction occurs - instead of saturating it with microelements, it is overloaded with salts, as a result of which aeration is difficult.
Benefits and harms for cucumbers from using iodine
The benefits that iodine solution can bring to cucumber crops are invaluable in many cases. If you treat plants with it, starting from the earliest stages of their development, then this can replace the use of expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
By treating cucumber bushes with an iodine solution, you can increase their resistance to poor environmental conditions, sudden changes in temperature and humidity, infection by various pathogens, and attacks of all kinds of pests. You can protect with iodine not only seedlings grown at home and adult plants, but also crop seeds sown in the ground or to produce seedlings. In this case, the seed material is treated with a diluted iodine solution right before sowing.
Iodine, in some cases, will help cure parts of plants already damaged by diseases or pests, but most often (with regular use) it can be used to prevent their appearance and subsequent reproduction.
The benefit of iodine for cucumber seedlings and adult bushes also lies in the fact that it is a microelement that participates in biological processes occurring in plant tissues, as well as in soil nitrogen metabolism. It has the following effect on seeds and cucumbers during the growing season:
- activates seed germination;
- accelerates the growth of bushes, stimulating metabolic processes in their tissues;
- stimulates flowering and fruit set;
- increases the duration of the growing season (plants wither much later) and, accordingly, fruiting.
The effect of iodine solution as a preventive, therapeutic (in the early stages of fungal diseases) agent on plants can be compared with copper-containing fungicides used for this purpose. An even greater antiseptic effect from its use can be obtained by mixing iodine with brilliant green - both drugs increase the effect of each other and become even more effective.
There are only two disadvantages of using iodine solutions on cucumbers:
- Toxicity of vapors when used indoors (in a greenhouse);
- Possibility of chemical burns to plants due to an overdose of iodine in the working fluid.
Why feed cucumbers
Over time, the soil depletes its reserves of minerals. After all, gardeners grow them within the same plot. To restore soil reserves, various fertilizers are used. You need to feed cucumbers for the first time when they produce two strong leaves .
Benefits of feeding:
- cucumbers grow faster and bear fruit earlier ;
- I increase the period of fruiting;
- improve the taste and quantity of fruits;
- create a kind of “immunity” for plants, protecting them from harmful insects and diseases .
The seedlings are fed for the first time when 2 true leaves appear.
Recipes for feeding cucumbers
To water cucumbers with iodine, prepare the following solution: add 1 drop of 5% iodine solution to 3 liters of cold water. It is used to water the seedlings during their growth, as well as after transplanting them to the beds (in this case, 0.5 liters of fertilizing solution are used for each cucumber plant). In order to carry out foliar feeding, you can prepare a slightly different solution: you need to dissolve 5-10 drops of 5% iodine in a bucket of heated water.
When preparing fertilizers, iodine is dissolved not only in plain water, but other ingredients are also taken, making up feeding solutions for watering bushes at the root and spraying along the tops.
For example, in order for the tops of vegetative plants to retain their green color, a fertilizing solution is prepared with the addition of white bread. To do this, the loaf is soaked overnight in 15 liters of water, and the next morning it is crushed and 7 drops of iodine are added to the liquid. The mixture is then filtered and used in this form for spraying cucumber plants.
Iodine supplementation can be given to cucumbers at the seedling stage, when the plants have 3-4 true leaves. At this time, you can use, for example, a milk solution with iodine. To prepare it, take 20 g of household shavings. soap (which is used as an adhesive), pour it into 1 liter of warm milk and dissolve it in it. The liquid is combined with 10 liters of water, stirred and 30 drops of iodine are dripped into it. The frequency of spraying cucumbers with milk with iodine is every 10 days, that is, the treatment can be carried out even after the cucumbers are planted in the ground.
You can feed and at the same time protect the plants by treating cucumbers with iodine serum. The recipe is as follows: mix 10 liters of water at room temperature and 1 liter of whey at the same temperature, add to them 10 drops of iodine solution, 1 tbsp. l. hydrogen peroxide. The frequency of such fertilizing of cucumbers with iodine is every 10 days.
We recommend reading
What and how to feed cucumbers in open ground
How to properly feed cucumbers with yeast
How to properly feed cucumbers with ash, recipes
What and how to feed cucumbers in a greenhouse
Tips from Mister Summer Resident
Feeding cucumbers with ash is very useful for normal growth and development of plantings. It promotes the formation of ovaries and a good harvest. But in order for the effectiveness of its use to be maximum, it is necessary to follow several useful tips from experienced gardeners.
- After dry ash is added to the soil, it must be watered moderately right away so that the nutrients reach the roots.
- Use the ash to prepare a solution in which you can soak the seeds before planting to increase their viability. To do this, 20 g of ash is dissolved in a glass of water, the resulting concentrate is infused for at least 24 hours, after which the seeds are placed in it for 4-5 hours.
- It is better to feed cucumbers with ash more often, but less. Plantings absorb nutrients gradually and little by little, so one dose of fertilizer can be spread over 1-2 days.
- During the period of fruit formation, it is advisable to reduce the amount of fertilizer applied to the soil so that excess elements that can distort the taste do not end up in future cucumbers.
Recipes for protecting cucumbers from diseases and pests
Treatment of cucumbers with iodine is carried out not only for fertilizing, but also to prevent infection by infections, including various rots, downy and powdery mildew. To disinfect cucumber seeds before sowing, prepare an aqueous solution of iodine in a concentration of 1 to 10. They are soaked in it, left for about 6 hours, then washed in plain water, dried and sown.
A solution of iodine and brilliant green for cucumbers is used to prevent the occurrence of many diseases characteristic of this crop. It is prepared like this: take 10 liters of water, drop 20 drops of each drug into it. Treatments are carried out every 10 days. Water the cucumbers with brilliant green and iodine on the damp soil at the root, keeping a distance of about 5 cm from the stem.
A liquid prepared from the same antiseptics, prepared in slightly different proportions, is used to protect the crop from the spread of root rot, which often appears in a greenhouse at high humidity. The working solution of the preparations is made as follows: take 3 drops of iodine and 10 drops of brilliant green to 1 bucket of water. Pour 0.5 liters of this protective solution under 1 cucumber.
Second option: for 10 liters of water take 1-2 liters of milk or whey, 50 g of urea, 20 drops of iodine solution. You can also prepare a concentrated liquid from iodine and water in a ratio of 1 to 2. It needs to be applied to the stems at a height of 10 cm from the surface of the earth. One or two such treatments should be enough to protect plants from root rot.
To combat Khrushchev (chafer beetle larva), use a solution of 20 drops of iodine tincture and 10 liters of water. 1 liter of this liquid is poured under each cucumber bush with an interval of 5 days.
Onion peel
Fertilizing with onion peel infusion enhances the growth of cucumbers and has a powerful tonic effect for plant cells. In addition, the substance is effective in preventing infection by dangerous pests.
An infusion of onion peels can be used for spraying or root application. To prepare the product, you need to pour 100 dry or fresh onion peels into 2 liters of water, let it brew for 6-8 hours, and then dilute with water in equal proportions.
It is advisable to spray in the early morning; it is best to use a spray bottle or watering can with a coarse dispersion.
Nettle infusion
One of the most popular folk methods of feeding greenhouse crops. Nettle infusion has a composition similar to humus, but the beneficial substances are in a form more accessible to plants. In addition to nourishing the soil and roots, the product improves the beneficial microflora in the garden bed.
- Take a plastic container with a volume of at least 10 liters and place half the volume of pre-chopped nettle there.
- Add warm water, place in a dark and warm place, wait for fermentation to begin.
- Before use, the infusion must be filtered and diluted with fresh water in equal proportions.
It is advisable to use only mature plants, which contain more nutrients. Nettle infusion is suitable for spraying leaves and shoots, as well as for root application. Please note that the product has an extremely unpleasant odor; it is advisable to work with a respirator.
Signs of calcium and potassium deficiency
Ash is used as a fertilizer for cucumbers if the plants show external manifestations of calcium deficiency:
There is less potassium in the composition, but it is enough for the plant to develop well. If the leaves wither but do not fall off the branches, this means it is time to apply potassium mineral fertilizers or ash fertilizers.
Potassium deficiency occurs most often:
Potassium deficiency is determined by marginal drying of the leaf blade and brown spots on the leaves.
When asked what is better: organic fertilizers or mineral ones, we can assume that organic soil additives are better. After their use, the acidity does not increase, the fertile layer is restored.
The content of soil bacteria increases after adding wood ash as a fertilizer for cucumbers. This affects aeration - the exchange of oxygen in the soil.
