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Yakov Pavlovich
Professor, Head of the Department of Vegetable Growing
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153
Cucumbers are a capricious vegetable crop that is very susceptible to temperature changes. Stably warm air temperatures in most regions of our country are established by July. To get a good, early harvest, some vegetable growers grow greens in greenhouse conditions, while others choose to plant cucumbers in open ground under film.
Seed preparation
In order for the seedlings to germinate well, it is necessary to carry out several simple manipulations with the seed material.
We separate the full-fledged seed from the “dummies”. To do this, place the cucumber seeds in a salty solution (2 tablespoons of salt per 1 liter of water) for 5 minutes. During this time, good seeds will end up at the bottom, and bad ones will float to the surface.
We disinfect the seed by placing it for 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. After treatment, rinse with warm water.
We strengthen the seeds by immersing them in a biostimulating solution of Elin or Sodium Humate for 10-15 minutes. You can also make your own infusion of wood ash (20 g per 1 liter of water, leave for 1 day), aloe juice diluted in water 1:2.
To make plants react less to sudden temperature changes typical of our climate, we harden the seeds. We keep them at a temperature of 20°C for about 6 hours, then at a temperature of 0-2°C for 18 hours. In this case, the seeds must be moist.
We germinate the seeds for 48 hours and sow.
Some people plant seeds directly in the ground, while others make seedlings. When choosing a planting method, you need to take into account that when planting cucumbers as seedlings, they begin to bear their first fruits 30 days earlier than cucumbers sown directly in open ground.
Care
Are you thinking about buying protection for your garden, but don’t know how to cover your cucumbers with covering material? Below are a few care features. So, planting is no different from simply growing cucumbers - a hole in moistened soil where the seeds are sent and the whole thing is sprinkled.
Despite the use of covering fabric, it is still necessary to monitor the qualitative development of the crop. If you plant seedlings in mid-spring, you should not water them often - two applications in seven days are enough.
Within a month, when the temperature remains at around 20 degrees Celsius, the plants can begin to be fertilized. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of sodium humate in a bucket of water and stir well.
Do not forget about the supports on which the cucumber crop will grow and develop. With the help of protective material, you can protect your seedlings from the negative effects of climate. And with the right choice of material, the plants will thank you with the best harvest.
Composition of soil for seedlings
There are several options for preparing soil for planting sprouted gherkin seeds.
- Sod soil, fresh sawdust and humus in a ratio of 1:1:2, urea 25g, wood ash 1 cup;
- Turf, humus, compost, ash;
- Peat, sawdust in a ratio of 8:2;
- Soil from the garden, peat, compost, sawdust in equal parts;
- Soil from the garden and humus (1:1).
Tips and recommendations from experienced gardeners
Recommendations for gardeners growing cucumbers in this way:
- Since there is little space in a greenhouse structure and it is not possible to place cucumber vines vertically, they should be carefully laid out on the soil, inspecting each time so that new shoots do not intertwine. To do this, you should remove the mustache.
- Trellis can be replaced with stretched ropes, to which the central stem is tied, and then the side ones.
- If planting is carried out in April, then cucumbers are planted with seeds. When the timing is delayed before the onset of warm weather, the best method of planting under film is from seedlings. To reduce damage to the root system, peat pots are used, which are buried along with the seedling.
Everyone in this matter has their own experience and skills. Gardeners share opinions and solve problems that arise during the growing process. In this way, new methods are being invented, the shortcomings of varieties are taken into account when developing new ones, and new film material technologies are being developed and existing ones are being improved, with the help of which one can harvest for a long time, right up to frost.
Planting seeds
Cucumbers do not tolerate transplantation well. In order not to injure the plant during frequent replantings, it is better to plant the seeds in separate cups.
Pour the prepared soil mixture into the seedling container. We moisten with warm water and make shallow holes (1.5 - 2 cm). We plant the seeds, cover them with soil and water them again.
To make the seeds germinate faster, cover the cups with film. When the first sprouts appear, remove the film. We place the cups with seedlings on the windowsill, where there is more light. Water the cucumbers with warm water. After watering, the soil needs to be loosened so that the root system can develop better.
When to plant cucumbers to get a good harvest
Among other vegetable crops, this green vegetable is far from uncommon. It is grown and eaten in many countries around the world. It does not leave the shelves of shops and markets all year round.
When to plant cucumbers in open ground
Since this vegetable crop is quite heat-loving, the time for its cultivation in open ground is in the summer. Planting cucumbers in the middle zone can begin in late spring, when the soil has warmed up well. Usually this is the second half of May.
Preparatory work before planting
Cucumbers are a vegetable crop that requires light, moisture and soil fertility. To successfully grow them, the area intended for planting is prepared in the fall. It is dug up and fertilized. To prevent diseases in future vegetable plantings, the soil is treated with copper sulfate and superphosphate and ash are added. In the spring, having harrowed such an area, you can safely sow the prepared seeds.
Which cucumber seeds are suitable for sowing?
You should not sow fresh seeds that were collected last year. The best cucumber seeds are those collected several years ago. Such seed will certainly produce excellent, strong seedlings that will delight you with a bountiful harvest.
How to prepare seeds for sowing
The selected seeds can simply be sown in the ground without pre-treatment. But in order to get friendly shoots, it is better to prepare them. Warming the seeds and soaking them is suitable for this purpose. Before processing, the seeds are sorted out, small and damaged ones are thrown away - they are unsuitable for sowing. Heat the seeds in water at a temperature of forty degrees for two hours. Then they are soaked for several days. During this time they hatch. Small sprouts appear. In this form, the seeds are sown in moist soil.
When to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse
In a stationary heated greenhouse, this heat-loving plant is grown all year round. When growing, you will need good lighting and watering. After the plants emerge, the soil is constantly loosened and the necessary fertilizing is applied. Overgrown lashes are tied vertically upward. Caring for plants consists of constant watering, fertilizing and treating against pests and diseases.
Growing cucumber seedlings
In order to speed up the harvest, you can grow seedlings in advance. It is grown in heated greenhouses or at home. Sow two seeds in small pots. Plants easily tolerate transplantation and take root well.
How to plant seedlings
Plants are planted under film covers at the end of April. Spring greenhouses are also excellent for this purpose. Seedlings grown in pots are planted in moist soil without damaging the root system. Properly planted plants do not get sick and quickly take root. When to plant cucumbers under film covers, weather conditions will tell you. If at the end of April the temperature is above zero, but there is still a threat of frost on the soil, you should wait to plant seedlings. But you should not delay planting, since overgrown plants do not take root well. Experienced vegetable growers can always determine exactly when to plant cucumbers.
How to choose the right plant varieties
When choosing varieties of cucumbers, you should carefully study the description attached to the seeds. In heated greenhouses, only self-pollinating varieties can be grown, and for open ground conditions it is better to choose bee-pollinated varieties
You should also pay attention to the purpose of the selected vegetable crop. Thus, there are salad and pickling varieties of cucumbers.
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Preparing the beds
In order for cucumbers under the film to produce a large harvest, you need to choose the right site and prepare the ground. The most suitable soil for pumpkin crops is loam and sandy loam soil.
The most unfavorable conditions for cucumbers are acidic soil and dark areas. The area where pumpkin crops were previously grown is also not suitable. But a bed where cabbage or potatoes grew would be ideal.
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We dig up the bed, remove the top layer of soil 20 cm deep. We put straw, shavings, and manure there. We fill the top with earth. If there is not enough manure, then we simply dig it up. Manure is useful not only as necessary organic fertilizers, it also warms the soil well and improves its structure.
Features of growing under spunbond film
You can also try another method by creating warm beds for cucumbers yourself.
To do this, prepare the future site for planting seeds or seedlings in advance. Dig up the area, the bottom layer is manure, which is biofuel for the bushes. Its layer should be about a quarter of a meter. Sprinkle the organic ball with soil on top 15–20 centimeters. Usually the greenhouse is prepared in advance, in the first ten days of May.
Instead of manure, you can also use dry grass or rotted compost. A layer of soil is removed, about 15–20 centimeters, and an organic layer is placed on top - thin twigs, hay, grass, leaves, sawdust. This layer is thoroughly compacted to create even greater heat release from the organic layer.
It is recommended to add at least a small amount of manure along with the grass. In combination with other components, manure will actively generate heat. And the grass and other components will retain this heat in the garden bed. This way the cucumber bush will grow and develop fully, without suffering from various types of rot and other diseases that often develop under the influence of cold and increased dampness.
Then pour over heated water, in which a small amount of potassium permanganate was previously mixed. The last layer is the soil that was previously removed from the beds. If the soil is of high quality and fertile, you don’t need to add anything else.
If the soil is poor in useful substances, you can additionally add mullein or compost. Next, cover the beds with film. After a week, you can start sowing the seeds. After planting the seeds, cover with film. If the weather is warm, open the greenhouse every morning and cover it again in the evening. Such procedures should be carried out until the second ten days of June, after which the covering material can be removed.
Landing in the ground
When the seedlings have 3-4 leaves, cucumbers can be planted under film. Approximately 2 hours before planting, water the seedlings. It is better to plant in the evening or on a cloudy day, otherwise the seedlings may burn or wither.
The optimal distance between plants is 40 cm, between rows 0.5 - 0.6 m. This is necessary so that the plants do not darken each other. We plant seedlings no lower than the cotyledon leaves. When planting, you need to be very careful not to damage the root system.
How to grow cucumbers under film
Planting under film is carried out after real and well-developed leaves appear on the plant. Most often, seedlings are transplanted under film cover a month after the first shoots appear in pots.
Choosing a place to hide
Growing cucumbers on film should only be done in an area that is ideal for this. Cucumbers under film should grow in a place with sufficient sunlight, since this vegetable needs good lighting. Therefore, you should make sure that the plant is not shaded by anything throughout the day.
It is also recommended to plant seedlings in an area with the most suitable soil. You should avoid placing covering material for cucumbers in areas with heavy soil. Such soil often has high acidity, which significantly reduces the yield of cucumbers. It is necessary to grow cucumbers under film in sandy and loamy loose soils. In such areas you can get the highest quality harvest.
Installation of film cover
To grow cucumbers without a greenhouse or a greenhouse under a film, you need to install a shelter on the site in advance. For this you will need the following materials:
- leg-split;
- stakes;
- wire with rods;
- film;
- sackcloth.
Having prepared all the materials, you should start creating beds for growing cucumbers. First you need to decide on the size of the beds for cucumbers. It is recommended to make them not too large. It is enough to make 2-3 beds with a length of about three meters and a width of one meter.
After creating the beds, planting cucumber seedlings in the ground begins
Cucumbers in open ground are planted very carefully so as not to accidentally damage the seedlings. Seedlings should be planted at a distance of 70-80 cm from each other so that the leaves of the plants are not shaded by neighboring bushes
When the cucumbers are planted, you should start making arches and covering the plants with film. Arcs are made of durable wire or rods. The distance between them can be made equal to 60-70 cm. After installing the arcs on the beds, they can be covered with film material. In this case, first cover only part of the structure. This greatly simplifies the installation process of covering material. Then cover the rest of the structure.
To make the structure with film and covered arcs more reliable, it is recommended to drive special pegs along the edges and tighten the cover with twine. If you plant cucumbers under such shelter and grow them in it, then you don’t have to worry about low temperatures on the streets and heavy rainfall, which can damage the leaves.
Rules of care
Some vegetable growers do not know what to do to get a good harvest of cucumbers in film. The productivity of this vegetable can be improved by properly caring for the planted seedlings.
Watering
Even when growing cucumbers under a film in the sun, the soil will still dry out quickly. To prevent the soil from becoming too dry, it must be watered periodically. During watering, you can open the film cover to make it easier to get to the bushes.
It is recommended to water cucumbers at the root so that the liquid does not fall on the leaves. It is especially dangerous to get moisture on the leaves on hot summer days, as this can lead to burns. Burnt leaves cannot be restored and therefore can be immediately removed from the bushes. If you notice that all the bushes are burning or one of the leaves is burning after watering, then immediately protect it from the sun and quickly cover the cucumbers with film before other plants burn.
You should not water too often to prevent the roots from starting to rot. It is enough to water the cucumbers under the film twice a week.
Top dressing
It is necessary to feed cucumbers in order to achieve a good yield. Before applying fertilizers, you need to find out which fertilizer is best to use. To improve the yield of grown seedlings, it is recommended to add 20 grams of potassium sulfate, 100 grams of superphosphate and 50 grams of urea to the soil. At the same time, remove the film from the structure to make it easier to apply fertilizer.
Watering
Gherkins love moisture and warmth. Therefore, you need to water them more often so that the soil does not dry out and only with warm water. But you shouldn’t overwater the vegetable either - the plant’s roots may begin to rot.
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You can water only at the root of the cucumber, being careful not to water the leaves, so as not to cause burns on the leaves. Burnt parts of the plant are not restored.
What kind of care do cucumbers like?
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So, we have decided that everyone loves cucumbers. But what do cucumbers themselves love? This is a strategically important issue for us. Cucumbers grow well in open ground in hot summers. But our task is to grow cucumbers under film. It will even simplify the process. Considering that summer in Russia is not always warm, it is advisable to stock up on film from the very beginning of planting. Growing cucumbers requires certain skills.
So, cucumber loves:
- Warm watering and, in general, a combination of heat and moisture.
- Phosphate fertilizers.
- Organic fertilizers.
- Nitrogen fertilizers (at the beginning of growth and flowering).
Fertilizer
Seedlings respond well to fertilization:
- organic matter (mullein, urea),
- mineral water (superphosphate, potassium phosphate, ROST 1, ROST 2).
Mullein is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. Consumption per plant is 1 liter. Urea is diluted during the first feeding in 10 liters of water with 50 g, and during the second - 10-15 g. Potassium sulfate and superphosphate are added to the soil at 20 and 100 g, respectively. Preparations ROST 1 and ROST 2 add 1 tablet each to a 10 liter bucket of water.
You can feed no more than once a month.
Harvesting and processing
Cucumber fruits are edible at any stage of growth. You can pick small ones 3–4 cm long for pickles and grown ones for pickling, salads, and canning. The more often you harvest, the more the bush will produce new cucumbers, especially for indeterminate hybrids with unlimited growth. On varieties you can leave one cucumber-seed; on hybrids, the seeds rarely ripen, they are usually underdeveloped and not germinating.
Do not keep cucumbers on the bushes until they are so ripe; they are only suitable for seeds.
When you visit your dacha once a week, you can’t even dream about the yield stated on the seed packet. The bush will pour and ripen existing fruits, but will be extremely reluctant to set young ones. Therefore, even if now you do not need as many cucumbers as you have grown, it is better to collect and compost the extra ones. Then you will constantly have new greenery growing in your garden bed.
Cucumber is very responsive to care. Every day he thanks for your care: first with active growth, and then with fragrant greens. Agricultural practices for growing are the most common, but they need to be performed almost every day.
Agricultural technology
To get a good harvest, observe the temperature conditions of the soil and air and their humidity. On a sunny day, the temperature in the greenhouse should be from 25 to 30°C, on cloudy days 20 to 22°C. At night the temperature should not fall below 15°C. On hot days, be sure to ventilate the greenhouses without creating drafts.
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It is recommended to collect cucumbers at least once every 2 days, otherwise the yield will drop.
Description of growing cucumbers at home: when to plant?
For planting seedlings, the fundamentally important factors are:
- Soil temperature - must be at least 12*C (measurements are taken with a regular thermometer at a depth of 10 cm);
- The average daily air temperature should not fall below 15*C;
- No threat of return frosts;
- Rehabilitation - the length of the sun should be more than 12 hours (preferably 14-16 hours);
- Seedling maturity.
- Deadlines
In the video we plant cucumbers in open ground:
In the middle zone, the most acceptable time for planting seedlings in open ground is the last days of May - the first days of June. In the southern regions, where summer weather stabilizes earlier, planting can be done from the very beginning of May. In the north, planting in open ground is in most cases impossible due to the inconsistency of environmental conditions with the required conditions.
However, it should be remembered that there are no strictly defined disembarkation dates. Each time, landing must be planned individually, taking into account the entire range of influencing factors.
IMPORTANT: In addition to geographic location and climatic trends, when calculating the landing day, you should also rely on data from the Lunar calendar. In 2022, seedlings will show the best growth rates when planted between May 21 and 23 and May 26 and 28, as well as June 5 and 6.
Combined use of covering materials
In Siberia, both materials are used. I use spunbond for everyday use, and the film is retro-exclusive. You can’t do without it during severe frosts: I stretch spunbond over the arcs, and also roll it up in 2-3 layers, and put a film on top. I press the edges with bricks and dig in well with earth. The result is a sealed thermos, in which even eggplant seedlings that have gained color can safely withstand frosts down to -5 °C. We often have prolonged rains, so I make the following shelters over eggplants and peppers planted in the ground: a canopy roof made of film, and the ends made of spunbond. In any weather it turns out dry, warm and fresh. I can also put a film on the northern side of the greenhouse to prevent the cold from blowing.
One of the options for combining materials: the southern end of the film heats up in the sun, the northern one protects from the wind, on top there is spunbond (easily removed and ventilated)
Suitable varieties
High yields depend on the correct choice of material for sowing. Only proven varieties should be grown under film. For sowing under film, it is recommended to use hybrid varieties of cucumbers. Hybrids withstand low temperatures well and are resistant to sudden temperature fluctuations.
The most suitable varieties are:
- Rodnichok is a hybrid with an average ripening period. Productivity is from 7 to 25 kg per 1 m2 of plot. The variety is resistant to various diseases;
- Emerald is a high-yielding variety characterized by good resistance to fungal diseases. Up to 4 kg of products are obtained from one bush;
- Zhuravlenok is an early ripening variety, unpretentious in care. Productivity from 1 m2 of planting is up to 10 kg. Is immune to peronospora, powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic;
- Competitor - characterized by high seedling survival rate and good seed germination. The first harvest is obtained after 1.5 months, the productivity of the variety is up to 4 kg per bush. Moisture-resistant, resistant to powdery mildew;
- Krinitsa is an early moisture-resistant variety that is resistant to fungal diseases. The plant is unpretentious in care.
Preference should be given to early ripening varieties that are resistant to adverse external factors. Both bee-pollinated and parthenocarpic varieties can be covered under film. In the inflorescences of the latter, female flowers predominate, so the fruits are formed by self-pollination, without the participation of pollinating insects.
