Feeding cucumbers with yeast - what to water and how to feed them in a greenhouse and open ground

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Yakov Pavlovich

Professor, Head of the Department of Vegetable Growing

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The goal of every gardener is to grow a rich harvest of vegetables, including cucumbers. For proper development, the crop requires fertile soil and good care. For this purpose, various chemicals, growth stimulants and mineral fertilizers are used. Vegetables grown in this way cannot be called healthy. However, there is a healthier alternative: yeast. These microorganisms act on plants as a natural growth stimulator. Cucumbers are fed with yeast in open and closed ground, the plants do not get sick, develop well and bear fruit abundantly.

Composition and effect of yeast on cucumbers

Yeasts are single-celled protozoan fungi, which in their composition are not much inferior to complex mineral fertilizers. They contain:

zinc;
phosphorus;
organic iron;
nitrogen;
magnesium;
potassium;
amino acids;
carbohydrates;
proteins.

Amino acids

Baker's yeast protein contains 17 amino acids: leucine, threonine, arginine, cysteine and others. These substances help plants tolerate unfavorable conditions, increase pollen fertility and ovary formation, and promote better absorption of other nutrients.

Vitamins

Yeast also contains a number of vitamins that are easily accessible to plants. This increases the drought resistance of the bushes, improves flowering, and reduces the level of nitrates in fruits.

Squirrels

About 16% of the total protein contained in yeast is nitrogen. When released, it accelerates the growth of the aerial part, the lashes lengthen, and the ovary forms faster.

Minerals and trace elements

Among other things, yeast contains many trace elements and minerals: potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, zinc, boron and others. The plant needs all these substances for full development and fruiting. Yeast contains the balance of microelements most suitable for vegetable crops, so such fertilizing is very effective.

Mechanism of action

Yeast, being a living structure (mushrooms), entering the soil, begins to actively process its organic components. At the same time, microorganisms secrete various enzymes, vitamins, microelements and amino acids, thereby intensively saturating the soil with nitrogen and phosphorus. Feeding plants with these substances stimulates rapid growth of greenery and, most importantly, the root system. Enhanced root formation at the initial stage of the growing season ensures the production of strong, viable seedlings, including when grown by seedlings.

Thanks to developed roots, cucumber vines grow powerful and healthy.

Flowering and fruiting begin earlier and last longer, which helps increase productivity. The quality of the greens themselves also improves significantly, and there are fewer ugly (pear-shaped) specimens.

Recommendations for choosing the timing of feeding

Already at the seedling stage, plants can begin to be topped up with yeast mixture. This will enhance root formation and accelerate the growth of bushes.

The first time the treatment can be carried out by planting seedlings in pots with a new soil mixture.
It is advisable to fertilize young plants a second time after planting in the ground, after 7–10 days, so that they grow faster.
The third time yeast is added before flowering to increase the number of ovaries.

Important! It is necessary to observe the temperature regime, because yeast does not work at temperatures below +15...+20 degrees.

Each fertilizing lasts for 1.5–2 months, so using yeast more than 3–4 times per season is impractical and even harmful to plants.

Why do cucumbers need yeast feeding?

Cucumbers enjoy the well-deserved attention of summer residents for their unpretentiousness. If you observe the temperature regime and water correctly, an excellent result will not take long to arrive. The composition of the soil is also of great importance. Necessary minerals and trace elements contribute to good fruiting.

Yeast in the soil releases beneficial substances such as biotin and mesoinositol. They actively influence the roots, stimulating their growth. Fungi produce enzymes, which in turn cause increased activity of phytohormones that affect cell regeneration.

Compost with ash

Mullein infusion

From a nematode

Advice. The correct solution would be to feed organically before fertilizing yeast. In the fall, mullein or chicken manure will do, and compost two weeks before.

What does fertilizing cucumbers with yeast give:

Plants become less dependent on the degree of light and temperature in the greenhouse.
Seedlings take root better after planting in a permanent place.
The root system becomes stronger.
The stems become thicker and more resilient, the number of leaves increases, and the number of barren flowers decreases.
Plants bear their first fruits about two weeks earlier.
Reduced susceptibility to various diseases.
The fruits become more juicy and tasty.
Fruiting time becomes longer.

Signs that fertilizer needs to be applied

If the following signs are noticed, then it’s time to fertilize the cucumbers with yeast infusion:

the seedlings stretch out, the stems are thin and pale in color;
young plants do not take root well (get sick);
the leaf apparatus and canes grow slowly;
little ovary;
the greens spin and turn yellow;
depleted soil on the site;
bad weather conditions.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

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Just 3 days after the procedure, positive dynamics will be noticeable: the plants will begin to grow and take on a healthy appearance.

Reviews from gardeners about yeast supplements

The topic of feeding cucumbers with yeast is of interest to many gardeners; here are some of their statements about the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

“On the recommendation of a friend, I tried feeding cucumbers with yeast. The result, as they say, is obvious. The leaves perked up and began to grow rapidly, I think the harvest will be very good.”

“I fed the planted seedlings with yeast, and all the seedlings began to grow well. However, after a short-term cooling, growth slowed down. Probably the fermentation has stopped. When it gets warmer, you’ll need to add fresh yeast.”

“I filled everything that was on the plot with yeast (strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers). The result is wonderful, the harvest was a success. However, they say that this can ruin the entire fertility of the soil. It is recommended to add more organic matter and potassium fertilizers for the next season.”

Effective and popular yeast recipes

Due to its effectiveness and ease of preparation, yeast fertilizers have become very popular among gardeners. Therefore, there are quite a lot of recipes for making yeast mash.

With water and sugar

A hundred-gram pack of fresh yeast is turned into a paste by adding a little water. Add 0.5 tbsp to the yeast. granulated sugar and 2.5 liters of warm water. Mix everything thoroughly and leave it warm for fermentation. A glass of the finished infusion should be diluted in 10 liters of water. After thoroughly stirring, add 1 liter to each bush. To fertilize seedlings, ¼ cup per seedling is enough.

With dairy products

To prepare the supplement, fresh milk and whey are heated to 40 degrees. 100 g of compressed yeast are dissolved in the liquid. The dough is left for 2–3 hours in a warm place. Then add warm water to bring the total volume of liquid to 10 liters. 1 liter of the prepared solution is poured under each plant. This product can be used for foliar feeding by spraying the leaves.

Dry yeast infusion

In a 3-liter jar, dissolve 10–12 g of dry granulated yeast and add 0.5 tbsp. Sahara. After stirring, leave to ferment in a warm, dark place for a week. Then add 200 ml of mash to 10 liters of warm water and apply 1000 ml under the bushes. Yeast feeding can be combined with organic matter by adding nettle infusion or “green fertilizer” to the yeast solution.

With ash

This is a very effective combination product made from natural ingredients that promotes a good harvest. It is prepared in two stages. First, 250 g of sifted wood ash is poured into 3 liters of boiling water, stirred, and left for 10 hours. The infusion is filtered through several layers of gauze or a fine sieve and 8 liters of clean water are added. A pack of yeast (100 g) is dissolved in 1 liter of warm water until signs of fermentation appear. The dough is carefully introduced into the ash solution and mixed. For greater effect, add a little crushed eggshell.

This feeding will be effective both in open and closed ground. 1 liter of the composition is poured into each hole; before doing this, the beds should be well watered with plain water.

With herbal infusion

To make yeast dressing with herbal infusion, green grass (sow thistle, nettle, dandelion, clover, chamomile, etc.) is finely chopped. A kilogram of green mass is supplemented with 100 g of fresh yeast and filled with all 10 liters of water. The composition is left for 1 week in a warm place, stirring occasionally. After a week, the composition is filtered and diluted with clean water at the rate of 1:5. For 1 sq. m of cucumber plantings will need 3–5 liters of fertilizer.

From bread

A bucket (10 l) is filled 2/3 with pieces of black bread or rye crackers. Fill with warm water to the top, press the bread under pressure. Leave the bucket of bread for a week in a warm place so that the contents are completely fermented. The resulting mash is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and 0.5 liters are added to each bush.

Sugar-free solution

To fertilize, dissolve 1 kg of wet yeast in 1 liter of warm water. Leave for 24 hours in a warm place. The finished product is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:10. Each bush is fed with 0.5 liters or sprayed on the leaf.

Fermented solution

Fermented yeast fertilizer is better suited for mature plants. 100 g of pressed yeast and 10 tbsp are dissolved in a three-liter jar. l. Sahara. Mix everything and leave to ferment for 1 week. Before use, adjust to a volume of 10 liters. Add 0.5 liters of product to one plant.

Attention! The dough increases greatly in volume, so take a spacious container for preparing the infusion.

Useful tips

Before you start using yeast fertilizers on your site, it won’t hurt to familiarize yourself with the recommendations of experienced gardeners:

each time it is necessary to prepare a fresh yeast solution; it cannot be left for the next time, as it quickly loses its beneficial properties;
this fertilizer should be used together with wood ash or eggshells, as it depletes calcium and sodium reserves in the soil;
you need to choose yeast with an earlier production date;
During the fertilization process, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is sufficiently warmed up, since this significantly affects the result of the yeast action.

The versatility of yeast fertilizer lies in the fact that it can be used or combined with any other fertilizers, without damaging the plants or losing the effectiveness of fertilizing. This fertilizer is completely organic and significantly saves gardeners money.

How to fertilize correctly

Before adding yeast, the soil must be fertilized with organic matter (bird droppings, manure or compost). To prevent organic fertilizers from suppressing yeast fungi, a gap of 2–3 weeks is maintained between fertilizing.

In addition, it is recommended to add wood ash along with yeast, which will enrich the soil with potassium and calcium. These substances serve as food for yeast, so they multiply and work more actively.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

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As with any other fertilizing, before adding the yeast infusion, the beds must be watered generously with plain water.

In the open ground

During the entire growing season, ground cucumbers are fertilized 2–3 times.

After the seeds germinate, when the plant grows 2 true leaves.
To stimulate the formation of the ovary, the plants are watered a second time with yeast at the beginning of flowering.
After the first wave of fruiting to restore the strength of the plant and its further development.

Important! It is necessary to strictly observe the norms for applying yeast, since an excess of fertilizers can cause rapid growth of the vegetative mass, and there will be very little fruit.

To provide plants with a full range of fertilizers, it is necessary to alternate folk remedies with mineral fertilizers.

In the greenhouse

All processes in a greenhouse made of polycarbonate or other materials occur much more intensely, so plants require more nutrients. Yeast will only work in the soil if the following recommendations are followed.

Before adding yeast, it is necessary to apply sufficient nitrogen fertilizers in the form of mineral or organic fertilizers.
When preparing the infusion, sugar may not be added to the yeast composition.
In closed ground, you can carry out only 2-3 fertilizing with a nutritious yeast composition.
First, it is necessary to support young seedlings 7 days after planting. This will help strengthen the immune system, speed up survival and stimulate the growth of the root system.
It is recommended to water the plants again after harvesting the fruits. This will help to get a second harvest in closed ground conditions.

Expert opinion

Stanislav Pavlovich

Gardener with 17 years of experience and our expert

Ask a Question

Interesting! For the best effect, you can alternate yeast fertilizers with bread, barley or grass.

The humid and warm microclimate in the greenhouse promotes the proliferation of various diseases. Yeast effectively fights it, so it is recommended to water the soil in the beds with a yeast solution before planting the plants. This will improve the health and enrich the soil with useful microelements.

Advantages and disadvantages of the method

Yeast feeding has not only advantages, but also disadvantages. Let's take a closer look at them.

Advantages:

The soil is actively enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus.
Organic substances begin to be processed and absorbed by plants faster.
An undoubted advantage is the ease of making the fertilizer.
This fertilizer is inexpensive.
Yeast is environmentally friendly.
A large increase in yield is noticeable.
The smell of yeast attracts insects, which helps pollinate flowers.

Flaws:

The use of yeast leads to a decrease in the amount of potassium and calcium in the soil.
The soil is oxidizing, so it may be necessary to add wood ash.
This method can be applied a maximum of three times during one season.
Yeast is only active in warm weather.
The finished fertilizer is stored for no more than 12 hours.
Yeast for preparing the solution must be fresh.

Preparation of yeast-based foliar fertilizers for cucumbers

Foliar yeast fertilizing is less popular among gardeners. I turn to this fertilizer in two situations:

There is no possibility of root watering.
After moving to the greenhouse, the seedlings are very lethargic and painful.

For foliar feeding, you can use the same dry and live yeast recipes that I have already presented. There is only one difference - reduce the required volume of yeast to ½. For spraying, a less concentrated composition is always used.

Foliar application of folk fertilizer also has its advantages:

Can be used for the youngest plantings - from the moment of picking.
Quick application of nutrient mass - just pour it into the sprayer tank and irrigate the leaf.
Nutrients go directly into the capillaries of the plant.
Young plantings absorb useful elements faster and better in this way.

I always carry out foliar feeding in cloudy weather or in the evening, after sunset. The processing is thorough - I irrigate each leaf on both sides, and do not forget to moisten the stem.

Yeast fertilizer is one of the most useful for cucumbers. Allows you to increase the number of ovaries and the weight of greens. Helps reduce the number of barren flowers to a minimum. With constant use, hollow cucumbers practically do not form on the bush. This is a completely organic, environmentally friendly, proven and inexpensive fertilizer that every gardener can prepare.

Beginner mistakes

Cucumbers are responsive to yeast feeding, this is a proven fact. But the desire of gardeners to get a harvest as soon as possible often leads to mistakes that have a detrimental effect on the harvest.

You cannot apply yeast supplements more than once a month. Having received yeast nutrition, the plant actively begins to grow foliage, and the production of cucumbers stops. Therefore, the interval between feedings should be at least 30 days.
The use of yeast fertilizers works more effectively in greenhouses, because a constant microclimate is maintained there. In open ground, cucumbers are watered with yeast fertilizer starting from June-July, when night temperatures are stable.
Spraying with yeast supplements is only effective when one of the ingredients is milk. A solution containing sugar forms a film on the leaves of cucumbers, which interferes with the flow of oxygen.
Yeast fertilizers should not be applied in hot weather. When the soil gets very hot, the liquid evaporates quickly. In such an environment, yeast fungi can die.
Fertilizers work much more effectively when they are applied to moist soil. When applying the solution to dry soil, the beneficial substances do not reach the roots, which means the plant receives insufficient benefit from feeding.
To breed yeast, you cannot use boiling water, only warm water. Boiling water kills yeast fungi.

We should not forget that yeast is a growth stimulant. They contain large amounts of nitrogen, but minimal amounts of other minerals necessary for the development of cucumber bushes. To achieve better results, experienced vegetable growers alternate yeast fertilizers with mineral or organic fertilizers.

Features of application

As a rule, the first fertilizing is carried out during transplantation of seedlings into the ground, and when sowing seeds, after the appearance of 2 true leaves, in order to speed up the establishment of plants and push them to intensive growth. Subsequent ones (one or two) are applied at intervals of a month.

Experienced gardeners advise following a number of rules:

Pay attention to the suitability of ingredients and do not use expired ones.
Apply freshly prepared yeast fertilizer to well- moistened soil .
Efficiency is higher if the garden beds were well filled with organic matter (manure, compost, peat, bird droppings) in advance.
To prevent the loss of potassium and calcium from the soil, which inevitably happens during yeast fermentation, before applying them it is necessary to enrich the soil with appropriate mineral fertilizer, for example, ash .
It makes sense to feed cucumbers with yeast in open ground when the air temperature is above +15 ℃ , since the action of fungi (fermentation) occurs only in a warm environment - at a lower temperature the procedure will be useless.
It is also inappropriate to use the nutrient solution in heat above +30 ℃, which is typical for the microclimate in protected ground structures. In this case, the greenhouse or hotbed must be ventilated, and the event must be moved to the morning or evening, when the air has cooled.
An excess of yeast can be harmful to vegetable crops, so in practice it is recommended to feed them no more than three times per season , additionally applying complex fertilizers.

Wood, straw, peat ash helps avoid potassium and calcium deficiency

A mixture of green fertilizer (herbal infusion), yeast and ash is considered useful at all stages of growth of cucumber bushes . These components combine perfectly without overlapping each other’s properties, can be prepared at home without cost and, importantly, are environmentally friendly.

To prepare green fertilizer, use almost any weed (nettle, dandelion, plantain are welcome) with roots and soil. The collected greens are chopped, placed in a bucket, filling it 2/3 of the volume, and filled with water. A bunch of hay (bacillus hay is an analogue of phytosporin), 100 g of sugar and a little whey or citric acid are also added there. The mixture is infused for 5-7 days, by the time it is ready it acquires a sharp, foul odor. At the same time, it is not recommended to use iron containers, and also to mix the slurry so that nitrogen does not evaporate.

Yeast dressing is prepared according to the recipe given above, immediately before application, and 150-200 g of ash is added to it.

The prepared solutions are mixed and diluted with water in certain proportions:

for root feeding, take 1 liter of green concentrate and yeast fertilizer per 8 liters of water;
for foliar feeding (by leaf) - 0.5 liters of each per 9 liters of water.

The finished liquid mixture for spraying must be filtered before pouring into a container with a sprayer.

The base solution can also be used as an independent fertilizer or mixed with other mineral additives, depending on the tasks.

If you follow the rules, observe the timing and dosage, vegetables will gratefully respond to additional nutrition and grow strong, healthy and tasty.

Yeast feeding scheme and dosage

The first fertilizer is produced with the first leaves. The second is after transplantation to a new place. The third time occurs during the period of active flowering.

To prevent negative consequences, the following tips should be followed:

an adult bush consumes a liter of solution;
if the seedlings have been transplanted, then about 400 ml of solution is spent on spraying them;
yeast as a fertilizer for cucumbers is suitable only 3 times a season;
spray no more than 2 times in dry, windless and warm weather.

To properly water cucumbers, you need to know the following:

yeast should be diluted with water no higher than 40 degrees;
fertilizer is applied at the root;
Cucumbers should be watered with a solution in the amount of 10 liters per bush;
In order for fruits to grow faster, temperature conditions must be observed.

Note!

The soil must be warmed up and the crop should not be exposed to direct sunlight.

Timing of fertilizing in the greenhouse

Yeast nutrition is one of the most natural and safest. But even here it is important not to oversaturate the plants with fertilizer. I follow this approximate schedule:

Seedling. One fertilizer 1-2 weeks before moving to the garden.
Mature plants. No more than 3 fertilizers per season.

I don’t adhere to strict deadlines for fertilizing, but I follow the rules:

The first feeding of adult plants is after adding a nitrogen-containing composition. About a week after transplanting into the greenhouse.
The second feeding is after adding phosphorus composition.

At the stage of fruit ripening, plants no longer need yeast preparations.

When to use yeast for cucumbers

For the first time, fertilizer made from yeast can be used for feeding when growing cucumber seedlings. This will accelerate the growth of seedlings and also increase their resistance to various agrotechnical procedures, for example, picking.

The next feeding can be done immediately after planting in a greenhouse or open ground. At this stage, fertilizer helps the seedlings to quickly take root in a new place and more easily withstand the stress of transplantation.

Next, count down 30 days and water the bushes with the yeast solution again. By this time, the cucumbers will just be blooming.

The following feedings are carried out already during the period of mass formation of greens. But even then you cannot abuse the fertilizer. Watering can be done every 30 days.