Table of contents:
- 1. The variety of cucumbers is important
- 2. Choosing a place and garden for cucumbers
- 3. When to sow cucumbers?
- 4. The optimal time for planting seedlings in the ground
- 5. Do not thicken the cucumbers when planting
- 6. Cucumbers need to be shaped
- 7. Water the plants properly
- 8. Provide regular cucumber care
- 9. Fertilize your cucumbers regularly
- 10. Protection against diseases and pests
Video: 10 Important Rules For Growing Cucumbers In The Open Field. Sowing Dates, Care. Photo
2024 Author: Ava Durham | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 00:23
Cucumbers are the favorite culture of most gardeners, so they grow in our beds everywhere. But quite often inexperienced summer residents have many questions about their cultivation, and, first of all, in the open field. The fact is that cucumbers are very thermophilic, and the agricultural technology of this culture in temperate zones has its own characteristics. Everything you need to know about growing cucumbers in the open field will be covered in this article.
1. The variety of cucumbers is important
Cucumbers are thermophilic plants, demanding on growing conditions, so it is very important to choose the right variety or hybrid - recommended specifically for your growing region. Only such plants will be able to show excellent results in the open field of local conditions.
For outdoor cultivation, bee-pollinated, self-pollinated or parthenocarpic varieties or hybrid forms of cucumbers are suitable. When choosing seeds, you need to focus on those that have it written on the bag: cold-resistant, resistant to temperature extremes, diseases. Such plants develop and bear fruit better in difficult growing conditions without shelter.
Another important factor is that you need to choose medium-sized varieties of cucumbers (this information is also indicated on the package with seeds). It will be easier for such plants to install supports for growing, and if necessary, they can be covered to protect from the cold.
2. Choosing a place and garden for cucumbers
A garden bed for cucumbers is best placed in the lightest place, preferably on a hill - cucumbers do not tolerate waterlogging, stagnant water and cold soil of low-lying areas. The best place is considered to be open on the south side. The garden bed must be protected from the wind.
It is advisable to prepare the soil for cucumbers in advance - even in the fall, carefully collect and remove all plant residues, apply organic fertilizers to the site - manure or humus. Cucumbers are very demanding on the introduction of organic matter.
For cucumbers, so-called warm beds are ideal. They are rich in organic matter, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the soil temperature in them is higher than in ordinary beds. You can start growing cucumbers in warm beds much earlier, and harvest the last crop much later.
3. When to sow cucumbers?
Cucumbers can be sown both for seedlings and directly into open ground at the place of cultivation. Sowing directly into the ground is necessary when the soil warms up well and there is no threat of a sharp drop in temperature. Cucumbers are very thermophilic; in cold ground, they may simply not rise.
If the seedling method is used, then you need to sow the seeds 30-35 days before the seedling planting date. It is at this age, perhaps a little earlier, that the seedlings take root well in a new place. Overgrown seedlings will find it more difficult to adapt due to very delicate and vulnerable roots.
Normal growth and development of cucumber plants occurs at a soil temperature not lower than + 15… + 16 ° C. It is these conditions that you need to try to observe so that the planted seedlings develop well. At lower temperatures, plants, even if they do, will not grow until warmer weather sets in.
The second important factor that determines the success of growing seedlings is the creation of conditions for maximum preservation of the root system during transplantation. Cucumber plants do not tolerate it very well. Therefore, the seeds must be sown in loose soil, and transplant seedlings should be carried out as carefully as possible. Otherwise, the cucumbers will be sick for a long time, and the time for obtaining the first harvest will shift. Moreover, the yield itself may be lower than expected.
4. The optimal time for planting seedlings in the ground
A sufficiently high air temperature is considered optimal for the development and fruiting of a cucumber - approximately + 24 … + 27 ° С. Therefore, there is no need to rush to plant seedlings.
Usually, in the middle lane, seeds of cucumbers for open ground for seedlings are sown in the second half of May, seedlings are planted in open ground in mid-June. At this time, the threat of return frosts has already passed, and the temperature during the day and night is quite comfortable for these heat-loving plants.
But in recent years, as experienced gardeners notice, the weather can change very sharply in one direction or another. Therefore, in each season, you need to act on the basis of specific weather conditions.
5. Do not thicken the cucumbers when planting
Wherever you grow cucumbers - in the open field or in a greenhouse, be sure to leave enough space between the plants. Otherwise, cucumbers will shade each other, compete for moisture and nutrients, which will affect the harvest.
When determining the distance between cucumber plants, you need to take into account the size of a certain variety. It is advisable to plant cucumbers at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other and about 100-120 cm between rows.
6. Cucumbers need to be shaped
This moment of leaving is not clear to everyone, especially there are many questions about the formation of cucumbers from inexperienced summer residents. First of all, you need to remove the lower shoots that are in contact with the ground - they will not have a good harvest on them due to lack of lighting.
In the future, you can form plants into one stem, completely removing the side shoots. And you can pinch the plant after 5-6 leaves, thus stimulating the branching of the plant, and therefore increasing the yield, due to the activation of fruiting on the side shoots.
7. Water the plants properly
Cucumbers are very sensitive to irrigation disturbances. With a lack of moisture in the soil, the plants wither, discard the ovaries. At the same time, excess moisture can also cause the ovaries to fall off, as well as the occurrence of diseases.
Approximately during the period of plant growth, they are watered after 6-7 days, and after the beginning of fruiting - after 3-4 days. Each bush needs at least 2 liters of water. Of course, you need to be guided by weather conditions. In cool, cloudy weather, you need to water the cucumbers less often.
Water for irrigation must be warm, at least + 18 ° С, while the optimal temperature of irrigation water is + 23 … + 25 ° С. In no case should you water the cucumber plants with a hose with a strong pressure of water.
8. Provide regular cucumber care
Cucumber plantings must be looked after in a timely manner. First of all, they need to be weeded and loosened periodically. In dense soil, on which a soil crust is formed, plants feel very uncomfortable - they lag behind in growth, throw off the ovaries.
So that the ground around the bushes does not compact, the soil around the plants needs to be loosened, but this will have to be done very carefully. The root system of a cucumber is vulnerable, with inept care the plants can be harmed. Loosening of cucumber bushes should be carried out to a depth of no more than 2–4 cm.
When the plants have 3 real leaves, it is recommended to huddle them. This procedure will allow the plants to build up a stronger root system due to the appearance of additional roots.
Mulching has a very good effect on the condition of cucumber plants. To do this, you can use well-rotted manure, "old" sawdust, peat, straw or modern non-woven materials. Mulching helps to conserve moisture, curb weed growth, and reduce temperature fluctuations during the day and night.
When mulching, a layer of mulch is laid throughout the garden bed, and not just around the plants, because the roots of cucumbers are located superficially, occupying a fairly large area.
9. Fertilize your cucumbers regularly
On average, cucumber plants need to be fed at least 5 times per season. Cucumbers are very fond of organic matter, so the best feeding option is to alternate organic and mineral fertilizers ("Kemira", "Sudarushka", "Solution" "Crystallin", etc.) or the use of complex organomineral fertilizers.
As organic fertilizers, you can use ready-made fertilizers based on chicken or horse manure (Flumb, Orgavit, Kaury, Ideal, etc.) - each region has its own suppliers and brands of fertilizers.
The first feeding after planting can be done with a urea solution (according to the instructions), such feeding stimulates the growth of the plant and an earlier entry into fruiting. In the future, you should not get too carried away with nitrogen fertilizers, otherwise you will get a large mass of cucumber lashes instead of a harvest.
Another top dressing with urea can be done with a decline in fruiting - fertilization will spur the re-development of plants.
Cucumbers respond well to feeding with an ash solution - 1 glass per bucket of water. Potassium contained in ash stimulates flowering and fruiting of plants.
In no case should chlorine-containing potash fertilizers be used on cucumbers, plants react to them extremely negatively.
10. Protection against diseases and pests
Damage to plants by diseases or pests leads, at best, to a decrease in yield, and at worst, to their death. Delicate cucumber bushes often suffer from diseases. In the open field, they are usually affected by root rot.
To avoid the hassle of treating plants, it is easiest to take preventive measures to prevent diseases. A very simple but effective way to prevent diseases of cucumbers is to observe crop rotation - after pumpkin crops it is not recommended to sow them for three years. Onions, peas, cabbage, beets or potatoes, peppers are considered good precursors for cucumbers.
The biofungicide "Fitosporin" will also help prevent diseases, with which you can regularly water plants to prevent diseases. And the drug "Zircon", on the one hand, is anti-stress and helps plants to adapt to the difficult conditions of the open ground, on the other hand, it forms resistance to diseases in plants.
Of the pests in the open field, most often, aphids are affected by cucumbers. Due to the early maturity of this culture, it is recommended to process cucumber plants only with biological products, for example, "Fitoverm" or "Iskra Bio". Chemicals have a long waiting period - the period when processed vegetables should not be eaten.
In general, there is nothing difficult in growing cucumbers in the open field, the main thing is not to forget about the conditions that this plant needs and try to comply with them.
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