Cucumbers In The Open Field. Growing Secrets. Leaving, Increasing The Yield. Photo

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Cucumbers In The Open Field. Growing Secrets. Leaving, Increasing The Yield. Photo
Cucumbers In The Open Field. Growing Secrets. Leaving, Increasing The Yield. Photo

Video: Cucumbers In The Open Field. Growing Secrets. Leaving, Increasing The Yield. Photo

Video: Cucumbers In The Open Field. Growing Secrets. Leaving, Increasing The Yield. Photo
Video: This SIMPLE Garden TIP Will Get You MORE CUCUMBERS! 2024, March
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If there is a vegetable garden next to the house, then cucumbers will certainly grow there. This vegetable is so good both fresh and in pickles and canned that the summer season is simply unthinkable without it. Therefore, experienced gardeners will always allocate not only the best place for a cucumber, but also additional time for leaving. Knowing the peculiarities of the culture, you can harvest good crops even from a very small area. We will reveal all the secrets of growing cucumbers in the open field in this article.

Cucumber
Cucumber

Content:

  • What do cucumbers like?
  • Features of growing cucumbers
  • Techniques for increasing the yield of cucumbers
  • Caring for cucumbers during fruiting
  • Reproduction of the varieties you like

What do cucumbers like?

When planning to grow this crop, you need to take care of a number of points that will lead to success. Each of them is based on the characteristics of the plant and is quite important. Therefore, you cannot miss something, but you need to approach the cultivation of cucumbers in a complex manner.

1. Cucumber is a thermophilic culture

It is necessary to sow cucumbers on a bed heated by the sun, after the threat of return frosts has passed, and the topsoil warms up to + 13-15 ° С. If you sow seeds in cold ground, they simply will not sprout. However, this vegetable does not like high temperatures either - no matter how much the cucumber loves warmth, its best growth is observed at rates from +24 to + 28 ° С. If the thermometer rises higher, there is a stop in development. Therefore, it is advisable to sow crops on open beds from mid-late May (depending on the climatic zone) to the middle of the first decade of June.

It is necessary to close up cucumber seeds to a depth of about 2 cm, taking into account the planting density - 5-7 bushes per square meter. It is not worth thickening this culture, since it should receive enough light and be well ventilated.

2. Cucumber loves to eat well

The place for growing cucumbers must be prepared in advance by fertilizing the soil with rotted manure (under the predecessor), mullein or chicken droppings (directly under the crop). Thus, the garden bed will receive a sufficient charge of nutrients, it will be disinfected from a number of pathogens and enriched with carbon dioxide, and the cucumbers will be provided with good nutrition.

3. Cucumber - a culture with a superficial root system

Like any vegetable crop with a shallow root system, the cucumber loves structured soil, good access to the roots of oxygen, and adequate moisture. But, it is this particular feature of the structure of its underground part that brings the greatest damage to the plant with illiterate human intervention.

The root system of the cucumber represents 1.5% of the total mass of the plant and extends in depth (mainly) up to 40 cm. The largest part of it lies only 5 cm from the soil surface and barely reaches 25 cm, so it is impossible to loosen the garden around the plant. Each time the top layer of the earth next to the cucumber stem is cultivated, its roots are injured and the plant needs more than a week to recover and recover. Based on this, the air permeability of the bed should not be ensured by constant weeding and loosening, but by a good predecessor, early introduction of organic matter and mulching.

The best precursors for cucumbers are lettuce, early cabbage, cauliflower, peas and green manure. Acceptable: potatoes and tomatoes. Beans, carrots, squash and other melons are not suitable as precursors for cucumber, since they have diseases in common with the culture.

4. Cucumber - moisture-loving culture

Based on the structural features of the root system, a cucumber needs a constant moisturizing regime for normal growth and development. Lack of moisture causes darkening and fragility of plant foliage, introduces it into a state of stress. Excessive moisture - reduces the amount of oxygen in the soil, makes the leaves of cucumbers pale green, inhibits the growth of lashes and the formation of greens. Constant jumps in moisture, combined with jumps in temperature, provoke the formation of bitterness in the fruit.

Not useful for this culture and watering with cold water. This is due to the fact that the cooled soil impairs the absorption capacity of the root system. Therefore, the temperature of the irrigation water must be at least + 18 ° C.

The optimal indicator of soil moisture for cucumber is 80%, the threshold of wilting is 30%.

5. Cucumber - short day culture

Based on the fact that cucumber is a short-day plant, the best time to grow it is the beginning and end of summer. This fact, with a competent approach, allows not only to obtain high crop yields, but to use the useful area of the garden with maximum benefit, filling the beds that were empty after early vegetables with summer (June) crops of cucumber.

It is also worth knowing that this plant, despite the love for the sun and warmth, needs only 10-12 hours of the photoperiod and works well not only in open areas, but also in light shade.

Fruit ovary on a cucumber
Fruit ovary on a cucumber

Features of growing cucumbers

So, based on the characteristics of this culture, aiming to grow a good harvest of cucumbers, it is necessary to tune in not only to regular watering, but also to regular feeding, regular mulching, regular collection of fruits, since it is the consistency in caring for this vegetable that plays a key role in success.

Preparing the soil for planting cucumbers

Planting a cucumber begins with site selection and soil preparation. This is important, since this culture loves light and responds well to fertility. Therefore, if possible, then the beds must be organized from north to south, under the predecessor, apply organic matter or fill the soil with fertilizers immediately before planting the vegetable.

The best fertilizer for cucumber is cow dung. Under the predecessor, it should be applied in a rotted form, at the rate of 4-6 kg per square meter, and immediately before sowing - as a tincture of mullein (1 part of fresh manure to 5 parts of water). If there is no manure, it can be replaced with chicken manure (diluted with water 1x20) or any available complex mineral fertilizer.

The most successful option for growing cucumbers is warm beds with a height of at least 25 cm. Having an organic pillow inside, they not only provide plants with the necessary nutrients, but also saturate the roots with carbon dioxide, produce a warming effect.

Planting cucumbers in open ground

Many people believe that in order for a cucumber to give a high yield, it must be planted exclusively in seedlings. However, if the conditions of the climatic zone in which you are gardening are quite mild, it is good to sow a cucumber directly on the beds.

It is better to do this in several stages, and in order not to miscalculate the timing of crops (suddenly the cold will return unexpectedly) and in order to prolong fruiting. You can start sowing from mid-May (in the south) and continue until mid-June. There is no point in planting cucumbers later, since the long daylight hours and high summer temperatures do not favor its normal development.

Due to the fact that modern breeding has taken care of bringing out not only zoned varieties for each separate climatic zone, but also disease-resistant hybrids, it is worth choosing them. This will protect you from unnecessary hassle and will allow you to get a really high-quality rich harvest.

In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the ripening time of the selected variety, and to its purpose, since it can be early ripening, mid-ripening or late cucumbers, as well as universal, pickling or salad.

For sowing, it is better to choose seed at least two years ago. This is due to the peculiarity of melons and gourds seeds to increase germination with each additional year of storage (from 2 to 6 years, then germination drops and by the age of 9 the seeds become unsuitable for sowing), and to form a larger number of female flowers on the plants obtained from such sowing material, from which the fruits are formed.

Cucumber
Cucumber

Watering cucumbers

Regular high-quality watering is a fundamental factor in growing a decent harvest of cucumbers. It should be carried out in the holes between the rows and often enough to keep the soil constantly moist. It is better to water the cucumbers in the evening, or at the same time in the morning, preferably before the start of the heat, with warm water (from +18 to + 25 ° C), without moisture getting on the leaves. Watering should be moderate before flowering, and abundant during fruiting.

Top dressing for cucumbers

If the soil is not filled with a sufficient amount of organic matter for the predecessor or in the pre-sowing preparation of the beds, the cucumbers must be regularly fed. Feeding begins after the formation of 2-3 true leaves and continues throughout the entire fruiting period.

Cucumbers are most responsive to nitrogen, however, for full development they need both phosphorus and potassium. Therefore, most often experienced gardeners alternate the application of mineral fertilizers with organic matter. The best choice in this matter would be ammophoska (10-15 g per 1 sq. M) and mullein solution, or chicken droppings. But if the weather is cold outside, feeding is useless.

Hilling cucumbers

It is good to spud the bare roots of cucumbers several times a season. This will allow the plants to grow additional roots and protect the stem from fungal diseases.

Shaping, or pinching

A separate component of cucumber care is the formation of plants. It is necessary in order to provoke the development of lateral shoots, on which a greater number of female flowers are formed. Shaping is done by pinching the central stem of the cucumber over 5-6 leaves. At the same time, early ripening varieties can not be formed, but the development of late and mid-season varieties can be adjusted.

Techniques for increasing the yield of cucumbers

Based on the peculiarities of the culture, experienced vegetable growers have long found out that high-quality care and pinching of lashes are far from all the tricks in terms of increasing the yield of cucumbers. There are other ways to enhance the formation of female flowers. One of them is to temporarily stop watering just before the flowering of the crop. This technique makes the plants “think” that they may soon die and provokes intensively forming fruits.

Another option for increasing yields is mixing different varieties and hybrids of crops in plantings, which enhances the cross-pollination of cucumbers.

You can also make ringing of the stems - make a shallow circular incision under the first pair of leaves of the plant (the procedure is performed only in dry weather), which will complicate the outflow of nutrients to the roots and contribute to the formation of more ovaries.

At the time of the decline in the formation of zelents, you can make foliar feeding of cucumbers with urea (at the rate of 20 g per 10 liters of water), but only either on a wet evening or in cloudy weather.

Increases productivity and removal of the first ovary. This technique allows the plant to strengthen the root system and gain strength to form a large number of fruits. You can also try attracting bees to your site - either by planting melliferous plants, or by arranging drinking bowls with aromatic syrup.

A separate word must be said about supports. Since the cucumber is a climbing plant, the best option for growing it is vertical. Supports can be of different options: inclined, vertical, arranged along the garden bed or round - here as it is convenient for anyone. The main thing is that the plants on them will not touch the ground, they will be better ventilated, it will be easier to harvest from them, which means they will hurt less and bear fruit more abundantly.

Cucumber
Cucumber

Caring for cucumbers during fruiting

The peak of fruiting in cucumbers begins in July. It is important to continue watering and harvest on time. It is better to collect the collection every other day, a maximum of two, in the early morning hours, since the cucumbers harvested in the evening wither faster and are stored worse. It is necessary to harvest everything, including twisted and ugly fruits, since each cucumber left on the plant delays the laying of new ovaries. At the same time, the cucumbers should not be tugged or twisted, but carefully trimmed with garden scissors, or pinched with nails, since the injured lashes get sick and form a crop worse.

Along with the greens, at each inspection of the garden, it is good to remove yellowed and diseased leaves - this will keep the plants strong and healthy, and prolong their fruiting.

Reproduction of the varieties you like

If the variety of cucumbers purchased this year actually made you happy with the harvest, then it is advisable to collect seeds from it. To do this, on several plants it is necessary to leave a certain amount of large healthy fruits (no more than three per bush) and let them ripen. However, it makes sense to do this if it really is a variety, since the hybrid does not repeat the mother plant from the seeds, so it is useless to leave it for propagation.

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