How to grow cucumbers: a detailed guide
Miscellaneous / / June 02, 2022
We analyze all the nuances: from the choice of seeds to the care of adult plants.
When to sow cucumbers
Cucumbers are thermophilic, and the soil for them in open ground or in a greenhouse should warm up to at least 18 degrees, and the air temperature at night should not be lower than 15 degrees. In most regions of the middle lane, such favorable weather is set in June, so prepare seedlings for planting in open ground no earlier than these dates. AT greenhouse, especially if it is heated, cucumbers begin to grow as early as April. At the same time, you can plant a crop both in a greenhouse and on street beds even in July - you will have time to harvest a good harvest before the end of summer.
The optimal age of the bushes for planting in a permanent place is 15–20 days from the moment of germination. Older cucumbers simply begin to outgrow at home and experience more stress during transplantation, which can prevent them from settling down.
From mid-May to mid-June, cucumbers can be sown directly into the ground. As a rule, the soil at this time is already warm enough for seed germination. However, in many regions there is a risk of return frosts, which will simply destroy immature seedlings. Therefore, it is more reliable to grow vegetables in seedlings.
How to prepare cucumber seeds for sowing
Select seeds
There are varietal and hybrid crops. Each variety has its own distinctive features: taste, color, fruit size, plant appearance, disease resistance, ripening time. But hybrids are the result of crossing two varieties to enhance the characteristics of parent plants. Such cucumbers have an increased yield and are more resistant to diseases and pests. On packages with seeds of hybrids there is always a marking - F1 or F2.
Also pay attention to bee pollination: such varieties and hybrids cannot set fruit without pollination. At the same time, there are parthenocarpic hybrids that do not require this procedure. They are recommended for greenhouses where access is difficult. insects.
Before buying seeds, carefully read the information on the package. Usually the manufacturer indicates whether they are suitable for growing in the open field or fit only for the greenhouse. Choose cucumbers depending on where you intend to plant them.
What to buy
- Early ripening cucumbers, 89 rubles →
- Early ripening cucumbers, 116 rubles →
- Gherkins early ripening, 69 rubles →
soak the seeds
Most seeds usually do not require pre-soaking, as they are disinfected in the factory. Often this is indicated on the packaging or is clear from the appearance of the grains - they are painted in bright colors.
In other cases, especially if you collected seeds from last year's cucumber crop, they must be decontaminated. To do this, place the blanks in a 1% potassium permanganate solution for 20 minutes, and then remove and blot with a dry cloth.
How to plant cucumbers
For seedlings
1. Prepare containers
Cucumbers have a very delicate root system that is easy to injure. Therefore, unlike many other crops, they should not be sown in common bowls for subsequent picks. It is better to initially place the seeds separately from each other. Suitable for this cups with a volume of 200-500 ml, at the bottom of which there should be drainage holes. Can be taken as special seedling pots, and jars of yogurt or sour cream.
The selected containers must be filled to the top with soil, leaving 1 cm free from the edge, slightly compacting it. Suitable for growing cucumbers universal primer for seedlings. You can add to it vermiculite at a rate of 1:10. This natural mineral will make the soil loose and will absorb excess moisture.
Another option is peat tablets. They are first poured with boiling water until completely swollen, and after cooling to room temperature, seeds are sown in them.
2. Sow cucumbers
In the middle of each cup or peat tablet, make a small hole in the soil 1 cm deep with a toothpick. Place one seed at a time in the holes and cover them with earth on top. After that, the crops should be slightly moistened with a spray bottle using ordinary water at room temperature.
Cover the seedlings with glass, cling film or wrap in a transparent plastic bag. You can put the cups in special plastic mini greenhouses with a high transparent lid, they are sold in stores.
To germinate, cucumber seeds need a temperature of 23-28 degrees, so send the blanks to a sunny windowsill or find another warm place in the house and highlight the crops special phytolamp for plants.
3. Wait for shoots
Every day you need to remove the shelter from the bowls and air them for 15-20 minutes. And if the top layer of soil becomes dry, slightly moisten with a spray bottle. If you did everything right, cucumbers will sprout in 3-5 days.
After the emergence of seedlings, remove the film or lid from the containers and place them in a cooler temperature - 20–22 degrees. Seedlings also need light: a light window sill or a place under fitolamps will do.
Observe these two conditions so that the seedlings do not stretch. And also take care of young cucumbers from drafts.
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Normal development of seedlings of cucumbers. Photo: Victoria Kuracheva / Lifehacker
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Cucumber seedlings stretched out due to improper care. Frame: Garden - Medvedev's garden / YouTube
In open ground
1. Prepare the garden
If you plan to grow cucumbers outdoors, choose a sunny spot for them.
Soil requirements both in the open field and in the greenhouse will be the same. 1–2 weeks before sowing, spread compost or rotted manure on the surface of the bed at the rate of 4–6 kg per 1 m², and also pour 100–200 g of wood ash per 1 m². After that, dig the soil onto the spade bayonet. These organic fertilizer make the soil looser and provide cucumbers with additional nutrition.
2. Make holes
If the soil is dry, water the bed generously. After the water has been absorbed, make small holes in the soil 2-4 cm deep at a distance of 50-60 cm from each other.
3. Sow cucumbers and wait for seedlings
Put 2-3 seeds in each hole - this will increase the chances of getting seedlings. Sprinkle the crops with earth and compact it slightly. To speed up the germination of cucumbers, you can cover the bed with a film so that there is a free space of 5 cm between it and the soil surface. As soon as the sprouts hatch, the material must be removed.
If in the future two or three seedlings appear from the hole at once, just carefully pull out the weaker sprouts, leaving one strong one. After the cucumbers have risen, take care of them in the same way as you would for seedlings at home.
How to care for cucumbers immediately after germination
These simple rules will help you get strong plants.
Water cucumbers
Do not let the soil dry out. The soil in seedling cups or on the surface of the bed should be constantly moist, so water the cucumbers as needed with water at room temperature.
Feed Your Plants
When the seedlings have two true leaves, you need to feed the sprouts with a solution of nitroammophoska at the rate of 3 teaspoons of the product per 3 liters of water. With the resulting mixture, carefully pour the plants under the root over wet soil so as not to burn them. You can also use a specialized fertilizer for cucumber seedlings or a universal remedy with a uniform distribution of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium - for example, 18: 18: 18. They are bred according to the instructions on the package.
The same preparations can be used to fertilize seedlings when they have 3-4 true leaves. Or use a nutrient solution of 15 g of urea, 10 g of potassium sulfate and 40 g of superphosphate, which are diluted in 10 liters of water.
Under each plant contribute about 100 ml of any of these mixtures.
What to buy
- Mineral fertilizer nitroammophoska from NovAgro, 210 rubles →
- Universal fertilizer for cucumbers from Organic Mix, 292 rubles →
- Universal liquid fertilizer for cucumbers from "Your economy", 226 rubles →
How to plant seedlings of cucumbers in a permanent place
On the readiness of seedlings for transplant will tell the appearance of the plant - it should have 3-4 true leaves.
Prepare planting holes
In the garden, make holes 40 cm deep at a distance of 50–60 cm from each other. The diameter of the hole should be slightly larger than the diameter of the seedling cup. Holes need to be filled with ⅔ of fertile soil, compost and rotted manure, mixed in equal parts.
plant cucumbers
Carefully remove the seedling from the cup, being careful not to injure the roots, and place it together with the earthen clod in the prepared hole. If the seedlings are stretched out, you can deepen it to the cotyledon leaves. Fill the hole with soil, lightly compacting it around the trunk.
Water the seedlings
After transplanting, each cucumber needs to be watered with 3 liters of water around the plant. In this case, the temperature of the liquid should not be lower than 22 degrees.
How to care for cucumbers when they grow up
Mulch the topsoil
This is an optional procedure, but it prevents excessive drying of the topsoil, and also inhibits the growth of weeds. As mulch, you can use peat, hay or cut grass, which are poured into the garden around the plants with a layer of 5–10 cm.
Water your plants regularly
Cucumbers need a lot of water to grow and form fruits. Before flowering, vegetables are watered every 5-7 days at the rate of 3-6 liters per bush. After the appearance of flowers, watering is increased - every 2-3 days, 6-12 liters per plant. In dry weather, they can be even daily.
The procedure is carried out early in the morning or in the evening after sunset. It is advisable to use warm water with a temperature of at least 22 degrees. To do this, it is convenient, for example, to have a barrel on the site in which the liquid will warm up in the sun during the day. When watering, make sure that the jet does not fall on the leaves, otherwise they may get burned.
Tie up cucumbers
For a horizontal tie, take two metal pipes or wooden supports at least 1 m high and drive them into the ground along the edges of the beds. Step back 15–20 cm from the ground and stretch strong ropes or ropes between them at a distance of 20 cm from each other. Gently pull out the cucumber stalks and attach them to the bottom rope using special plant tie clips, soft wire, or just leave the seedling in limbo - as it grows, it will begin to attach itself to the support, protruding mustache. Instead of rope or rope, you can stretch a special net for climbing plants, which is sold in garden centers.
For a vertical tie, two supports are also installed along the edges of the beds, but their height must be at least 1.5 m. Pull a strong rope or wire between them at the very top. Attach long pieces of fabric 2-3 cm wide or ropes to this element - one for each bush. Gently tie the lower end of the strip around the stem - in order not to break the plant, you need to make a rather loose knot. As a result, the cucumber will gradually wrap around the support and stretch itself upwards. As in the case of a horizontal tie, instead of homemade rope supports, you can use a special net for climbing plants.
Form a cucumber bush
Cucumbers grow actively and quickly. If you form a bush into a single stem, it will not waste energy on the development of multiple side shoots and will focus on fruit set.
To do this, in the axils of the first 3-4 leaves, remove both the ovaries and side shoots. You can do this with small scissors, secateurs, or just gently pinch off with your hands. And then go on remove all side shoots, and leave the young cucumbers.
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Removing a side shoot. Frame: Bright cottage / YouTube
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Ovary of a cucumber. Frame: Harvest garden / YouTube
Feed Your Plants
Remember that you need to water cucumbers with fertilizers only on moist soil, so as not to burn the seedlings. All nutrient solutions are applied under the root at the rate of 0.5–1 l per bush.
- Two weeks after transferring the seedlings to a permanent place, water the plants with a solution of 1 tablespoon of urea and 60 g of superphosphate per 10 liters of water. For cucumbers sown directly into the ground, this top dressing is carried out after 4–5 weeks from the moment of germination.
- When the plants begin to bloom, you need to feed them again. To prepare a nutrient solution for 10 liters of water, take 30 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium nitrate and 40 g of superphosphate.
- The third top dressing should be carried out at the stage of fruit formation. You can take urea at the rate of 50 g per 10 liters of water or 2 tablespoons of potassium nitrate per 10 liters of liquid.
For all three dressings, you can use ready-made liquid or granular universal fertilizers for vegetables or special fertilizers for cucumbers. The required dosage of funds is indicated on the package.
What to buy
- Superphosphate fertilizer, 613 rubles →
- Urea fertilizer from Carbamide, 556 rubles →
- Ammonium nitrate, 140 rubles →
- Potassium saltpeter, 250 rubles →
- Universal fertilizer for cucumbers from FERTIKA, 190 rubles →
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