Caring for Cucumbers in a Greenhouse: Secrets of Getting a Big Harvest

To get a large crop of cucumbers, the crop must be properly looked after. The key to successful growing vegetables is proper planting, moderate watering, timely nipping of stepsons, and the use of top dressing.

All of these factors affect the growth of stems and the taste of the fruit, so you should not neglect them. Proper plant care will allow you to get tasty and healthy cucumbers in large quantities and in the early stages.

The initial stages in the cultivation

The initial stage plays a large role in the cultivation of culture. It is in it that the laying of the immune ability, yield and quality of the fruits takes place. The initial stage can be divided into:

• soil preparation;
• seed treatment;
• landing.

How to prepare the soil for the greenhouse (greenhouse)

Cucumbers are grown throughout the country, regardless of territorial remoteness. There are no special and strict preferences for the cultivated soil. It is desirable that the soil is non-clay and porous, and the water does not stagnate in it for a long time. An ridge is used for planting: fertile soil is laid in layers until a ridge of 15-20 centimeters in height is formed. The composition of the land must necessarily include nutrient components: peat, manure or humus.

Soil preparation is carried out since the fall. Foreign garbage, tops from previous plants are removed in the greenhouse. Then they dig up the whole earth and make a dry mullein at the rate of 1 kilogram per square meter of land. Mullein should be crushed, so it is absorbed faster in the ground. During the winter, the fertilizer spreads over the entire area and nourishes the soil with useful organic elements.

During warming, from mid-April, the earth was again dug up and river sand and peat added in equal amounts for porosity (1 bucket per 1 square meter). You can add a glass of ash to a bucket of sand to increase the mineral level. Ash contains magnesium, iron, potassium, calcium. Substances necessary for cucumbers fruiting and development of immunity.

The formed soil is checked for a pH reaction. For cucumbers, the medium should be neutral. In excessively acidic or alkalized soil, the vegetable grows poorly, the ovaries are formed in insufficient quantities, and the quality of the fruit itself deteriorates significantly. If the pH is less than 7, this indicates a high acidity of the earth. The problem is solved by adding quicklime (1 glass per square meter). Lime is evenly distributed in the soil and left to decompose for a week, then the reaction is checked again. With excessive alkalinity, boric acid will help. Dilute a tablespoon of acid in a bucket of water and spill the soil. The soil becomes neutral.

In addition to the formation of the composition, the land before planting must be treated from pests and diseases. There are many viruses and insects that remain in the ground for the winter, survive the frost well and do not die, and in spring they get to the surface and attack young seedlings. The easiest way to get rid of diseases and pests is to water the earth with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. A pink solution is diluted and the soil is watered a few days before planting. Repeat the treatment after a week. The use of Fitosporin helps prevent virus infection. Dilute a tablespoon of the substance in a bucket of water and water the soil.

How to choose and prepare seeds

Preparing for planting seeds in mid-spring. They buy seeds only in garden departments or stores. Sometimes they use the harvesting of grains left from last year. There are a huge number of cucumber varieties. They are classified by maturity, size, growth characteristics. Depending on climatic conditions and on the purpose of use, the fruits are determined with the variety. For salads, varieties of Murashka, Alekseich, Emelya are often grown. If cucumbers will be used for harvesting, then they plant a Boy with a finger, Murom, Rodnichok.

Selected seeds are soaked to begin with in a disinfecting solution. 3 crystals of potassium permanganate are bred on a liter jar and the seeds are lowered for an hour. Then they are washed under water and slightly dried on a towel. After antibacterial treatment, the seeds can be germinated. Do this procedure at the discretion of the gardener. Germination allows you to accelerate the formation of seedlings, and, consequently, flowering, and the formation of ovaries will come a few days early.

Any growth stimulant is diluted in water, in the proportion indicated on the package, and the seeds are left in it for a couple of hours. Another method is to wet the towel in a growth promoter and twist it with seeds in the shape of a snail. A wet piece of fabric is folded in the form of a long tourniquet, the grains are laid and folded tightly so that the seeds are inside. Grains are left to germinate for 2-3 days, then the tissue is expanded. The protective shell bursts during this time, and a sprout is formed from the seed, which is planted in the prepared soil.

How to sow cucumbers

Greenhouse planting begins not earlier than May. Germinated seeds can be planted directly in the greenhouse soil immediately. They make special depressions in the soil - holes. The diameter of the hole is 15-20 centimeters, and the depth is 10 centimeters. Germinated grain is placed in the middle of the hole and slightly pressed inward with a finger. The earth is watered and waiting for seedlings to form in 7-10 days.

Some gardeners prefer to grow cucumber seedlings at home, and then transplant it to a permanent place of cultivation. This method allows you to get an early harvest, and seedlings have already developed the ability to withstand diseases and pests. Planting seeds of cucumbers for seedlings is carried out no later than the beginning of March. In this case, by May, the seedlings will grow and will be ready for transplanting.

A shallow container is filled with soil mixtures, seeds treated with potassium permanganate are watered and planted. Cover the container with polyethylene or glass and put it closer to the source of the sun. After 5-7 days, seedlings form. Seedlings are sprayed as the soil dries, the polyethylene is not opened. Sprouts are gradually accustomed to environmental conditions only from the second week after plant germination. Shelter is opened for several minutes a day, gradually increasing the time during the week.

When the laying of the second sheet begins on the stem, they begin to pick the seedlings. Dive into larger containers filled with soil. The procedure is carried out with extreme caution so as not to damage the young plant. When the seedlings reach a height of more than 10 centimeters, cucumber bushes can be planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse.

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Basic care for cucumbers in a greenhouse

An important stage in the cultivation allows not only to increase the number of fruits, but also to improve their taste characteristics. At this stage, the main attention should be paid to proper watering, timely pinching, and fertilizing.

Before flowering

For young vegetables, weeding and loosening is important. Weeds growing nearby take part of the nutrition from the ground, and also interfere with the development of the root system of cucumbers.Weeding is carried out every 2-3 days. It is better to loosen the earth with your hands, penetrating to a depth of not more than 3 centimeters.

Watering is carried out 1 time in 7-10 days, as the land dries up. It is convenient to use a watering can for watering. If watering from a hose, then regulate the pressure of the stream so that it is weak. To improve air exchange on warm days, the greenhouse is aired after irrigation. At night, the seedlings must be covered with a film when grown in a greenhouse.

Top dressing of cucumbers is carried out not earlier than 2 weeks after planting. Before flowering, vegetables are rapidly gaining green mass. To increase the number of shoots and green leaves, nitrogen fertilizers are used - ammonium nitrate or nitrophosphate. A teaspoon of either of the two drugs is diluted in a bucket of water and watered under the bushes once every 2 weeks throughout May.

In addition to top dressing at the beginning of cultivation, cucumbers are treated with Bordeaux liquid. Dilute a 2% solution and apply it to the shoots. Bordeaux liquid prevents powdery mildew, gray rot, late blight, mosaic infection. A similar effect is achieved when using a 3% solution of copper sulfate. Processing from viruses is carried out at a time.

10-14 days after planting, the cucumbers are tied to the trellis. The trellis will provide support for the bush, contributes to the complete preservation of the stem and fruits. In addition, it simplifies the procedure of pinching, as new young shoots are clearly visible on the stems. For better productivity, it is recommended to leave no more than three shoots, the rest are cut off, and the cut is treated with potassium permanganate. Pinch stepsons do regularly, it depends on the particular variety. There are cucumbers on which the stepsoning is sluggish, and on other bushes pruning is carried out every 3-5 days.

During flowering

Flowering of cucumbers begins in the first half of summer. Yellow flowers form on the shoots, which then turn into ovaries. At this time, cucumbers need frequent watering and spraying of leaves. Watering is increased to 1 time in 2 days. Irrigation of leaves and stems is carried out in the morning, before the onset of heat. When watering the bushes, they try not to fall on the inflorescences.

To increase the number of ovaries, potassium sulfate and superphosphate are fed. A tablespoon of the substance is diluted in a bucket of cool water and brought under the root, repeating top dressing after 10 days. The consumption rate of the additive is half a liter per bush. After watering, the soil is mulched with a mixture of straw and peat.

Do not forget to loosen the earth during flowering to enrich it with oxygen, as well as remove weeds and foreign grass.

During fruiting

By the end of June, you can get the first crop. Peak yields occur in mid-summer. Cucumbers actively ripen in the bushes, they are not delayed with their collection, since it is becoming increasingly difficult for the stem to keep the weight of the fruit every day. The collection of vegetables is carried out every other day. They do not wash the fruits, dry them from moisture and store them in the refrigerator for no more than a week. After a week, the skin of most cucumbers begins to soften, they lose their taste. When stored indoors, fruits deteriorate within 3-5 days.

In the middle of the season, feeding with ammonium nitrate is repeated in order to prolong the formation of fruits. They continue to water the cucumbers every other day, in the greenhouse they do not forget to open the windows and doors during the day. If fruiting is sluggish, then cucumbers are fed with potash fertilizer, as in flowering. Watering with liquid mullein helps. A liquid mullein is diluted in water in a proportion of 1:10 and watered cucumbers under a bush. After 3 feeding, the formation of cucumbers proceeds with greater intensity.

When the entire crop is harvested, the bushes are dug from the ground and dried. The land is being prepared for the next season in the manner described above.

Extra Care Tips

Those gardeners who have been cultivating crops for a long time recommend following certain rules:

• cucumbers do not plant near potatoes. High probability of infection with insects and viral infections;
• fertilizers are used only when there is a need for them. Usually it is poor growth, small fruits, their late ripening;
• cucumbers must be covered at night, especially immediately after planting and in the second half of summer. Freezing can affect palatability;
• from overripe fruits you can prepare seeds for the next year. The largest cucumber is put to ripen in the sun. When it turns yellow, the pulp is cut in half, the contents are taken out and lowered into a glass of water. Put in a glass in a dark place for 2 days. Then, using a colander, the liquid phase is separated from the seeds. Seeds are dried in the sun and then put away for storage in a dry place.

Caring for a crop is not difficult, even a novice gardener without growing experience can grow cucumbers. Compliance with all the above recommendations and nuances will allow you to get the highest quality crop in the early stages.