Seedling method: pros and cons
There are two ways to plant cucumbers: by sowing the seeds directly into the garden bed or by first growing them as seedlings.
The second method is more labor-intensive, but is considered preferable by most gardeners. Especially in central Russia and northern regions, where spring comes much later.
By growing seedlings in a heated greenhouse or on a windowsill, the owner provides himself with early cucumbers.
Advantages of this method:
- seedlings fall into open ground after the end of frost, there is no need to fear that they will be damaged by the cold;
- in the process of growing indoors, it is easier to monitor young cucumbers, assess their condition, and feed them;
- The seedling growing method allows you to get the first cucumbers in the open ground at the end of May. But such cucumbers fade very quickly and by the month of July the vines usually dry out.
If the size of the estate allows, then it would be nice to find a place on it for sowing cucumbers. They appear later, but bear fruit safely until the end of the season. During the summer, you can always sow new plants to replace the drying canes.
Preparing for landing
For better results, it is recommended to change the place for growing vegetables every five years. Different types of soil are suitable for planting cucumbers. Seeds grow best in soil containing humus.
In the southern regions, soil with a flat surface is used for planting. In regions with a cool climate, the beds are made elevated. This allows you to create a sufficient air-thermal regime.
Cucumbers grow well in soils that have adequate aeration and drainage.
Reference. It is preferable to grow cucumbers in beds where potatoes, tomatoes and corn previously grew.
Preparing the site in the fall
After harvesting in the fall, gardeners prepare the land for the new season. Choose a place for planting that is warm and well-lit. The area for vegetable crops is dug up and organic fertilizers (manure or humus) are added to the soil.
The beds are irrigated with a solution of copper sulfate. Mix 1 tbsp in 10 liters of water. l. substances. Next, according to the scheme, the weeds are removed and 2 tbsp are added to the ground. l. superphosphate and a glass of ash per 1 sq. m of land. Dig up the soil and leave it until spring.
Preparing the site for spring planting
1.5 weeks before planting, peat, a bucket of manure, sawdust and a glass of wood ash are added to the soil. Fertilizers are dug up and leveled. Irrigate the ground with hot water. To saturate the soil with nutrients, use a solution of potassium permanganate (1 g of substance per 10 liters of water).
The beds are covered with film and left until planting.
The best time to plant cucumbers
Planting dates depend on climatic conditions. The best time to sow vegetables is mid or late May. Provided that by this moment the soil temperature has established itself above +15°C, and the air temperature is not lower than +14°C. The soil temperature is checked using a thermometer. If there is a risk of night frosts, the plantings are covered with film.
In the southern regions, cucumbers are sown in open ground. In the middle zone, greenhouses are used.
Some gardeners check the lunar calendar. It changes every year. Seeds are sown for seedlings only during the waxing moon or closer to the new moon. During eclipses, it is not recommended to plant crops; this will reduce the amount of harvest.
Preparing the soil for cucumber seedlings
It is better to prepare the soil for growing any seedlings on your own and store it in the fall. Purchased substrates can bring unpleasant surprises in the form of fungal diseases.
Cucumbers require light, loose soil that is neutral or slightly acidic.
For cucumber seedlings, you need high quality soil mixed in equal proportions with humus. You can take well-rotted mullein or horse manure. Add a glass of wood ash to a bucket of this mixture.
To make the soil loose, mix sawdust or peat into it. Approximately one third of the total volume.
It is better to apply the mulching element before sowing seedlings. Coniferous sawdust is not suitable; it increases the acidity of the soil. It is important to let the sawdust rot before use. If this is not done, additional nitrogen fertilizers must be applied. The sphagnum peat substrate requires increased attention, as it dries out very quickly.
Width of a bed for cucumbers in a greenhouse
The first step is to properly prepare the greenhouse itself. If possible, it is installed on an area located flat or with a slight slope to the south or southeast. The possibility of ventilation on hot summer days must be provided. Since cucumbers come from India, the warm and humid microclimate in the greenhouse is favorable for them.
When the greenhouse has already been built, you can begin arranging the beds. It is necessary to prepare the ground for the future rich harvest.
Any greenhouse soil requires disinfection before settling. If the greenhouse has not been used for the first year, then the treatment can be carried out in the fall. Cucumber prefers soil that is rich and saturated with organic fertilizers.
So, at what distance is it better to plant cucumbers? Depending on the length and width of the greenhouse, gardeners use several types of beds on which cucumbers can be planted in a greenhouse or greenhouse. The first option is ridges rising above the ground. Made from available lumber. Sand, sawdust, manure or straw are poured onto the bottom as drainage. The top layer is soil mixed with compost. The height of such a box is 25-30 cm. The width of the bed can be up to 100 cm, the length depends on the size of the greenhouse, the location of the beds inside it and the size of the passage between them.
Another option familiar to everyone is soil ridges. The height of such a ridge is also up to 30 cm, width 100 cm. The maximum length is up to 5 meters. Recently, the “warm” cucumber bed has become widespread. Making it will not be difficult, and its effectiveness has already been tested by amateur gardeners.
Stages of forming a warm bed:
- Dig a trench at least 30 cm deep, 60 cm wide, and the length is individual;
- The bottom is laid out with branches, sprinkled with sawdust, and a layer of straw is poured on top;
- Fill with manure diluted in warm water;
- A layer of soil is poured on top;
- A few days before planting cucumbers, pour boiling water over the soil and cover it with film.
There are several ways to arrange such beds, but all of them are characterized by the use of manure as fertilizer and biofuel. The preparation of beds in a greenhouse for cucumbers is carried out not on the eve of planting, but in advance. If the size of the greenhouse is large enough and funds allow, then at the stage of forming the beds you can think about an irrigation system. At the same time as preparing the beds, you can grow cucumber seedlings from the selected seeds.
Preparing seeds for sowing
The choice of seeds begins in the garden. The best representatives of the variety are allowed to over-ripen on the vines; they are removed only when the skin acquires an orange tint and cracks. Seeds are selected only from the front part of the fruit to prevent bitterness. They are ground and fermented for several days in a small amount of water, like tomatoes.
This is necessary in order to free them from liquid without injuring the seeds. All seeds that float should be thrown away.
Upon completion of fermentation, the seeds must be dried and sorted. If there is no shortage of planting material, then it is better to leave only large and symmetrical ones.
These seeds are soaked for 12 hours in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for disinfection, dried and placed in paper bags. Cucumber seeds are stored at room temperature in a dark place. They do not lose germination until 5-6 years.
An interesting property: the germination capacity of cucumber seeds increases during storage. Therefore, before sowing, it is better to age the seeds for two to three years.
Distance between cucumbers in a greenhouse
Taking into account the width of the beds, planting cucumbers can be a strip planting: two rows per bed with a distance between plants of 40-50 cm. That is, if the width of the bed is 100 cm, then we retreat 30 cm from each edge and 40 cm remains between the rows of cucumbers in the bed.
Wherein:
- Plants of one row can be located opposite plants of another row;
- Plants in rows can be planted in a checkerboard pattern.
Using a staggered order for planting cucumbers is more appropriate. In this case, aeration improves, that is, air flow and lighting into the greenhouses. This is important for the development of plants, since the leaves of cucumbers are large and “fluffy”, they hold water for a long time, and this leads to rotting and loss of the leaf.
Pre-landing activities
It is necessary to sow cucumbers for seedlings a month before planting the plants in the ground. Typically this work begins in March.
Immediately before planting, the seeds are checked again for germination with salt water. They are dipped in a glass of water with a dissolved teaspoon of salt, shaken and left for 10-15 minutes. Everything that comes up is thrown away.
The remaining seeds are stimulated and hardened. First, they are warmed up near the battery for two days.
Then it is kept in a thermos with very hot water for two hours (the temperature should be such that it can barely be tolerated by a finger). And then, wrapped in cloth, they are sent to the bottom shelf of the refrigerator for twelve hours.
If the germination of seeds is in doubt, they can be treated with a growth stimulant. Careful owners treat them with potassium permanganate a second time.
After all procedures, the seeds are left to germinate between two layers of damp cloth in a cool place.
When the seed hatches and the root reaches half its length, you can begin sowing.
When to plant cucumbers in 2021?
Cucumbers have a very vulnerable root system, so it is better to grow them by sowing seeds immediately in a permanent place.
- Sowing of seeds is carried out in May-June, when warm weather sets in.
- If the crop is grown by seedlings, then planting begins 30-35 days before planting the plants in open ground.
- In the southern regions, it is recommended to start sowing seeds for seedlings in mid- or late April, and in the northern regions in mid-May.
When growing cucumbers in heated greenhouses, seedlings begin to be planted in February. Such early cultivation is associated with a number of difficulties, so it is better to sow the seeds on favorable days. The Lunar Sowing Calendar for gardeners and gardeners for 2021 will help you choose such days.
