Is it possible to grow cucumbers if you don't have your own plot? Of course, yes, it's not difficult, you only need a balcony and 5 liter bottles. These containers are very convenient. They take up little space, the soil in them warms up well and creates a greenhouse effect. We will talk about how to build such a structure in this article.
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Seed preparation and sowing
For cultivation, hybrid and self-pollinated plant varieties are best suited. The best choices are: Emelya F1, Zozulya F1 and April F1. Presowing preparation is as follows:
- Warming up for a month at a temperature of 25 ℃.
- Disinfection with potassium permanganate solution.
- Seed soaking.
You can plant seeds directly into the container, without using seedlings. The bottle must be cut across, along the "shoulders", keep the upper part. Plant 2-3 seeds in the resulting container, then we will choose the strongest shoot of them. To land, you need:
- Make drainage holes at the bottom of the container, put in a pallet.
- Pour in 5 cm of drainage (sand or eggshell).
- Fill with soil suitable for the crop.
- Water and make depressions 3-5 cm in size.
- Plant seeds and sprinkle with earth.
- Spray water, cover with the top of the container and place in a warm place.
- Move to the balcony when the average daily temperature reaches +20 ℃.
Care features
To reap a good harvest, you need to properly care for the crop.
Watering
Use only warm, settled water, bring it under the root. The irrigation scheme is as follows: plants are watered once every 2 days until 20 days from planting, then before flowering - once every 5 days, then every 3-4 days. After each watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil around the crop.
Ventilation and lighting
Several times a day, remove the cover cap (top of the bottle) for 10-15 minutes and remove the formed condensation. After the emergence of strong shoots, the cover can be removed completely.
For cucumbers, choose a well-lit place without direct sunlight.
Note! During the period of growth and maturation, fertilizers must be applied to the soil. This procedure is carried out five times: at the beginning of flowering and then after two weeks. For this, a mixture of nitrogen and potassium-phosphorus dressings are suitable.
Plant formation
To get crispy vegetables, you need to properly arrange the bush. This process includes three stages:
- Garter.
- Stealing.
- Topping.
Garter. Place a coarse mesh next to the bottles. The height of the structure must be at least 1.5 m, and it must be built after the tendrils appear on the cucumbers.
Grasshopping is a procedure to remove lateral processes. It should be carried out when the plant height reaches 3-5 cm. To do this, remove all stepchildren that are in the axils of 5-6 lower leaves.
Pinching - removing part of the shoot from a cucumber. Carried out when the bush has grown to 0.5 m in height. To do this, remove part of the lash, leaving 1 ovary and 3-4 leaves.
Harvesting
In the case when all recommendations are implemented correctly, the result will not be long in coming. Collect fruits that have reached a length of 10-15 cm.
Benefits of growing bottled cucumbers
The ability to please yourself with delicious vegetables without having a plot is the main advantage of this method. However, there are others:
- Convenience of growing.
- Protected ground that is not attacked by pests.
- Ease of maintenance.
- Greenhouse effect and greenhouse conditions due to the top cover.
We hope our tips were helpful. Share your experience in the comments.
Do you grow cucumbers in 5 liter bottles?
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