Cucumbers are grown by almost all gardeners, but it is not always possible to get a rich and tasty harvest. The plant requires constant care, consisting of many different procedures. If you leave cucumbers unattended, you can get bitter fruits, the crop will rot or not form at all. Remember the basic rules of care that guarantee an excellent result.
Choose your seeds correctly
When buying seeds from a store, pay attention to the information on the back of the package. To choose the variety that is right for you, be guided by the following criteria:
- Growing method. Choose varieties and hybrids for the greenhouse or open field.
- Resistant to disease and bitterness. Hybrids Gerasim F1, Round Dance F1, Garland F1 showed good results.
- If you are not ready to devote all your time to watering and feeding cucumbers, you should not choose bundle hybrid varieties.
Do not thicken the planting
Try to plant the plants so that they do not interfere with each other and do not take away nutrients, otherwise it will be difficult to achieve abundant fruiting.
Observe the following rules when planting:
- Leave about 60 cm between the plants and at least 1.2 m between the rows.
- When grown on trellises, the distance between the bushes can be reduced to 40 cm.
- For bush varieties, about 100 cm is left between the rows.
Follow your watering schedule
The reason for the bitter taste of cucumbers is a lack of moisture or watering with cold water. In order to preserve the taste of the fruit, it is necessary to maintain the soil in a moderately moist state, without strong overflow.
Watering rules:
- Water the cucumbers only with warm, settled water.
- Watering frequency is a couple of times a week.
- Water should be poured along the ridges, wetting the soil to a depth of 20 cm, and not at the root.
- Irrigate the bushes with water only in the evening, so as not to cause burns to the leaves.
Maintain the right temperature
For the full development of cucumbers, it is necessary that the average temperature per day exceeds 15 ° C. For the development of the root system, the soil must warm up to 25 ° C, and for the formation of ovaries, 25-30 ° C is required. Too high or low temperatures are harmful to the crop. At temperatures above 35 ° C, pollen loses its properties, and at 10 ° C, the risk of disease increases.
If the climate in your area is not consistently warm, then either grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, or put arcs and cover with foil or other covering material. Additionally, use mulch.
Avoid drafts
Strong winds can make cucumbers sick or start to taste bitter. If you are planting outdoors, create beds in a draft-free part of your garden or build removable windbreaks.
Don't forget about feeding
Lack of something or mistakes in growing immediately affect the appearance of the plants:
- Light bent tip of the fetus - there is not enough nitrogen.
- The fruit grows in the shape of a pear - there is not enough potassium.
- In bunch species, ovaries fall off - soil depletion.
- The fruit has a constriction in the middle - rare watering.
- Arcuate fruits - varieties and hybrids growing nearby have become dusty.
To feed the plants, you need to add compost or rotten manure before planting, and also spend several times a season root and foliar feeding with special fertilizers for cucumbers, such as "Giant", "Sudarushka" or BioMaster.
Pay attention to the formation of bushes
Pinching plays an important role in the future harvest.
How to do it right:
- Single-stem varieties and hybrids with weak lateral shoots do not pinch.
- Self-pollinated varieties are tied up as soon as 2 lateral shoots grow - they need to be cut off after the first leaf, and then - as they grow up to 0.5 m in length.
- In varieties pollinated by bees, the main shoot is tied up, and as soon as it grows to half a meter, it is pinched. In this case, in the axils of 3-4 leaves from below, side lashes are removed. The next 3-4 shoots pinch up to 20 cm, and those growing higher - up to 50 cm.
- In non-pollinated hybrids, 4 side shoots are cut above the first leaf. Further on a meter along the length of the main stem, the whips are truncated, leaving one ovary at a time. Two ovaries are left a further half a meter higher. When the central stem reaches the top of the trellis, it is fixed horizontally and after the appearance of 3 shoots at the top, pinch it.
Treat against diseases and pests
Cucumbers are susceptible to many dangerous diseases such as powdery mildew or root rot.
How to protect against disease:
- Treat planting material with disinfectant solutions.
- Disinfect the greenhouse annually.
- Do not leave old plants in the beds after harvest.
- Spray with Bordeaux liquid (1%).
- Use disease resistant varieties.
To control pests such as whitefly or spider mites, you can treat the beds with ash or spray with soapy water. In case of a mass invasion, it is better to use chemical compounds such as Fitoverm, Iskra Bio and others.
Don't let the weeds grow
To protect the soil from depletion and pest infestation, weeds must be controlled.
There are two ways:
- Weed and loosen the soil regularly.
- Use mulch made from peat, grass cuttings, straw or geotextiles.
Be careful when harvesting
The scourge of cucumbers is very sensitive to damage - the plant can weaken or even get sick. Try not to pull the whips or tear off the fruits, but carefully break off or cut the stalk at the base.
It is not easy to grow tasty, even and juicy cucumbers, but if you try and follow all the rules, you can get a bountiful and healthy harvest every year.
Read also: All do not care! How to deal with blackening and curling of pear leaves?
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