In autumn, when cucumber crop already harvested, in the garden it is a huge amount of foliage of cucumber. What to do with so many plant waste? Burn or use for the benefit of the garden? Let's investigate.
First we need to determine if the tops characteristic for diseases infected cucumbers. After all, if the plant was struck by a fungus in the process of growth and fruiting, can not continue to use it in the garden. It can be a vector of disease and deliver a lot of problems in the next year.
How to determine whether infected tops?
In summer, when the cucumbers grow and develop, to find the infected leaves and whip will have no difficulty. They strongly stand out against the healthy plants. But in the fall, when even a healthy tops begin to dry and turn black, identify the disease will be much more difficult.
The main symptom of infection of plants are irregular dark spots and "islands" of rot. Healthy leaves begin to turn yellow and dry at about the same time, and quite evenly.
Explicit wilting leaves without reason, is a consequence of the defeat of Fusarium - a fairly common disease among the cucumbers. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to much wilted leaves.
Try also to remember the summer of sick and located in "risk" plants. In the future, these will be used immediately for combustion.
How to burn the infected tops
All contaminated tops should immediately burn. Otherwise, you run a high risk to infect healthy plants.
However, just throw the whip the fire will not work. Wet leaves are poorly lit and begin to smoke heavily. Before burning them to be dried. It is in this lies the challenge. After the drying process fungal spores may be spread by the wind throughout the area, which will lead to the speedy spread of the fungus.
Therefore, dry tops is necessary only in a windless place (room), as close as possible to the place of burning. This is done to ensure that in the process of drying the spores of the fungus does not spread over the site.
The best option would be to burn the tops off the field, but such a possibility in the majority of gardeners there is simply no.
If you decide to burn the "wet" tops, make sure that the fire is strong enough and will not be extinguished by the plants. It is best to throw in a big fire small bundles of lashes.
How to use healthy tops
If you are lucky and cucumber tops appeared healthy, it is best to use for compost.
No need to use the tops as mulch, as a winter will not be enough, so that it turned into a nutritious, rich in trace elements earth.
In addition to the compost of cucumber foliage turns a beautiful ash. Healthy whip is best to dry and burn with birch or pine wood.
If you want to use the ashes as fertilizer, never use fire-extinguishing water. All the necessary trace elements simply leave the ground with moisture.
I would be very happy if my article was useful to you. Put a "thumbs up" and subscribe to my channel gardening.