In the yard is now August and I have long harvest cucumbers. However, you should not relax, the plants still need to make and maintain.
In this article I will talk about how proper maintenance and care allow me to extend the fruiting of cucumber for a few weeks. For myself, I have identified five basic rules that observe every year in the second half of August.
1. Do not disturb plants
If the cucumbers grow on the ground, not Squirting on the ropes, do not bother them. Lying on new Scourge roots are formed, which allow the plant to get out of the ground more nutrients. If you start to raise the whip, the roots will be damaged and there will be micronutrient deficiencies that affect the formation of new fruits.
It is worth paying attention to the vertical growing cucumbers. If their lower lashes lay on the ground, do not touch them.
2. Protect cucumbers from disease
At the end of the summer - in the fruiting period, cucumbers emit a lot of energy on the formation of the fruit, so they are particularly highly susceptible to various diseases. Among the most common:
- Askohitoz - Learn possible for brown and gray spots on the leaves;
- Anthracnose - Learn possible for "dents" in the fruit;
- Bacteriosis - manifested in the form of spots and small holes in the leaves;
- Cladosporium - Learn possible along the yellow-brown spots on the leaves;
- Peronosporosis - Yellow spots. Sometimes it can be combined and the sheet will look completely yellow.
At the first sign of the disease immediately proceed to treatment. If cucumbers ill, long fruiting can not wait.
3. Protect plants from temperature changes
Night in the second half of August, very cold, but during the day the sun is still warm, even hot. This leads to a strong temperature differences within one day.
If the cucumbers grow on the street, be sure to harbor them, otherwise they just freeze. Mulch the soil with hay and sawdust, it will protect the roots from the cold night air.
Plants growing in the greenhouse, it will be easier to move the August temperature drops. But despite this, I mulch the soil, even in the greenhouse.
4. Periodically remove the crop
One of the basic rules of a long fruiting - collect a lot of young cucumbers. Not grown giants.
The thing is that large cucumbers require a lot of nutrients that are needed for young people.
In addition, young cucumbers taste better, healthier and longer stored. And it is no less important.
5. Limit watering
In the late summer of cucumbers not already need abundant watering. In the evening and at night the air is very humid, so the lack of water plants do not suffer.
Watering in the morning standing in moderation. I water about 9-10 am. It is enough to wait for the evening damp air.
I follow these rules for many years and every year my cucumber fruit for 2-3 weeks longer than in neighboring countries.