Outdoor cucumber care from planting to harvest

Cucumbers are high in useful microelements and have excellent taste... Only the laziest, having a vegetable garden near the house, do not grow this vegetable.

Caring for them is simple, but nevertheless, certain conditions must be observed: there must be timely watering, top dressing and loosening of the soil, and it is also important to carry out preventive measures to combat pests and pathogenic microbes.

Outdoor Growing Tips

Which varieties are better to choose? This issue is resolved depending on the conditions in which the cucumbers will grow.

Cucumber is a heat-loving vegetable, therefore, when growing cucumbers in the open field, the beds should be located on the southern side of the site.

The plant does not like windy weather, so when planting, you need to protect the cucumbers from it as much as possible.

Moisture is very important. With a lack of it, vegetables will stop growing or taste bitter. The soil must be fertilized before planting. Humus, old grass, leaves, and plant stems can be used as fertilizer.

It is very important to observe the terms of planting and the conditions for the care of these vegetables in the open field. The quality of the crop also depends on the planting method. When spreading on the ground, the amount of fruit will be less. When installing trellises, the yield increases significantly.

Alternating the landing site with other crops

You cannot plant cucumbers after pumpkins and other cucumbers. With this alternation, all diseases of the previous vegetable will have the current pets. You can plant dill to repel pests. Seeds for open ground need to be purchased from cold-resistant and zoned varieties. Before planting cucumbers, the earth must be treated with copper sulfate. Be sure to pour humus into the holes. The ground should be moist and loose, so it is advisable to dig up the beds more than on the bayonet of a shovel.

The best predecessors for cucumbers are:

• cabbage;
• roots;
• legumes;
• onion;
• tomatoes;
• pepper.

The cucumber itself is a favorable predecessor for most other crops.

> Do not plant cucumbers close to each other: the distance between the holes must be at least thirty to forty centimeters.

When the lashes reach a length of ten centimeters, you need to pinch. At the same time, the yield increases.

Watering rules

Do not water the plants with a hose: the dense jet can wash out the roots.

During active growth and during the period of fruit formation, and this is practically the whole summer, cucumbers need to be watered regularly. This is due to the structural features of the root system.

Lack of moisture greatly impairs the quality of the fruit: the taste will be bitter... In this case, the leaves darken and become brittle. Such stress on the plant should not be tolerated.

The first watering of seedlings must be done with partial drying of the earth, in order to form a strong stem and a powerful root system in the future. Amount of liquid: for young plants, a bucket of water for one square meter is enough, adults need a whole bucket of water for each bush, while it is not desirable that the liquid erodes the roots.

> Watering is carried out in the evening or in the morning, in the absence of active sunlight.The water temperature should be more than twelve degrees, cold water negatively affects growth, and gray rot appears on the bushes. Water for irrigation is desirable defend in advance.

The regularity of watering does not depend on the variety; this action must be performed at least once every five days before flowering and every three days during fruiting. In hot weather, you need to water cucumbers almost every day. The dry land serves as a signal.

How to care for cucumbers outdoors

Sometimes gardeners use grass or rotted hay to mulch. This will protect the land from drying out and prevent weed growth. If a crust forms in the soil with abundant watering, it is necessary to make punctures about 15 cm deep. An important procedure is the formation of a bush, it consists in pinching and tying up.

In this case, lateral shoots with female flowers develop. The pinching is done taking into account the variety of cucumber; for hybrids and pollinated species, there are differences in care.

Method of forming a bush has several stages:

• a couple of weeks after planting, the plants are tied with twine to the trellis, the loop should be free and clasp the stem;
• form the main stem, while maintaining lateral branches, pluck flowers and shoots in the axils;
• five or six shoots are left, but at the same time pinch the top, leaving a length of about twenty centimeters;
• on shoots 30 cm, pinch the tops;
• the upper side shoots leave no more than 50 cm, tie them on a support;
• the main shoot 70 cm long, put over the trellis and pinch.

For early varieties, this is not necessary, but mid-season and late varieties require such events.

With a lack of nutrients, the leaves turn yellow and the fruits are deformed.

> A close examination of the harvested cucumbers in shape can determine what are the disadvantages of growing the plant and what needs to be added from the nutrients. With a lack of potassium in the soil, the fruits become pear-like, and with a small amount of nitrogen, the tips brighten and bend. When watering with cold water and a temperature drop, a waist appears in cucumbers, irregular watering leads to the formation of arched vegetables.

FEEDING OF CUCUMBERS

With the growth of shoots, they are fed with urea (1 tablespoon per ten liters of water).

In dry cold weather, it is useful to sprinkle plantings with potassium humate, in case of rains - sodium humate.

If the fruits have acquired an irregular shape, and a yellow border has appeared on the leaves, top dressing with ash is needed (1 handful per bucket of water). If you overdo it, the earth will become dense and tough.

So that the cucumbers do not give bitterness, you can feed them with the following solution: soak two kilograms of nettle leaves in ten liters of water and leave for three days, after fermentation, dilute one liter of infusion with ten liters of water. Can be watered once a week.

> Top dressing is an important part of grooming. Fertilizers:

1. Organic (manure, compost). If there are few of them, then it is enough to lay in rows or holes when sowing. Feeding with organic infusion is allowed during the growing season.
2. Mineral phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are used in autumn along with organic fertilizers, and nitrogen fertilizers - in spring. The rate depends on how fertile the soil is. On average, up to forty grams of superphosphate and twenty grams of ammonium nitrate are introduced per square meter. The maximum effect is obtained by the combined use of organic and mineral fertilizers.

If there is a slow formation of ovaries, you need to make foliar top dressing with urea (0.5 grams per liter of water). It is not advisable to do this in hot weather at high temperatures, since with the rapid evaporation of water, the concentration of fertilizers increases, this will lead to a burn of the plant.

After watering and fertilizing, the soil must be loosened. You need to do this after the rain. Mulching is also effective. It is forbidden to use black mulching film: due to strong heating, burns will result.Such a covering material can only be used when planting cucumbers, and as it grows, it is removed and left only in the aisles.

> Regular weeding of cucumbers is recommended, as weeds take nutrients from the soil. This can be combined with loosening. When loosening, it is important not to damage the roots of the cucumbers: they are located close to the surface.

Garter cucumber

When planting cucumbers in rows, you can put a peg up to one meter high along the edges and pull twine or wire between them. You can buy ready-made tapestries.

Cucumbers cling well to any obstacles, you just need to help them slightly to prevent thickening.

When tying up, make sure that the cucumbers are protected from the wind and in the sun. Tall plants such as corn can be planted around the perimeter.

Cucumbers grow on trellises without shade, so they ripen quickly. Tied cucumbers are easy to clean, as everything hangs in prominent places.

The video will clearly help to take care of cucumbers in the open field.

>

Taking care of cucumbers outdoors is quite simple, but it has some peculiarities. We will talk about them in this article.

The wind can inhibit the growth of cucumbers, as it increases evaporation and carries away carbon dioxide, which is very important for the formation of female flowers. Therefore, the first step is to sow the plants correctly in a suitable place protected from the wind. This factor is especially important during flowering. And then you will need to take care of the lash in the standard way: water, feed, huddle, loosen, weed and protect the borage from diseases and pests.

How to water cucumbers outdoors?

Proper watering is very important for the growth and fruiting of cucumbers. With a lack of moisture, there will be few fruits, and the taste will not please you too much. Irregular watering is the main reason for the bitterness of cucumbers. And even varieties that are genetically free of bitterness may not live up to your expectations.

Usually cucumbers are watered every 5-7 days, but in hot weather - much more often. If, when growing in a greenhouse, the regularity of watering can be roughly calculated, then with plantings in open ground it is more difficult to do this, since it is necessary to focus on weather conditions and constantly monitor the state of the soil.

Of course, during long rains, watering is completely stopped. And sometimes cucumbers completely protect against waterlogging: they lay drainage grooves so that the water does not stagnate. Otherwise, the roots may rot. In the heat, cucumbers are watered as the soil dries. At the same time, it should become wet to the full depth.

Cucumbers are watered early in the morning or in the evening when the sun goes down. The water temperature should be within 12-20 ° С

When watering young plants, 10 liters of water are consumed per 1 square meter, and adult cucumbers need so much liquid for each bush. It is also necessary to take into account that young plants are watered more often than adults.

Cucumbers in the open field are watered along the grooves or by sprinkling. But if, when grown in greenhouses, the leaves of a plant can be safely poured with water at any time of the day, then you need to be careful with watering cucumbers in open beds: if water gets on the leaves in sunny weather, they will get burns.

Loosening and mulching the soil

After each watering and rain, the soil in the aisles is loosened to a depth of 4-8 cm. For this, the lashes are carefully lifted or pushed aside, and after loosening, they are returned to their original place.

Loosening helps to avoid water evaporation and crust formation on the soil surface.

It is also useful to mulch the soil between the rows with straw, manure, peat, sawdust, craft paper or polyethylene.

Mulching with black film lowers the soil temperature by 2-4 ° C, so such cucumbers feel better in the heat.

Top dressing of cucumbers in the open field

Due to a lack of nutrients, cucumbers can get sick, their fruits will become small and tasteless. Therefore, the plants need to be fed during the season.In total, you need to carry out 3-4 feeding.

The first time fertilizers are applied after germination. In this case, mullein (1 liter of a thick solution per 10 liters of water) or chicken droppings (the same amount of fermented solution) with the addition of ash (2 glasses per 10 liters of water), as well as mineral fertilizers are used: 15 g of urea are diluted in 10 liters of water, 50 g superphosphate and 15 g potassium sulfate. During fruiting, the amount of nitrogen and potash fertilizers is doubled.

• How to feed cucumbers in the ground to double the yield

  Improper care of cucumbers can ruin the entire crop. How to prevent this by using top dressing and fertilizers?

In addition, foliar feeding is also useful. For example, every 15-20 days, cucumber leaves are sprayed with 5 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 8 g of potassium sulfate, diluted in 10 liters of water. This solution is enough for 30 square meters of plantings.

Pinching and tying cucumbers

After the formation of 6-7 leaves, the main stem of the plant is pinched over 5-6 leaves. This stimulates the branching of the bushes, the development of lateral stems with female flowers and increases the yield.

• How to pinch cucumbers correctly - useful tips with photos and videos

  Do you never pinch cucumbers? It's time to start, otherwise you may not wait for the harvest.

So that gray rot does not develop in the thickened borage during prolonged rains, the plants are tied to trellises: strong stakes about 1 m high are driven into the ground, a rope is pulled between them and cucumber lashes are tied.

With such proper care, your cucumbers will give a good harvest. But at the same time, do not forget to regularly (3-4 times a week) harvest the fruits, since untimely harvesting will restrain the growth of new cucumbers.

Cucumber has firmly settled in our gardens and has become an indispensable ingredient in many of our favorite dishes since ancient times. It got its name from the Greek word "aguros", which means "immature". It was cultivated in Ancient Rome and Ancient Egypt, as evidenced by the images on the frescoes in the temples. The earliest mentions of a cucumber are found in ancient Indian manuscripts, which are estimated to be about 6 thousand years old. In India, a wild relative of our cucumber still grows - a liana that hugs tree trunks and climbs 20 meters in search of life-giving light.

Knowing how to care for cucumbers, following simple methods and the recommendations of experienced vegetable growers, you can harvest a high yield of tasty and high-quality fruits even under adverse climatic conditions.

Seed and seedling preparation

Cucumbers are planted in the ground with seedlings or seeds. With the seedling method of growing, the first cucumbers are harvested half a month earlier than when planting with seeds. Preplant seed treatment:

1. A month before sowing cucumbers for seedlings or into the ground, large and full-bodied seeds are taken and heated near heating devices at a temperature of +25 ° C. This technique provides early fruiting, friendly germination and reduces the number of barren flowers.
2. For disinfection, cucumber seeds are pickled for an hour in an infusion of garlic (30 g of chopped garlic heads are infused in 100 ml of water) or kept in a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate).
3. A nutrient solution is prepared: in 1 liter of water, mix 1 tbsp. l nitrophosphate and wood ash. Cucumber seeds are soaked in it overnight.
4. Then the seeds are washed with clean water, placed in a damp cloth and left at a temperature of +20 ° C for two days to swell. Make sure that the seeds do not germinate, but only a little bit.
5. The final stage is hardening. The seeds are kept in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for 24 hours.

Such pre-sowing preparation applies only to varietal seeds of cucumbers. It is not necessary to warm up and process hybrid ones.

Cucumber seeds are sown in April approximately 2-3 weeks before planting seedlings in the beds. Separate containers or peat pots are prepared for seedlings, fill them with soil mixture from:

• humus - 1 part;
• peat - 1 part;
• small old sawdust - 0.5 parts.

For 10 liters of prepared soil add 2 tbsp. l. wood ash and 1.5 tbsp. l. nitrophosphate.

When the second real leaf appears, the seedlings of cucumbers are fertilized with a warm (+20 ° C) solution of nitroammophoska or nitrophoska (1 tsp. Diluted in 1 liter of water).

A week before planting on the beds, the seedlings begin to hardenexposing it to fresh air for several hours.

Planting seedlings and seeds of cucumbers in the ground

A bed for cucumbers is chosen well-lit, protected from drafts, with fertilized loose soil. Cucumbers can be planted in the same place no earlier than after 5 years. The optimal precursors for them are green manures, carrots, legumes, beets, tomatoes, cabbage, onions, corn, potatoes, peppers, and green crops. You can not plant cucumbers after representatives of the pumpkin family, because they are prone to the same diseases.

In the fall, the plot planned for planting cucumbers is prepared in this way:

• dig up;
• to reduce the acidity of the soil, peat or wood ash, slaked lime, dolomite flour or crushed chalk are introduced, and green manure is planted;
• make organic matter (manure, humus, peat or compost) per 1 sq. meter - 6-8 kg;
• make mineral fertilizers per 1 sq. meter: potassium sulfate - 6 g and in sandy soils - superphosphate.

If a garden bed is being prepared in the spring, then by 1 sq. meter make:

• organic matter - 8-10 kg;
• superphosphate - 20-40 g;
• potassium sulfate - 10–20 g;
• ammonium nitrate - 10-15 g

A day before planting cucumber seedlings, the garden bed is watered with very hot water with copper sulfate (10 liters - 1 tsp). For each square meter of the bed, 3 liters of solution are poured.

Cucumber seeds are sown in the prepared areawhen the soil warms up to a temperature of at least + 10-12 ° C, and the air - up to + 15 ° C by one of the methods:

• rows - with row spacing of 70–90 cm and the distance between the holes - 15–20 cm, deepening the seeds by 3–4 cm (2 seeds are planted, of which one sprout is left after thinning);
• nests - 60 x 60 or 70 x 70 cm, planting 4–5 seeds each.

When the temperature drops below + 15 ° C, the crops are covered with foil overnight.

Seedlings of cucumbers are planted in open beds when the soil warms up to + 17–20 ° C. The seedlings should have 3-4 true leaves. With the threat of night frosts, the seedlings are covered with a film.

Care Watering cucumbers

The development of cucumber bushes in the ground, yield and fruit taste depend on the quantity and quality of irrigation... Before the onset of the flowering period, the plants are watered once a week, spending from 3 to 6 liters per 1 sq. meter. In the fruiting phase, cucumbers need to be watered more often: once every 2-3 days, doubling the water consumption. In dry, hot weather, cucumber beds will have to be watered daily.

Always watered with warm (at least 20 ° C) and settled water early in the morning or in the evening, trying not to splash the leaves and erode the soil at the roots. To do this, use a watering can with a divider. The soil is moistened 15 cm deep.

In rainy weather, watering reduces... Excess moisture causes fungal diseases and root decay. When the soil is waterlogged, drainage grooves are dug.

Attention! Dark green brittle leaves in cucumbers indicate a lack of moisture, while pale green leaves indicate excess.

Weeding and loosening

While the seedlings are young, the soil is loosened with simultaneous weeding after watering. This is done carefully, to a depth of no more than 4 cm, so as not to damage the roots of the cucumbers located in the upper soil layer. Subsequently, in addition to loosening, the vines are spud to form additional roots, which is a good prevention of fungal diseases.

Top dressing for cucumbers in the open field

For intensive growth of cucumber bushes, their active fruiting requires systematic feeding. The first feeding is carried out at the stage of appearance of the second or third leaf at the shoots or 7-10 days after planting the seedlings in open ground with organic or mineral complex fertilizers in the following proportions:

• organic - in a 10-liter bucket of water, 1 liter of thick mullein or fermented solution of bird droppings and 2 glasses of wood ash are diluted;
• complex mineral fertilizers - 50 g of superphosphate, as well as 15 g of urea and potassium sulfate, are diluted in a 10-liter bucket of water.

Subsequent fertilization of cucumbers is carried out every 15 days. The amount of potash and nitrogen fertilizers applied during the fruiting period is doubled. Top dressing is carried out under the root of plants in the evening, always after watering with clean water.

In addition to root fertilization, cucumber care includes foliar feeding... They are used as an addition to root dressing, as well as during prolonged cold snaps, when the root system of plants is not able to assimilate nutrients from the soil. Foliar dressing is alternated with root dressings. For their implementation, use the same solutions as for root, but 2 times weaker.

A good result gives the use of unconventional dressings for cucumbers:

1. Wood ash - used up to six times throughout the season: as an additive to the soil mixture when sowing cucumber seeds for seedlings, in the phase of formation of the second leaf, during flowering and during the fruiting period — once every two weeks. They are applied simultaneously with organic fertilizers or embedded in the top layer of the soil (be sure to water the plants after that).
2. Yeast accelerates root formation. Soil bacteria fed with yeast are activated and enrich the soil with nitrogen and oxygen. Such feeding is carried out up to three times per season. 10 g of dry yeast are diluted in a bucket of water, 2 tbsp is added to enhance fermentation. l. sugar or jam, insist for several hours. One liter of the resulting solution is diluted in 5 liters of warm water and watered at the root. Watering should be done when the soil is already well warmed up.
3. Honey dressing is carried out during the flowering period of cucumbers to attract pollinating insects. In one liter of heated water, dilute 1 tbsp. l. honey and spray foliage.

A lack of nutrients or errors in care is indicated by the shape of the cucumbers:

• arcuate and lopsided fruits are the result of cross-pollination of hybrids or irregular watering;
• fruits narrowed in the middle (with a "waist") - the result of temperature changes or watering with cold water;
• light curved tips of cucumbers are formed due to a lack of nitrogen;
• pear-shaped fruits indicate a lack of potassium.

Cucumber bush formation

An important component of caring for cucumbers when grown in the open field is correct formation of the bushdirectly affecting the quality and quantity of fruits. To stimulate the formation of lateral shoots with female flowers, the main stem of late and mid-season varieties is pinched after the fourth or fifth leaf. Early varieties are not pinched, since their female flowers are formed on the main stem.

During prolonged rains in thickened plantings, it is recommended to tie the vines to trellises to avoid the disease of gray rot. For this, the ropes are pulled between meter stakes driven into the ground, and cucumber lashes are tied to them.

The garter solves several problems:

• saves usable area on the site;
• protects against the development of diseases arising from contact of plants with the ground;
• as a result of better illumination of cucumber bushes, the fruits are tied and grow faster;
• facilitates the care of cucumber bushes and harvesting.

To avoid injury to adult plants, the garter begins when the vines reach a length of 30 cm. It is convenient to use special nets for garter cucumbers, which are pulled over the trellises. Cucumber lashes are placed on the grid cells and the vines begin to weave along them.

Pest and disease control in cucumbers

Open field cucumbers are more susceptible to disease and pests.

The most common diseases of cucumbers:

1. Powdery mildew is a fungal disease in which a white bloom appears on the leaves and petioles. Plants die without treatment. Urgent measures include removing weeds that can spread the disease, applying fungicides and treating with sulfur-containing preparations.
2. Cladosporium is a fungal disease that mainly affects plants kept in conditions of high humidity and subject to temperature extremes. When identifying characteristic signs in the form of grayish-black spots on the leaves and fruits, curvatures and stopping the growth of zelents, they are treated with drugs based on benzimidazoles.
3. Peronosporosis, or downy mildew, is also a fungal disease. It manifests itself in the form of formation of yellow spots on the leaves or plaque with further death of plants. The main methods of combating the disease: preventive treatment of seed with a solution of potassium permanganate, observance of crop rotation, removal of diseased cucumber bushes and treatment of the remaining fungicides.

Of the pests, most often open field cucumbers infect:

1. Aphids - prefers young leaves. The affected leaves curl and shrivel, the plants stop developing and die. Insects up to 2 mm in size are clearly visible with the naked eye. Wet and moderate weather contributes to their distribution. To destroy pests, insecticides are used, which are recommended to be alternated.
2. Minerals infect open ground cucumbers during the fruiting period. The larvae of miner flies gnaw through tunnels inside the leaf plate, as a result of which whitish patterns appear on the leaves of cucumbers. If the number of affected leaves is insignificant, they are cut off and buried. With a large spread of pests, the same drugs are used as against aphids.

Harvesting and storage

For the active formation of new ovaries and a high yield in the initial period of fruiting, cucumbers are harvested in 2-3 days, and with the beginning of the mass harvest - every other day. It is not recommended to leave twisted, overgrown, diseased greens. When picking cucumbers, it is impossible to lift or move cucumber lashes, so as not to damage the adventitious roots that form in places where they come into contact with the soil.

The best time to collect greens is in the morning, when the fruits are maximally saturated with moisture. Harvested cucumbers should not be left in the sun. They are not stored for long, so they are canned, salted or pickled. To preserve for one to two weeks, the cucumbers are placed in a saucepan, poured with cold water, and tightly closed with a lid. The water needs to be changed daily.

Depending on the purpose, cucumbers of the following sizes are harvested:

• 8-10 cm - for conservation;
• 8-18 cm - for pickling;
• 12 cm - for preparing salads and fresh consumption.

If you pick cucumbers often, small fruits are formed for conservation. Rarer harvests contribute to the formation of cucumbers for lettuce and pickling.

> Cucumber

Is one of the most ancient and popular vegetable crops. This is one of the few vegetables that is eaten unripe - the greener and smaller its fruits, the tastier they are.

The greener and smaller the cucumbers, the tastier they are. People began to actively cultivate cucumbers back in ancient times, about six thousand years ago, as evidenced by the finds near the ruins of the Khazar city of Sarkep, where they found dried cucumber seeds. The Greeks called this vegetable "aguros", which means "unripe and unripe", which is where the name comes from - cucumber. They were brought to Europe from India, where their progenitor grows - a wild cucumber, a tropical vine with long branches-whips, growing in forests.

Growing cucumbers

Cucumbers can be grown both in seedling and non-seedling methods. They are hypersensitive to cold, and good seed germination depends on the temperature of the soil - it should be at least +14 ° C.

You can grow cucumbers both by seedlings and by sowing directly into the ground.
Cucumbers can be grown successfully in a variety of soil types with adequate aeration and drainage, although they grow best on light and humus-rich soils. The experience of many gardeners has shown that they respond well to the introduction of various organic fertilizers that improve the structure of the soil.You should not grow cucumbers in one place more often than once in 5 years, otherwise they will be highly susceptible to disease. Best predecessors: corn, tomatoes, peas and early potatoes. When growing cucumbers, they need to be regularly supplied with various nutrients.

Growing cucumbers in seedlings

The seedling method of growing makes it possible to significantly accelerate fruiting. So, in the open field, the first crop of cucumbers grown in seedlings can be obtained 2 weeks earlier than cucumbers grown in the usual way. During planting, the plants should have 3-4 true leaves, that is, be 2-3 weeks old.


Seedling growing method will significantly accelerate fruiting

To grow cucumbers with seedlings, you must:

1. Take full-weight large seeds that have passed pre-sowing heating (for this you need to hold them for a month near heating devices at a temperature of about +25 ° C). Seeds heated in this way will give maximally friendly shoots, the plants will begin to bear fruit earlier and will produce less barren flowers.
2. Then the seeds are needed disinfect: for this, you can use an infusion of garlic pulp - for 100 g of water (cold) 30 g of garlic pulp. We keep the seeds in this infusion for an hour.
3. After that, we put them in cloth bags and soak for 12 hours in a nutrient solution: 1 liter of water + 1 tsp. spoon of sifted wood ash and nitrophosphate.
4. Then, after rinsing with clean water, put them on a slightly damp cloth and keep them for about 2 days at a temperature of +20 ° C - until they swell completely. Make sure that the seeds do not germinate, they should only slightly nibble.
5. The last stage of pre-sowing processing of cucumber seeds is to place them in the refrigerator for a day.

Remember: hybrid seeds do not need pre-sowing treatment.

Cucumber seeds are sown in small containers
Sowing cucumber seedsto get seedlings, throughout April - in small containers with a height of about 10-12 cm.

• A nutritious soil mixture should be prepared in advance: 1 part of sawdust (we use small and old ones) + 2 parts of humus and peat each. Add 1.5 tablespoons to 10 liters of this mixture. tablespoons of nitrophosphate and 2 tablespoons. spoons of wood ash.
• Having mixed the soil mixture well, fill the containers with it to the top, sow the germinated seeds (one piece per container) and water them a little. The seedlings will be ready in 27-32 days.
• When the seedlings have 2 real leaves, it must be fed with a special solution: mix 3 liters of warm (about + 20 ° C) water + 3 teaspoons. spoons of nitroammophoska or nitrophoska.
• Throughout the entire growing period, we water the cucumber seedlings once a week, spilling the container completely.

Sowing and planting seedlings of cucumbers

The best soil will be a mixture: 1 part each of sawdust, humus, peat and sod land (1: 1: 1: 1). But, as we already said, almost any land is suitable for growing cucumbers.

Almost any land is suitable for growing cucumbers.
Having formed the beds, we water them with a solution: 10 liters of hot (+80 ° C ... + 90 ° C) water + 1 tsp. a spoonful of copper sulfate, we spend about 3 liters per 1 m², and leave it for a day. On the day of planting cucumber seedlings or sowing seeds on the ridges, we make holes, the depth of which is about 4 cm, with a distance of about 60 cm from each other. We put the seeds in the holes, sprinkle them with soil on top and water them, and plant the seedlings vertically.

Cucumber care

Cucumber beds should always be weed-free. During the first 3 weeks, while the plants are small, carefully loosen the soil to a depth of 2-4 cm. In the future, loosening should be carried out at least once a week.

During the growth and formation of fruits, cucumbers need plenty of water... For the highest yield, water using warm water: before flowering - every 6-8 days, during fruiting - every 3-4 days.

So you can't water cucumbers: water should fall on the soil, and not on the plants.
If the water seeps poorly, make punctures between the rows with a pitchfork, this loosening will not disturb the root system of the plants. Do not water the cucumbers with a strong stream from the hose, you only need to water the soil, not the plants themselves.

Feeding cucumbers

If you grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, fertilizing must be carried out 5 times per season - with organic and mineral fertilizers.

Cucumbers need regular feeding

• For the first time, we feed the cucumbers at the beginning of their flowering with the following solution: add 1 teaspoon to 10 liters of water. a spoonful of urea, potassium sulfate and superphosphate, mix and add a glass of mushy mullein. Instead of a glass of mullein, you can take 1 table. spoon of sodium humate.

• During the fruiting period of cucumbers grown in the open field, they need to be fed about 4 times. The first feeding is done with a solution of 10 liters of water, table. tablespoons of nitrophoska and a glass of mushy chicken droppings. And all the subsequent ones are like this: add 1 teaspoon to 10 liters of water. a spoonful of potassium sulfate and 0.5 liters of mullein, for 1 m² you will need 4-6 liters of solution. If there is no droppings and mullein, it is easy to replace them with the formulations "Nursery", "Fertility", "Ideal" (they all refer to natural humic fertilizers) or simply sodium humate.

The process of feeding cucumbers in the open field is shown in the following video:

Cucumber care is and in tying up shoots plants, which must be carried out regularly - as they grow.

After the formation of 6-7 leaves, the main stem of the cucumber needs pinch, by this you stimulate the branching of the plant and increase the yield.

Do not forget about the regular collection of fruits (2-3 times a week), it will contribute to more abundant fruit formation.

Outdoor cucumber hybrids

There are more and more varieties and hybrids of cucumbers every year. At the same time, their composition is significantly updated annually - preference is given to the earliest, well-fertile, relatively resistant to various diseases.

Outdoor cucumber hybrids
Remember that all F1 hybrids do not retain their unique properties in the second generation, that is, there is no point in collecting seeds.

'Farmer F1'

A mid-season fruitful bee-pollinated hybrid with a predominantly female type of flowering, relatively cold-resistant, extremely resistant to powdery and downy mildew and olive spot. Cucumbers ‘Farmer F1’ are grown in protected and open ground. The green fruit reaches 12 cm. The peculiarity of this hybrid is the intensive growth of the main lash and the rapid appearance of lateral shoots, it is with the regrowth of which that the peak of mass fruiting occurs.

Cucumber F1 Othello12 rbl WATCH
Russian Vegetable Garden

Cucumber Farmer F129 rbl WATCH

‘Othello F1’

A uniquely early ripening hybrid: the ripening of small tuberous fruits begins already 45 days after the shoots have appeared.

Cucumbers without bitterness are ideal for fresh consumption
The ‘Othello F1’ crunchy cucumbers have a pleasant taste (even overripe fruits remain sweet) and are genetically devoid of bitterness. Fruits can keep excellent taste and presentation for a long time. Resistant to powdery mildew, cucumber mosaic virus, downy mildew and cladosporiosis. The hybrid is cultivated not only in the open field, but also in greenhouses, as well as using temporary film shelters.

‘Regina F1’

Mid-early hybrid. It is used for growing under temporary film shelters as well as in the open field. The variety is inclined to parthenocarp, quite resistant to viruses of cucumber mosaic, root rot, pathogens of powdery mildew (real) and cladosporium. Graceful fruits are also devoid of bitterness and are distinguished by excellent taste, ripening already 50-55 days after germination.

‘Leandro F1’

A fairly early and high-yielding hybrid, resistant to stressful conditions and various diseases.It is distinguished by the female type of flowering, due to which it bears fruit well. Cucumbers with large pimples are great for pickling.

‘Evita F1’

An early ripe hybrid. Due to the predominantly female type of flowering, it has high yields. Equally super-resistant to stressful conditions and disease. Recommended for cultivation in tunnels and open field. Fruits - dense pimpled cucumbers are characterized by high pickling qualities: they are devoid of bitterness, with small seed chambers. Many growers consider it to be the best hybrid for canning.

Dense pimpled cucumbers are good for pickles
In addition to the above, such varieties of cucumbers as are good for growing in the open field:

• ‘Parisian gherkin’;
• ‘Crane’;
• ‘Desdemona’;
• ‘Moscow gherkin’.

Protected ground cucumber hybrids

To make it easier to choose hybrids by quality, we divided them into two groups.

Protected ground cucumber hybrids
In the first, bee-pollinated were placed: to obtain fruits, pollination by insects is required.

‘Octopus F1’

Harvest early ripening hybrid of gherkin type. Cylindrical fruits are dark green, thorny, absolutely devoid of bitterness, reaching 5-10 cm in length.

Bee-pollinated hybrids need pollinating insects
‘Octopus F1’ is resistant to bacteriosis, cladosporiosis and relatively resistant to root rot and downy mildew.

'Spring F1'

Mid-season hybrid. The length of the main lash is about 3 m, with medium branching. Fruits are cylindrical, with a smooth base, slightly tuberous, without bitterness. In one bunch, 3-4 fruits are simultaneously formed, the mass of zelents reaches 100 g.

‘Zozulya F1’

An early ripening hybrid, partially parthenocarpic. Fruiting occurs already 45-50 days after the shoots have appeared. Fruits are cylindrical, rarely lumpy, without bitterness, 13-25 cm long. Up to 25 kg of cucumbers are removed from 1 m².

Cucumber F1 Prestige33 rbl WATCH
Russian Vegetable Garden

Cucumber F1 Spring13 rbl WATCH
Russian Vegetable Garden

Cucumber "Zozulya F1" (Aelita), 10 pcs.16 rbl WATCH
The Gardener's Empire

Cucumber Patti F136 rbl WATCH
Sedek

The second section includes parthenocarpic hybrids that set fruits without insect pollination.

‘Kinglet F1’

Early: fruiting occurs as early as 43-55 days after mass germination. Zelentsy are large-lumpy, cylindrical, 20-22 cm long, weighing 150-190 g. Excellent taste (no bitterness), suitable both for fresh consumption and for canning. It is characterized by complex resistance to ascochitosis, powdery mildew, brown spot and peronosporosis.

‘Prestige F1’

Self-pollinating early maturing over-yielding hybrid. Provided the correct agrotechnology from 1 m², you can get over 25 kg of gherkins of excellent quality: the fruits are not bitter, they are stored for a long time.

Parthenocarpic hybrids do not need insect pollination. It has a long fruiting period, in addition, it is resistant to diseases, and also tolerates stressful conditions quite easily. The most stable yields are under the film. It can grow well not only in open ground, but also on a balcony or windowsill.

‘Patty F1’

A newly bred early self-pollinating hybrid. It differs mainly in the female type of flowering, that is, it gives a lot of cucumbers: the fruits are small-bumpy, with elastic flesh. Resistant to 'Patti F1' and to various diseases.

You will find more interesting and useful information about growing, processing and storing cucumbers in the articles:

• 11 secrets of a good harvest of cucumbers
• What is the secret of cucumber productivity
• Choosing varieties of cucumbers
• How to choose varieties of cucumbers for greenhouses
• Choosing the right cucumber seeds - and everything will be a bunch
• Choosing hybrids of cucumbers with a super-bundle type of ovaries
• Most-very: the best hybrids of cucumbers from the agricultural firm "Gavrish"
• The Japanese way of germinating cucumber seeds: advice from Julia Minyaeva
• How to achieve fruiting cucumbers until frost