How to grow cucumber seedlings: preparing seeds, soil and planting in the ground

In order for cucumbers to give a harvest as early as possible, they must be grown from seedlings. Even an inexperienced gardener can do this action. Growing cucumbers from seedlings should be carried out in the following stages: seed preparation, soil preparation, sowing seeds and seedling care.

All these actions must be carried out according to strictly established rules. Then the cucumbers will give not only an early, but also a rich harvest.

Content:

• Features of seed preparation
• How to prepare the soil correctly?
• Planting seeds and taking care of seedlings

Features of seed preparation

Before planting cucumber seeds, you must produce them careful selection... In the event that you want to use homemade seeds, then they must be stored at a temperature of +16 degrees. Fulfillment of this condition will allow storing seeds for up to 10 years without losing their qualities. It should be remembered that the highest yield of cucumbers can be provided by seeds 3-4 years ago.

If seeds are not available at home, then they must be purchased at a specialized store. To obtain the first harvest, it is necessary to choose early varieties of this plant. When buying cucumbers for seedlings, it is best to give preference to hybrids that belong to the F1 series. This is due to the fact that these varieties are characterized by hardiness, productivity and vitality.

When choosing seeds, you must also pay attention to:

• Their appearance. The seeds should be shiny, large and clean.
• When buying seeds, you need to pay attention to the date of their release. Do not give preference to annual seeds, as they are unproductive.
• In order to separate empty and unusable seeds, they must be soaked in salted water. In such water, dry seeds will float, and live ones will drown.
• To protect young plants from fungal diseases, the seeds must be placed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. To activate the germination of seeds and get friendly shoots, they are soaked for 8 hours before planting.

When planting seedlings in April, it is necessary to choose only early varieties of cucumbers.

If the planting will be carried out at the end of May, then it is necessary to choose varieties that are characterized by resistance to a variety of diseases. When buying processed seeds, it is not worth preparing them for planting. If the seeds have a different color, then they are processed with all the necessary substances, including a growth stimulant.

How to prepare the soil correctly?

Today in stores there are a large number of different mixtures that can be used for planting cucumber seeds. If there is no desire or opportunity to purchase ready-made soil, then you can easily prepare it yourself.

Soil for cucumbers:

• To do this, you need to take one bucket of earth, in which add one glass of ash, three liters of humus and a tablespoon of superphosphate and mix.
• When choosing clay soil, it is still necessary to add from 1 to 2 liters of sand to this composition.
• You can also take one bucket of soil from the garden to prepare the soil. It is diluted with a bucket of manure compost and the same amount of fine sawdust.
• When choosing peat as a soil, it is necessary to neutralize it. To do this, add 50 grams of ash to one bucket of peat.To neutralize peat, you can also add one tablespoon of urea, two tablespoons of superphosphate and one tablespoon of potassium sulfate per bucket of soil.

At planting cucumber seeds in the boxes it is necessary to add as many loosening elements as possible to the mixture. Such elements include sand or sawdust. When filling cups with a mixture, you need to take care of its density. This is done so that when transplanting cucumbers, the lump of earth does not crumble.

Planting seeds and taking care of seedlings

Dry seeds or seeds that have already hatched after bubbling must be planted in the ground, 2 pieces per plastic cup or pot. In order to be sure of the similarity of the seeds, it is best to sparge them. This procedure involves placing a gauze or canvas bag of seeds in a container of water. A compressor for the aquarium is installed in the same container.

The bubbling is carried out within 18 days, and after that they are immediately disembarked.

After planting the seeds, the cups or pots must be kept at a temperature of +25 degrees. Peat pots are often used to ensure the optimum temperature. Their height should be no more than five millimeters. It is necessary to deepen the seeds into the soil no more than one and a half millimeters. After covering the seeds of cucumbers with soil, it is well moistened, and the cups are covered with a dark film. Under optimal conditions, seedlings appear after 4 days. After the appearance of the first shoots, the film is removed, but the temperature is maintained until the cotyledon is completely unfolded.

After unfolding the cotyledon the temperature must be reduced to +16 degrees. This action is performed in order to limit the possibility of drooping or pulling seedlings. Next, you need to raise the temperature to 18 degrees. At night, it must be reduced to 13 degrees.

When pulling seedlings, it is necessary to increase the illumination of the room, as well as reduce the temperature:

1. If the seedlings do not have enough daylight, then they need to provide additional lighting. To obtain high-quality seedlings and accelerate the onset of fruiting, it is necessary to provide good lighting in the room. That is why fluorescent lamps are used.
2. Energy saving lamps are also ideal.
3. After germination of the seeds, the lamps must be placed 5 centimeters from them. The illumination is turned on in the morning, and off after 7 hours.

The process of growing cucumber seedlings lasts for a month. During this period, her need to feed twice:

• For the first time, feeding must be done two weeks after germination. For this purpose, one tablespoon of urea is taken and diluted in three liters of water. Under each plant, it is necessary to add 50 grams of this solution.
• The second feeding is done in a week. For this purpose, nitrophoska and zalo are used in a ratio of 1: 2 (teaspoons) and diluted in 3 liters of water.

After the appearance of the first shoots of this plant, it is necessary to harden it. This action is performed so that the cucumber seedlings can painlessly take root in open ground conditions. That is why when seedlings appear, the temperature in the room decreases by 5-6 degrees.

Watering is an important aspect of seed growing.

It should be produced in moderation. When watering, waterlogging or stagnation of water is unacceptable. For watering seedlings settled water is used, the temperature of which is 24 degrees. If cold water is used for irrigation, the death of seedlings can be expected.

When planting cucumber seeds, it is imperative to observe the deadlines. If the seeds are planted in a heated greenhouse, then this action must be performed no later than mid-April.Seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place in the same greenhouse at the beginning of May. Seeds are planted under the film in the second decade of April. If all these rules are followed, growing cucumber seedlings will be as productive as possible, and the plant itself will give a good and rich harvest.

More information can be found in the video.