When to sow cucumbers in the ground

Like many other wonderful things, cucumbers came to us from India. This valuable food product is able to saturate the body with the necessary nutrients, and quench thirst, and noticeably improve the appearance, if applied to the skin as a natural cosmetic product. Cucumbers purchased in retail chains are inferior in taste and energy qualities to those grown in their own dacha. Growing them yourself is not that difficult.

Content:

• Primary requirements
• Optimal climatic conditions
• Seed sowing rules
• Sowing preparation
• Growing seedlings

Primary requirements

First of all, it is necessary to take care of protecting plants from cold snaps in spring, because even at a soil temperature of no higher than ten degrees Celsius, the delicate root system is under serious stress and may die.

Among the people, the best landmark is considered to be a fading hawthorn, giving the go-ahead to sowing cucumber seeds in the ground. Traditionally, cucumbers are sown on May 15 at Athanasius, and folk omens call this day Solovyin and claim that the great Sowers Boris and Gleb come out into the field, giving us a good example.

Cucumbers are uncomfortable with sudden changes in moisture, so the soil must be constantly kept optimally moistened. It is better to water in the evening, using water warmed up in the sun, direct the jets to the ground under the plant.

Since for cucumbers it is very important to have sufficient lighting to provide it, plants with tall stems, such as corn or sunflowers, are planted in parallel as curtains, which create a more favorable microclimate for the growth and development of cucumbers.

Delicious cucumbers quench hunger and thirst at the same time on a hot summer day. Light fresh vegetable salads are exactly what the body needs after a long cold winter and a spring poor in vitamins. Of course, today you can buy anything - huge supermarkets offer fruits and vegetables all year round. But you can be sure of the quality of a product only when you grow it yourself.

Optimal climatic conditions

Many owners who have a land plot with a vegetable garden are engaged in the cultivation of cucumbers. In the northern regions, where the warm season is a little shorter, you have to cover them with a film, grow in greenhouses... To the south, you can safely sow and plant in open ground, having previously germinated in the house, on the windowsills. Some gardeners first soak the seed, others plant it dry.

And when to sow cucumbers in open ground is an ambiguous question. It is impossible to say exactly in time, since weather conditions can change depending on the geographical location of a particular territory, as well as in different years.

The main thing is that the ground should already be warm enough, and the nights should not be too cold. The optimum temperature for the growth and development of this plant is + 20-25 degrees.

Seed sowing rules

Previously, you can fertilize the soil for cucumbers with leaves and peat, straw, sawdust and grass, pouring compost and organic matter into the trenches and mixing with the ground. Sprinkle the top with soil and plant cucumber seeds.

You cannot make a bed in the same place for several years in a row. Can be alternated with tomatoes and root vegetables, legumes and onions.

While the plants have not grown much, it will be useful to loosen the soil around them.

Preparation for seasonal sowing should be started from the previous autumn, by laying beds slightly raised above the ground level due to compost, plant residues, mowed grass, small twigs and coniferous needles, with the addition of sawdust, shavings and straw manure. Fermentation processes in the garden bed in the spring will give additional temperature from the inside, and the raised bed will bring the sown seeds closer to the spring sun rays.

Sowing preparation

If self-pollinating varieties, which are difficult to call parthenocarpic ones, are better suited for greenhouse cultivation, then for open ground you can take those that are pollinated by insects, because they are undoubtedly tastier and healthier. Hybrid varieties yield more generous yields, but their seeds are more expensive. To improve germination and reduce barren flowers, on the eve of sowing, the seeds are kept near the heating battery for the whole month.

The heated seed is washed in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, rinsed in clean water and soaked for a day in an aqueous solution of sifted wood ash. Placed in a damp cloth for a couple of days and placed in a warm place, the seeds swell and slightly hatch. As a hardening procedure, they can be put in the lowest section of the refrigerator for another day, after which we proceed to sowing.

Growing seedlings

Hybrid varieties and seeds purchased in company stores do not need such preparation and pre-heating. They can immediately be sown in peat tablets so that three-week-old plants are planted in the ground by mid-May.

Seedlings of cucumbers, as a representative of pumpkin plants, are very painful to perceive even minor damage to the roots, therefore, during transplantation, injury to the root system should not be allowed.

Cucumber seedlings are very sensitive to drafts, which must be borne in mind when protecting the plants from sudden gusts of wind. As a natural fertilizer, you can use a fermented infusion prepared from a mixture of dandelions and nettle, aged for a week. Diluted with warm water, such a dressing will be gratefully accepted by the plants.

You can sow cucumbers in two streams: for salads and streaming use - in the month of May, and varieties for pickling and for canning - in the summer, when the soil warms up enough. The effort spent on growing cucumbers pays off with the pleasure and benefits of using this valuable food product.