Cucumber planters

Winter sang blizzard songs, huddled in a worn sheepskin coat under the high sun. It’s time to think about what cups to buy for planting seedlings for cucumbers.

Avoiding transplants during picks

Cucumber seedlings are tender. Transplants, picks retard the growth of shoots of cucumber seedlings due to injuries to the root system. But the seedling method helps to get the first cucumbers in 1-2 weeks. The solution is obvious: sow in a bulk container and do not disturb until landing on the site.

Disadvantages:

• For a month, plants take up as much space as seedlings before planting;

Pros:

• Germinated seeds give 100% germination;
• The soil for planting seedlings is scalded with boiling water, no one will encroach on tender roots;
• Weak plants are culled on the day of planting;
• There are five spare plants left for an unforeseen event.

Peat cups

Peat cups began to be produced in the 80s of the last century. The idea is good: the roots will remain intact, fertilizer for the period of growth side by side. Peat pots do not collapse when wet, retain their shape until disembarkation. Manufacturers claim that antiseptic treatment against insemination by weeds and pests has been carried out. And that the composition is chemically harmless.

Places for seedlings of cucumbers are constantly not enough. If you purchase sets of different-sized cups, then a gradual transplant into a larger pot will partially help you find a place on the windowsill before transferring to the balcony for hardening seedlings. Acquisition costs will increase, but the struggle for the sun from the window is worth it. The final cup size for 30 days cultivation is Ø 11 cm.

Manifestations of falsification:

• Oppression of seedlings of cucumbers;
• Inability to break through the roots after disembarkation;
• The remains of the cups do not decompose in the ground.

Difficulties arise with compliance with the humidity regime. The walls of the glass are added to the evaporation area, the soil dries up, excess moisture leads to mold. The optimal solution is to add soil, sawdust or other aggregate that prevents evaporation around the conical cups. Soil drying problems will disappear.

Even in a permeable peat pot, it is desirable to perforate the bottom. When transplanting into a larger cup or into the soil, it is recommended to cut off the bottom, cut the side walls to the full length in 4 places or remove if in doubt as to the quality of the pot material.

Favorable conditions for the early development of seedlings of cucumbers in peat cups are created in mini-greenhouse cassettes: the humidity regime is unchanged, controlled by the amount of evaporation on a transparent cap. Cool air does not cool the sprouts. In addition to pots, you will have to take care of the substrate.

Peat tablets – a ready-made substrate for seedlings

The convenience of using peat tablets has already been appreciated by gardeners who grow cucumber seedlings on their own. A fivefold increase in the volume of the substrate creates ideal conditions for seed growth:

• Air permeability due to the porous structure of peat;
• Roots grow in a loose environment;
• Low probability of overdrying of the root system;
• The substrate serves as a fertilizer until the end of the growing season of the plant;
• Landing in the greenhouse occurs with an intact root system.

Peat tablets are a ready-made nutrient substrate for growing cucumber seedlings in a plastic cup or pot with a volume of 0,7–0,9 liters. The tablet is designed for 20-30 days of autonomous growth. High-moor peat is enriched with microelements and growth stimulator. The compact peat disc swells after watering within 15 minutes. The mesh over the peat tablet keeps the shape of the substrate unchanged.

The percentage of germination of non-germinated seeds in a peat tablet is higher than in the soil. Seed germination is accelerated due to aeration of the substrate. The control of the moisture content of peat is easier than that of conventional soil. Growing seedlings of cucumbers in deep trays with backfill around peat soil tablets or sawdust creates the best conditions for cucumbers.

The method of growing seedlings of cucumbers on peat tablets

Rave reviews about peat tablets are justified. Plants on germination and during the growing season develop dynamically on a natural substrate. The peat ball serves as top dressing for the root system of cucumbers even after planting in open ground.

When growing a large number of cucumber seedlings, it is convenient to use special plastic cassette trays. Peat tablets are placed in cells, filled with warm water. Excess water is removed. One germinated cucumber seed is placed in the holes of the tablets, sprinkled with soil. Dry seeds are planted in pairs, the weak seedling is subsequently removed so that the plants do not oppress each other.

The pallet is covered with a transparent cap to create a greenhouse microclimate. When seedlings of cucumbers appear, the pallets are exposed to the light, the seedlings are regularly aired. When the plants get stronger, their leaves reach the cover, the cap is removed. Watering cucumber seedlings after this is carried out regularly.

We plant cucumbers in peat tablets:

How are cucumbers in peat tablets?

Plastic containers for cucumber seedlings

Plastic containers for cucumber seedlings with peat-based soil have been used for many years. It is preferable to purchase multi-seat containers with rectangular cells having conical narrowing towards the base. There are inconveniences when using more than two cells in width:

• Cucumber seedlings on inner cells will get less light;
• Before planting in the ground, crowded cucumbers will interfere with the growth of neighbors;
• There will be inconvenience when removing plants from the container;
• Transportation and off-season storage of narrow containers is simplified.

Using mineral wool cubes

A promising method of growing seedlings of cucumbers on an artificial substrate by hydroponics using drip irrigation is gaining popularity. Chemically inert mineral wool with zero toxicity is used as a substrate. The choice of substrate material is determined by the following properties of mineral wool:

• There is no chemical interaction of the nutrient solution with the substrate due to the chemical neutrality and sterility of the material;
• The stability of retaining the shape and volume of the material allows the use of mineral wool cubes for several years. The root system is released from the substrate without injury;
• Availability of root system development control;
• Uniformity of seedlings and growth of seedlings of cucumbers;
• Affordability of low-volume hydroponics.

The impossibility of contamination of the substrate with soil pathogens, the study of chemically inert material makes mineral wool an ideal substrate for low-volume hydroponics in obtaining consistently high yields of cucumbers in summer cottages and farms.

The hygroscopicity of mineral wool makes it possible to manage with a small volume of substrate and solution (no more than 3,5–4 liters per plant). Drip irrigation systems of low power are able to provide the required amount of nutrient solution both for seedlings and for fruit-bearing cucumber plantations, on chemically neutral mineral wool during forcing seedlings and cultivating in a greenhouse.

For the root system of seedlings of cucumbers and fruit-bearing plants, the conditions for development and nutrition in an artificial substrate are optimal. It is important not to make a mistake in choosing the manufacturer of the nutrient solution. The early maturity, vitality of cucumber seedlings is completely subordinate to the strategy of watering and the development of the root system.

Rooting in the soil of seedlings of cucumbers grown on an artificial substrate occurs quite painlessly. The root system of cucumber seedlings develops actively if work has been carried out in the greenhouse to create an optimal microclimate, the soil is prepared for drip irrigation, fertilized with breathability.

Cups for seedlings from improvised material

Traditionally, our gardeners accumulate food packages during the winter, which are used as seedling cups. Container containers are quite acceptable for forcing cucumber seedlings: the materials are chemically neutral, do not decompose, and have a margin of safety.

The prevailing advantage of such cups for seedlings is zero cost. Stability and volume are in second place. Convenient laminated packages from under dairy products of a rectangular shape. Gardeners are attracted by stability, the absence of boundary voids, as is the case with round cups, the possibility of filling with a large volume of soil.

It should not be overlooked that in a small amount of soil, cucumber seedlings slow down in development before planting. The root system of such plants is not sufficiently developed and the first time after planting in the ground, the seedlings will not receive enough nutrients through the roots. The vegetation of the plant will slow down until the growth of the roots.

It is possible to replace laminated milk bags for growing cucumbers with the help of plastic bags up to 1 liter. The corners of the bag are connected in the center of the bottom with a paper clip or tape. In this way, the formation of an almost regular rectangle after filling with soil is ensured.

Ideas for the independent production of decomposing cups from newspapers and other printed paper products are time-consuming and unpromising. In addition to the accumulation of lead in the soil and plants, we get moldy containers that, after excessive watering, can fall apart.

Seedling cups made of polyethylene tapes:

Brief Summary

How many gardeners – so many opinions about the convenience of cups for growing cucumbers of a certain type. The shape of the cups, the material are secondary. Ease of maintenance, how much space it takes on the windowsill, the internal volume and quality of the substrate – these are the criteria that determine the choice of a gardener.

The crop of cucumbers is laid in cups on the windowsill. Mistakes and successes will appear within a week after planting the plants in the ground. We carefully listen to the advice of experts. And we do, as our own experience of growing cucumbers suggests.