Cucumbers: how to grow a good harvest

Cucumbers are a very early crop, early varieties yield a crop within 40 days after germination. However, even the later ones begin to bear fruit early – after 60 days. However, few people manage to get maximum yields – cucumbers quickly get sick and dry out. Often this is due to improper care. Therefore, it is important to provide this culture with the most comfortable conditions.

Cultivation of cucumbers

To get a good crop of cucumbers, they need to provide two main conditions: good lighting and heat (1). Therefore, they should be planted in the sunniest area – there they will receive the maximum amount of light and heat.

Almost any soil is suitable for cucumbers, with a reaction close to neutral or slightly acidic. But they grow best in fertile areas with light soils rich in organic matter. If the land on the site is too dense, it is useful to add humus or compost to it before sowing cucumbers, and then dig it up.

Planting of cucumbers

In the middle lane, cucumber seeds are sown immediately in open ground – usually after May 25th. Before sowing, it is useful to soak them for 12 hours in water at room temperature (18 – 20 ° C) (2). And then they need to be wrapped in a damp cloth and sent to the refrigerator for 2 days – hardening the seeds will later help the plants to better tolerate cold snaps.

Before sowing, the seeds can be germinated in a damp cloth in a warm place – this way they will sprout faster.

But note: soaking can only be used for seeds that are not treated with anything. And recently, cucumber seeds are often sold brightly colored, a sign that they are coated with a protective compound against diseases. These seeds are best sown dry. The maximum that can be done is to germinate. All other “water procedures” are contraindicated for them – the protective layer will be washed off.

And one more thing: it is best to sow old seeds that have lain for at least 3-4 years – they are the most prolific. Fresh seeds produce a lot of barren flowers.

Seeds of cucumbers are sown in holes of 2 – 3 pcs. to a depth of 1 – 2 cm. If in the future the cucumbers are tied to the trellis, then the distance between the holes should be 25 cm. If it is supposed to grow them in spreading, then the sowing scheme is as follows:

• between rows – 60 cm;
• in a row – 30 cm.

When the seedlings have the first true leaf, they need to be thinned out – leaving only one of the strongest sprouts in each hole.

Care for cucumbers in the open ground

Cucumbers are very prolific, they have great yield potential, especially in modern hybrids. But in order for them to be able to express themselves to the fullest, they must be watered frequently and plentifully and fed in a timely manner.

Watering. The frequency of watering depends on the stage of development of the cucumber. The scheme is this:

• before flowering – 1 time per week;
• during fruiting – once every 3 – 4 days, and if the heat and drought – every day.

Irrigation rate – 2 – 2,5 liters per 1 sq. m.

And there are 3 watering rules that are important to follow:

• water strictly under the root – if water gets on the leaves, fungal diseases will begin to develop faster;
• water only with warm water – otherwise, at least the ovaries will begin to fall off, and in the worst case, the plants will die, because cold water causes the death of root hairs (3);
• water in the morning so that the top layer of soil has time to dry out during the day – moist soil combined with night coolness leads to disease outbreaks.

Feeding

It happens that they spill it well, with warm water, but the ovaries still fall off. The reason is the lack of fertilizers. It even happens that humus was introduced under the cucumbers, they were fed with nitrogen for good growth, but the ovaries still fall off. This is because nitrogen alone is not enough for them – they need good nutrition. And in order to provide them with all the elements, plants need to be fed 4 times over the summer:

• 2 weeks after germination: 15 g of ammonium nitrate (1 tablespoon), 20 g of double superphosphate (4 teaspoons) and 20 g of potassium sulfate (1 tablespoon) per 10 liters of water – 1 liter per bush;
• at the time of flowering: 0,5 l of mullein, 15 g of nitrophoska (1 tablespoon), 100 g of wood ash (1 glass) and trace elements (0,5 g of boric acid and 0,3 g of manganese sulfate) per 10 l of water – each 3 liters per 1 sq. m;
• during mass fruiting: 50 g of urea (5 tablespoons), 100 g of ash (1 cup) and 40 g of potassium sulfate (2 tablespoons) per 10 liters of water – 1 liter per bush;
• 2 weeks after the third feeding – 1 glass of ash under the bush.

Harvesting of cucumber

Cucumbers are tied very quickly and in large quantities, so they need to be collected often – 2 – 3 times a week, and even better – every other day (4).

“Do not let the cucumbers outgrow on the bushes,” advises agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova. – Overripe fruits take away a lot of nutrients from the plant, but they are of little use – they are no longer very good for conservation and are not suitable for salads, because they are too rough. The rule is this: the more often you harvest, the faster new greens are tied.

Cucumber storage rules

Fresh cucumbers are not stored for long – they can lie in the refrigerator for up to 20 days, provided that the temperature there is about 0 ° C. But since it is usually in the region of 4 – 6 ° C, they lie much less. But there are 2 ways to help extend their life.

In packages. Fold the cucumbers in tight plastic bags, squeeze them to remove air as much as possible and tie them up – in this form at a temperature of about 10 ° C, the fruits can be stored for up to 30 days, and sometimes longer.

In egg white. Pick cucumbers with long stalks, wash and dry. Lightly beat the egg white and spread it over the fruit in an even layer. Then hang them by the stalks in a cool and dry place – this way they can stay fresh for several months: the dried egg white forms a dense crust that protects the cucumbers from wilting and spoilage.

“And also, in order to prolong the fruiting season, I will definitely sow Chinese cucumbers, because they give a harvest almost until the very cold weather,” Svetlana Mikhailova shares her experience. “They are the tastiest, thin-skinned, perfect for fresh salads. And the rest are good mainly for salting.

Popular questions and answers

We talked about growing cucumbers with agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mikhailova.

Sources of

1. Pantielev Ya.Kh. ABC vegetable grower // M .: Kolos, 1992 – 383 p.
2. Fisenko A.N., Serpukhovitina K.A., Stolyarov A.I. Garden. Handbook // Rostov-on-Don, Rostov University Press, 1994 – 416 p.
3. A group of authors, ed. Polyanskoy A.M. and Chulkova E.I. Tips for gardeners // Minsk, Harvest, 1970 – 208 p.
4. Yakubovskaya L.D., Yakubovsky V.N., Rozhkova L.N. ABC of a summer resident // Minsk, OOO “Orakul”, OOO Lazurak, IPKA “Publicity”, 1994 – 415 p.