Do I need to pinch cucumbers and how to do it with video

Perhaps one of the most revered vegetables in the garden, which will always find a place, is a cucumber. Every gardener wants to get a large harvest. To achieve this result, you need to resort to certain agrotechnical methods. One such technique is pinching cucumbers. In this article, we will look at this process and how to pinch cucumbers correctly.

What is a pinch for?

Some may say that they never pinched cucumbers at all, but they harvested a normal volume. So maybe there really is no need to make extra movements if the yield from this does not particularly increase? But not everything is so simple. In this case, it all depends on the physiological characteristics of the plant. Cucumber usually forms male shoots on the main trunk (barren flowers), and female shoots are needed for a good harvest. Such sprouts are formed only on the lateral shoots of the plant. That is why you should pinch cucumbers.

Remember that while pinching cucumbers, you need to save the leaves, as they contain useful substances that are then given to vegetables.

Pinching cucumbers has several undeniable advantages:

• stimulates the formation of female flowers;
• removes bitterness from fruits;
• significantly increases the yield, both from the plantation as a whole, and from one bush in particular.

As you can see, pinching cucumbers allows you to increase productivity, and also improves the taste characteristics of cucumbers. Thanks to it, you can collect a large and high-quality crop even from one plant.

To date, breeders have bred varieties of cucumbers that already form female flowers on the main shoot. In this case, pinching is carried out to stimulate the appearance of fruiting flowers. Empty flowers are laid on the lateral processes.

Along with this, it should be noted that this method of stimulating the yield of cucumbers is not the only one. There are many other agricultural practices to achieve similar results.

Instructions for pinching insect pollinated varieties

All varieties of cucumbers are divided into two main types:

• parthenocarpic or self-pollinating;
• insect pollinated.

As the name suggests, insect pollinated plants require the presence of insects to produce fruits. Predominantly male flowers are formed on them, so such cucumbers require mandatory pinching. There are several instructions on how to pinch insect pollinated cucumbers. One of the commonly used ones is listed below.

Instructions for pinching insect pollinated plants:

• it is not necessary to plant cucumbers thickly so that the plant can fully develop, otherwise the harvest will be much worse;
• it is necessary to plant seedlings on fertile soils in order to naturally ensure a fairly high level of yield. In the case of not very fertile soil, it is necessary to carry out periodic top dressing;
• at the beginning of the procedure, tapestries should be installed, to which grown loops can be tied in the future. It is not recommended to bind with cotyledon sheets. The tied leaves should be fastened loose enough to allow the plant to grow freely;
• garter can be carried out two weeks after the seedlings were planted. Twine or wire is very good for this purpose. A garter is made to divide the plant into the main stem and lateral processes;
• after the plant is sufficiently strengthened, you can proceed to the very stages of pinching cucumbers. The first of these is the formation of lashes. It consists in cutting off the tops on the main shoot of the plant above the growth site of the sixth leaf. This should be done in order to stimulate stepchild formation (growth of side shoots). In the future, these shoots also need to be tied up;
• remember that three sprouts must be left without fail, and the rest must be removed. This pinching method is great for hybrid varieties. In another situation, only one sprout should be left. He will play the role of the main shoot for the plant;
• all other manipulations come down to the fact that you need to take care of one or three shoots. To do this, four points of growth should be left on each shoot. From these points you will harvest in the future;
• when forming these shoots, you need to leave the leaves. They will provide nourishment for cucumbers;
• all weak and twisted leaves, as well as those affected by pests or diseases, should be removed from the shoots.

In principle, pinching is not a big deal. Another prerequisite for obtaining a good harvest is the timely and high-quality care of the plant as a whole throughout the growing season.

Varieties of open ground

Depending on where the plant grows – in open or closed ground, the pinching process is carried out in different ways. At the same time, the consistency of carrying out such manipulations when growing cucumbers on open ground directly depends on how densely the seedlings are planted. In the case of short stems, pinching is not carried out, since such shoots do not have a special effect on productivity. But in the case of long ones, you need to do the following:

• the top is removed first. They do this only if the main shoot reaches a height of 1-1,2 meters, and the lateral shoots reach 50 cm. At the same time, shoots of the second order should be formed on the lateral processes. Their length should not exceed 20 cm;
• in the absence of a garter, the algorithm of action is much simpler. In this case, on the main sprout, the growth point is destroyed after the fourth leaf, and on the lateral ones – after the second;
• in the case of hybrid varieties, only lateral shoots are pinched, all formed axillary shoots that are located on the lashes are necessarily “blinded”. It is recommended in the process of “blinding” to remove not only barren flowers, but also the first ovaries. The next ovaries will appear over the next two weeks.

Parthenocarpic varieties

Parthenocarpic (self-pollinating) varieties of cucumbers do not need pollinating insects. On such plants, female flowers are mainly formed. They are characterized by the presence of a small ovary and, at the base of the flower, a small cucumber. Such a plant has a high rate of shoot formation. Therefore, pinching, as a way to increase productivity, is not entirely effective in this case. The fundamental factors in the cultivation of such plants are the density of their planting, as well as the degree of illumination, and just this can be achieved by applying the agrotechnical method of pinching.

In such cucumbers, female flowers are formed on the main stem. Pinching should not be carried out over the 5th or 6th sheets. “Blinding” is carried out in the axils of the first four true leaves. Remove both leaves and flowers. The fifth or sixth lateral stem is shortened to 20 cm, and the top is pinched. Only sprouts up to 40 cm long are left above, and even higher – up to 50 cm. The main shoot is fixed on the trellis when it grows 60 cm from the soil surface and only then pinched. Lateral stems are left in the axils of the next five leaves. Then they are pinched over the sheet. When the main shoot grows up to 1,7 meters, pinch off over the third and fourth sheets. In this case, the second-order braids on the lower tier are cut out, and then pinched over the third sheet. Then the tops of the cucumbers above the fourth sheet above the trellis are lightly pinched and bent to one side.

If you carry out all of the above manipulations correctly, you will get an excellent crop of cucumbers.

Video “Pinching cucumbers”

In this video you can see how to properly pinch cucumbers.