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Planting seedlings of cucumbers in open ground begins in late spring and continues until mid-June. After planting, the plants find themselves in new conditions, which differ significantly from the previous environment not only in temperature, but also in the composition of the soil. In order for young cucumbers to successfully take root and begin to bear fruit abundantly, the soil must be prepared even before planting seedlings by adding various fertilizers. During the growing season, top dressing of cucumbers in the open field will increase the yield and extend the fruiting period of the crop.
Soil preparation
It is recommended to grow cucumbers in areas of land protected from the wind, well-lit by the sun. The predecessors for cucumbers can be legumes, tomato, corn, root crops. It is not necessary to grow cucumbers from year to year in the same place or in the place where zucchini previously grew.
Prepare the soil for growing cucumbers in the fall. During deep digging of the soil, you need to add humus, compost or fresh manure, which will have time to partially decompose in winter. The rate of application of organic matter in the autumn period for cucumbers in open areas of the soil is 5 kg/m2.
Organic fertilizers contain a significant amount of nitrogen, but do not contain other micronutrients in the required amount. It is for this reason that phosphorus and potassium should be added to the soil in autumn. As a phosphate fertilizer, it is better to choose superphosphate. The rate of its application for cucumbers depends on the level of nutritional value of the soil and can be 15-30 g/m2. You can add potassium to the soil using potassium salt. The volume of fertilizer should be 10-25 g/m2.
It is worth noting that in the absence of organic matter, a mineral substitute can also be used, which will become a source of nitrogen. So, in the fall, ammonium nitrate, urea can be added to the soil where cucumbers will subsequently grow.
Top dressing of cucumbers
Planting cucumbers in spring in open ground is possible only when the soil at a depth of 10 cm is warmed up by more than 120C. Before planting, the prepared soil must be loosened, ridges and holes formed on it. There is no need to add any additional nutrients during the planting of cucumbers in open ground.
After planting, cucumber seedlings stop growing for a week to adapt to new conditions. At this time, plants consume previously laid phosphate and potash fertilizers. They allow plants to take root better.
A week after planting, cucumbers should activate their growth, and if this does not happen, then it is necessary to carry out the first feeding. To fertilize cucumbers, you can prepare complex mineral compounds or use organic top dressing. Also, some foliar top dressings and fertilizers prepared from improvised means using an unconventional method show high efficiency.
Organic fertilizing
Organic fertilizers for cucumbers in the open field are more often used by gardeners who have their own cattle farm. In this case, organic is distinguished by availability, high efficiency and environmental friendliness. Such fertilizers are great for feeding cucumbers, because they contain a large amount of nitrogen necessary for their growth.
Mullein infusion
The most famous organic fertilizer for cucumbers is mullein infusion. It contains in its composition not only a large amount of decomposed nitrogen, but also phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium and other trace elements necessary for plants. Mullein is used for the first (immediately after rooting) and subsequent top dressing of cucumbers.
It is not difficult to prepare an infusion of mullein. To do this, 1 part of cow dung and 5 parts of water are placed in a container. After mixing, the solution is infused for two weeks. During this time, the nitrogen in the fresh manure rots and is harmless to the crop.
You can make mullein infusion a complex fertilizer that will contain a large amount of potassium and phosphorus by adding wood ash. For 1 bucket of concentrated infusion, add a glass of ash.
To feed cucumbers in open areas of the earth, concentrated mullein infusion must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. It is recommended to fertilize cucumbers in the evening, after sunset under the root.
Bird droppings
Poultry droppings, in comparison with livestock manure, contain an increased amount of all trace elements, including nitrogen, which can burn cucumbers. That is why litter is never used fresh, it must be prepared.
You can feed cucumbers with dry chicken manure. To do this, it must be left in the fresh air to dry for a while, and then used for embedding in the ground. Fresh bird droppings can be used in liquid fertilizer by mixing it with water in a ratio of 1:20. The resulting solution is infused for at least 10 days.
Watering cucumbers with infusion of bird droppings is recommended during the mass formation of ovaries, since such top dressing will significantly reduce the number of empty flowers. Before use, a concentrated infusion of manure is diluted with water until the color of the liquid becomes similar to tea.
In the case when the gardener does not contain chickens and other poultry in his backyard, you can purchase ready-made dressings based on chicken manure. An example of the use of such dressings and the farmer’s feedback on fertilizer can be seen in the video:
Infusion of herbs
Herbal tinctures can become a complete fertilizer for cucumbers. You can prepare a tincture from nettles or weeds. Greens should be chopped and poured with water in a ratio of 1: 2 by weight. You need to infuse the herb for several days. At this time, the processes of overheating and fermentation occur, as evidenced by the formation of foam. The finished herbal infusion, before watering the cucumbers, is diluted with water until a light brown solution is obtained.
Based on herbal infusion, you can make a complex fertilizer. To do this, the composition of the solution should include mullein and wood ash.
Thus, using organic fertilizers, you can completely restore the composition of the soil, saturate cucumbers with nitrogen and other necessary substances in sufficient quantities and, as a result, get a good harvest of environmentally friendly, tasty cucumbers.
Mineral complexes
Top dressing of cucumbers after planting in the ground until the end of fruiting can be carried out using mineral fertilizers. You can cook them yourself by mixing several components, or purchase them ready-made.
Among ready-made mineral fertilizers for growing cucumbers on unprotected soils, Zeovit Cucumbers, Topers, Fertika-Lux, Agricola, Bio-Master and some others should be distinguished. All these fertilizers contain the optimal amount of various trace elements for feeding cucumbers at various stages of cultivation.
Mineral complexes for feeding cucumbers can be prepared independently by mixing several different substances. For example, you can get a good fertilizer for cucumbers by combining 20 g of urea and 10 g of superphosphate. Additionally, potassium sulfate in the amount of 7 g should be added to the mixture. In the preparation of top dressing, urea can be replaced with ammonium nitrate in the amount of 7 g. The mixture of substances is dissolved in 10 liters of water and used to water the plants under the root.
During the period of mass formation of ovaries and active growth of fruits, it is recommended to feed cucumbers with a solution of urea. To do this, it is recommended to add 50 g of the substance to a bucket of water.
Contact with substances on the leaves of cucumbers can damage them. Before feeding the plants, it is recommended to pour abundantly with clean water.
Foliar top dressing
Caring for cucumbers should include not only the application of fertilizers under the root, but also the use of foliar dressings. The surface of the cucumber leaf is able to pass nutrients and synthesize them to improve all life processes. This type of feeding is not the main one. It should be used as an addition to root dressings. Spraying cucumber leaves with nutrient solutions is recommended every 2 weeks.
The mode of spraying cucumbers with nutrients is planned by each farmer independently, carrying out top dressing in the period between the application of basic fertilizers. At the same time, extraordinary sprayings must be carried out after prolonged cold snaps, since under such conditions the roots of plants cease to absorb substances from the soil. Also, the use of foliar dressings is effective for symptoms of microelement starvation.
For foliar top dressing of cucumbers, organic and mineral fertilizers can be used, similar in composition to root top dressing, however, their concentration should be reduced by 2 times.
The farmer can combine mineral substances independently, using solutions of microelements prepared in certain concentrations. So, it is recommended to dilute urea based on the calculation of 2 tablespoons per bucket of water. Superphosphate and potassium sulfate are added to the same volume in the amount of 200 and 100 g, respectively. Ammonium nitrate for foliar feeding of cucumbers is enough 20 g per bucket of water, potassium chloride should be added no more than 50 g.
Mixing all the fertilizers together with each top dressing should not be, because in a certain growing season, cucumbers need only some substances. For example, to enhance the growth of young plants, substances containing nitrogen – urea or ammonium nitrate should be used. During the formation of ovaries, the culture needs potassium and phosphorus.
Copper sulfate is often used during the flowering of cucumbers. It allows you to reduce the number of empty flowers and increase the yield of vegetables. For spraying, it is diluted in water at the rate of 2 g per 10 liters of water.
It is necessary to use all types of foliar dressings in open areas of the earth in the evening or early in the morning in the absence of direct sunlight and wind. This will allow the fertilizers not to evaporate, but to be absorbed into the surface of the leaf plate of the plant.
Non-traditional fertilizers
In addition to traditional mineral, organic fertilizers, some farmers use non-standard plant nutrition methods based on the use of substances and products that can be found at home.
Wood Ash
Ash can become a source of potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus for normal growth and abundant fruiting of cucumbers. Ashes are used in the spring when sowing seeds for seedlings, adding the substance to the soil, then in the process of caring for it and after the young plants are planted in the ground. So, during the growing season, cucumbers should be fertilized with ash 5-6 times:
- during the release of the second leaflet;
- with the onset of flowering;
- during fruit formation every 2 weeks.
Wood ash can be applied in various ways, for example, by adding it to an already prepared organic fertilizer. It does not contain nitrogen, so such a complex will not be able to burn the plants, but at the same time the ash will add the missing mineral element to the organic solution.
The use of dry ash implies its incorporation into the upper layers of the earth. After this application, the soil must be watered. Liquid infusion is also very popular with gardeners. Prepare it at the rate of: 2 tablespoons of ash per 1 liter of water. After stirring, the solution is infused for a week. After completion of preparation, the solution is diluted with clean water in a ratio of 1:10 and used to water plants under the root.
You can see the result of the already carried out feeding of cucumbers with ashes and hear the comments of the agrarian on the video:
Yeast
You can speed up the process of root formation and increase the yield of cucumbers using yeast. They contain a complex of minerals, vitamins and other substances that favorably affect the development of plants. Yeast top dressing forces the bacteria existing in the soil to work, thereby saturating the soil with oxygen and nitrogen.
Yeast top dressing of cucumbers in the ground should be carried out no more than 3 times during the entire growing season. Watering with fertilizer is carried out when the soil is warm enough, since the vital activity of beneficial fungi will be active only in this case. You can prepare yeast plant nutrition according to one of the following recipes:
- Dissolve 10 g of dry, granulated yeast in a bucket of warm water. To improve fermentation, you can add 2 tablespoons of sugar or jam to the mixture. Leave the resulting solution for several hours, then dilute by adding 50 liters of warm clean water.
- Fresh yeast is dissolved in warm water in a ratio by weight of 1:5. For fermentation, the mixture is infused in heat for 3-4 hours, after which it is diluted 1:10 and used for watering under the root.
Yeast top dressings can be used in combination with organic or mineral fertilizers. Top dressing prepared by adding yeast and ash to herbal infusion is popular.
Honey top dressing
Honey top dressing can be carried out during the flowering period of cucumbers. It will attract pollinating insects. For its implementation, it is necessary to dissolve 1 tablespoon of honey in a liter of warm water. After cooling, the cucumber leaves are sprayed with a solution. Such a “cunning” measure will increase crop yields even in the presence of unfavorable, cloudy summer weather.
To summarize
Thus, when planting cucumbers in open ground, it is necessary to take care not only of basic care, including weeding and watering the plants, but also of top dressing, which will allow the plants to develop safely and bear fruit abundantly over a long period of time. You can use various types of fertilizers and their combinations, but it is worth remembering that in spring cucumbers especially need nitrogen, during the period of active fruiting, the culture is demanding on potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
Throughout the growing season, it is necessary to carry out 3-4 basic top dressings. At the same time, spraying with micronutrients and the introduction of ash, chalky dressings can be carried out repeatedly with an interval of 1-2 weeks. Using various top dressings and methods of applying them, you can get a wonderful, plentiful harvest of delicious cucumbers even when grown on the most meager soil.