Forming cucumbers

Cucumbers are native to India (1). There they live in tropical forests, where temperatures are always high and humid. And they are genetically based on active growth, because in their homeland they have enough heat and water. But in the harsh conditions, cucumbers often suffer from drought in the summer, and it is cool at night. For plants, this is stressful.

And frequent watering, combined with low temperatures, leads to outbreaks of disease. And the more green mass, the stronger the defeat. Moreover, we add problems – most often we grow cucumbers in spreading, and when we walk around the beds, harvesting, we damage the whips and leaves. And spores of pathogens immediately fall into open wounds, increasing the infection.

That is why cucumbers must be grown on supports. And be sure to shape.

What is important to know about the formation of cucumbers

What is the formation of cucumbers

When forming cucumbers, we remove excess shoots and leaves. As a result, we immediately get 5 advantages:

• plants are better ventilated – this reduces the risk of developing diseases;
• cucumbers get more light – photosynthesis is more active and more useful substances accumulate in the fruits;
• the area in the garden and in the greenhouse is rationally used – vertically growing and well-formed cucumbers take up less space, they can be planted more densely and save space for other vegetables;
• the liana does not waste nutrients on the growth of unnecessary shoots and directs all its forces to the formation of the crop;
• Well-formed plants are easier to care for.

Formation of cucumbers in the open field

Here, the classic version of the formation of cucumbers in 1 stem will be appropriate – it is suitable for bee-pollinated varieties (they are grown in open ground) and for parthenocarpic hybrids, which are suitable for both open ground and greenhouses.

The scheme is as follows.

1. We tie the plant to a support. The best option is to drive strong stakes along the edges of the bed (and if it is long, then another one in the middle) to pull a wire or a strong rope between them at a height of about 1 m. And we tie a soft rope to it above each bush and tie it to the base of the shoot cucumber, near the ground. We twist the stem a little around the rope, and then the cucumber itself clings to it with its antennae.
2. In the axils (this is the place where the leaf is attached to the stem), at the first 4 leaves, we remove all stepchildren, if any.
3. We leave the stepchildren in the sinuses of 5, 6, 7 and 8 leaves, but pinch them over the 2nd sheet.
4. Stepchildren in the sinuses of the 9th and 10th leaves are also left and also pinched, but after the 3rd sheet.
5. All stepsons that are formed above, again, leave and pinch after 4 – 5 leaves. And since they are quite long, they are also tied up – in a horizontally stretched wire. But all the side ones that will form on these stepchildren (yes, the cucumber branches strongly) must be removed.
6. We throw the main stem over a horizontal wire – let it hang down. And when he grows 60 – 70 cm down, he needs to pinch the top of his head.

Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse

It is pointless to plant bee-pollinated cucumbers in greenhouses – insects will not get inside. For these cases, only parthenocarpic hybrids are recommended – they form fruits without pollination. And in closed ground they are formed a little differently – in the form of an umbrella, because they branch weakly, and the fruits form in the axils not one at a time, like bee-pollinated varieties, but in several pieces – “bouquets”. But also in 1 stem (2).

In this case, the formation scheme is as follows.

1. We also drive stakes along the edges of the beds, but we pull not one wire only along the top, but 2-3, with a distance of about 20 cm from the top and from each other. The topmost one should be at a height of 2 m. We attach a rope above the bush, we tie an escape to it.
2. In the axils of the 4 lower leaves, we remove all stepsons and ovaries.
3. In all other sinuses, up to a height of 1,3 – 1,5 m, we leave the stepchildren, but we pinch them after 2 sheets. We also leave all the ties.
4. At a height of about 1,5 m, we leave 2 – 3 strong stepchildren and tie them in the nearest horizontal wires. When they grow up, pinch them on a 7 sheet.
5. When the top of the main stem reaches the top wire, we pinch it too.

Please note: All height figures are approximate. No need to go to cucumber plantings with a tape measure and observe everything thoroughly. All schemes are relatively conditional. It is important to grasp the general principle.

Cucumber leaf trimming

Cucumbers need to cut leaves that are very close to the ground – during irrigation and rain (in open ground), along with splashes and particles of soil, spores of pathogenic fungi will fall on them and infect your cucumbers.

And, of course, it is necessary to remove all yellowed, diseased and broken leaves. You need to cut them close to the stem so that there are no protruding petioles.

Popular questions and answers

Answered us questions about the formation of cucumbers agronomist-breeder Svetlana Mihailova.

Sources of

1. Renner S.S., Schaefer H., Kocyan A. Phylogenetics of Cucumis (Cucurbitaceae): Cucumber (C. sativus) belongs in an Asian / Australian clade far from melon (C. melo) // BioMed Central №7, 2007
2. Shuin K.A., Zakraevskaya N.K., Ippolitova N.Ya. Garden from spring to autumn // Minsk, Uradzhay, 1990 – 256 p.