Growing cucumbers in a barrel: in the Moscow region, in the Leningrad region, video, photos, reviews

Growing cucumbers in a barrel allows you to get a delicious harvest with minimal effort, even with a lack of space on the site. The method is quite simple and suitable for experienced gardeners and beginners.

Pros and cons of the method

Growing cucumbers in a barrel is popular because of the many advantages of the method:

1. The container can be placed anywhere in the garden with good lighting, even if the soil in the selected area is not suitable for cultivation.
2. At least 2-3 cucumber bushes are placed in one barrel, including different varieties.
3. In a closed container, plants are much less likely to suffer from fungi and pests than in open ground.
4. It is more convenient to feed cucumbers when grown in a barrel, and less fertilizer is consumed.
5. In a closed container, weeds do not interfere with the development of garden crops.
6. Watering cucumbers in a barrel is more convenient than in the garden.
7. It is easier to insulate the container during return frosts.
8. Cucumbers ripening in a barrel at the final stages of cultivation do not lie on the ground and do not get dirty.
9. In a small enclosed space at the roots of plants, it is easier to loosen the soil.

Despite the numerous advantages of the method, it has some disadvantages. They also need to be taken into account before planting cucumbers:

1. The earth in a closed container dries out faster, so you have to water the bushes more often.
2. A metal barrel can get very hot in the sun and even cause burns to the root system of plants.
3. To fill a capacious container, it is necessary to prepare a large amount of nutrient substrate.
4. The purchase of a barrel requires additional investments.

If there is enough space in the garden, most summer residents prefer to grow cucumbers in the standard way – in beds or in a greenhouse. But if the area is small, installing a high capacity becomes a convenient way out.

Cucumbers in a barrel additionally decorate the garden plot

What varieties of cucumbers to plant in a barrel

Growing cucumbers in a barrel is practiced not only to save space, but also to speed up the harvest. Therefore, it is recommended to plant in a closed container, first of all, early ripe hybrids with large fruits. These include:

• Prestige F1;
• Competitor;
• Swallow F1;
• Muromsky 36;
• Fontanel F1;
• Cupid F1;
• Equestrian;
• Tempo F

In a barrel, it is better to grow varieties of cucumbers that support pollination with the help of bees or form ovaries on their own.

When to plant cucumbers in a barrel

When using a barrel for growing cucumbers, it is not necessary to wait for the final warming up of the soil. The soil in a closed container is always warmer than in the beds.

In order for cucumbers to successfully take root and quickly sprout, it is recommended to sow them when the daytime temperature is set at about 15 ° C. In the middle lane, the right time usually comes in mid-April, in the Urals and Siberia, the dates can shift until the second decade of May.

How to grow cucumbers in a barrel in the country

Planting cucumbers in a barrel in the country can be done step by step according to a simple scheme. The main attention should be paid to the container itself and the soil for the culture.

Barrel selection and preparation

It is best to take a container for growing cucumbers with a volume of 200 liters. It will be relatively easy to fill such a container with soil, planting care will be simple, and in terms of capacity, the barrel will replace 2 m² vegetable garden.

Containers are suitable for both metal and wooden or plastic. In this case, it is not necessary to choose a new barrel, on the contrary, it is better to take a container without a bottom and with slots on the sides. The holes will provide air access for the soil inside and help remove excess moisture. But a whole unused growing barrel will have to be pre-drilled from all sides.

Soil preparation

To properly plant cucumbers in barrels, you first need to prepare the soil. When growing a vegetable crop, it is impossible to fill the container with fertile soil from top to bottom. Before planting cucumbers, three types of substrate must be poured into the barrel in layers:

• drainage and strengthening layer – 1/3 of the barrel is stuffed with fallen leaves, plant debris, weed tops, chopped branches;
• nutrient layer – on top of the previous substrate, the container is filled with manure and fruit and vegetable waste;
• ground layer – a mixture of garden soil, peat or vermiculite, rotted compost is poured into the barrel by 10-20 cm.

The substrate occupying the upper part of the container must be disinfected from fungi and pests. The soil is first sieved several times, and then treated with Fitosporin or a light pink infusion of potassium permanganate.

When filling the barrel with the substrate, it is necessary to leave about 7 cm of free space to the edges of the container

Which place to choose

Cucumbers need warmth and good lighting for rapid development, so the growing barrel is placed in a sunny area of ​​​​the garden. It is also necessary to provide protection from wind and drafts – on one side the container should be covered by a high wall or fence.

At the same time, you can not put the container in a very darkened corner – with a lack of light, cucumbers will develop poorly. It is important for the gardener to make sure that convenient access is maintained to the barrel from all sides.

Seed preparation

Descriptions and photos of the step-by-step planting of cucumbers in a barrel show that not only the soil needs preliminary preparation. In order for a garden crop to quickly bring a bountiful harvest, it is necessary to process the seeds according to a special scheme. Preparation of material for cultivation consists of several stages:

1. Calibration. Cucumber seeds are poured into warm water and left for 5-7 minutes, and then transferred to a saline solution prepared at the rate of 6 g of powder per 1 liter of liquid. Floating seeds are thrown away, because they still cannot germinate. The grains that have sunk to the bottom are washed in running water and dried.
2. hardening. The procedure allows you to increase the endurance of cucumbers and make them more resistant to external influences. Seeds should be wrapped in a piece of damp cloth and put in the refrigerator for three days, and then removed and left warm for another ten hours.
3. Disinfection. Even before growing in a barrel, cucumbers must be treated for fungi and pests. Seeds are immersed for several minutes in a 1% potassium permanganate disinfectant solution mixed with 1% acetic acid. After that, the planting material is washed with warm water.
4. Soak. To speed up germination, the seeds are again placed in a wet piece of gauze and left in a warm room for a day. During this time, the grains will swell properly and subsequently sprout faster.

At this stage, cucumber seeds are ready for planting in a barrel. But if desired, they can be further treated with a solution of wood ash. About 800 g of powder is diluted in 5 ml of water, the liquid is brought to homogeneity and planting material is poured for two hours. Ash infusion will strengthen the immunity of seeds and, moreover, will deliver nutrients to them that accelerate germination.

Instead of wood ash infusion, any growth stimulant can be used to treat cucumber seeds.

Rules of landing

Planting cucumbers in a compost bin is no more difficult than planting seeds in the ground. Usually the procedure takes even less time, since the gardener has to work with a small area. The schema looks like this:

1. A few days before planting cucumbers, the soil in the barrel is properly watered and wait until it sags slightly. After that, fertile soil is poured from above to the previous level.
2. The earth in the growing container is loosened, and then holes are made in it about 3 cm deep.
3. The seeds are laid out in a circle at intervals of 15 cm and sprinkled on top with a nutrient substrate and humus.

Directly on the day of planting, watering for cucumbers is not carried out. The soil in the barrel is moistened only after a day. At the same time, warm settled water is used, and so that the jet does not erode the holes, use a garden watering can with a fine sieve on the spout. After watering, the growing barrel is covered with cling film to create a mini-greenhouse and the polyethylene is fixed with twine along the edge of the container.

On average, 5-10 seeds can be placed in one barrel for cucumbers.

Features of care

Growing cucumbers in barrels in the open field is not associated with significant difficulties. Crop care is carried out in much the same way as in a greenhouse or in a regular garden.

Watering

Growing cucumbers require high-quality moisture, but it is important to ensure that the earth in the barrel does not turn sour. In the absence of precipitation, watering is carried out twice a week, while the topsoil should dry slightly.

It is necessary to use settled water with a soft composition, preheated in the sun. Watering cucumbers in a barrel is necessary so that moisture is absorbed not only in the center of the container, but also along the edges.

Additional fertilizing

When grown in a barrel, cucumbers need fertilizer in the same way as in the garden. For the first time, top dressing is carried out two weeks after germination and removal of the covering film. Superphosphate and potassium sulfide can be used – minerals are dissolved in water for irrigation in the amount of 20 g and 10 g, respectively, per 10 liters of liquid.

Also, when grown in a barrel, vermicompost becomes a convenient top dressing. The agent is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3 and 250 ml of the finished preparation is added for each plant.

Shaping and tying bushes

Cucumbers in a closed container need tying and shaping. It is easier to harvest from bushes when grown on a support, besides, plantings thicken less, are better ventilated and less likely to suffer from fungi and pests.

Most often, a stick about 1 m long is dug in in the middle of the barrel, a cross is fixed on top of it, and a strong twine is attached to the latter. As the cucumbers grow, they will first wrap around the central pole, and then move to the wide part of the structure and form a kind of green dome over the barrel.

You can also dig a few poles around the perimeter of the container and pull a rope between them in a circle in 2-3 tiers. As the bushes grow, they are attached first to the lower level, and then to the subsequent ones, preventing the stems from lodging.

Tying cucumbers to a support is carried out after the appearance of 5-6 leaves in the bushes

As for the formation, when grown in a container, cucumbers are brought into one stem, and the stepchildren and flowers in the first five nodes are completely removed. Plantings in this case do not thicken, bring larger fruits, and it becomes easier to care for them.

Possible problems in growing

The technology of planting cucumbers in a barrel in the country does not provide absolute protection against possible problems. Most often, gardeners face two difficulties when growing:

1. Cucumber leaves turn yellow. The reason is usually a lack of sunlight, lack of moisture, or nutritional deficiencies. It is necessary to provide better care for the plants, and if necessary, move the barrel to a brightly lit place.
2. Few ties. The flowering of cucumbers without fruiting is usually caused by the fact that male buds are formed on the plant before female ones. Most often, the problem occurs when growing a crop from fresh seeds. To eliminate it, you can use grains aged 2-3 years, which will bring ovaries before barren flowers.

In some cases, fruiting is hindered by an excess of nitrogen in the soil. If the bushes give out too many barren flowers to the detriment of the ovary, it is urgent to treat the soil with phosphorus or wood ash.

Diseases and pests

The method of growing cucumbers in a barrel is considered safe for vegetable crops – bushes rarely suffer from ailments. But some fungi still pose a threat to plantings:

• anthracnose – first pale green, and then brown dry spots appear on the leaves;
  
  

  With anthracnose, you need to spray cucumbers with Bordeaux liquid 1%

• bacteriosis – the fungus leaves small marks on the greenery and on the plates, does not always lead to the death of the bushes, but makes the crop unsuitable for consumption;
  
  

  Bacteriosis of cucumbers is often transmitted through seeds

• root rot – the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow and wither, the stem rots or begins to wood;
  
  

  In the early stages of root rot, cucumbers can be treated with Zircon or Trichocin

• aphids – insects tightly stick around the shoots and plates of bushes from the underside and suck the juices from the plants.
  
  

  Soap solution and Actellik help against aphids

Moisture control and regular loosening of the soil allow you to protect cucumbers in a barrel from pests and fungi. Before planting and growing, it is imperative to disinfect the seeds and soil. If one of the bushes in the barrel has been badly damaged by the fungus, it must be urgently destroyed to save neighboring plants.

Conclusion

Growing cucumbers in a barrel is a good way to save space in your garden. The method facilitates the care of plantings, the culture in closed containers is less likely to get sick and does not suffer from the scarcity of the soil.

Reviews about growing cucumbers in barrels