Cucumber Cases: A Quick Guide to Helpful Seasonal Growing Tips

Crispy cucumbers are good at any time of the year, whether it be summer sunshine or winter cold. And their additional charm is that the cultivation of this crop does not require special skills. But this does not mean at all that in the affairs of cucumber there are no tricks that experienced gardeners prefer not to disclose.

Features of planting and care

Do you want the sprouts to appear together and early? Hybrid seeds for this are simply sent to a pre-watered hole, and after they are sprinkled with earth, the soil should be compacted. To save moisture.

If we are talking about personally harvested seed, then just do not be too lazy to soak the seeds in a nutrient solution (for 1 liter of water, 1 teaspoon of wood ash and nitrophoska) for 12 hours and put them on a damp cloth in a warm place for two days . And then the hole, water and seal.

What needs to be done before the first flowers

The basic care of the bed during this period is reduced to weeding, loosening the soil to a depth of 2-4 cm and weekly watering. But if there is doubt about the fertility of the soil, after the appearance of a pair of real leaves, you can feed the cucumber bush with a solution of 1 tsp. nitroammophoski diluted in a liter of summer water. This solution only the water around the bush is watered, without moistening the leaves.

To increase productivity after the formation of 6-7 leaves on the main lash, pinch it, which stimulates the development of side shoots and is a good contribution to increasing the survivability of the bush.

Fruiting Care

After the first ovary was found on the bush, the irrigation intensity increases to 2 times a week. At the same time, it is still important to avoid getting water on the stems and leaves - we only moisten the soil.

Since the appearance of flowers, cucumbers need additional nutrition, which is carried out with an interval of 1.5-2 weeks. The best composition for these purposes: take 5 tsp. For 5 liters of water. nitrophoski and a glass (200-250 mg) of any natural humic fertilizer or mullein. And all this is spent on 1 m².

Another important point is the regularity of harvesting. Ideally, this should happen daily. But most gardeners collect fruits every other day, carefully choosing greenery in excess of 3-4 cm in length.

Is it worth raising cucumber lashes above the ground

Growing on trellises is gaining more and more popularity, but the feasibility of unnecessary fuss on the beds is poorly argued. Therefore, you should know that:

• bush cucumbers do not need a garter;
• increased yields are achieved through the use of more prolific weaving varieties;
• when growing “in the open” it is easier to avoid thickening than on a trellis (by elementary pinching of the extra lateral shoots).

The only really worthwhile argument in favor of raising cucumber lashes above the ground is powdery mildew attacking everything that comes into contact with the ground. And the second most important is beauty and space saving. But you can do without them if time is expensive.

How to prevent the appearance of bitterness

The tendency to the appearance of bitterness in cucumbers is hereditary. Therefore, choosing seeds for growing freshly consumed fruits, it is recommended to pay attention to hybrids without a bitterness gene (for example, “Egoza”, “Quadrille” and similar salad varieties). But they are not suitable for canning.

For this reason, you should know that intensive cucurbitacin production (a substance that causes bitterness) is a response of the bush to adverse conditionswhich include:

• sudden changes in temperature;
• significant difference in soil and air temperatures;
• insufficient humidity.

findings:

1. It is necessary to sow early, so that the plant gradually gets used to the summer heat, and does not end up in it “from infancy”.
2. For a period of short-term cooling, it will not be superfluous to cover the beds with at least a plastic film.
3. Under cucumbers, it is better to highlight a shaded area without drafts.
4. When the weather is dry, hot weather, it is recommended to delight the bushes by sprinkling through small nozzles.
5. Watering is carried out only with water heated in the sun.

Observing these simple rules, you can count on abundant harvests of cucumbers, which will not whimsically bitter or curl up in bagels. But the above recommendations apply only to growing "in season". But the early "greenhouse" or late cucumbers of the "second wave" require a slightly different approach. True, this is another story.