Read about sowing seeds and growing seedlings in the article Growing cucumber seedlings and planting methods.
The cucumber plantation requires the attention of the gardener constantly. It is necessary to regularly weed and loosen the soil. In order not to damage the root system, which is in the surface layer, it is better to pour loose earth under adult cucumber plants. The cucumber needs regular watering. You need to water the beds abundantly, until the soil is completely wet, with warm water, and better in the evening. In hot sunny weather, the greenhouse must be ventilated without creating a strong draft.
From mid-August, the main limiting factor for the growth and fruiting of cucumber is low night temperatures. In the open field, a covering non-woven material is thrown over the plants at night. In tunnels, it is better not to remove the film completely, but to open it for a day on one (leeward) side. The most favorable temperature and humidity conditions are created in glazed greenhouses. They retain heat better, in addition, there is no condensation in them. In film greenhouses, strong condensation forms in the morning, which provokes the development of many fungal diseases (downy mildew, ascochitosis). Therefore, water the plants in the greenhouse in the morning. The number and volume of watering at the end of summer should be reduced, since waterlogged cold soils contribute to the defeat of plants by root rot.
Try to harvest on time, not letting the greens outgrow. A delay in harvesting fruit leads to drying out of subsequent ovaries.
Formation of plants
In the greenhouse
In order to more efficiently use the volume of the greenhouse and create a favorable light and humidity regime, cucumbers are formed. In the lower 3-4 nodes of the main stem, it is necessary to remove all flowers and lateral shoots in order for the plants to quickly form a powerful leaf apparatus (the guarantee of a large harvest). In the next 6-7 nodes, the lateral shoots are pinched on 1-2 leaves, in the nodes of the upper tier - on 2-3 leaves. The top of the plant is carefully wrapped around a trellis-wire stretched under the roof of the greenhouse. If the greenhouse is low and the trellis wire is located under the very film or glass of the greenhouse roof, the main stem is pinched shortly - above 3-5 sheets above the trellis wire, thus avoiding excessive thickening. In a large glass greenhouse, the top of the main lash can be wrapped around the trellis, lowered down and pinched at a height of 100-120 cm from the surface of the ridge. All lateral shoots are removed on the downward-hanging section of the main stem.
 |  |
Outside
Cucumbers, as a rule, are grown on the ridges. To make the plants better use sunlight, cucumber lashes are evenly laid out on the ridge. During leaving, it is undesirable to turn the stems, since the orientation of the leaves in space is disturbed and additional time is required to restore it.
Recently, vegetable growers are increasingly switching to the tapestry (stake) cucumber culture. Stakes 0.5-1.0 m high are driven in along the ridge, to which slats or trellis wire are attached from above. Cucumbers are planted on such a ridge in two lines. If the trellis is low (up to 50 cm), the cucumber lashes are not tied up, but carefully transferred over the slats to the other side of the ridge. Plants are grown without forming, the main lash and side shoots are not pinched. With a high trellis (1 m), the plants are tied up with twine (as in a greenhouse), shifting the tops of the lashes over the rail. In this case, 2-3 lower shoots are removed, the remaining shoots are pinched over 4-5 leaves. It is better to place such a ridge in a place where there are no drafts, near a house or a barn.
Top dressing
The cucumber responds very well to the introduction of organic matter. But it is better to use both organic and mineral fertilizers. With the onset of flowering, root dressing is carried out once every 10-15 days. In 10 liters of water, 30-40 g of complex fertilizers are dissolved.If there are no complex ready-made fertilizers, mix simple ones: 15 g each of ammonium nitrate, potassium sulfate and double superphosphate. Contribute at the rate of a three-liter jar per 1 m2. After two to three weeks of mass fruiting, the dose of fertilizers is doubled. From organic dressings, you can use water infusions of mullein (1:10) or poultry droppings (1:25) at the rate of 3 liters of solution per 1 m2. You can combine organic and mineral fertilizers. 1 liter of mullein and 10 g of ammonium nitrate or urea are dissolved in 10 liters of water, consumption is 3 liters per 1 m2. During mass fruiting, 50 g of complex fertilizer or 10 g of ammonium nitrate, 20 g of potassium sulfate, 20 g of double superphosphate are diluted in 10 liters of water, 1 liter of mullein is added, consumption is 2-3 liters of solution per 1 m2. Before fertilizing, the soil is shed.
Fertilization rates can be adjusted by decreasing or increasing the dose, focusing on the appearance of the plants.
Lack of battery | Visible signs |
nitrogen | Yellowing of the lower leaves, delayed growth of lateral shoots, greens have a pointed wedge-shaped shape |
phosphorus | Leaves are small, dark green, slow growth of lashes |
potassium | Light border along the edge of the leaves (starting from the bottom), sticking of lashes, pear-shaped fruits |
calcium | Necrosis of the tip and edges of the lower leaves, dome-shaped leaves of the middle layer, damage to the apical buds. |
trace elements | Chlorotic spots on the leaves of the upper and middle tiers |
Cucumbers do not tolerate a high concentration of fertilizers, so it is better to feed them more often (once a week), but in small doses.
If the plants do not develop well (reasons: disease, cold weather, high acidity of the soil), foliar dressing is carried out to quickly restore growth (spraying on the leaves). For foliar dressing, mineral fertilizers completely soluble in water are used - complex with microelements, as well as ammonium and potassium nitrate, urea. Superphosphate is poorly soluble in water. A water extract is made from it. The solution is prepared 1-2 days before feeding, stirring often, and then filtering through several layers of gauze. For 10 liters of water take 15-25 g of fertilizer. Foliar dressing is carried out in cloudy weather; in sunny weather, plants should be sprayed early in the morning or in the evening after sunset, so as not to cause burns to the leaves.
Diseases and pests of cucumber
The most harmful diseases of cucumber are downy mildew, powdery mildew and various rot. In recent years, viral diseases have been added to them. Pests include aphids, whiteflies and spider mites.
Biological fungicides are successfully used to protect cucumbers from diseases. Modern biological products Alirin-B, Gamair and Glyocladin effective against root rot and wilting, serve as an excellent prevention of powdery mildew, peronoscosis, alternaria. They are recommended to be used in a single complex according to a scheme that provides for their biological characteristics:
1. Treatment of seeds before sowing: soak the seeds for 2 hours in a solution of biological products Alirin-B and Gamair 5 tablets + 5 tablets / 1l of water.
2. Growing seedlings: add 1 tablet to the seedling pot before sowing Glyocladin, then after 1 week shed the seedlings with a solution of drugs Alirin-B+Gamair (at the rate of 1 + 1 tablet / 10l, 30-40 ml of solution per 1 seedling pot).
3. 3 days after planting, treat the soil with the preparation Alirin-B, at the rate of 2 tablets / 10 l / 10 m2, the drug is applied with watering.
4. 25-30 days after planting, spraying plants in a greenhouse with a suspension of preparations Alirin-B+Gamair at the rate of 2 tablets / 10 l / 10 m2 of each drug.
5. After 25-30 days, repeated spraying with biological products Alirin-B+Gamairby increasing the dose by 1.5 times.
However, it is not always possible to completely avoid the defeat of cucumber by diseases with the help of some biological agents.If oily yellowish spots appear on the upper side of the leaves, which gradually turn brown and dry, and an abundant grayish bloom forms on the lower side, these are signs of downy mildew. Affected plants can be treated Hom (40 g per 10 l of water). 3 treatments are carried out, the last one 20 days before harvest, or 0.1% bordeauxliquid - 3 treatments, the last one 5 days before harvest. To enhance growth, diseased plants are treated with a weak urea solution (1 g per liter).
Even the most resistant varieties can be affected by disease to varying degrees. Therefore, if on your site last year the cucumbers became infected with powdery mildew, then it is advisable to spray the seedlings with a solution for prevention bordeauxwet liquid or Hom.
Against powdery mildew (white powdery bloom on the upper side of leaves and stems), spraying with preparations is allowed Topaz or Vectra - three treatments, the last one 3 days before collection. Colloidal sulfur (40 g per 10 l of water for greenhouses and 20 g per 10 l of water for open ground) - 4 treatments, the last one 1 day before harvest. When white and gray rot appears, the affected parts of the stems are sprinkled with crushed coal or chalk, the diseased fruits are removed. Plants are sprayed with a fertilizer solution (1 g of zinc sulfate, 2 g of copper sulfate, 10 g of urea per 10 L of water).
Cucumber mosaic virus (mosaic patches with bubble-like swellings on the leaves) are carried by aphids. Sick plants are discarded, after work they wash their hands and disinfect equipment.
Preventive measures to combat spider mites - disinfection of greenhouses and greenhouses with sulfur briquettes (60 g per m3). Before planting in the greenhouse, the seedlings must be carefully examined, the infected plants must be isolated. If aphids and whiteflies are found on the plants, the cucumbers are treated with insecticides. On personal plots, drugs are allowed: Aktellik, Fitoverm, Agravertin.
Biologicals can be alternated with chemicals approved for use in household plots. In a working solution, they can be combined with mineral fertilizers for foliar feeding of plants, growth regulators, humates and chitosan-containing preparations of the series Narcissus.
