Content
Landing seeds and growing cucumber seedlings are two very important stages in obtaining a large and high-quality harvest. It is necessary to prepare for the work in advance, creating all the necessary conditions for the rapid growth of seedlings and young seedlings. To do this: at the beginning of autumn, select the seeds of the best varieties of cucumber, store them correctly, and then calibrate them, harden them using various methods, and gradually prepare them for sowing.
Seeds early ripening varieties of cucumbers can be planted at home and in greenhouses, and mid- and late-ripening seedlings can be planted directly in greenhouses or in open ground.
Basic rules and growing technology
The first and basic rule for all varieties of cucumbers is that seedlings should be grown in warm and humid rooms. In greenhouses or greenhouses, such conditions are ensured with the help of a film that needs to be covered with cucumber seedlings in order to retain evaporation from the soil cover. Seedlings grown from cucumber seeds are planted in open ground in mid-summer, when the warm weather has already settled.
Pay attention to the features of growing cucumber seedlings from seeds:
Seedlings develop correctly and quickly only when conditions of high soil moisture are met, so make sure that watering gardening was carried out regularly.
Make sure to pinch the plant after it produces 3 or 4 leaves. This will stimulate the rapid growth of cucumber side shoots (watch the video).
It is better to plant seedlings in a well-prepared soil, with organic and chemical fertilizers added there in advance. For cucumbers, the best fertilizers are peat manure compost, added to the substrate in the fall, and mineral fertilizers, which are used to fertilize the soil in the spring.
When caring for still fragile and unstable seedlings from cucumber seeds, remember that the root system of this plant is located only in the upper layers of the soil (depth 10-12 cm). Therefore, make sure that the soil does not dry out, otherwise the young shoots will not take root. For more information about the rules and technologies for growing cucumbers, watch the video:
How to grow strong cucumber seedlings
Regardless of whether cucumbers are grown in greenhouses or in open ground, planting seeds and growing cucumber seedlings should be carried out only taking into account all growing technologies.
Immediately before sowing, you need to properly sort the seeds by dipping them in a saline solution for a few minutes. Floating grains are not suitable for seedlings, while you can start working with those that have sunk to the bottom. If you comply with this condition, you will provide yourself with a high probability of cucumber germination.
Be sure to dry healthy planting material at a temperature of 50 to 550C, but no more than 4 hours, so as not to dry out.The technology for planting seeds in the ground is carried out according to certain schemes, and depends on where the cucumbers are supposed to be grown and what temperature conditions will be provided in the greenhouse or greenhouse.
After complete processing of the planting material, the cucumber seeds are planted in soil specially prepared for seedlings. For swelling and pecking of the seed, small planting containers or trays are selected. At home, you can use regular disposable cups.
In order to activate the growth of seedlings and ensure their protection from viruses and fungal infections, the soil for them should be prepared from the following components:
- Lowland peat – 3 parts;
- Mullein 0 0.5 parts;
- Sawdust – 1 part.
The mixture will give results if all the conditions for its preparation are fully met, the main one of which is thorough mixing of the components. Then 500 g of potassium, 100 g of nitrogen and 3 kg of phosphorus are added to the substrate (data are based on 1 m3 soil mixture).
During the growth process, make sure that the distance between the cucumber seedlings that appear on the soil surface does not exceed 5-7 cm. Remove weak and undersized plants immediately. A week before planting, be sure to adapt the seedlings to seasonal air temperatures. To do this, increase the ventilation and hardening time every day. Such conditions will allow the sprouts to be taken outside in 5-6 days.
The day before planting, feed the cucumber with mineral fertilizer. You can prepare it by mixing superphosphate, potassium sulfate and ammonium nitrate at the rate of 40:30:10 g per bucket of water. Be sure to strain the solution through cheesecloth. In order for the plant to properly receive all the substances it needs, after treating with fertilizers, the stems and leaves must be washed with running water. This will help the still immature seedling to avoid burns.
If it is possible to additionally cover cucumber seedlings with film, plant them in open ground in early or mid-May. If this is not possible, focus on the middle or end of June, when the likelihood of frost on the soil will be minimized.
Watch a short video on how best to grow strong and healthy cucumber seedlings.
How to grow seedlings in open ground
Mid-June is the optimal calendar time for placing cucumber seedlings in open ground. Plants must be planted in the prepared substrate in the afternoon, a few days after the rain, but only when the weather is consistently warm and windless.
Before work, ridges are equipped in the garden bed (see video). Cucumber seedlings are identified from the southern side of the ridge and lowered into the holes to a depth of the first cotyledon. Immediately after planting the seedlings, the beds must be watered; the young plant will need the next watering only after 3-4 days. Water for watering cucumbers should be well settled, and its temperature should be at least 22-250WITH.
Please note that young cucumber seedlings require constant feeding.The power and speed of growth, the duration of the growing season of cucumbers, the period of full ripening and, of course, the yield depend on how correctly and regularly you fertilize the plant.
The technology for preparing a solution that has proven itself when growing any varieties of cucumbers is as follows:
- In a large container, stir 5 grams of ammonium nitrate and 10 liters of purified water;
- Add 4-5 grams of potassium chloride;
- Add 10-12 grams of superphosphate.
Experienced gardeners call this mixture for fertilizing cucumbers “chatter”. It is ideal for all garden crops, except root crops. Cucumbers that constantly receive such feeding have dense and strong stems, and the seedlings have bright, dark green fruits and leaves. In addition, the development time of seedlings from seeds and ovaries increases, and as a final result, productivity increases.
For more information on how best to grow cucumber seedlings in open ground, watch the video:
Cucumber seedlings grown in greenhouses
As a rule, seedlings of early and early ripening varieties of cucumbers are grown in greenhouse conditions. The time for planting cucumbers is early May, but if you have the opportunity to cover the seedlings with an additional film blanket, you can start replanting in early or mid-April. In this case, the temperature in the greenhouse should not fall below 20-220C, and the soil is arranged under a manure-steam bed.
If you have not updated the substrate in the greenhouse, add a little chopped straw or sawdust and about 15-20 grams of ammonium nitrate to the places where the cucumber seedlings are planted, and then dig up the soil.
Cucumber seedlings are placed in holes 8-10 cm deep so that the soil does not cover the stem of the seedling. 2-3 days after planting, the plant must be tied up. To do this, a wire or strong cord is stretched parallel to the row at a height of 20 cm. The seedlings are tied to it.
If the rows in the greenhouse are not equipped with supports for branching cucumbers, such ropes need to be tensioned in increments of 20-30 cm to a height of 2 meters. Do this in advance so that when carrying out work during the growth process you do not accidentally injure the seedlings.
Proper care of cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse is necessary according to the following scheme:
- Moderate watering is provided, which is carried out only on warm sunny days;
- When the 5th and 6th leaves appear on a cucumber sprout, be sure to feed it with a solution prepared from 10 grams of urea per 10 liters of water. Such nutrition is necessary for seedlings after prolonged cloudy or rainy weather;
- Cucumber is one of the few plants that require regular air ventilation in a greenhouse or greenhouse.
As a rule, self-pollinating varieties of cucumber hybrids are planted in greenhouses and greenhouses, so the cultivation and care technology must fully comply with the instructions attached to the seeds you purchased.
To learn how best to grow cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse, watch the video:
