Content
To get a rich harvest of cucumbers for the next 2024, you need to take care of this in advance. At a minimum, gardeners begin their preparation work in the fall. In spring, the soil will be ready for planting, and the seeds will be selected correctly. Not everyone uses purchased material and tries to prepare the seeds themselves. Let's talk about what needs to be done to get a rich harvest of cucumbers in 2024. A specific work plan and comprehensive care will help avoid failure.
Preparatory work
To sow cucumbers or grow seedlings from them in 2024, you need to carry out preparatory work in the garden in the fall the day before. The fact is that cucumber is in dire need of soil fertility, it is responsive to both types of fertilizers:
- organic;
- mineral.
What does the preparatory work consist of? As a rule, the garden is dug up, any fertilizer is applied and left for the winter. The same work is carried out in greenhouses. Film shelters are removed for the winter.
Particular attention is paid to soil hardening. Snow cover does not allow hardening to be carried out properly.
If the snow is removed in the place where cucumbers will be planted later in 2024, and the soil is left open in the frost, this will kill many bacteria and viruses in the soil, which will have a beneficial effect on the seedlings in spring and summer.
The winter work has now been completed; you can only return to the garden in the spring.
When the snow melts, you can prepare the soil for planting. Cucumbers love loose, oxygen-rich soil.
Organic matter is also added if in your region, even at the end of May and June, there is still a risk of a drop in air temperature.
In this case, organic fertilizers are applied immediately before sowing to a depth of 40 centimeters. When decomposed, it will release heat without damaging the rhizomes of cucumber seedlings.
Good seeds are the basis for a rich harvest
Cucumber seeds must be of good quality in order to produce seedlings resistant to external influences in 2024. There are two types of seeds suitable for planting:
- prepared independently in advance from fully ripened varietal cucumbers;
- purchased in a store from a trusted manufacturer.
There is a certain scheme for preparing seeds for planting. To get high-quality seedlings, you need to harden them to the conditions in which you plan to grow them. Some gardeners from the south of Russia do not adhere to these rules, since their climatic conditions are close to those where cucumbers grow naturally.
The preparation plan for landing is as follows:
- calibration;
- hardening;
- germination.
The first stage is weeding out low-quality material. Dissolve a teaspoon of table salt in a glass of water at room temperature and throw the seed into it. You can stir it a little. After some time, only dummy seeds will remain on the surface, which are not suitable for growing seedlings.
The second stage is hardening cucumber seeds. It can be divided into two types:
- processing in solution;
- cold hardening.
Today, solutions are available for sale to prepare material for planting. This process disinfects, which allows the seedlings to remain resistant to diseases and viruses. In the soil, our seeds are also subject to insect attack. Disinfection will avoid this. A simple method of disinfection is shown in the video.
If you don’t want to use chemicals, you can disinfect garlic pulp (25 grams of garlic pulp per 100 grams of water). The exposure time of the seed in this solution is 1 hour.
The next step before planting cucumbers is to cold harden the seeds. In this case, the seedlings will be more resistant to temperature changes. The seeds are placed in damp gauze and left in the refrigerator (preferably on the door) for 36 hours.
As for germination, you don’t have to do it if:
- you have experience in planting cucumbers in open ground;
- if you plant cucumbers for seedlings under certain conditions, following the planting pattern.
We advise beginners to germinate them before sowing.
To do this, they are kept in damp gauze until sprouts appear. When everything is ready, you can proceed to sowing.
Sowing
For every summer resident it is important what the next year 2024 will be like: warm, rainy. If you are planning to plant cucumber seedlings, this is even more important. This vegetable crop is very demanding on heat, humidity and uniform warming.
Before sowing, you will need to familiarize yourself with the lunar sowing calendar 2024. It indicates favorable days for planting seeds for seedlings and open ground.
The sowing time and seedling yield depend on how warm they are. Sowing can be divided into:
- early;
- late.
Early sowing
Early sowing is possible only in the southern regions of Russia, where at the end of spring the risk of frost completely subsides. Here, planting seeds in open ground is not only convenient, but also recommended, since nothing threatens the cucumber seedlings.
In the southern regions, with proper care, you can get two harvests by autumn using early ripening cucumber hybrids.
Caring for seedlings to obtain a rich harvest includes:
- abundant watering with warm water;
- applying fertilizer 2-3 times per season.
You can sow seeds in partial shade, but you should not shade the seedlings. The second sowing can be done in partial shade, since it is already quite hot in summer.
Late sowing
Remember that in the middle zone, the Urals and other areas where caring for cucumbers is difficult, it is better not to rush into planting seeds. It is too early to make forecasts for the 2024 season, but with cucumbers you can use a different planting scheme. First, plant seeds for seedlings, and when it gets warmer, transfer them to open ground or under a film cover. If the care is correct, you can expect a rich harvest.
Even if the weather permits, late sowing of seeds can be done. This scheme will allow you to obtain persistent seedlings in a cool climate and become the owner of a rich harvest at the end of August 2024.
More information about late planting of cucumbers is described in the video.
General rules
To get good seedlings from seeds, you need to know the following rules:
- cucumber seeds are planted to a depth of 2-3 centimeters;
- The rhizome of cucumber seedlings is very small, but the bush will grow, so the planting scheme for hybrids is indicated on the package, and it must be followed;
- standard scheme is 50x50 or 30x50, per 1 m2 There should be no more than 7 seedling bushes.
Caring for cucumbers is a separate topic. Despite all the assurances that cucumber seedlings are persistent, it is important to understand that this plant is quite capricious. This is due to the fact that in Russia only conditions in the southern regions can be equated to a tropical climate. In the middle zone, quality care is needed.
Seedling care
So, cucumber is a plant that needs:
- sunlight;
- air temperature from 22-30 degrees;
- abundant watering;
- loose fertilized soil;
- garter;
- air humidity.
If all conditions are met, you can expect a rich harvest in 2024. You need to follow these rules:
- plant seedlings or cucumber seeds in a sunny place (partial shade is acceptable);
- Water the cucumber seedlings only with warm water, never cold;
- it’s good if there is a body of water near the site; if it is not there, the seedlings are sprayed with warm water from time to time;
- Fertilizers are applied 2-3 times per season: always during flowering and fruiting.
The care doesn't stop there. Some people like the seedlings to weave along the net, others tie them up. It is better for cucumbers not to lie on the ground so that the fruits do not rot and are not eaten by insects.
Cucumbers are one of the favorite vegetables on our table. Caring for seedlings will allow you to grow a new rich harvest in 2024. You can purchase several varieties and hybrids of seeds at once; they go well together.
They say that spring and summer 2024 will be warm. This is good, because then gardeners will have less worries.
