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Like many other vegetables, cucumbers are often planted in the garden as seedlings. Thanks to this, you can get a fresh harvest earlier, and the plants themselves will better withstand stress.
Cucumber seedlings develop faster and suffer less from pests and specific diseases. However, to achieve good results, you need to correctly germinate seeds at home. Next, you can watch photos and videos with practical recommendations for beginners.
How to choose seeds for planting
There are different types of seeds available for sale. They differ in the processing method, and therefore their preparation for sowing will vary.
- Regular. Such seeds need to be calibrated by hand before planting. Small and uneven ones are immediately discarded. Seeds of the correct shape are dipped into salt water: the good ones will sink to the bottom. Pop-up shoots They won’t give it and you shouldn’t take them for seedlings. The next stage of processing is washing the tested seeds with fresh water and drying.
- Calibrated. To germinate, such seeds require moisture and warmth. First, they are wrapped in wet gauze or cloth and left at a temperature of about 30 degrees.As soon as the seed has produced a root, it is immediately planted in the soil.
- Processed. Such seeds are already prepared for sowing; they can be sown directly into open ground. Bactericidal and antifungal drugs are applied to their surface in a very thin layer.
- Granular. These seeds are also protected with special preparations. In addition, they are coated with a layer of nutrient that will improve the development of seedlings.
When choosing seeds for planting in 2021, it is also important to consider the purpose of the fruit. Hybrids produce a bountiful harvest, but their fruits cannot be used to prepare seeds for the next season. For preparations, you can plant special pickling or universal varieties. For direct consumption, salad varieties are chosen for seedlings, and the miniature fruits of gherkin cucumbers can be collected daily.
How to choose the right soil
In order for seedlings to actively grow and develop in 2021, they need a suitable the soil. It should be light and loose so that oxygen and moisture can reach the roots. The balance of soil components is also important. The soil should not contain larvae, fungi or other microorganisms that could damage plant growth.
To prepare the soil for seedlings, mix the following components in equal proportions:
- sand;
- peat;
- humus;
- turf soil.
All these components must be thoroughly mixed. To enrich the soil and saturate it with nutrients, it is recommended to add a little sawdust, a glass of ash, a teaspoon of urea and the same amount of nitrophoska (per 10 kg of soil).
Before planting seeds in the soil, it must be disinfected. You can do this yourself by steaming. The soil is poured onto a mesh with small cells and kept over boiling water for 30 minutes. Then you need to let the soil cool and spread it into containers for seedlings.
You can also use a solution of potassium permanganate to disinfect the soil (regarding the concentration - the water should turn out a crimson color). Water the soil with this mixture before sowing the seeds and wait until it dries.
Choosing the time to sow seeds for seedlings
To sow seeds for seedlings in 2021, it is important to choose the right time. If you do this too late, the sprout will not have time to get stronger before planting in the ground. And if you sow the seeds too early, the plants will grow stale, stretch out, and bear less fruit after planting. It also happens that it is overexposed home seedlings It just doesn’t take root in the soil. Therefore, it is important to monitor both the growing conditions of cucumbers and the timing.
You will need to prepare plastic cups or special peat containers. As can be seen in the photo and video, they are filled with earth, and two sprouted seeds are placed at a depth of about 3 cm. Then they are watered with warm water and covered with film. When they germinate, the film is removed.
It is necessary to plant seeds in twos to ensure the required number of seedlings. When sprouts with expanded cotyledon leaves appear, the weaker plant is removed. Otherwise, due to the struggle for sunlight and moisture, both sprouts will begin to weaken. To avoid damaging the tender roots of the second plant, carefully pinch off the stem at soil level.The rest of the sprout will decompose over time.
Seedlings must be planted in individual pots, as shown in the photo and video. The cucumber really doesn’t like it when its roots are injured, and when replanting it is unlikely to be avoided. Even if the plant takes root in the garden, it will subsequently bear less fruit. Therefore, cucumber seedlings are always planted directly with soil or in a biodegradable pot. To do this, buy peat tablets or make paper containers yourself.
Caring for sprouted seedlings
After seed germination, they need to be fed. It is better to leave the procedure in the morning, when it is clear outside.
- When the first leaf has opened, it is time to apply ammonium nitrate.
- After 14 days, you can use phosphorus-potassium fertilizer; it is diluted in a concentration of 50 g per 10 liters of water.
It is better to keep pots with freshly sown seeds at a temperature of about 25 degrees. When the sprouts sprout, the temperature should be lowered to 20 degrees. Otherwise, the seedlings will quickly grow and then wither.
A week before planting in the ground, the temperature needs to be lowered even further - to 18 degrees. Sprouts need “hardening”. To do this, they are sometimes taken out onto the balcony, but the seedlings should not be left in direct sunlight.
Cucumbers require sunlight. You will have to take care of lighting especially in cloudy weather. To speed up the development of plants, use fluorescent lamps or special phytolamps. They are attached above the seedlings at a distance of 5 cm. As the cucumbers grow, the lamps are raised. For home seedlings, one or two lamps with a power of 40-80 watts will be enough.
In cloudy weather, artificial lighting is required for sprouts throughout the day. And in sunny weather, it is enough to turn on the lamps in the morning from 7 to 10 o’clock, and in the evening from 4 to 6 o’clock.
Is it possible to save pale seedlings?
When growing seedlings with your own hands at home, there are often cases when the stems stretch out and the sprout itself becomes pale. This happens if the light or temperature conditions are incorrectly chosen for the plants.
In order for the seedlings to develop properly, you need to lower the temperature and make the lighting more intense. In this case, 15 degrees will be enough for cucumbers. For better illumination, containers with seedlings should be placed a little further from each other so that their leaves do not block the light of others. On the windowsill it is worth installing mirrors on the sides and top so that sunlight is reflected on the sprouts. If necessary, it is worth installing phytolamps above the soil, which are shown in the photo and video.
Even if the stems are too elongated, the seedlings can be planted in a garden bed on the site. In order for it to take root well in a new place, the soil must be warm and moderately moist. There are two ways to plant a plant:
- place deeper in the soil, right up to the cotyledon leaves;
- sprinkle loose, warm soil on top.
If weak seedlings have to be planted in unheated soil, the soil around the plant should be covered with a dark-colored perforated film. It does not prevent the evaporation of excess liquid and ensures heating of the roots. Thanks to this, the part of the stem located in the ground will sprout additional roots that will support weak seedlings.Over time, it will get stronger and form a full-fledged healthy bush.
What to do if the seedlings bloom
U cucumber seedlings Flowers begin to appear very quickly. The video shows that plants can grow buds on the windowsill. Strong seedlings will not suffer from this.
With weakened seedlings the situation is different. Here it is better to remove the first flowers so that the plant has time to get stronger and form a full-fledged bush in the ground. It will begin to bear fruit a little later than its neighbors, but in terms of productivity it will quickly catch up with them. If you leave flowers on weak seedlings, they may eventually lose their ovaries and produce much less fruit.
Planting seedlings in the soil
In the video, the plants are not placed very tightly - there are two or three sprouts per square meter of soil. Before planting seedlings in open soil or in a greenhouse, you need to carry out preparatory work.
- Prepare holes for seedlings.
- Moisten the soil, although there is no need to get too carried away with watering; swampy soil is not suitable for cucumbers.
- Add fertilizer.
- Sprinkle soil on top.
Now you can start planting seedlings on the site. Turn the pot over and remove all the contents with your hands. The plant is placed in the hole along with a lump of soil. Then it is watered and sprinkled with a small amount of dry soil on top, as in the video. This order will prevent the formation of a crust at the planting site.
What care does planted seedlings require?
In the garden, seedlings still require care. Cucumbers are very demanding of moisture. Although they need plenty of liquid, you should avoid over-wetting the soil. To water the seedlings, use only warm water.The procedure should be carried out more often during flowering and ovary formation. If you follow these rules, the fruits will not have a bitter taste.
In addition to watering, planted seedlings require systematic removal weed and formation of bushes. In order for oxygen to reach the roots, it is necessary to loosen the soil.
Growing cucumbers yourself requires a lot of effort. However, if you follow the recommendations and training videos in 2021, you can get a bountiful and tasty harvest from seeds that will delight the whole family.
