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Planting cucumber seedlings in open ground begins in late spring and continues until mid-June. After planting, the plants find themselves in new conditions, which differ significantly from the previous environment not only in temperature, but also in the composition of the soil. In order for young cucumbers to successfully take root and begin to bear fruit abundantly, the soil must be prepared even before planting the seedlings by adding various fertilizers. During the growing season, fertilizing cucumbers in open ground will increase productivity and extend the fruiting period culture.
Soil preparation
It is recommended to grow cucumbers in areas protected from the wind, well lit by the sun. land. Predecessors for cucumbers can be legumes, tomatoes, corn, and root vegetables. You should not grow cucumbers year after year in the same place or in the place where zucchini previously grew.
The soil for growing cucumbers should be prepared in the fall. When deep digging the soil, you need to add humus, compost or fresh manure, which will have time to partially decompose in winter. The rate of application of organic matter in the autumn for cucumbers in open areas of soil is 5 kg/m2.
Organic fertilizers contain a significant amount of nitrogen, but do not contain other micronutrients in the required quantities. It is for this reason that additional phosphorus and potassium should be added to the soil in the fall. It is better to choose superphosphate as a phosphate fertilizer. The rate of its application to cucumbers depends on the nutritional level of the soil and can be 15-30 g/m2. You can add potassium to the soil using potassium salt. The fertilizer volume should be 10-25 g/m2.
It is worth noting that in the absence of organic matter, a mineral substitute can also be used, which will become a source of nitrogen. So, in the fall, ammonium nitrate and urea can be added to the soil where cucumbers will subsequently grow.
Feeding cucumbers
Cucumbers can be planted in open ground in spring only when the soil at a depth of 10 cm is warmed up by more than 120C. Before planting, the prepared soil must be loosened and ridges and holes formed on it. There is no need to add any additional nutrients when planting cucumbers in open ground.
After planting, the cucumber seedlings stop growing for a week. height to adapt to new conditions. At this time, plants consume previously stored phosphate and potash fertilizers. They allow plants to take root better.
A week after planting, the cucumbers should intensify their growth, and if this does not happen, then it is necessary to carry out the first feeding. To fertilize cucumbers you can prepare complex mineral compounds or use organic fertilizers.Also, some foliar feedings and fertilizers prepared from improvised materials using unconventional methods show high efficiency.
Organic fertilizers
Organic fertilizers for cucumbers in open ground are more often used by gardeners who have their own livestock farmstead. In this case, organics are characterized by availability, high efficiency and environmental friendliness. These fertilizers are great for feeding cucumbers, because they contain a large amount of nitrogen necessary for their growth.
Mullein infusion
The most famous organic fertilizer for cucumbers is infusion mullein. It contains not only a large amount of decomposed nitrogen, but also phosphorus, potassium, calcium, zinc, magnesium and other trace elements necessary for plants. Mullein is used for the first (immediately after rooting) and subsequent fertilizing of cucumbers.
It is not difficult to prepare a mullein infusion. To do this, place 1 part of cow dung and 5 parts of water in a container. After mixing, the solution is infused for two weeks. During this time, the nitrogen in fresh manure rots and is harmless to the crop.
You can make mullein infusion a complex fertilizer that will contain large amounts of potassium and phosphorus by adding wood ash. Add a glass of ash to 1 bucket of concentrated infusion.
To feed cucumbers in open areas of land, a concentrated infusion of mullein must be diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. It is recommended to fertilize cucumbers in the evening, after sunset.
Bird droppings
Poultry droppings, compared to livestock manure, contain increased amounts of all microelements, including nitrogen, which cucumbers can burn. This is why litter is never used fresh; it must be cooked.
You can feed cucumbers dry chicken manure. To do this, it must be left in the fresh air to dry for a while, and then used for embedding into the ground. Fresh poultry droppings can be used in liquid fertilizer by mixing it with water in a ratio of 1:20. Infuse the resulting solution for at least 10 days.
It is recommended to water cucumbers with an infusion of bird droppings during the mass formation of ovaries, since such fertilizing will significantly reduce the number of barren flowers. Before use, the concentrated infusion of the litter is diluted with water until the color of the liquid becomes tea-like.
If the gardener does not keep chickens and other poultry on his plot, he can purchase ready-made fertilizers based on chicken manure. An example of the use of such fertilizers and the farmer’s feedback on the fertilizer can be seen in the video:
Herbal infusion
Herbal tinctures can become a complete fertilizer for cucumbers. You can prepare a tincture from nettles or weeds. The greens should be chopped and poured with water in a weight ratio of 1:2. You need to infuse the herb for several days. At this time, the processes of overheating and fermentation occur, as evidenced by the formation of foam. Before watering the cucumbers, the finished herbal infusion is diluted with water until a light brown solution is obtained.
You can make a complex fertilizer based on herbal infusion.To do this, mullein and wood ash should be included in the solution.
Thus, using organic fertilizers, you can completely restore the composition of the soil, saturate the cucumbers in sufficient quantities with nitrogen and other necessary substances and, as a result, get a good harvest of environmentally friendly, tasty cucumbers.
Mineral complexes
Fertilizing cucumbers after planting in the ground until the end of fruiting can be done using mineral fertilizers. You can prepare them yourself by mixing several components, or purchase them ready-made.
Among the ready-made mineral fertilizers for growing cucumbers on unprotected soils, we should highlight “Zeovit Cucumbers”, “Topers”, “Fertika-Lux”, “Agricola”, “Bio-Master” and some others. All these fertilizers contain the optimal amount of various microelements for feeding cucumbers at various stages of cultivation.
Mineral complexes for feeding cucumbers You can prepare it yourself by mixing several different substances. For example, you can get a good fertilizer for cucumbers by combining 20 g urea and 10 g of superphosphate. Additionally, potassium sulfate in the amount of 7 g should be added to the mixture. When preparing fertilizing, urea can be replaced with ammonium nitrate in the amount of 7 g. The mixture of substances is dissolved in 10 liters of water and used for watering plants at the root.
During the period of mass formation of ovaries and active growth of fruits, it is recommended to feed cucumbers with a urea solution. To do this, it is recommended to add 50 g of the substance to a bucket of water.
Contact of substances with cucumber leaves can damage them. Before feeding the plants, it is recommended to water them abundantly with clean water.
Foliar feeding
Caring for cucumbers should consist not only of applying fertilizers at the root, but also using foliar fertilizers. The surface of the cucumber leaf is capable of transmitting nutrients and synthesizing them to improve all life processes. This type of feeding is not the main one. It should be used as an addition to root feeding. It is recommended to spray cucumber leaves with nutrient solutions every 2 weeks.
Each farmer plans the regime of spraying cucumbers with nutrients independently, carrying out fertilizing in the period between the application of basic fertilizers. In this case, extraordinary spraying should be carried out after prolonged cold spells, since in such conditions the roots of plants stop absorbing substances from the soil. Also, the use of foliar feeding is effective for symptoms of microelement starvation.
For foliar feeding of cucumbers, you can use organic and mineral fertilizers, the composition of which is similar to root feeding, however, their concentration should be reduced by 2 times.
The farmer can combine mineral substances independently, using solutions of trace elements prepared in certain concentrations. So, it is recommended to dilute urea based on 2 spoons per bucket of water.Superphosphate and potassium sulfate are added to the same volume in amounts of 200 and 100 g, respectively. Ammonium nitrate For foliar feeding of cucumbers, 20 g per bucket of water is enough; no more than 50 g of potassium chloride should be added.
You should not mix all the fertilizers together at each feeding, since during a certain growing season cucumbers only need certain substances. For example, to stimulate the growth of young plants, substances containing nitrogen - urea or ammonium nitrate - should be used. During the formation of ovaries, the crop needs potassium and phosphorus.
Copper sulfate is often used during the flowering of cucumbers. It allows you to reduce the number of barren flowers and increase the yield of vegetables. For spraying, it is diluted in water at the rate of 2 g per 10 liters of water.
All types of foliar fertilizers should be used in open areas of land in the evening or early in the morning in the absence of direct sunlight and wind. This will allow the fertilizers not to evaporate, but to be absorbed into the surface of the plant’s leaf plate.
Non-traditional fertilizers
In addition to traditional mineral, organic fertilizers, some farmers use non-standard methods of plant nutrition, based on the use of substances and products that can be found at home.
Wood ash
Ash can become a source of potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus for normal growth and abundant fruiting of cucumbers. Ash is used in the spring when sowing seeds for seedlings, adding the substance to the soil, then in the process of caring for it and after young plants are planted in the ground. So, during the growing season, cucumbers should be fertilized ash 5-6 times:
- during the release of the second leaf;
- with the onset of flowering;
- during fruit formation every 2 weeks.
Wood ash can be added in various ways, for example, by adding it to already prepared organic fertilizer. It does not contain nitrogen, so such a complex will not be able to burn plants, but the ash will add the missing mineral elements to the organic solution.
The use of dry ash involves embedding it into the upper layers of the earth. After this application, the soil should be watered. The liquid infusion is also very popular among gardeners. It is prepared at the rate of 2 tablespoons of ash per 1 liter of water. After mixing, the solution is infused for a week. After preparation is completed, the solution is diluted with clean water in a ratio of 1:10 and used to water the plants at the root.
You can see the results of fertilizing cucumbers with ash and hear the farmer’s comments in the video:
Yeast
You can speed up the root formation process and increase the yield of cucumbers by using yeast. They contain a complex of minerals, vitamins and other substances that have a beneficial effect on the development of plants. Yeast feeding forces existing bacteria in the soil to work, thereby saturating the soil with oxygen and nitrogen.
Yeast feeding cucumbers in the ground should be carried out no more than 3 times during the entire growing season. Watering with fertilizer is carried out when the soil is sufficiently warmed up, since the vital activity of beneficial fungi will only be active in this case. You can prepare yeast fertilizer for plants using one of the following recipes:
- Dissolve 10 g of dry, granulated yeast in a bucket of warm water. To improve fermentation, you can add 2 tablespoons of sugar or jam to the mixture. Leave the resulting solution for several hours, then dilute it by adding 50 liters of warm, clean water.
- Fresh yeast is dissolved in warm water in a weight ratio of 1:5. For fermentation, the mixture is infused in a warm place for 3-4 hours, after which it is diluted 1:10 and used for watering at the root.
Yeast fertilizers can be used in combination with organic or mineral fertilizers. A popular fertilizer is prepared by adding yeast and ash to a herbal infusion.
Honey feeding
Honey feeding can be carried out during the flowering period of cucumbers. It will attract pollinating insects. To carry it out, you need to dissolve 1 spoon of honey in a liter of warm water. After cooling, spray the cucumber leaves with the solution. Such a “cunning” measure will increase crop yields even in the presence of unfavorable, cloudy summer weather.
Let's sum it up
Thus, when planting cucumbers in open ground, it is necessary to take care not only of basic care, including weeding and watering the plants, but also of fertilizing, which will allow the plants to develop safely and bear fruit abundantly over a long period of time. You can use various types of fertilizers and their combinations, but it is worth remembering that in the spring cucumbers especially need nitrogen; during the period of active fruiting, the crop is demanding of potassium, phosphorus and calcium.
Throughout the growing season, it is necessary to carry out 3-4 main feedings.At the same time, spraying with micronutrients and applying ash and chalk fertilizers can be carried out repeatedly with an interval of 1-2 weeks. Using various fertilizers and methods of applying them, you can get a wonderful, abundant harvest of tasty cucumbers even when grown on the poorest soil.
