Proper watering of cucumbers in the open field and in the greenhouse: how often and with what water to water

It is a well-known fact that cucumbers are a very moisture-loving pumpkin plant (while the fruits themselves are 98% water). Therefore, in order to create comfortable (= wet) conditions for their successful and long-term fruiting, you must first understand all the nuances of their cultivation, namely, the watering requirements.

Next, let's talk about how to water cucumbers correctly and often in the open field and in a greenhouse (greenhouse) in order to get a rich, tasty and high-quality harvest.

The importance of proper watering for cucumbers

Indeed, cucumbers are very demanding on air and soil moisture (it should be about 70-80%).However, as in any business, when watering cucumbers in the open field and in a greenhouse, you need to keep the golden mean, because overflow and underflow are equally bad for the condition of plants and their yield.

So, because of too frequent and abundant moisture the soil will become excessively compacted, and the plant roots will begin to experience oxygen starvation, which, together with a waterlogged environment, will certainly lead to root rot development.

If watering is very sparse or poor, the aerial part of the plant begins turn yellow and dry, a fruit become bitter and deform (become crooked).

Thus, over and under application of moisture will not allow you to achieve the desired results.

The key to successful cultivation of cucumbers lies in correct watering regime: it (watering) should be frequent and moderately abundant, in other words, soil under cucumbers must be always slightly damp, but by no means swampy or even overdried.

How to properly water cucumbers: basic tips and tricks

Next, we will analyze all the main issues regarding the rules, time, frequency and norms for watering cucumbers.

What time of day is it better to water

Most gardeners agree that it is best to water cucumbers. in the evening, somewhere after 17-19 hours.

Why in the evening?

The fact is that in the morning, even in barrels, the water is cold, and cucumbers are a very thermophilic plant, which in no case do not pour cold water.

And here water cucumbers during the day - this is quite bad idea! Not only does the water evaporate quickly, and the ground immediately becomes covered with a crust, but also numerous sunburns can remain on the leaves.

It's another matter if cloudy day. However, in this case too watering better to spend before lunch or late afternoon.

Thus, in hot weather, especially if the nights are warm, it is recommended to water only in the evening.

If the nights are cold, water you can also in the morning, and in the morning, but always warm water.

In the next video, a popular country video blogger, on the contrary, talks about the inadmissibility of watering plants in the evening, but it would be much more correct to add "cold water" to the name.

Video: why you shouldn't water the plants at night

What water to water: can it be cold

Both in the greenhouse and in the open field, you can only water cucumbers warm water (not lower than +16, optimally + 20-25 degrees).

Note! When they say "warm", this does not mean at all that the water needs to be specially heated somehow.

Your container of water (barrel, bathroom) should simply stand on the street and heat up in the sun during the day (towards evening).

Icy water from a well or well water cucumbers Absolutely forbidden... If you water the cucumber beds with such 5-8 degree water, the plant will be strongly oppressed and will start to hurt (root rot will appear, it can become infected powdery mildew).

By the way! If the weather is hot and your country water from the hose is + 20-22 degrees, then this is a perfectly suitable temperature for watering cucumbers.

And of course, watering is always better. separated water (naturally, from the container (barrel) it will always be settled).

Idea! If you want the water in the barrel to always be warm, then the barrel can be placed in the greenhouse (and this will also keep the greenhouse warm at night). If there is no room in the greenhouse or the barrel is outside, then you can make a "thermos" by placing the barrel in a polycarbonate box. The water in such a "thermos" will cool for a long time and by the morning it will still be very warm.

How often to water and how much water is needed

As you probably already understood, cucumbers differ markedly from tomatoes in terms of watering. The fact is that cucumbers are much more moisture-loving plants, therefore they need to be watered more often than tomatoes.

What are the norms for watering cucumbers in the open field and in the greenhouse?

It is quite logical that the frequency and rate of watering cucumbers depend on the weather conditions (this is especially true if you grow in the open field, because the weather is changeable), as well as on the composition of the soil.

So, if you have loose sandy loam soil, then you will have to water more often, but on clay soils with watering, you need to be careful.

• The watering rate for cucumbers is 2-5 liters per plant, depending on its size (at the beginning of the growing season - less, during the period of growth and fruiting - more) and the type of soil.

Those. a garden bed where 4-5 plants grow will require a minimum of 10-12 liters.

• The frequency of watering cucumbers is every day in dry and hot weather, every other day or two - in other cases.

Advice! To determine that the soil in the cucumber beds is sufficiently moist and your cucumber watering regime is correct, you can take a little earth (handful) in hand and squeeze lightly - if the ground was stuck, wherein the earthen lump does not fall apart and moisture does not ooze from it - ideal (this the main criterion for proper watering), if it does not stick together and crumbles or water flows out of it, you are under-filling or over-pouring your cucumbers.

Another way to detect over or under moisture application: from underfilling cucumber leaves lose their turgor, hang, become soft, from overflow in the early morning, the edge of the leaf is wet - guttation occurs.

Irrigation technique

Cucumbers have a rather shallow root system, which means that this must be taken into account when watering. In other words, watering directly under the root with a hose or even more buckets is a very bad idea. Another thing is if you water along the groove (by throwing the hose) or from a garden watering can.

By the way! Many people recommend that the ground around the cucumber (i.e. where the stem comes out of the ground) remains relatively dry. this is necessary to prevent various diseases (especially root rot).

Cucumbers are still very fond of spraying on the leaf, but it is spraying (i.e., small drops that are quickly absorbed by the leaves), and not watering. And, of course, in no case in sunny weather!

Note! If you use the sprinkling method in relatively cool weather, in other words, water will fall on the leaves and they will stand wet for a long time (more than 3-4 hours), then the plant will get sick peronosporosis (downy mildew)... In the sunny - the leaves will definitely get burned.

Therefore, it is ideal to spray (sprinkle) in warm and cloudy weather or in the late afternoon, when the cucumber bed is already in the shade.

Video: how to properly water cucumbers

Drip irrigation

It is most effective to install drip irrigation for cucumbers (thanks to which you can always keep the soil slightly moist), which can be organized both when growing in an open field and in a greenhouse.

Moreover, the drip irrigation system can be bought ready-made and built independently.

So, many gardeners often use plastic bottles (one and a half or five liters) as homemade drip irrigation.

Video: drip irrigation of cucumbers using a plastic bottle.

Other tips and tricks for proper watering of cucumbers in the open field and greenhouse:

• So that after watering a dry crust does not form, the ground around the bushes is periodically (between waterings) gently loosened with a rake.

If this is not done, air will not flow well to the roots of the plant, which in the future will negatively affect its yield.

Advice! If you do not want to do frequent looseningthen just mulch your cucumber plantings, so you can reduce the number of waterings, because mulch does not allow moisture to evaporate quickly and the soil stays moist longer.

• If, before the next watering of cucumbers, overcast, it is recommended to verify its actual need. Thanks to this approach, you can protect the plant from waterlogging in the event of prolonged rains.

Thus, each of the ways of organizing watering has its own characteristics, so you should study in advance how to properly water cucumbers in the open field, in a greenhouse or greenhouse, in order to ultimately choose the best option based on your preferences and capabilities.

How to water cucumbers at different stages of development: brief features of watering

As a rule, cucumbers are watered according to the following scheme:

• During the period of active growth (before fruiting) cucumbers need water regularly, trying to keep the ground always slightly damp.
• It is very important to water the cucumbers during the period of ovary formation.

Important! If you do not moisturize them enough, and the beds remain dry for a long time, the plants will begin to redirect all the moisture into the leaf system.

And if it is also very hot, strong evaporation from the leaf apparatus will begin, which means that nothing will go to the fruits, and the cucumber ovaries will simply begin to crumble.

• It is equally important to constantly keep the soil moist (water often) when there will be pour cucumber fruits, i.e. during the period of active fruiting.

Note! If during this period you do not regularly water the cucumbers, the greens will not only be crooked, but also bitter.

• Despite the arrival of autumn, if the cucumbers continue to bear fruit, the frequency of watering cannot be reduced, it is another matter that the volume can be reduced.

Features and rules for watering cucumbers in a greenhouse

The main advantage of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse is that only in protected ground you can independently control both the temperature and humidity conditions, regulating them with the help of ventilation.

But if your cucumber beds are in the open air, then everything here will depend on the vagaries of the weather, which means that watering cucumbers in the open field should be approached with even greater responsibility.

In general, there are no cardinal differences in watering cucumbers in open and closed ground, but there are still a couple of nuances:

• It is quite obvious that watering cucumbers in the greenhouse required less oftenthan in the open field, because moisture in closed ground is better retained.

• To maintain high humidity in the greenhouse on dry and hot days, near the plants you can put open containers of water.
• After the evening watering cucumbers the greenhouse or greenhouse must be closedto keep high humidity.

Worth knowing! The increased air humidity in the range of 80-90% contributes to a decrease in temperature during the daytime, since, evaporating, moisture creates fog and the permeability of the sun decreases; the result is a kind of blackout.

Consider! Low temperature (below +14 .. + 15 degrees) and high humidity contribute to the appearance of all kinds of rot and disease.

Video: how to water cucumbers in a greenhouse

Popular opinion! “Cucumbers are very fond of water, I have never seen cracked cucumbers or stems due to excess moisture in my life. Those who grow for sale do the only thing - watering in the evening, in the morning they gathered the harvest and go to the market. "

Thus, now you know that such a moisture-loving plant, like a cucumber, cannot develop well, and even more so bear fruit abundantly with insufficient soil moisture. Therefore, if you want to harvest a generous and tasty crop of crispy cucumbers for a long time, you must properly water the cucumbers in the open field or in the greenhouse, following all the listed tips and recommendations.

Video: how often and how much to water cucumbers - all about watering