Care and cultivation of cucumbers outdoors: how to properly care for a good harvest

So, you planted the cucumbers (directly by seeds into open ground or pre grown seedlings and planted them in open ground). Shoots already appear. It's time to remove the film or open the arc greenhouse and start caring for young cucumber plants (recently planted seedlings).

Next, you will learn everything about the rules of care and the basics of agricultural technology for growing cucumbers in the open field, thanks to which you can get a rich harvest of tasty greens.

Important! If you just going to sow cucumbers in the ground, then the answers to the questions by choice of location, preparation of the garden, methods and schemes of planting can find in this detailed material.

When and how to plant cucumbers correctly

Unlike tomato and peppers cucumbers are usually planted directly into open ground (preferably initially under a film) or in a greenhouse. However, to get an earlier harvest (for 1-2 weeks), they can also be pre-sow seedlings.

When grown through seedlings

The site has a number of materials on how to grow cucumbers through seedlings:

• sowing time for seedlings (how to calculate the optimal time for planting seeds);
• methods of pre-sowing preparation and processing of cucumber seeds;
• instructions for the correct sowing of seeds for seedlings;
• rules for growing strong cucumber seedlings;
• terms and rules for planting in a greenhouse and open ground.

With direct sowing in the ground

And yet, most summer residents are inclined in favor of direct planting in open ground (with initial cover with a film or under an arc greenhouse).

Note! The site also has a detailed article on how when and how to sow cucumber seeds in open ground (including, how to choose a place and prepare a garden).

How to care for cucumbers outdoors: growing rules

What is included in the list of basic agrotechnical techniques for caring for cucumbers in the open field?

In short, for successful cultivation, cucumbers need to be regularly water and feed, required tie up, mulch or periodically loosen, and pinch, pinch and shape. And, of course, promptly solve problems, emerging in the process of growing, to fight with diseases effectively resist pests... At the same time, it is important to do everything on time and efficiently.

Next, let's talk about everything in order and in more detail.

Thinning of seedlings

After the emergence of seedlings, after waiting for some time, they should be thinned out, leaving the strongest plants. Naturally, this (thinning) must be done in accordance with the chosen planting and growing scheme (the permissible distance between plants in the garden).

By the way! If you have grown cucumbers through seedlings, then you have already thinned out, so to speak, the selection of the best specimens. You only need to plant the seedlings in the holes, according to the previously selected planting (growing) scheme.

Watering and moisture

As a rule, it is not necessary to moisten the soil under a shelter (greenhouse) before the active germination of seeds begins, since the covering material prevents moisture evaporation. But it is still necessary to control the condition of the soil, since the slightest drying out can cause the death of the hatched seeds.

In the future, it is very important to carry out competent and timely watering of cucumbers.

By the way! More details how to properly water cucumbers in the open field, read in this detailed article!

In short, the basic rules for watering cucumbers are:

• water only with warm water (above +18 .. + 20 degrees), and preferably with standing water;

Watering cucumbers with cold water can become infected powdery mildew (white spots appear).

• do not fall on the leaves - this provokes the development of diseases (peronosporosis (downy mildew);
• shed deeply - surface watering disrupts the normal development of the root system;
• water and / or early in the morning and / or late in the evening (at sunset).

Top dressing

Advice! About, how and how to feed cucumbers before and during fruiting, read in this detailed material.

Cucumbers are able to bear fruit for a sufficiently long period of time, which means that they (bushes) must be regularly provided with adequate nutrition throughout the entire period of growth and especially fruiting.

Moreover, cucumbers require so much nutrition that even if you initially put in the soil, in your opinion, a sufficient amount of useful macro- and microelements, this will still not be enough. Moreover, this applies to nitrogen and especially potassium.

We repeat! It is also wrong to do initially excessively "fat" soil: cucumbers should receive nutrition gradually - in the course of growth and especially fruiting.

Now on sale there are a lot of ready-made special fertilizers for cucumbers (zucchini, squash, that is, pumpkin), for example, "Agricola".

However! For feeding cucumbers, you can cook completely nutrient solutions of fertilizers of various cost and effectiveness.

Mulching, loosening and hilling

To prevent the soil from drying out quickly (reducing the number of watering) and the growth of weeds, under the cucumbers, they underlay (mulch) straw, hay or sawdust... Or they even put them on a black spunbond.

Landings that are not covered with mulching material need to be regularly weed outso that they do not take away nutrients from young plants. And also, if possible, do not forget loosen after every watering or rainso that an earthen crust does not form. However, since the root system of cucumbers is located close enough to the surface (5 cm), the soil must be loosened very carefully and shallowly.

Note! When you often and not very carefully conduct watering and liquid fertilizing (especially for the fruiting period), then eroding the root system and she turns out to be outsidethat is not good. Therefore, during loosening, it is imperative to fall asleep (spud) bare roots.

This procedure not only helps to protect the plant's root system, but also promotes the growth of new lateral root processes.

Video: hilling cucumbers

Garter

So that all plants have enough sunlight, as well as to reduce the risk of fungal diseases in cucumbers, which occurs due to cramped growing conditions (including for this, bushes need pinch (pinch), and also, to simplify planting care, cucumbers are tied to horizontal or vertical trellises.

Although if you dare grow cucumbers in barrels, then in this case it will not be necessary to tie them up. The same goes for undersized or bush varieties (e.g. variety Kid or Hector F1).

Advice! About, when and how to tie cucumbers, you can learn more from of this material.

Shaping: pinching and pinching

The formation of cucumbers is a highly effective agrotechnical technique that is aimed at increasing crop yields.

By the way! Especially important form correctly bunch-type cucumbers.

• So, thanks to pinching, the bush begins to actively form lateral shoots, on which ovaries are later formed.
• And with the help of pinching, you rid the bush of unnecessary shoots, thereby preventing it from shading itself.

Important! More details about pinching and pinching (shaping) cucumbers read in this detailed material.

Video: the formation of cucumbers in the open field

Problems of growing cucumbers

If you are faced with the fact that cucumber ovaries turned yellow, dried up and fell off, in other words, have not developed into full-fledged fruits, then we strongly advise you to read this material, which indicates possible causes (problems) and methods of solving them.

By the appearance of cucumbers (namely by leaves) can be determined what the plant lacks, as well as how and how best to feed it:

• If the leaves of cucumbers turn yellow at the edges (they remain green in the center), i.e. you see a characteristic yellow border (marginal chlorosis), which, as a rule, first forms on the old lower leaves, then all this indicates a clear lack of potassium.

• Lack of iron causes the appearance interveinal chlorosis on young leaves (the plate itself turns yellow, and the veins remain dark green), while the older leaves, on the contrary, remain green.

By the way! The site already has a detailed article about why do cucumber leaves turn yellow and what needs to be done in each case.

In addition to the fact that the color of the leaves themselves changes, indicating a lack of nutrition, troubles may happen and with the fruits of the cucumbers themselves.

• So, cucumbers can start deform and warp.
• Become a empty inside.
• To begin taste bitter.

Advice! ABOUT reasons, why cucumbers grow crooked - you can read here, but about that which can make cucumbers bitter — in this article.

There is also a separate material on how why are the cucumbers empty inside.

Diseases and pests

Like all plants, cucumbers are susceptible to a number of diseases and pests.

Note! In the open field, with proper care, diseases and pests attack cucumbers much less often than in a greenhouse.

Diseases

Cucumbers can infect the following diseases: powdery mildew (white spots), peronosporosis (downy mildew), olive spot (cladosporium), gray rot, root rot, anthracnose, mosaic, fusarium root and stem rot, fusarium wilting.

Advice! It is easier to prevent any diseases than to fight them later. Therefore, for example, during planting and further care, it is advisable to periodically spill the wells with a solution Fitosporin or Trichoderminato protect the cucumbers from root rot and other fungal diseases.

Pests

What main pest of cucumbers? That's right, it's aphid.

Therefore, every gardener should knowabout effective folk remedies and preparations that can rid his cucumber beds from this small, but very nasty pest - melon aphid.

In addition, cucumbers have and other pests - is the same whitefly (as a rule, a regular in tomato greenhouses), spider mite (again more often attacks in the greenhouse), ants (carriers of aphids).

By the way! The site also has an article about how to get rid of spider mites on cucumbers in the open field and in the greenhouse.

Harvesting and self-harvesting of cucumber seeds

Do not forget regularly collect ripe greensas late harvesting will inhibit the growth of new cucumbers.

And if you grow varietal cucumbers (Not hybrid!), Then towards the end of the season you can leave a couple of the largest cucumbers for seeds.

Advice! The site has detailed material about how to independently collect and harvest cucumber seeds.

Well, that seems to be all. Yes, cucumbers cannot be called a "low-maintenance" crop. So after all, they bear fruit without ceasing, which means that they require constant attention. Good luck!

Video: how to grow cucumbers in the open field