Whether the cucumbers were sown directly into the ground or planted there already with seedlings, care for them from some point becomes the same: watering, top dressing, hilling (especially if cucumbers were grown in a seedless way), loosening the soil, protection from weeds and diseases, as well as some special tricks that the cucumbers themselves do not need to feel good, but they help increase the yield.

Watering cucumbers

Watering for cucumbers is perhaps the most important process. With a lack of water and fruits, there will be less, and their quality will noticeably deteriorate. In the open field, it is with this that such a nuisance as the bitterness of Zelentsy is most often associated. Therefore, cucumbers should be watered regularly, on average once every 6 days, even more often in hot weather, but watch not so much the calendar as the land, because, unlike greenhouses, the beds are open to all rain. In other summers, cucumbers not only do not have to be watered, but on the contrary, they must be protected from waterlogging by laying drainage grooves, because when the water stagnates, the roots can begin to rot. The most reliable signal that it is time to water is the drying of the soil.

At the same time, it is necessary to make an allowance for the fact that young plants need relatively small amounts of water, and adults need significant amounts, and if for the former there is often enough buckets for 1 m 2, then for grown-ups - under each bush. True, young plants need to be watered a little more often than adults. In any case, water should well saturate the ground to the entire depth where the roots live, although it is not recommended to pour it specifically under the roots; it is best to use furrow irrigation or sprinkling. But there is one important limitation here: if in greenhouses plants are not only possible, but sometimes even necessary, completely doused with water, then in open ground, if water gets on the leaves on a hot day, they will get severe burns, so you need to make sure that this does not happen. It is better to water cucumbers either in the evening, when the sun stops burning strongly, or early in the morning. The condition that cucumbers cannot be watered with water with a temperature below + 10 ... 12 ° C remains in force.

Soil loosening

It is desirable to loosen the ground around the cucumber after each watering or heavy rain, but it is impossible to shift the lashes - they can only be carefully lifted or temporarily set aside, returning to their place after the soil crust is loosened.

Top dressing of cucumbers

To get a good harvest, cucumbers must be fed, on average 5-6 times per season, otherwise they will start to hurt from a lack of nutrients, and the fruits will become small and ugly. The first top dressing should be carried out even after the first thinning of seedlings (and for seedlings - during its cultivation) with solutions of organic and mineral fertilizers. From organic fertilizers, you can use mullein (1 liter of a thick solution per 10 liters of water) and chicken manure (the same amount of fermented solution), best with the addition of ash (2 cups per 10 liters of water). From mineral fertilizers (if used separately from organic fertilizers), 15 g of urea, 50 g of superphosphate and 15 g of potassium sulfate should be taken for top dressing per 10 liters of water. During the fruiting period in top dressing for cucumbers, it is desirable to further increase the amount of nitrogen and potassium fertilizers by 2-2.5 times.

In addition, it is advisable to spray cucumbers with the same mineral fertilizers every 15-20 days, taking 5 g of ammonium nitrate, 10 g of superphosphate and 8 g of potassium sulfate per 10 liters of water for foliar feeding (this amount is enough for 30 m 2 trellis). In addition, at least a couple of times in addition to them, cucumbers should be fed with the same foliar micronutrient fertilizers, it is especially important to give them to cucumbers growing on a trellis.

By the way, about trellises - when growing cucumbers on them, the lower side shoots must be cut off so that they do not creep along the ground

Methods for increasing the number of female flowers

Since the yield of cucumbers depends on the formation of female flowers, in addition to the usual care when growing varieties with a mixed type of flowering, it is also worth doing something to increase their number. Some methods - pre-sowing heating of seeds, pinching the apical bud in late-ripening varieties at the seedling stage with four or five true leaves, reducing the amount of watering during the budding period and pinching lashes with male flowers - have already been mentioned here. In addition, ringing of the stems can also be used. To do this, make a shallow annular cut around the stem with a sharp knife just below the top two leaves. Ringing can only be done in dry weather. There are also special preparations - growth hormones, some of which are designed to increase female flowers on cucumbers and other vegetables with fruits.

Cucumber is a traditional culture, and every season summer residents face similar problems. Cucumbers get sick, hardly tolerate heat or, conversely, excessive moisture, the ovaries fall off, the fruits do not ripen. Even an experienced gardener faces serious difficulties when growing cucumbers.

Sufficiently hot weather, which often develops in early to mid-summer, determines a number of problems in growing cucumber crops, both in open and protected ground.

First of all, high temperature and low humidity contribute to the development of an unpleasant pest. In a greenhouse in dry hot weather, the appearance of an ordinary spider mite is inevitable.

1. At the first signs of disease, the plants must be sprayed with the biological preparation Fitoverm.
2. It is desirable to process from the underside of the leaves, where the pest is concentrated.
3. When spraying only from the upper side of the leaf, the drug does not fall on the pest, respectively, and you will not get a positive effect.

Falling off the ovary of a cucumber in the heat

Dry hot weather affects the quality of cucumber pollination, especially in greenhouses - the ovary turns yellow, falls off, the fruits do not ripen.

In order to improve the pollination of cucumbers in the greenhouse, it is necessary to apply a number of agrotechnical measures:

• sprinkler irrigation from above. As a result, the leaf surface of the plant is cooled, which also helps in the complex of measures to combat the spider mite;
• shade the southern slopes and side surfaces of the greenhouses using light covering material. So we will prevent overheating of the soil and protect the plants - the temperature will decrease, which will contribute to better pollination,
• carry out foliar feeding.

Foliar top dressing to increase cucumber ovaries:

• 1 tsp dilute boric acid in 10 liters of water and add a few drops of iodine and potassium permanganate crystals - so that the solution is pink.
• Treat plants with such a mixture once a week, preferably in the morning or evening hours, while the number of ovaries increases dramatically.

It is clear that watering in the heat should be taken care of additionally.

1. Cucumbers are both warm and moisture-loving crops, so if the plants look wilted outwardly, you should definitely increase the watering rate.
2. In the fruiting phase, watering cucumbers is especially important, otherwise the plants will wither, pests will spread, and the fruits will turn out to be bitter.
3. It is recommended to spend about 10-15 liters of water per 1 sq. m.

In addition to hot weather, excessive moisture can also harm cucumbers.

• If you grow cucumbers in open ground, and there are continuous rains outside, unpleasant diseases cannot be avoided either.
• Wet weather promotes the development of downy mildew, angular bacterial blotch.
• It is very difficult to fight them, and you can only regulate the amount of your crop by growing cucumber varieties that are resistant to these diseases.

When the summer season begins, many owners of private plots think over a plan for growing a particular crop. Most often, vegetable growers are faced with the problem of cucumbers - this vegetable is more capricious than its counterparts. In order to minimize all negative phenomena, plants can be covered.

The question immediately arises, which covering material is best for cucumbers? This article will help you get an answer to such a question - we advise you to carefully read all aspects.

Use of black material

Despite its finicky, this plant is grown by most farmers. First of all, you should pay attention to the absence of cold weather, excessive exposure to the shade or the scorching sun. Humidity and composition of the soil are also an important factor that determines the quality of the future crop.

Using a covering material for cucumbers, you solve several problems at once. For starters, early fruiting can be achieved in a covered bed, thanks to early sowing.

In addition, protection from winds and low temperatures, a sufficient level of moisture, and minimizing the harm of sunlight are added here.

Today, you can purchase several varieties of materials for such purposes, including reinforced film, spunbond, ordinary polyethylene. In special cases, you can combine the canvas with a film that will reliably close your plants from winds and frost.

Spunbond

Spunbonded cucumbers are a fairly practical and modern solution for your garden. This material has a soft and light structure, which will not break the plants, while they will receive enough light, moisture and air. Harmful solar radiation remains outside the seedlings, and only heat comes in, which is so necessary for cucumbers.

Due to its low cost, it can be used as an addition to standard greenhouse roofing. To water the plant, the spunbond does not need to be removed.

But it should be borne in mind that this material will not relieve all worries. The finished crop also depends on the composition of the soil, the selected crop variety.

As for the latter, look at the types of cucumbers that do not require pollination. Otherwise, the film has to be removed in the morning and returned to its place in the evening.

How to choose the right one?

Before buying a protective covering material for cucumbers in the open field, you should familiarize yourself with the features of each of them. Also, choose a product that suits your growing conditions.

For example, to protect your seedlings from the cold, look for white non-woven fabric. These will include the mentioned spandbond, spantex products and others.

When using such materials, it is unlikely that there will be a lack of moisture or air, and you can not worry about the integrity of the beds. The material is light and durable, which means that you can not use an additional frame, depending on the thickness.

If you want to prevent the appearance of weed plants, a black film is suitable, which fits snugly into the desired area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe garden. In addition, do not forget about pests - you will also need protection from them if you do not want to constantly fertilize or treat plants.

Care

Have you thought about buying protection for the garden, but do not know how to cover cucumbers with covering material? Below are some of the features of care. So, planting is no different from simply growing cucumbers - a hole in moistened ground, where seeds are sent and all this is sprinkled.

Despite the use of a covering sheet, it is still necessary to monitor the qualitative development of the culture. If you plant seedlings in the middle of spring, you should not water them often - two visits in seven days are enough.

Within a month, when the temperature is kept at around 20 degrees Celsius, the plants can begin to fertilize. To do this, dissolve a teaspoon of sodium humate in a bucket of water and stir well.

The resulting mixture needs to feed the garden with cucumbers. Additionally, you can add a small amount of bird droppings.

Do not forget about the supports on which the cucumber culture will grow and develop. With the help of protective material, you can protect your seedlings from the negative effects of the climate. And with the right choice of material, the plants will thank you with the best harvest.

Photo of cucumbers under covering material