When to plant cucumber seeds outdoors. Planting cucumbers in open ground

Plant common cucumber, or sowing cucumber (Latin Cucumis sativus), is a herbaceous annual species of the genus Cucumber of the family Pumpkin, a vegetable crop widely grown all over the world. The name of the plant comes from the Greek word aguros, which means "immature", that is, at the etymological level, the name is assigned the concept that a cucumber is eaten unripe, that is, in a green form, as opposed to, for example, a tomato, which is not eaten green. The cucumber vegetable has been cultivated for over 6000 years. He comes from India, where it still grows wild at the foot of the Himalayas.

In the Bible, the cucumber is referred to as "the vegetable of Egypt." Cucumbers were grown by the ancient Greeks, then by the Romans, and cucumbers spread throughout Central Europe during the time of Charlemagne. From the notes of the German ambassador to the Moscow state Herberstein, it is known that in 1528 cucumbers were already growing in Russia.

Planting and caring for cucumbers

Landing: sowing seeds for seedlings - in April, planting seedlings in the ground - in early or mid-May.
Lighting: bright or partial shade.
The soil: highly fertile, well-drained, low in nitrogen, neutral or slightly alkaline.
Predecessors: the best are green manure, onion, cabbage, tomatoes. Undesirable - lagenaria and any pumpkin crops.
Watering: the first time after transplanting seedlings into the ground - frequent, after rooting - once every 5-7 days with a consumption of 3 to 6 liters of water for each m2, during the flowering period - once every 2-3 days with double water consumption for the same unit of area.
Top dressing: 6-8 times a season with organic and mineral fertilizers. Do not apply top dressing during a cold snap.
Garter: horizontal and vertical. They begin to tie the lashes to the supports almost immediately after planting the cucumbers in the ground.
Pinching: in the open field, to stimulate the growth of lateral lashes, the shoots are pinched over 5-6 leaves.
Stepping into: at the stage of development of 3-4 leaves, then at the stage of development of 8 leaves, then at the stage of formation of 12 leaves.
Reproduction: seed.
Pests: aphids, root nematodes, scoops, bears, tobacco thrips, spider mites, sprout flies, wireworms.
Diseases: anthracnochus, ascochitosis, verticillosis, powdery mildew, peronosporosis, blackleg, gray rot, black rot, olive spot and ring mosaic virus.

Read more about growing cucumbers below.

Vegetable cucumber - description

The stem of the cucumber is rough, creeping, reaching two meters in length and ending in a mustache, with which the plant clings to the support. The leaves are five-lobed, cordate. The fruit is emerald-green in color, bubbly, juicy, multi-seeded, with a structure typical of Pumpkin. The shape and size of the fruit varies depending on the variety.

Despite the fact that cucumber is 95% water, it contains useful trace elements - iron, magnesium, phosphorus and calcium and vitamins - C, B1, B2, provitamin A. Cucumber juice is a structured liquid that perfectly removes toxins and toxins and is beneficial affecting the state of the human body. Cucumbers are a source of iodine in compounds that are easy to digest.

Growing cucumbers from seeds

Sowing cucumber seeds

Growing cucumber seedlings allows you to speed up fruiting in the open field by 2 weeks, and also prolongs the fruiting period. Even if you know how to grow cucumber seedlings, after reading the recommendations in this article, you will be able to compare your experience and knowledge with ours, and maybe you will learn what you did not know yet.

Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in April. The germination capacity of cucumber seeds, when properly stored, do not lose within 8-10 years, but three to four-year-old seeds are considered the most productive. Seedling material for seedlings should consist of full-bodied large seeds, which have been warmed up for a month near heating devices at a temperature of about 25 ºC. This does not apply to seeds of hybrid varieties - they do not need to be warmed up before planting.

Planting cucumbers for seedlings is also preceded by disinfecting the seeds by immersing them for an hour in an infusion of 100 g of water and 30 g of garlic pulp. After disinfection, the seeds for swelling are wrapped in a damp cloth and kept at a temperature of 20 ºC for 48 hours, after which they are placed in the vegetable compartment of the refrigerator for the same period.

Seeds ready for sowing are laid out in peat-melting or plastic cups 10-12 cm high, filled to the brim with coconut substrate or soil, which must be prepared in advance: thoroughly mix 2 parts of humus, 1 part of sawdust, 2 parts of peat and add 2 to 10 liters of such soil mixture tablespoons of wood ash and one and a half tablespoons of nitrophosphate. In each cup, lay out one hatched seed with its spout upwards, so that during germination the peel of the seed remains in the soil.

It is not necessary to plant the seeds deeply, it is enough to cover them with a layer of soil mixture 5-10 mm thick, after which the sowing should be moistened, covered with paper and kept at a temperature of 22-28 ºC. The seedlings will be ready for transplanting outdoors in 3-4 weeks. If you put the seeds not in plastic cups, but in peat-melted or peat tablets with a diameter of 41-44 cm, you will not have to fiddle with a pick, but it should be noted that cucumbers do not like this procedure.

Growing seedlings of cucumbers

Caring for cucumber seedlings involves watering, feeding, picking seedlings, if you grow them in boxes, cassettes or plastic cups, and you will almost certainly need artificial lighting. When seedlings appear, the temperature in the room is lowered to 20-22 ºC during the day and up to 15-16 ºC at night, and additional lighting is arranged for the seedlings with fluorescent or agro-lamps so that the seedlings do not stretch out.

In the stage of formation of seedlings of two true leaves in the ground fertilize for cucumbers of this composition: dissolve 3 teaspoons of nitroammophoska in three liters of water at a temperature of 20 ºC. And a day or two before planting seedlings in the ground, they are fed with a solution of 10 liters of water, 15 g of urea, 10 g of potassium fertilizer and 40 g of superphosphate, spending this amount of top dressing on about 2 m² of soil.

Concerning watering seedlings, then throughout the entire growing period it is carried out once a week, and the soil is completely spilled, and the excess liquid must be drained - for this it is convenient to keep the containers on the pallet. If the seedlings are growing quickly, and you do not intend to dive, add some soil to the cups for stability.

Picking cucumbers

Cucumbers do not like picks very much, so follow our advice and grow cucumber seedlings in peat pots or tablets, but if for some reason you decide to sow seeds in boxes, then picks cannot be avoided, and they carry out it in the development phase of seedlings of two true leaves ... Before diving for cucumbers, the soil in the box is watered well, then the seedling is very carefully removed, trying not to shake the soil from the roots, and transplanted into a separate container, immersing the root and part of the stem in a depression made in the soil by cotyledon leaves.

After the dive, the soil around the seedling is compacted in such a way that the seedling cannot be easily pulled out of the ground. When transplanting, crooked and diseased plants are discarded, but it should be remembered that picking delays the development of seedlings by 5-7 days. If weather conditions and the level of development of the seedlings permit, dive the seedlings directly into the open ground to a permanent place. Or dive the seedlings into peat pots so that they can be transplanted into open ground when the time comes with the container.

A week before planting seedlings in the ground, they begin to accustom them to the outdoor environment, daily taking them out for several hours to fresh air, not forgetting to first protect them from wind and drafts. Also, before planting in the ground, it is advisable to treat the seedlings for preventive purposes with Immunocytophyte or Epin.

Growing cucumbers at home

For growing cucumbers at home, you should choose varieties that do not require pollination, and bush and medium-growing cucumbers are best located on windowsills. Ideal for apartment conditions are Domashny, Rytova, Masha, Komnatny, Marfinsky, Bianca, and Claudia and Marinda hybrids. If you want to get fresh, home-grown gherkins for the New Year's table, you need to sow cucumber seeds already at the end of October, and if you need them by March 8, sow cucumbers in January.

From the moment of emergence to the ripening of the first cucumbers, it usually takes 45-50 days.

Before sowing, the seeds of cucumbers are processed: they are disinfected in a pink solution of potassium permanganate for 15-20 minutes, and then washed with running water. Then the seeds are laid out in individual seedling cups with a diameter of 6-8 cm with a drainage layer in the form of coarse sand or expanded clay and a light nutrient mixture filled with rotted organic matter - it is best to purchase ready-made soil mixture for cucumber seedlings in the store.

The soil is poured directly into the cups with boiling water, then the substrate is allowed to cool and then the seeds are laid out on the surface, covered with wet gauze and placed on the southern or eastern windowsill. Contain containers at a temperature of 17-22 ºC at night and 22-26 ºC during the day, protecting against drafts and constantly keeping the gauze moist. A few days later, when tiny sprouts appear on the seeds lying in the cups, make a hole 1 cm deep in the center of the soil surface, put the germinated seed in it and cover it with soil, and cover the cups with paper or film so that moisture does not evaporate from the soil. After emergence, the cover is removed.

If you do not have the opportunity to light up the seedlings, you will have to lower the temperature in the room to 15-17 ºC during the day and 13-15 at night so that they do not stretch out. Seedlings are watered as the topsoil dries up.

At the three-leaf stage, the seedlings are carefully transplanted one at a time into larger containers - flower pots with a diameter of 25 cm or buckets, for example. The transplant is carried out on a cloudy day, after which the plants are shaded from the sun for 2-3 days. As soon as the first ovaries are found, the cucumbers are fertilized: 100 g of wood ash is thoroughly stirred in one liter of hot water and insisted for a day, after which the soil in a pot is watered with this composition.

The lateral processes appearing on the central lash should be pinched. One plant should carry no more than two lashes, which must be tied up: the easiest way is to pull a coarse-mesh construction mesh over the window, to which the growing lash will cling to the mustache.

Water the cucumbers after the topsoil dries out early in the morning or in the evening with warm water of about 27-30 ºC. It is very important to maintain a balance of moisture in the soil, because from its excess in the roots, rot can develop, and from a lack of moisture, the fruits will be bitter. When cucumbers appear, do not let them outgrow, and then the next fruits will begin to form and develop faster.

Planting cucumbers in open ground

When to plant cucumbers in the ground

Planting cucumbers in the ground is carried out no earlier than the seedlings develop 3-4 true leaves, and the ground warms up to 20-24 ºC and warm weather sets in. Usually all these signs appear in mid-May. The area set aside for cucumbers should be protected from the wind, well lit by the sun, although partial shade is acceptable. If there is a possibility of night frosts or a sharp cold snap, the cucumbers planted in the ground will have to be covered with a film, for which metal arcs are dug in throughout the bed, onto which, if necessary, cover material is thrown. Also, close to the holes along the bed, a trellis is installed or a coarse mesh is dug in, along which a cucumber vine will climb up.

Soil for cucumbers

The soil for cucumbers should be well-drained, highly fertile, and low in nitrogen. The acidic soil must be limed before planting seedlings. Cucumbers grow best in a soil mixture of 6 parts of peat, to which one part of humus, sawdust and sod land is added, but in principle any soil is suitable for cucumbers. The main thing is that it is loose and warm, and for this you need to arrange cucumber beds 25 cm high, directed from east to west with a slight slope to the south. A day before planting cucumbers, the formed beds are poured with a solution of a teaspoon of copper sulfate in 10 liters of almost boiling water, consuming three liters per 1 m².

The best precursors for cucumbers are siderates, tomatoes, onions and cabbage, but plants such as pumpkin, watermelon, melon, zucchini, zucchini, lagenaria and other Pumpkin seeds are undesirable as precursors for cucumbers.

How to plant cucumbers in open ground

How to plant cucumber seedlings and is it necessary to fertilize the soil on the site before that? Since the root system of cucumbers is unbranched, fertilizers are applied directly during planting: holes are made 40 cm deep in the beds at a distance of 60 cm from each other, a layer of soil mixed with compost or humus is poured into them, then a layer of fertile soil without fertilization is added, seedlings with an earthen lump are placed on it or a peat pot with seedlings is placed in the hole, the hole is covered with soil and watered at the rate of 3 liters of water per plant.

In the future, the area with cucumbers can be mulched with peat or grass, which will attract earthworms to the area, supplying the soil with humus, or you can cover the aisles with a black ground cover material to reduce moisture evaporation from the surface of the site and slightly increase the temperature of the soil.

Growing in a greenhouse

For growing early cucumbers in the greenhouse, hybrid varieties for indoor use are used, such as Ant, Marinda, Twixi, Halley, Murashko, Bidretta and Buyan. In order to get the harvest of cucumbers as early as possible, manure beds are arranged in the greenhouse, which are called hot, or compost beds - warm.

If you have fresh cow dung, place it in a tall garden bed in a greenhouse, cover the top with a layer of fertile soil at least 25 cm thick and water abundantly, then spread out the cucumber seeds at the rate of 4 plants per m². Seeds of hybrid varieties do not need pre-sowing treatment. Cucumber seeds are covered by 1-2 cm, after which support arcs are installed on the garden bed, on which a light covering material is laid.

Thanks to the manure that warms the soil, the first shoots appear in 3-4 days. During the day, you need to briefly raise the shelter to ventilate the seedlings. Keep an eye on the temperature of the soil and air in the greenhouse - it can change dramatically and unexpectedly with the weather. The optimum temperature for the development of seedlings in the greenhouse is 18-30 ºC. If the temperature rises higher, the cucumbers will simply burn. In addition to the bottom heating of the bed, the seedlings may need additional lighting.

If you do not have manure, instead of a hot bed, according to the same principle, you can make a warm one, only in this case, garden compost is placed under the soil layer instead of manure. Since the soil temperature will not be so high, the planting of cucumbers in the greenhouse is carried out with already sprouted seeds, directly in peat cups or tablets. In cold regions, it is better to arrange manure beds, and in warmer areas, compost beds will be enough. Further care for cucumbers in the greenhouse is carried out in the same way as for plants in the open field.

Cucumber care

How to grow cucumbers

The first time after planting in the ground, cucumber seedlings need frequent watering and shading from the sun's rays, and in case of a sharp cold snap, it will need shelter - when the temperature drops to 15 ºC, cucumbers slow down growth, and at 10 ºC, development stops altogether. After watering, it is advisable to loosen the soil in the area with simultaneous hilling of the bushes, but this must be done carefully, since the root system of the cucumbers is located in the upper layer of the soil. The mulch that covers the area allows you to loosen the soil less often or do without loosening the soil at all, and also reduces the need for frequent watering and inhibits the growth of weeds. It is advisable to pinch cucumbers for open ground over 5-6 leaves in order to stimulate the growth of side lashes.

Watering cucumbers

Before flowering, cucumbers are watered every 5-7 days at the rate of 3 to 6 liters per m². When flowering begins, cucumbers need to be watered more often (once every 2-3 days) and more abundantly (6-12 liters per 1 m²). Watering is carried out with settled warm water (about 25 ºC) early in the morning or in the evening. If the water is poorly absorbed into the soil, make punctures between the rows with a pitchfork to a depth of 10-15 cm - the water should soak the soil to a depth of 20-30 cm. Water the cucumbers at the root, trying not to get on the leaves.

So that the stream of water does not erode the soil and the roots are not exposed, watering is carried out with a watering can with a splitter nozzle. The main thing in watering is balance: remember that due to insufficient moisture, cucumbers grow bitter, and excessive moisture causes fungal diseases, so before watering cucumbers, make sure that they really need it.

How to tie cucumbers

Cultivation of cucumbers in the open field is carried out in two ways - horizontal or vertical. Among the vertical methods, there are several witty and even exotic. For example, growing cucumbers in leaky barrels, in plastic bags, in a hut or under a black film. Because cucumbers are a vine, they need a garter - a procedure that saves space, avoids certain diseases, and makes harvesting easier. They begin to tie cucumbers to the support in the phase of development of 3-4 leaves, in fact, almost immediately after planting in open ground.

As with the methods of growing cucumbers, the garter can also be horizontal and vertical. At horizontal way tying up between two-meter pillars driven in at the beginning and end of the row pulls several rows of strong rope or wire along which the whips will rise as they grow.

Vertical way involves the installation of a structure in the shape of the letter P on the garden bed, which consists of two solid vertical supports dug in with a wire stretched between their upper points, to which ropes will be tied around the stems of the cucumbers growing below. These ropes can be pulled up as the lashes grow, but there is no need to pull them tight. Instead of ropes, it is better to use wide fabric ribbons - they will not injure plants in strong winds. The cucumber lash is grabbed with a rope loop under the first or second leaf.

How to form a cucumber bush

Since cucumbers are divided into varieties with strong, moderate and limited lateral branching, this should be taken into account when planting seedlings on the site: the more branchy the variety, the less often the bushes should be planted. Strongly branched varieties require formation, which must be carried out in a timely manner and in stages. At the first stage, when the plant has only 3-4 leaves, it is necessary to remove all stepsons and ovaries up to the fourth leaf so that the plant spends its energy exclusively on the formation of the root system. When 8 leaves have already developed on the seedling, leave one ovary on the branches from the fourth to the eighth leaf, and pinch the next branch after it.

Repeat this procedure after a time from the eighth leaf to the twelfth, leaving already two ovaries and removing the rest of the side branch. As a result, the bush will take the shape of an inverted Christmas tree, which will allow it to better absorb food and develop, and will also have a positive effect on the quality and quantity of fruits.

Feeding cucumbers

In order for the cucumbers to grow healthy and large, they are fed on average 6-8 times per season. The first feeding is carried out at the beginning of flowering, and each subsequent feeding is carried out two weeks after the previous one. How to fertilize cucumbers? From organic matter, cucumbers best perceive a solution of bird droppings in a ratio of 1:25 or mullein 1:10. Solution consumption - 4-6 liters per 1 m². Fertilizers are applied on moistened soil, trying not to get on the leaves and stems of plants. Do not fertilize cucumbers during a cold snap, as heat-loving crops cannot absorb nutrients at low temperatures.

Cucumber processing

Readers sometimes complain that ground cucumbers are often exposed to fungal diseases and ask how to process cucumbers in order to increase their immunity to various rot. We offer you a folk method that increases the resistance of cucumbers to diseases. Lubricate the lower 10 cm of the stems of cucumbers growing vertically, with diluted water in a 1: 2 ratio with iodine or brilliant green - the plants treated in this way do not need fungicides. To protect cucumbers from rot, the plants are prophylactically treated with a solution of 10 ml of iodine in 10 liters of water.

Pests and diseases of cucumbers

The fight against diseases of cucumbers and their pests is too serious a topic, and there is no room for it in one section, therefore we will provide detailed information about all cucumber enemies in a separate article. In it, we will also talk about why cucumbers dry, why cucumbers turn yellow and how to process cucumbers when infected with a particular disease. For now, let's just name the diseases and pests that you will have to deal with if you start to neglect the rules of growing and caring for cucumbers. So, what are cucumbers sick with?

Among the diseases, the danger for cucumbers is anthracnose, bacteriosis, ascochitis, verticillosis, powdery mildew (real and false), black leg, black mold, gray rot, olive and brown spots and ring mosaic.

There are also a lot of insects that can harm cucumbers: aphids, root nematode, bear, scoop, sprout fly, tobacco thrips, spider mites and wireworms.

Slugs are also dangerous.

To combat diseases and pests of vegetable plants used for food, it is advisable not to use chemicals, especially at the stage of formation and development of fruits. There are many time-tested folk ways to get rid of this kind of trouble, and we will definitely tell you about them.

Collection and storage of cucumbers

Cucumbers are harvested as they ripen, and when fruiting has begun, this should be done at least once every two days, otherwise the cucumbers outgrow, turn yellow and prevent the formation of new greens. In addition to collecting ripe fruits, it is necessary to remove all unsuccessful and ugly fruits. The more often you shoot greens, the more abundantly new ones will grow. Since cucumbers are used for canning, 8-12 cm in size, for pickling - from 8 to 18 cm, and larger cucumbers are also suitable for salad, the frequency of collection can be adjusted the number of fruits for the purpose you need.

For example, with daily harvesting of zelents, cucumbers for canning will begin to grow intensively, while harvesting once every two days there will be more raw materials for pickling. After the first frost, you will have to collect all the fruits.

You need to remove the greens early in the morning or in the evening so that the stalk remains on the whip, so it is better to cut the cucumbers, and not pull or pull. When pulling out a cucumber growing in the depths of the bush, try not to turn the lashes. Do not keep the harvested fruits in the sun, immediately place them in a cool shade. Fresh cucumbers, unfortunately, are stored for a short time, which is why they are pickled and salted in large quantities, but greens can lie down for a week or two if handled correctly.

You can put the cucumbers in a pot of water and store them there for up to ten days by covering them tightly and changing the water daily. You can lightly beat the egg white, smear it on cleanly washed cucumbers and let this coating dry - after this treatment, the cucumbers can be stored without putting them in the refrigerator. It is good to store cucumbers in the village or in the country, if there is a deep stream nearby that does not freeze in winter: thick-skinned cucumbers are put in a barrel and lowered into running water. With this storage method, the cucumbers will be fresh until mid-winter.

Types and varieties of cucumbers

According to their intended purpose, cucumber varieties are divided into salad, canned and universal varieties. Canned cucumbers have a thin skin, they are characterized by a high sugar content, which is very important when salting and canning. The coarser and thicker skin of salad varieties prevents the penetration of brine and marinade into the vegetable, however, these cucumbers are much tastier fresh than canned greens. Universal cucumbers can be canned or eaten fresh.

Canned cucumbers include the following varieties: Business, Brigantine, Rodnichok, Favorite, Voronezh, Zasolochny, Urozhainy 86, Reliable, Nezhinsky local, Competitor, Cascade.

Salad varieties: Adam, Graceful, Movir, Saltan, Phoenix, Parade, Synthesis, Rzhavsky local.

Universal varieties of cucumbers: Stork, Epilogue, Marinda, Regia, Duet, Cruise, Zhuravlenok, Farmer, Sagittarius, Moravian gherkin, Khabar and others.

In terms of ripening, cucumbers are divided into early ripening, ripening in 32-45 days, mid-ripening, which need 40 to 45 days for full maturity, and late-ripening varieties, ripening up to 50 days and longer.

Early varieties and hybrids include: Lilliput, Graceful, Bully, Emelya, Zadavaka, Blizzard.

Medium-ripe varieties of cucumbers: Picas, Athlete, Stepnoy, Solnechny, Unity, Far East 27, Competitor, Topolek.

Late varieties: Nezhinsky, Phoenix, Crunch, Secret, Chinese climbing, Spring, Chinese miracle, Parisian, Mother-in-law.

Cucumbers are divided into hybrids and varieties: during seed propagation, hybrids do not retain their properties, like varietal cucumbers, capable of transmitting the characteristics of a variety through several generations. But the hybrids begin to bear fruit earlier and more abundantly, in addition, they are stored longer and turn yellow much later than varietal cucumbers, therefore the seeds of the hybrids are more valuable and an order of magnitude more expensive than the seeds of varietal cucumbers.

Hybrid varieties include: Buyan, Marinda, Othello, Parker, Regina, Pasadena, Business, Ajax, Brigantina, German, Emelya, Katyusha, Swallow, Faithful friends and others.

According to the type of pollination, cucumbers are divided into bee-pollinated, which are grown in the open field, and self-pollinated, or parthenocarpic, grown both in greenhouses and in the garden.

Bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers: Athlete, Zhuravlenok, Zastolny, Graceful, Lyubimchik, Slavyansky, Katyusha, Competitor, Casanova, Nugget, Swallow and others.

Self-pollinated varieties: Adam, Aelita, Stella, Juventa, Russian style, Romance, Picnic, Navruz, Marta, Pasadena, Voyage, Danila, Amazonka, White Angel and others.

By the size of zelents, cucumbers are divided into gherkins, the length of which is no more than 8 cm, and salad-type cucumbers, intended for eating raw.

German varieties belong to gherkins: Adam, Graceful, Othello, Libelle and others.

By the nature of the surface, cucumbers are small-tuberous and large-tuberous, and the thorns on them can be white or black.

White-thorn salad varieties: Emerald Stream, Chinese snakes, Chinese heat-resistant.

Black-thorn pickling varieties: Nightingale, Real Colonel, Salting, Lilliput, Aquarius and others.

If you are interested in exotic varieties and hybrids, then there are many of them among cucumbers. For example:

Chinese long-fruited cucumbers

the stem of which reaches 3.5 m in length, and the fruits - from 40 to 90 cm, however, they amaze not only in size and excellent taste, but also in ease of cultivation, unpretentious care and high yield. The most common varieties are: Chinese Miracle, Chinese Long-fruited, Chinese Farmer, Chinese White, Emerald Stream, Lio Ming, Chinese Disease Resistant;

Armenian cucumbers

have a very unusual appearance: ribbed fruits up to 50 cm long and up to a kilogram in weight are covered with a silvery-white fluff. The stems of Armenian cucumbers are 4 meters long. This curiosity is grown both in the open field and in a greenhouse. Varieties: Silver melon, Bogatyr white, Mel he Flehu-ozus;

Italian cucumbers

They are called so because they are the result of the work of Italian breeders. Outwardly, they look like Armenian cucumbers - the same ribbed ones. But the peel color, depending on the variety, can be light green, like the Watermelon variety, or Tortorello, the taste of which simultaneously resembles both watermelon and cucumber, or dark green, which eventually becomes orange-yellow, like the Barrese variety. cucumber with a watermelon flavor;

Crystal apple

English breeders have managed to bring out an amazing hybrid of cucumber, which looks more like a lemon, although it tastes like an ordinary cucumber. For some reason this miracle is called the Crystal Apple. These lemons-cucumbers, called apples, grow on a six-meter stem;

White cucumbers

They grow equally well in greenhouses and in the garden, form long lashes, are not afraid of diseases and fifty-degree heat. Delicate sweet cucumbers reach a length of 20 cm, the only drawback of white cucumbers is that they quickly outgrow. Top varieties: Italian White, Snow Leopard, Bride, Snow White, White Angel, Three White Leaves;

Mini cucumber

Or melotria rough - a decorative perennial liana from Africa with rich green leaves that do not change color until October, and small fruits up to 2.5 cm in diameter, similar to watermelons, but taste like ordinary cucumbers, which can be eaten fresh or can be salted or canning;

Indian cucumber

Or momordica, can be easily grown both in the garden and on the windowsill. The foliage of the plant is decorative, the bright yellow flowers smell of jasmine, and the lumpy elongated fruits gradually change color from dark green to bright orange as they grow. When the fruit ripens, it opens and becomes like a crocodile that opened its jaws, which is why the vegetable is often called so: "crocodile cucumber";

Serpentine cucumber trichozant

It is also a pumpkin plant widely cultivated in Southwest Asia. The trichozant is unpretentious in care and immune to disease, its fruits, which reach a length of 120 cm, have a cylindrical shape, and they wriggle like snakes, changing color from green to orange as they ripen. The flowers of the trichozant resemble weightless snowflakes with a diameter of 4 cm;

Red cucumber tladiant dubious

Perennial vine up to 5 m tall, native to Southeast Asia. The leaves of the tladiant are light green, heart-shaped, tulip-like flowers of a bright yellow color, the fruits are small, suitable for canning and pickling until they outgrow 15 cm and begin to blush. Overgrown and reddened fruits become sweet, and they make an excellent jam;

Antillean cucumber anguria

A plant with watermelon leaves, stems up to 4 meters long and small fruits weighing 30-50 g, which taste like a cucumber and are suitable for pickling. Anguria is often grown as an ornamental plant.

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After this article, they usually read

According to experts, the process of growing cucumbers is simple in itself. But without knowing the nuances, you won't get a lot of delicious and crunchy cucumbers. Novice gardeners planning to harvest at least a few kilograms of cucumbers from each plant need to know that this vegetable crop is very fond of a warm and humid climate, as well as good lighting.

Cucumber is unpretentious to the earth layer, but grows better on light sandy and loamy soils with low acidity. It is this type that is distinguished by its breathability and the ability to quickly absorb water. Cucumbers do not like the presence of groundwater near the root system, just as they do not like planting in those beds where beets and pumpkins previously grew.

List of the best varieties for growing with photos

Pace F1,
Spring F1,
Moscow evenings F1,
April F1,
Competitor,
Levin,
Sugar baby F1,
Prestige F1,
Dasha F1,
Pinocchio,
Zozulya F1,
Baby,
Marinda F1,
Ajax,
Buran,
Masha F1,
Hector,
Orpheus,
Son,
Goosebump
Bathory,
Aquarius,
Claudia F1,
Diva,
Kolya,
Concorde,
Ardor F1,
Parade.

Parthenocarpic varieties:

Ajax,
Angel,
Petrel,
Hermann,
Gosha,
Crispin,
Marcella,
Parker.

Terms of work

Planting cucumbers in the ground has its own nuances. It is better to do this when the soil has already warmed up and the temperature has reached about 15-17 degrees Celsius. Therefore, in central Russia, in Belarus, depending on the weather, cucumbers with seeds in open ground, as a rule, begin to be sown from May 5, and this work is completed no later than June 10. If cucumbers are grown as seedlings, then they are planted in a permanent place 20-25 days after sowing:

Choosing the right time to plant cucumbers outdoors is not easy. The lunar calendar can be an excellent help for gardeners in solving this problem. See what gardening activities are recommended from May 5 to June 10. Focusing on the phases of the moon, it is possible, with an accuracy of 1-3 days, to determine the most favorable time for sowing or planting cucumber seedlings.

Methods and schemes for planting cucumbers in open ground

It will be correct if, for sowing seeds, you prepare holes at a distance of about 50 cm. It is better to arrange them in 2-3 rows at a distance of 90 cm from each other.

You can grow cucumbers using a trellis, then the required distance between the holes is 20 centimeters, and between the rows - 30-40. In this case, the sowing depth should be about 2 centimeters, and 4–5 seeds per hole.

And the general rule for growing cucumbers in a seedless way: seeds are planted in the ground, previously soaked in water and even hatched, and 2-3 dry seeds are placed in each hole along with them. Treated seeds will sprout faster, untreated seeds later. This insures the grower against the complete death of seedlings in the event of a return of night frosts.

When planting cucumbers in the ground in the form of seedlings that have reached the age of 20-25 days from sowing, one plant is placed in the holes.

The holes are arranged in two lines, called a ribbon. The distance between the ribbons is 90 cm, between the lines is 30 cm, the sowing density between the plants is 25 cm. With this method of planting, seven plants are placed on 1 m2 of the garden bed.

An interesting idea for planting (video)

Proper care after sowing

Cucumbers planted in the ground require constant attention and the implementation of all agrotechnical measures to ensure their normal growth and development.

Cucumbers are thermophilic and moisture-loving plants. Therefore, gardeners will certainly take measures to provide plants with such conditions.

Cucumber beds do not tolerate frost, when the temperature drops to + 15 ° C, they slow down their growth, and at + 10 ° C and below they completely stop growing. Optimal for cucumbers are air temperature + 25 + 30 ° С and humidity not lower than 70%. Therefore, when grown in central Russia and regions with similar climatic conditions, the beds are covered with spunbond or other nonwoven material after planting. Sometimes plastic bottles with a cut-out bottom are used for the same purpose.

As for watering, the most important thing in this matter is regularity. Before flowering, cucumbers should be watered sparingly, using 3–6 liters of water per m². This watering is carried out every 6-7 days. In the period of flowering and the appearance of fruits, water must be abundantly - every 2 days, about 6-12 liters of water per 1 m².

Weeds are regularly weeded out in the garden.

If plant roots appear on the surface of the soil, they are poured with fertile soil in a layer of 2-3 cm. This will ensure the normal growth of lateral plant roots.

As necessary, the seedlings of cucumbers are thinned so that weak plants do not take moisture and nutrition from the stronger ones. It is better not to pull out the weakened sprouts, but to cut them off so as not to injure the root system of neighboring plants.

In late varieties at the stage of 4-5 leaves, you need to carefully pinch the apical bud. This will significantly speed up the appearance of inflorescences and ovaries.

For plant nutrition, the most effective use of organic fertilizers - mullein or grass tinctures. When ovaries appear, cucumbers are more demanding for the presence of nutrients in the soil, but young plants are still very sensitive. For the first feeding, 1 part of the mullein infusion is bred in 10 parts of clean warm water. Later, for the grown, matured plants, a more concentrated solution is made, taking only 6 parts of water. The feeding of cucumbers is repeated every 10-12 days, and at the same time the plants must be watered at the same time.

What to do for plants to grow quickly

It is better to water cucumbers with a spray can. If you start watering with a stream, you can damage the root system. By the end of summer, it is not recommended to water cucumbers abundantly, and the frequency should decrease significantly.

And do not think that ordinary cucumbers do not require feeding - this should be done regularly at the beginning of flowering (first fertilization) and every 10 days during fruiting. It is believed that in just a season there should be 6-8 root dressings.

Between them, there must be abundant watering, which is easy to combine with the introduction of organic matter. As an ideal solution of poultry manure in water in a ratio of 1 to 25, or mullein 1 to 10. The rate of application of solutions is about 5 liters per 1 m².

Weed control is another desirable procedure. Both weeding and loosening of the soil are simply necessary for cucumbers. But keep in mind that the root system of a cucumber can be easily damaged as it is located very close to the topsoil. Therefore, if you are afraid of harming your crop, you can simply use mulching the soil. If you do everything right, you will get a good harvest. By the way, you also need to be able to pick it correctly - it is necessary to prevent the fruits from drying out and pick them as they ripen.

In our latitudes, the cultivation of cucumbers in the open field is very common, with the correct selection of seed varieties, placement of plantings on the site and proper care for them, the result of work will be very good. At the first stage, before planting seeds for seedlings, you should choose a place on the site, the conditions of which will most closely match the needs of this garden crop.

Soil selection

The best type of soil for planting cucumbers is neutral, and slightly alkaline and slightly acidic can be suitable. An excellent option is fertile loam or sandy loam soil. Other types of soil should be specially prepared for growing cucumbers: add compost to sandy soil, add peat to clay soil, and the introduction of sawdust will also give a good result. The area where you are going to plant cucumbers should be well lit, as lack of sunlight will negatively affect the yield of the plants.

On the other hand, the scorching rays are also harmful and can burn the leaves and harm the shoots, so in the southern regions it is better to plant cucumbers on the eastern or western slopes of the garden. In the northern latitudes, the optimal conditions for planting cucumbers are the beds located on the south side. Equally important when choosing a planting site for cucumbers is the level of standing of groundwater. If it is high and the roots of the plant are in constant moisture, they die off, leading to the death of the bush.

In this case, the only way out may be the construction of bulk ridges. You should start creating them in the fall. The best direction for the ridge is the west-east, especially for areas with low temperatures in winter and long frosts in spring.

Soil preparation

Before planting cucumbers in open ground, it should be properly prepared. In the fall, the soil is dug up and disinfected with solutions that kill pathogens. For this purpose, the area is irrigated with 0.5% Bordeaux liquid or copper sulfate solution. If the soil is very depleted, you can add compost to it before planting the cucumbers. Fertilization of fertile soils is performed in the spring, shortly before sowing seeds or planting seedlings.

First, the soil is leveled with a rake, removing the emerging weeds, then, about 10 days before planting, it is dug up with compost or manure (about 10-15 kg per 1 m2) and complex mineral fertilizers. If the garden is small and it is necessary to use every square meter sparingly, a good way to grow cucumbers is to use some kind of support, for example, tying lashes to trellises.

It is advisable that the planting of cucumbers in open ground is carried out with a change of place every 2-3 years, otherwise the yield of this crop may decrease. It is recommended to plant cucumbers in the beds where legumes, cabbage, and peppers previously grew. It is undesirable that there are beds with potatoes nearby. The garden bed on which the cucumbers will be planted in open ground by means of seeds or seedlings should be 15–20 m high and protected from wind gusts by a small earthen rampart.

Methods for sowing seeds in open ground

Planting cucumbers in open ground can be performed:

Sowing dry seeds;
Planting germinated seeds;
Seedlings.

The first method is sowing dry seeds. It is most suitable for early sowing, when the ground is still slightly warmed up and pre-germinated seeds may start to rot. Dry seeds should be sown when the air temperature is stable at 15 degrees, and the soil warms up to 12 degrees.

Before planting seeds, you need to make a groove in the ground 2-3 cm deep, or holes at a distance of 20 cm from each other. In the hole, the seeds are placed flat, 3 pieces each, the distance separating them should be about 10 cm. Cucumbers do not tolerate a thickened planting, the lateral lashes of plants in this case develop poorly. Therefore, it is necessary to thin out the plants when several real leaves appear in the seedlings sprouted from the seeds.

The second way to grow a crop is to plant germinated seeds. It is necessary to ensure that the sprouts do not overgrow, their length should not exceed 0.5 cm, since the grown plants will be weak and give a poor harvest. The conditions for thinning plantings are the same as in the first method, developing bushes should be located at a distance of 30 cm from each other.

Immediately after planting, watering should be done every day with warm water. After the emergence of seedlings, the frequency of watering is somewhat reduced - it is carried out with an interval of 1-2 days. With a significant drop in air temperature, seedlings do not need to be watered.

Growing seedlings for open ground

Planting cucumbers in open ground with pre-grown seedlings contributes to an earlier harvest compared to sowing with seeds (about 15 days). To grow it from seeds, you can use a greenhouse or an unshaded windowsill. Cucumbers should be planted directly in the ground or in special paper cups, distributing the seeds at a distance of 8-10 cm from each other.

This method of growing seedlings from seeds is good in that the plant, when transplanted to a permanent place in the garden, does not need to be removed from the paper container, therefore, injury to the root system is excluded.

At a sufficient depth of fertile soil, seedlings sprouted from seeds give many lateral root lobes, which ensure the endurance of the future seedling.

To prepare nutrient soil, you can mix peat with humus in equal proportions by adding a couple of glasses of wood ash and a quarter of a glass of superphosphate to 10 liters of the mixture. You can start sowing seeds in the 20th of April, distributing one per pot. Until shoots appear, watering is carried out daily. Usually, the seeds germinate in 4 or 5 days, after another 10 days it will be possible to plant the grown cucumber sprouts in open ground.

By the time of planting, the seedlings should be hardened by slowly lowering the temperature until the conditions of its maintenance correspond to those in which the plants will grow in a permanent place. It should be borne in mind that cucumbers are highly demanding on ambient temperature, bed illumination, soil moisture. Seedlings can be planted in open field conditions when daytime temperatures reach 22-25 ° C, night temperatures - 17 ° C.

Features of caring for cucumbers in the open field

Cucumbers are planted in open ground in the evening, after watering the plant. Caring for cucumbers includes hilling bushes.

Falling asleep in the lower part of the trunk with earth contributes to the appearance of additional fibrous roots, which ensure the fertility of the shoots.

Hilling is recommended to be done when the lashes start up 2-3 knees, as well as during the flowering period. Avoid turning the lashes and shifting them to another place - this can lead to a decrease in yield and even to the drying of the shoots.

In industrial regions, the air is polluted with harmful emissions, therefore, dew falling in the morning can negatively appear on the development of cucumber bushes. Morning watering from a watering can to wash away dew from the leaves will eliminate its adverse effect.

It is advisable to protect the lashes from gusts of wind in order to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, which is necessary for the formation of flowers and ovaries.

The introduction of organic matter before planting cucumbers using seeds or seedlings will also make it possible to increase its content in the surrounding atmosphere.

Popular varieties of cucumbers for open ground

Cucumber varieties that can be planted directly in open ground:

Goosebump F1;
Benefis F1;
April F1;
Masha F1;
Fontanelle F1.

Diseases of cucumbers in the open field

Plant care also includes the prevention of damage to seeds and growing bushes by pathogens. Before planting cucumbers, you can disinfect dry soil with boiling water or a solution of potassium permanganate. As a preventive measure, you can use dusting the seeds with wood ash, spraying the leaves with infusion of garlic or tobacco.

Cultivation of cucumbers in open ground by direct sowing does not provide for pre-planting seeds for seedlings and the presence of perennial protective structures (greenhouses, greenhouses) on the site. In order to get a high yield of ground cucumbers, it is necessary to sow them correctly.

Conditions for growing cucumbers in the open field

To obtain the desired yield of ground cucumbers, you need to familiarize yourself with the crop requirements for growing conditions.

Cucumber belongs to moisture-loving vegetables, it prefers frequent and abundant watering.
The culture grows well in sunny areas, and also bears fruit normally in a light openwork shade. The optimum temperature for growth and fruiting ranges from + 24 ° C to + 28 ° C. At higher (as well as at lower) temperatures, development stops.
Cucumbers need good nitrogen nutrition for harmonious growth and development. Potassium and phosphorus are consumed in smaller amounts.
The culture prefers to grow on loose soils. Good air permeability of the earth will not allow excess moisture to accumulate.

If you provide all the above conditions with cucumbers in the open field, then the plants will be healthy, and the yield will be high.

Open field cucumbers

When to sow cucumbers outdoors

In different regions of the country, the specific landing date directly depends on the weather conditions. In general, sowing is carried out from mid-spring to July.

In order to choose the most suitable day for planting ground cucumbers with seeds, it is important to focus on the weather in the region. For cucumbers to grow well and amicably, the soil temperature should be at least + 13 ... + 15 ° С.

Most experienced gardeners, when carrying out this or that event on the site, rely on the recommendations of the lunar calendar of the gardener and the gardener. In such a calendar, depending on the phase of the moon and the sign in which it is located, the most favorable as well as unfavorable dates for work are set. The lunar calendar for 2018 recommends sowing cucumbers:

in April: 2, 3, 20 ... 21, 24 ... 26, 29.

in May: 6, 9 ... 11, 18 ... 19, 24 ... 28.

in June: 3 ... 5, 10 ... 11, 15, 23 ... 24.

Important! According to the Lunar calendar, it is not recommended to sow cucumbers on the day of the Full Moon or New Moon, therefore in 2018 15.04 ... 17.04, 30.04, 14.05 ... 16.05, 29.05, 12.06 ... 14.06 and 28.06 seeds are not planted - their germination will be low, and the plants themselves will be weak.

Preparing seeds for planting in open ground

If the planting material was purchased in a store, then its preliminary processing is unlikely to be required - most manufacturers carry out disinfection and cover the seeds with a protective shell, so it is not recommended to soak them. These seeds are planted dry.

If the planting material was collected with one's own hand from previously grown varieties of cucumbers, then it is advisable to carry out a full complex of its preliminary preparation, consisting of several stages.

Calibration

At this stage, it is proposed to select the largest, even and naturally colored cucumber seeds for planting, and discard all deformed and diseased ones. Then you can use a saline water solution, which is prepared at the rate of 30 g / l of water, place the seeds there and mix. Those that floated to the surface of the liquid are not suitable for planting. The rest must be laid out and dried. The disadvantage of this calibration method is its narrow application - the method is suitable only for freshly harvested cucumber planting material with a maximum shelf life of 2 years.

Disinfection

Seeds can be etched in various ways: soaking in solutions of potassium permanganate or special preparations, or by heating. In the latter case, it is necessary to maintain certain processing temperatures for a long time (+800 for unambiguous heating and +400 for three days), otherwise you can simply spoil the seeds, therefore, disinfection by soaking is more common. For this, the seeds are immersed in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate for 0.5 hours or in a solution of the drug for 1-2 hours.

Potassium permanganate solution

Germination

You can germinate cucumber seeds in water or in a stimulant solution. In general, they are placed in containers on paper or cloth, filled with a small amount of liquid and a warm place is removed (+ 25 ... + 280C). After 1 ... 2 days, the cucumbers germinate. When using a solution of the drug, the seeds are kept in it for about 12 hours, then transferred to paper (or other material) and wait for the appearance of roots.

Hardening

Immediately before planting, the seeds are placed in a well-dampened cloth and refrigerated for 2 days. Such processing helps to increase the resistance of cucumbers to changes and drops in temperature and, in the opinion of many gardeners, allows you to get an earlier harvest.

On a note. Proper preparation of crop seeds will have a beneficial effect on plant growth.

Everything you need to know about planting cucumbers in open ground with seeds

How to plant cucumbers in open ground with seeds? In order for the sprouts to sprout quickly and amicably, it is necessary to take into account several nuances when sowing.

The seeding depth is 1.5 ... 2 cm. Usually, a planting dimple is made with a finger, and a cucumber seed is placed on its bottom.
How many seeds should you put in a hole? If it is planned to grow one bush in one hole, then during sowing 2 ... 3 seeds are placed in it, if 5 ... 6 cucumbers will grow from one planting hole, then 10 ... 12 seeds are placed (with a square-nested scheme).

There is a lot of controversy about how to properly position the cucumber seed in the hole: blunt or sharp side up. The root of the plant emerges from the pointed tip, and the rounded side, opening up, releases cotyledon leaves. Most gardeners place the cucumber seed flat - with the flat side in the ground, in which case it will germinate for sure.

Landing scheme

Before sowing cucumbers, you need to decide on a planting scheme. In the open field, the following types of schemes are most often used:

1) private. The row spacing for this planting option should be at least 1 m. The distance between adjacent cucumbers after thinning is 8 ... 15 cm.

Important! For early-ripening cucumbers, the distance between specimens in a row is 8 ... 10 cm, for later ones - 12 ... 15, and for long-leaved ones - 20 ... 25 cm.

A denser planting is allowed for parthenocarpic varieties and hybrids - 70 × 70 cm. Most often, this option for sowing cucumbers is used on high bed-ridges;

2) two-line. This scheme provides for the location of two planting rows on the same bed with a width of gaps between the ribbons of 30 ... 50 cm. The row spacing can be up to 150 cm. When planting by this method, it is convenient to cover and water cucumbers;
3) square-nested. At a distance of 65 ... 70 cm from each other, planting holes with a diameter of about 10 cm are dug and up to 12 seeds are placed in them, of which, after thinning out the seedlings, more than 6 seeds are left. When planting in this way, the yield of cucumber bushes is slightly reduced.

You can also grow cucumbers in the open field vertically, by throwing lashes of bushes along the net or tying them to a trellis. A popular option is to grow plants between the ridges: their height is about 30 cm, and the distance from the bases is up to half a meter. After sowing, covering material is pulled onto the ridges and sprinkled with earth around the edges. Planting between the ridges allows for very early sowing of cucumbers - 2 weeks earlier than usual.

Cucumbers on trellises

Covering material

Immediately after sowing, temporary shelters are installed on the beds. What covering material to choose? For cucumbers, a non-woven white material of various densities is pulled. First, they cover it tightly, preferably in two layers. When the sprouts appear, the structure is opened for ventilation.

Watering

In addition to the fact that the seeds of cucumbers are sown in well-shed soil, it is necessary to monitor its moisture until the emergence of shoots. Then, before the flowering stage, cucumbers need to be watered moderately, consuming 5 ... 7 liters of water per 1 m2, with a frequency of 1 time in 5 ... 6 days. Of course, these recommendations are general, therefore, in conditions of prolonged heat and when the soil dries out, watering is carried out a little more often. Cucumbers are watered only with warm water and in the evening.

Thinning

After the emergence of seedlings (when sowing dry seeds, you will have to wait about a week, if after 2 weeks the seeds do not germinate, you will have to replace them with new ones), the excess sprouts are thinned by pinching: often the roots of adjacent cucumbers grow together so that the root system of the growing shoot is not damaged , the stalk of a weak sprout is simply pinched off with your fingers, and not pulled out of the ground.

Mulching

Loosening and weeding are needed for cucumbers to ensure the air permeability of the soil. But, as practice shows, very often gardeners, even with careful loosening, damage the roots of the bushes. The fact is that the bulk of the root system of a cucumber lies close to the surface of the earth. Therefore, it is recommended to mulch the plantings with compost or humus (wood mulch is rarely used for cucumbers, since it draws nitrogen from the soil). In addition, mulching the beds allows you to somewhat reduce the amount of watering.

Top dressing

It is recommended to feed cucumbers with proper preparation of the beds only 3 weeks after seed germination. As fertilizers, you can alternately apply mineral and organic fertilizers, make up nutrient mixtures from them, or use ready-made complex dressings. The interval between further fertilizing is about 1 week.

By following these recommendations, you can harvest a rich crop of crispy greens.