Cucumber care - soil preparation and dressing in the open field

The end of spring is the starting point for planting cucumber seedlings in the ground and caring for cucumbers is of paramount importance. This process can drag on until the 15th of June. Transplanting means a change in the conditions usual for seedlings, temperature, soil composition, etc. For successful fruiting and just to get stronger, the soil is prepared in advance, so it will be easier for the seedlings to take root. Fertilization of the soil with various additives. Fertilizing and caring for cucumbers during the growth process helps to obtain better yields and harvesting times.

Cucumbers planting and care - preparation

When choosing a place for planting cucumber seedlings, be sure to follow some tips: the site must be protected from strong gusts of wind, sufficient sunlight, but it is advisable to avoid direct exposure to the sun.

The choice of predecessors is also not an unimportant factor; legumes, corn, tomatoes are perfect. The site for planting crops must be changed annually. Zucchini, as a predecessor, can negatively affect the future harvest of the cucumber, as well as its development.

Care and feeding of cucumbers with organic matter

The very process of preparing the soil is best done in the autumn, digging to a depth, introducing humus, fresh manure or compost. All the components introduced in winter decompose better and the benefits will be many times more significant. There are about 5 kg of fertilizers per square meter.

An important fact! Food waste, peeling potatoes can perfectly replace some of the organic matter introduced in the fall. The listed components, of course, contain nitrogen, but a sufficient amount can be obtained by introducing trace elements, phosphorus and potassium (superphosphate, potassium salt, add strictly according to the instructions on the package).

In early spring, before planting seedlings in the ground, the soil must be very well loosened, forming small holes or forming a kind of beds. Thanks to the autumn feeding, no additional substances are added in the spring. After planting, the plant, within seven days, seems to freeze, adapting to new conditions. It is at this stage that your autumn labors will help. There is an increased consumption of phosphorus and potassium. Rooting is less painful. Plant growth is activated after a week.

There are times when this does not happen, then it is necessary to carry out the first seasonal feeding. Again - organics, minerals, foliar, improvised, non-traditional drugs.
As already mentioned, manure and compost will serve as a source of organic matter, they are affordable, effective and clean from the environmental side. Environmentally friendly products on the table, the key to proper nutrition and, accordingly, a healthy lifestyle. Therefore, every gardener tries, if possible, to feed and care for cucumbers with fertilizers of natural origin.

Mullein infusion

It is better to use mullein infusion, which contains nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, zinc, calcium and an even larger composition of trace elements, used during the first and subsequent dressings per season (after the plant has rooted). Preparing the infusion is easy, even beginners can do it. We take one part of manure for five parts of water, it is necessary to insist up to two weeks. Using fresh is strongly discouraged. During this time, the composition overheats and is not dangerous for the plant.

If you add wood ash to the mullein infusion, you can get a complex fertilizer (it will completely replace the complex composition from the store). A glass of ash is added directly to the present mixture of water and mullein. The concentration of the infusion is high, so it is diluted with 10 liters of water, feeding is carried out in the evening, at the root, carefully, there should not be jet irrigation, pits are formed, and the roots of the plant located next to the surface may be damaged.

Bird droppings

The use of natural ingredients has always been welcomed among experienced gardeners. For example, poultry droppings are not an inaccessible remedy; in autumn, many are not only gardeners, but also part-time farmers. Yes, and on sale is freely available.

In bird droppings, the amount of trace elements is very increased, in contrast to mullein, which can serve to burn the plant. It is for this reason that bird droppings are used only in rotted form (fresh is strictly prohibited).

Dry droppings are used directly by embedding in the ground, but they are also recommended for use in autumn feeding. If you nevertheless decide to use it fresh, then prepare the infusion in a ratio of 1:20 with water, leave for at least 10 days.

Watering with this infusion with the massive formation of ovaries, the number of barren flowers decreases several times. The infusion should again be diluted with water, diluted until the solution becomes the color of weak tea.
Superphosphate added to the solution will not be superfluous. In specialized stores, you can buy feed containing bird droppings in the base. This is in case there is no fresh litter at hand.

Infusion of herbs

It belongs to the more popular methods of feeding, being a fully-fledged fertilizer, using nettles, weeds. In doing so, exclude poisonous plants that are familiar to you.

Finely chopped, the greens are poured with water, approximately 1: 2. The fermentation process lasts about a week, a sign of readiness - foam is formed. Before use, the infusion must be diluted with water until a brown, light tone is formed. An infusion of herbs can also serve as the basis for a complex of fertilizers, if you add mullein and ash. From the point of view of environmental friendliness, the grass is very harmless to humans and feeding with this infusion can be carried out during the entire growing season.

Wood ash

Accessible to all gardeners, since where there is a vegetable garden, a country house or a permanent residence, there is always a wood stove heating. Even if there is no stove, you can simply light a fire several times and get ash in this way. A full-fledged source of potassium, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, the amount of substances contained is quite enough for the abundance of fruiting and optimal growth of cucumbers.

The use of ash begins when sowing seedlings, is added to the soil, when leaving during the growth of seedlings and directly when planting a culture in a permanent place, soil. In total, during the growing season, up to 6 times of application is obtained: the appearance of 2-3 leaves, the beginning of flowering, after the formation of fruits, every 14 days.

The application takes place in different ways, by adding to the already prepared organic composition. Ash does not contain nitrogen, so there is no danger of burning the plant, but it can add mineral elements that are not enough in the organic composition. In dry form, ash must be embedded in the topsoil, followed by mandatory watering after application.

A liquid ash solution is popular: 1 liter of water + 2 tablespoons of wood ash. The solution is infused for 7 days. After readiness, dilute the concentrated solution with water, 1:10, watering at the root.
An important point: ash - one of the leading fertilizers for cucumbers, does not contain chlorine, but will fill any lack of trace elements.

When using organic matter, the composition of the soil is almost completely restored, the plants receive a sufficient amount of the necessary elements and the yield, respectively, increases, and you get a tasty, healthy, nitrate-free cucumber.
It should not be forgotten that an overabundance of even very useful elements becomes not a plus, but a minus when growing any crop.

Mineral complex - care for cucumbers in the ground

Minerals are used immediately after planting in open ground and before the last harvest. By mixing several components, you can cook it yourself, but, if necessary, are sold in every specialized store, ready-made (ceovit cucumbers, fertika-lux, bio-master, etc.). The complexes contain an optimal set of elements required at each stage of growing.
It will not be difficult to cook the complex on your own:
10 g superphosphate + 20 g urea + 7 g potassium sulfate, if there is no urea, you can add ammonium nitrate, 7 g. Mix all ingredients with 10 liters of water. Use as root watering. During the amicable formation of ovaries of enhanced plant growth, a urea solution is welcomed, 50 grams per 10-12 liters of water. All preparations must be mixed strictly according to the instructions, especially if there is no experience in garden work.

Proper care of cucumbers - gardeners advise!

All top dressing of open ground should be carried out only in the evening, strictly under the root, once on the leaves of the culture, substances are harmful, since the leaf plate quietly absorbs all substances, some of them are intended only for top dressing through the root. Mandatory watering with clean water, strictly summer temperature, avoid cold watering, in large quantities before feeding.

Foliar feeding

It takes an important place in the care of the plant during the growing season, along with fertilization at the root, although it is not the main one. It is carried out in the form of spraying the leaves, since the leaves pass nutrients through themselves. The process is repeated every 14 days. It is advisable to carry out the procedure at sunset. When spraying in the sun, the leaf plate may burn, developmental disruption.

Important!

The results of foliar fertilization are visible already on the third day, because this method is faster. It is carried out between the application of the main composition of fertilizers. After prolonged cold snaps, extraordinary feeding is carried out, since the root system, during this period, absorbs the necessary elements more slowly. If signs of a microelement deficiency are visible, foliar feeding is also used, because of its peculiarity, it is absorbed easily and quickly. Often, this type of feeding is still not worth it, since the root system is the main part for the development of the entire plant, its health and strength.

The composition of the spray solution also includes organic matter and minerals, analogs of root feeding, but the concentration is two times lower. Experienced gardeners prepare the mineral composition on their own, two tablespoons of urea for 10-12 liters of water; the second option is 200 g of superphosphate + 100 g of potassium sulfate + 12 liters of water. If you use saltpeter, then in a proportion of 20 grams per bucket of water. Potassium chloride no more than 50 gr.

The combined use of the entire composition of fertilizers is not recommended, since the plant, at different stages of growth, needs only a few substances. Mandatory alternation of components. When growth is activated, young plants require nitrogen (urea or saltpeter), when ovaries are formed, potassium and phosphorus are needed. During flowering, in most cases, gardeners use copper sulfate, reduce the formation of barren flowers, increase productivity, prepare a spray solution: 10 liters of water + 2 g of substance.

As mentioned above, all manipulations with the use of dressings should be carried out strictly in the evening, when the sun's rays are no longer active and the wind is much weaker.At this time, there is no enhanced evaporation of the introduced substances, they are purposefully absorbed through the leaf plate of the plant.

Growing cucumbers - folk fertilizers

Unconventional care for cucumbers - collected by the vast experience of gardeners, with the help of improvised means that everyone has on the farm.

Yeast

-Fertilizer, the usefulness of which was learned not so long ago, but is already used everywhere, accelerate root formation and significantly increase productivity. Caring for cucumbers with a complex of minerals contained in yeast has a beneficial effect on the development and growth of cucumbers. Bacteria existing in the soil are activated when yeast fertilizing is applied; during this process, the soil is saturated with nitrogen and oxygen. Such feeding is carried out no more than three times per season, they begin to water with fertilizer when the soil is warmed up enough, only in this case the beneficial fungi are activated. Below are a few recipes for making yeast fertilizer:
-granulated yeast, 10 g, diluted in 10 liters of water, always warm. Fermentation will speed up if you add 2 tablespoons of sugar (jam). Insist for several hours, then dilute with water by 50 liters;
- water and fresh yeast, in a ratio of 5: 1, where 1 is yeast. The mixture wanders for 3-4 hours, diluted 1: with water, watering at the root;
-use, combined with minerals or organics. For example, the composition is very popular: herbal infusion + wood ash + yeast.

Honey dressing

-used for abundant flowering. According to the aroma of "sweet delicacy", there is an increased attraction of pollinating insects. A spoonful of honey and a liter of water, spray the leaves. Caring for cucumbers with this "tricky" top dressing allows you to preserve the yield, even if the weather is unstable, because insects fly without hesitation to the smell of honey, and, accordingly, pollination will surely occur and the yield will not decrease.

Care for cucumbers in the open field - video

Planting and caring for cucumbers in the open field implies not only basic care (weeding, watering, loosening), but also mandatory feeding necessary for good development and abundant fruiting during a long season. The use of various solutions, fertilizer complexes, folk recipes is certainly very wonderful, but one should not forget about the caution of their use. After all, a lack, or vice versa, an overabundance, of nutrients, uniformly leads to poor development, or, at all, the death of a plant. It is important to follow the established fertilization schedule, not to combine.
Top dressing should be carried out no more than 3-4 full-fledged ones for the entire growing season. In other cases - according to the circumstances. Despite the scarcity of the soil, when choosing a place, you can turn it into the most enriched, even with the means at hand. We have seen this in this article. Love your future harvest, take care of it and it will answer you with splendor, quantity, pleasure not only in summer, but also in winter, in the form of conservation.