All the details of planting cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse
Some regions of the Russian Federation do not have a climate conducive to good growth and development of heat-loving plants in open ground, including cucumbers. Therefore, planting such vegetables in a greenhouse is practiced. This makes it possible to obtain a high yield.
Everyone can equip a greenhouse from a film on a suburban area. This is not particularly difficult. But here it is necessary to take into account and know some of the nuances of planting cucumbers and caring for them.
Greenhouses today can be seen in almost every suburban area. Such a room makes it possible to harvest in any weather.
Choose a variety
Cucumbers are in demand all year round. They can be added to salads, pickled and salted. Self-grown vegetables will differ in environmental friendliness and taste, compared to store-bought ones.
Cucumbers come in many varieties, but are mainly divided into two groups:
- unpollinated;
- self-pollinated.
Since pollination of plants is carried out by insects only in open space, for planting in a greenhouse it is necessary to choose a variety that does not need pollination by female flowers. Experienced experts advise purchasing hybrids from Holland, which can be planted indoors.
If we take this recommendation into account, then the owner of the cottage will not be left without cucumbers. The hybrid vegetable bears fruit steadily. After planting seedlings of such plants, cucumbers can already be harvested after 2 months.They will have a beautiful appearance, and are also suitable for both salad and winter preparations.
The fecundity of Dutch cucumbers is large. With proper care and planting, you can collect up to 25 kg from a bush. Also, these plants are resistant to pests and diseases. The fruits taste good in any kind of preparation.
The most suitable varieties of cucumbers that can be grown in a greenhouse for salads:
- "Courage";
- "Cartoon";
- "Vicenta";
- "Anyuta";
- "Solar".
For salting:
- "Hector";
- "Buran";
- "Adam";
- "Legend".
Universal:
- "corporal";
- "Tom Thumb";
- "Northerner";
- "Sunrise";
- "Blessed".
Timing
Many gardeners try to immediately plant seedlings and miss the moment of growing them from seeds. Someone, on the contrary, seeks to grow seedlings on their own. In this case, it will be necessary to plant the seeds before the twentieth of April according to the lunar calendar. After 2-3 weeks, seedlings can be transplanted into open ground.
Seeds are sown for seedlings in spring. Landing is carried out at a temperature of 11-13 degrees, when there are no frosts at night. It is also advisable to cover the seedlings with a film for the evening. When the temperature rises to +20 degrees, it will be possible to ventilate the greenhouse and allow fresh air to penetrate there.
Planting seedlings in a greenhouse is ideal when it is not cold outside. The procedure for planting seedlings is simple, and therefore everyone can handle this issue. Seedlings sit down at the beginning of summer, when the air is warm enough.
The recommended air temperature should be within +15 degrees. Landing in open ground is carried out in the last days of April.
Soil preparation
In addition to choosing a variety of cucumbers, you also need to pay attention to the soil for the seed.These vegetables do not like transplants, and therefore the seed must be planted in peat containers, which will help solve the transplant problem. The volume of the cups should be up to 500 ml, so that there is enough space for the roots, and the seedlings fully developed. At the same time, holes are made in the lower part of the cup, which will help ventilate the roots and remove excess moisture from the soil.
You can prepare the soil for the plants yourself. This is best done in the fall. Need to take:
- peat;
- garden soil;
- sawdust;
- humus.
All these components are mixed with each other, and a tablespoon of any fertilizer is added to the composition.
Before planting, the seeds must be soaked in preparations that can be bought at any store. If this is not possible, then a weak solution of potassium permanganate can be used. Such solutions will help stimulate plant growth, they are rich in beneficial trace elements and kill harmful fungi.
It is advisable to harvest such soil in the fall and put it in the cellar or in the greenhouse itself for the winter. When the snow melts, it is scattered around the greenhouse, dug up, loosened, and then cucumber seeds can be planted in it.
In some cases, it is not necessary to further process the seeds, as they are already processed by the manufacturer. Information about this is usually indicated on the packaging. If there is no such information, then the seeds must be processed independently, otherwise they will die. The shelf life of seeds is 2 years, so you need to pay attention to this moment as well.
Before planting, the seeds are placed in a warm place (it can be a battery) and stay there for a day. At the same time, it is necessary to inspect them and remove damaged or diseased ones.Next, you need to place the seed in salt water and remove those specimens that have surfaced. Then the water is drained and the seeds are dried. After that, they are ready to land.
Before planting, it is required to moisten the earth and make recesses into which seeds are poured to a depth of one and a half centimeters. Before planting, it is also necessary to check the acidity of the soil. If it is higher than 6.5 units, then it is recommended to add a little lime to it, since these vegetables do not like acidic soil.
Microbes and bacteria will also grow in such soil. Cucumber bears fruit well on rich soils that are sufficiently moist and loosened. Compost or manure must be added to the soil. This can be done both in the fall and immediately before landing.
The optimal addition is 10 kilograms of fertilizer per square meter. But in some cases, you can additionally make special mixtures to improve the growth of cucumbers. Then such soil is loosened and evenly watered.
Scheme
In properly prepared greenhouses, you can plant both seeds and seedlings. In the first case, you will have to work a little, caring for the seeds so that they germinate safely. Also, after this, it will be necessary to transplant them correctly to a new place with roots. To do this, it is recommended to plant seedlings at a distance of 50 cm between rows and 20 cm between the plants themselves.
Cucumbers take root well on round beds. In this case, a pole should be placed in the center of the bed, and cords on pegs should be fastened along the perimeter of the circle. Seedlings are planted in a circle at a distance of 20 cm bush from the bush. After planting, it is necessary to water the plants with fertilizers.
It is recommended to choose small beds for cucumbers, which are located in open space and the sun penetrates there in sufficient quantities. The optimal size of such a bed is 2x2 m. In the middle you need to make a path so that you can take care of the plants.
If you correctly plant seedlings of cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse, then there is a guarantee that the plant will germinate well and give a big harvest. Cucumber seedlings should be planted only in a designated and prepared place, as well as in optimal weather.
Cucumber seedlings are not recommended to plant large areas. Planting is usually carried out on small beds, where you can plant up to 4 bushes per square meter.
Distance
The distance between the bushes should be 20 cm. And the distance between the rows should be up to 40 cm.
Depth
Seeds should be sown to a depth of one and a half centimeters. Seedlings are planted immediately in peat cups, depending on their size. Therefore, before landing, it is necessary to make holes in the ground that are appropriate in size, where the glass will enter along its upper edge. Such planting allows cucumber shoots to develop well and take root in new soil. This will also allow you not to remove the overgrown culture during its development.
Features of care
We transplant seedlings after the leaves appear on the stems. Approximately this happens after planting the seeds on the 25th day.
To get a good harvest, the gardener does not need to make special efforts, it is only recommended to follow these rules:
- do not allow the soil to dry out at the planting site of cucumbers and constantly water them;
- from the moment of disembarkation to the moment of emergence, it is recommended to water the cucumbers with fertilizers at least once;
- if necessary, highlight the seedlings with fluorescent lamps;
- monitor the condition of plants, removing damaged and diseased processes;
- to harden the sprouts, it is necessary to allow fresh air from the street to enter the greenhouse.
Planting cucumbers in a greenhouse does not take much time. When the seedlings are already in the ground, you need to properly care for them. To do this, it is necessary to observe the formation of the bush, as well as remove damaged shoots from it, feed the plants, water, maintain the optimum temperature of the soil and air, treat with special preparations for diseases or pests. It is also important to tie up the whips.
In the place where the cucumbers are planted, it is necessary to stretch the net or twine along which the vines will twist. Such structures should be located at a height of up to 40 cm, since in most cases cucumber bushes no longer grow in height. If more than 4 shoots appear on the shoots during the growing season, they must be removed to allow the vines to grow in length and not grow in width. Also, such shoots will take nutrients from the roots and will not bring benefits.
It is advisable not to plant seedlings in the place where tomatoes or peppers grow. This will negatively affect the formation of cucumbers. It is also important in dry weather to water the area with these vegetables well, using up to 10 liters of water per square meter. Watering is preferably done in the morning or evening.
Since moisture will collect in the greenhouse after frequent watering, it is necessary to periodically ventilate the room so that the air humidity is within the permissible range. It will also allow fresh air to enter the greenhouse, which will affect the rapid growth of plants.After watering, it is necessary to loosen the soil a little, if the roots of plants appear at the top, they must be sprinkled.
Attention should also be paid to the leaves themselves in the process of culture growth. In the event that they turn white at the edges, this will indicate an unfavorable climate in the greenhouse or the presence of plant diseases. Then the damaged sprouts must be removed immediately so that they do not infect the rest, and the greenhouse must be disinfected.
If the moisture in the greenhouse is high, then the roots may rot. This will negatively affect the shoots and sheets. In this case, the greenhouse must be checked, as well as create an acceptable temperature there.
After planting cucumbers, in order to get a good harvest, fertilizers must be applied. If there is no desire to use chemicals from the store, then organic fertilizers can be used. This will help not only to get a good harvest, but also to strengthen the immunity of plants, increasing the fruiting period. In this case, the greenhouse can be used at full capacity, and sufficiently large yields can be obtained.
top dressing
Top dressings can be:
- root;
- foliar.
The first option is used in order not to burn the green sprouts when in contact with fertilizers. The compositions are poured directly under the root of the cucumbers, which gives them the opportunity to absorb more nutrients. For the preparation of mineral fertilizers for cucumbers grown in a greenhouse, you can use:
- borofoska;
- urea;
- superphosphate;
- saltpeter.
Until the flowering of plants, it is necessary to ensure that there is less nitrogen and more phosphorus in solutions with fertilizer. It is also recommended to abandon the use of saltpeter and urea in July.Such top dressing will contribute to the growth of green mass, but at the same time will not allow the fruits to develop well.
Root top dressing should be done so that the solution does not fall on the leaves or fruits. It is also important to observe the dosage. Otherwise, an excess of nutrients can negatively affect the quality of the fruit or their taste.
Temperature
Equally important is the temperature in the greenhouse during plant care. Experienced gardeners know that temperature problems can occur 2 times throughout the season. It is spring when the temperature drops at night or the heat is intense on summer days.
In spring, seedlings can be protected from frost with a film that will cover the material. You can also use cut plastic bottles, putting them on the seedlings themselves to raise the temperature there. If it is possible to conduct light to the greenhouse, then a heater or heat guns are used there.
Too high a temperature for plants is also dangerous, like cold. When the thermometer reaches 40 degrees and above, the plants begin to wither. At the same time, cucumbers do not like drafts, and therefore problems can arise with airing the greenhouse in summer.
It is recommended to shade the greenhouses by whitewashing their upper part so that the rays of the sun do not penetrate inside. You can also pull a white fabric over the greenhouses. Sometimes cold water is applied to the paths, which will help reduce the temperature.
Disease prevention
No plant can be 100% safe from pests and diseases. Such problems can be caused by improper care of the plant, as well as the invasion of various pests in the greenhouse. If the inside is too hot, rot may appear.Ash diluted with lime in a ratio of 3: 1 will help get rid of it. With this composition, you need to powder the stems and bend them to the ground.
When aphids appear on plants, you can use ashes diluted with hot water with the addition of a tablespoon of soap. This solution should be sprayed plants once a week. After the procedure, you can sprinkle green parostki with ash.
To strengthen the immunity of plants, you can add a little iodine and water. To do this, it is diluted in a ratio of 1: 35. This composition is poured onto plants in a greenhouse. In 1-2 days after the procedure, the leaves will be green again.
It is important to pay attention to the fact that some gardeners take care of the plant incorrectly, and therefore this leads to a slowdown in fruit growth. If outwardly the bush is healthy, but there is a lot of greenery on it, and the fruits are small, then you need to clarify and find out what kind of variety it is. It happens that a variety was mistakenly chosen that cannot be planted in a greenhouse, as it needs pollination.
If this happens, then you can lure bees into the greenhouse for pollination. They will be attracted by sweet water, which is splashed on the garden. If you have experience, then you can do the dusting yourself. This requires touching the male flower with the female parrot.
At the time of fruiting, the owner of the greenhouse should also not relax. To do this, twice a week you need to inspect the plants and remove the greens. Such vegetables can be used for winter harvesting, and larger fruits can be left for salads. You can store cucumbers in different ways, depending on their variety.
With the help of information on the label, you can first understand the characteristics of the variety, when and how to collect it.To avoid problems with this, it is recommended that you carefully choose the right varieties of cucumbers when buying in a store, taking into account the conditions in which it will grow.
As can be seen from the above, the difficulties with growing and seedling cucumbers in greenhouses are not as big as it might seem at first. In the Urals, everyone can cope with such work, regardless of their experience in gardening.
Observing the above rules, it is realistic not only to grow a good and environmentally friendly product for your needs, but also to sell it, returning all the costs for the construction of greenhouses and the purchase of drugs.
See the following video for the basic details of planting cucumbers in a greenhouse.