How to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse correctly step by step
Caring for cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field must take into account agrotechnical rules. If you want to get optimal vegetable yields, then you need to have an idea of how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse. The procedure is especially important for formation of cucumber lianas.
The benefits of cucumbers for humans
Cucumbers are the first to ripen from vegetables in the beds. Although the concept is ripe for them rather relative. As soon as small greens appear, a person immediately picks them off for eating. And this is correct, because in the fruits of the plant there are many useful substances that help:
- quench thirst;
- remove toxins from the body;
- strengthen the immune system;
- assimilate animal proteins.
But we do not only think about health when fresh cucumber salads appear on the table, but also how tasty this product is. You can't imagine a summer menu without cucumbers. They are good in marinade and brine for the winter. Only a rich harvest of vegetables will allow you to stock it up for the winter. To do this, you need to correctly pinch the cucumbers, take care of them in the greenhouse.
Features of the structure, development of the plant
Since the tropics are the homeland of the cucumber, much in the structure of the vegetable comes from liana-like plants:
- Branching is inherent in the root system of the vegetable. Moreover, the depth of the roots is small, starting from thirty centimeters. With a sufficiently moist soil, the vegetative growth of cucumbers is reflected in the development of additional root suckers.
- The stalk of the vegetable is creeping, branching with many antennae, with which it hooks onto the supports and grows upward.
- On the stem, both male and female flowers are formed, collected in inflorescences of five to six pieces. They are formed in the axils of the upper rudimentary leaves. Most of the female flowers are formed not on the central shoots, but on the lateral lashes of the first and second order
- If this type of plant requires cross-pollination, then there are parthenocarpic varieties that develop without pollination. They have more feminine colors than masculine ones.
- The fruits of the plant can ripen soon, two to three weeks, after setting. They are oval, green in shape. Inside the cucumbers there are seeds that are not ripe at first, but plants are ready for propagation as they grow.
To get full-fledged, tasty cucumbers, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for their development. The vegetable will bear fruit at a constant temperature of 25-30 degrees above zero during the day, and at night - at 15-18 degrees.
Frosts are fatal for cucumbers. Therefore, it is better to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, greenhouse.There will not be sharp fluctuations in air temperature, there will be enough light, air. Indoors, a vegetable develops successfully if it is grown in accordance with the requirements of agricultural technology. In regions with cold climates, planting a vegetable crop in greenhouse soil is the only way to grow a thermophilic garden crop.
Cucumber care consists of:
- watering with warm water;
- top dressing with nitrogenous and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers;
- loosening the soil;
- pinching the top of the shoots.
Pinching cucumbers in a greenhouse is an important procedure, which has a positive effect on the yield of vegetable crops and the taste of zelents.
The benefits of pinching cucumbers
From the features of the structure and development of the cucumber culture, it is clear that the shoots need to be pinched until the plant has bloomed in the greenhouse. Otherwise, the growth of the lashes will be chaotic, and the plant will not please with the fruits. The advantages of the procedure include:
- stimulating the formation of fruit ovaries;
- increasing the level and quality of cucumber harvests;
- the acquisition of a delicate taste by cucumbers, without bitterness;
- creating conditions for improving the growth of vegetables in the greenhouse.
But you need to know that pinching cucumbers should follow the rules, because an incorrectly performed procedure will lead to loss of harvest.
How to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse correctly
In order for the care of the plant in the greenhouse to take place competently, to contribute to obtaining a high-quality harvest, it is necessary:
- partially remove male flowers;
- eliminate antennae by tying lashes to trellises;
- pinch off shoots, leaves, creating conditions for branching stems.
When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, you need to understand how pinching will affect the condition of the plant, its vegetation. The pinching scheme is built in accordance with the variety of the vegetable plant. If the cucumbers are parthenocarpic species, then leaving male flowers on the liana is optional. For those cucumber plants that are pollinated by insects or independently, the same ratio of male and female flowers is necessary.
You should pinch cucumbers in the greenhouse like this:
- As soon as the fifth true leaf appears, flowers, whiskers, and side shoots are removed in the lower axils.
- In the future, they begin to pinch the cucumbers in the greenhouse as soon as the seventh or eighth leaf grows. Then remove two shoots from the side of the main stem.
- After the eleventh leaf, it is important to remove the top of the main shoots so that the lateral ones begin to grow actively, new fruits are formed.
- For parthenocarpic vegetable species, after planting, a bush is formed into one stem. As soon as it reaches half a meter in length, all other branches, flowers, whiskers in the lower part of the central shoot are cut off. And then the lateral processes must be pinched to the first leaf.
Cucumbers in a greenhouse tend to grow quickly and do not wait long for the first harvest. An important factor for their cultivation will be the planting density, the degree of planting illumination. Providing favorable conditions for vegetative growth will help to know how to pinch cucumbers in the greenhouse step by step. It is best to use special cutting tools for the procedure.
Features of the procedure for self-pollinated varieties
Plants pollinated by bees or independently start branching late, so it will take a long time to wait for cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse. If you pinch the top of the main shoot, the plant will begin active growth, forming ovaries. Therefore, the first pinching of cucumbers is carried out over the second real leaf, leaving a stump of half a centimeter. After that, shoots with female flowers appear on the sides.
By pinching them, they activate the appearance of branches of the second order. It is they who will give forty percent of the female ovaries.
It is imperative to dazzle cucumbers, pinch, removing all flowers and leaves located in the axils below the sixth leaf.Then they will not take away the nutrients necessary for the fruit set.... During the procedure in greenhouse conditions, it is important to remember that one or two green leaves are needed for one cucumber ovary.
Parthenocarpic view: is it necessary to pinch cucumbers in the greenhouse
For indoor hybrids with a predominance of female flowers, pinching is also necessary. It is carried out in a slightly different way:
- When the stem of the liana fixed on the trellis reaches a height of fifty centimeters, then they begin to remove all shoots, ovaries, flowers in the lower part. This creates a blinding zone.
- Above the stem, pinch the lateral shoots, keeping one ovary and a pair of leaves.
- At a height of one - one and a half meters, in two or four knots, you can leave two ovaries with two or three leaves.
- If the growth of the cucumber stalk continues, already at a height above one and a half meters, you can pinch the whips above the third leaf, keeping up to three ovaries.
- All the lengthening shoots of cucumbers are then thrown over the trellis, allowing them to move downward. As soon as the distance to the soil reaches the twenty centimeters mark, the growing point on the central stem must be removed.
When pinched correctly, greenhouse vegetables will produce more cucumbers than outdoors.
How to care for a vegetable in a greenhouse
If you plant cucumbers in a closed ground, then they ripen fifteen to twenty days after fertilization of the ovary.
To do this, they need to organize:
- Watering. It is best to water the vegetable in the evening every day. As soon as flowers appear, the frequency of watering is reduced. During the procedure, try to wet the soil layer as deeply as possible.
- Shower. On hot days, plants are sprayed, keeping the air humidity in the greenhouse at about ninety percent.
- Top dressing. First, be sure to water the cucumbers with a mullein solution in a ratio of 1: 8, then bringing the concentration to 1: 4. Of mineral fertilizers, the use of ammonium nitrate (fifteen grams), superphosphate (forty grams) and potassium chloride (ten grams) helps. The concentration of substances is increased during the fruiting period of the vegetable. Fertilizers are applied once every two weeks.
- Rejuvenation. The stalks of cucumbers exposed below are lowered to the ground and rolled up in a ring. A week later, they are covered with earth.
To increase the level of carbon dioxide in the greenhouse, heaps of fresh mullein are laid out in the aisles or barrels filled with organic solution are placed. If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, then without pinching it is impossible grow cucumbers in a greenhouse... And there should be no doubt whether this should be done or not. And how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse, you can see in a step-by-step photo. Gardeners believe that it is necessary to carry out the procedure, but not chaotically, but in compliance with the rules.
For me, the most important stage is soil fertilization, it is absolutely necessary for all vegetables and fruits. Every year I use the product BioGrow, I have never failed, I recommend.