How to properly plant and care for cucumbers in a greenhouse
There are many regions whose climatic conditions are not very suitable for growing cucumbers. In such cases, you have to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse. This is the only way to get a good harvest in unfavorable climatic conditions. Before starting cultivation, you need to familiarize yourself with how you can plant cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse and decide at what distance to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse.
Sowing seeds
Not everyone is engaged in planting cucumbers in a greenhouse with seeds. A large number of vegetable growers do not plant cucumbers in the greenhouse with seeds, but germinate the seedlings in advance. First you need to figure out when to plant cucumbers to get young seedlings. Seeds can be planted in the spring, in the first half of March, so that by the end of May it is already possible plant cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse.
Seed preparation
Before sowing cucumbers, you need to start preparing the planting material. The first thing to do is to calibrate the seed. After all, it is the correct calibration that will help to select the highest quality seeds. For planting cucumbers, it is not recommended to use seeds with an unnatural color and a deformed shape.
It is better to get rid of them right away and leave only light and even seeds.
When planting cucumbers, it is recommended to use seed that has been calibrated with a salt solution. For its preparation, a liter of warm water is mixed with 30-40 grams of salt. All seeds are placed in a container with liquid and mixed thoroughly. After 5-10 minutes, all seeds that cannot grow will rise to the top.
Before planting cucumbers with seedlings, you should deal with the disinfection of all seeds. Each seed must be disinfected so as not to contract any disease in the future. First, you need to select all the seeds that will be planted and place them in a manganese solution for half an hour. Then all the seeds are washed and dried.
You can also use heating for disinfection. However, it is very important to determine in advance at what temperature this procedure should be carried out. Warming up should be done in the oven. To do this, all the seeds are placed in it and warm up during the day at a temperature of about 70-80 degrees Celsius. Warming up should be done very carefully, as such treatment can harm the seeds.
Soil preparation
Before replanting cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse, you should start preparing the soil for the seeds. After all, only bushes that are planted in the most suitable soil can bring a lot of harvest. The substrate for cucumbers is created from peat and sawdust.It is also recommended to add 20-50 grams of ammonium nitrate to the mixture.
All components are thoroughly mixed and infused for several days. Then potassium nitrate is added to them, and the mixture is infused again, but not for several days, but for 2-3 weeks. Cucumbers should not be planted in too cold soil and therefore it is recommended to warm it up in advance. Soil temperature should be at least 15-18 degrees.
Landing
After preparing the soil mixture, you can start planting seeds. Planting cucumbers with seeds in a greenhouse begins with choosing a container for growing cucumbers. For this, small boxes with a depth of about 10-15 cm are ideal. The previously prepared soil mixture is poured into them and holes for seeds are made. It is very important to determine the optimal distance between the cucumbers in the greenhouse. The planting density should not be too high, so it is recommended to make holes at a distance of about 5-7 cm.
When all the seeds are planted, the boxes must be covered with plastic wrap on top, which can be removed after the first shoots germinate. Seedlings should be grown in rooms with a sufficient amount of light and a temperature of at least 20 degrees.
Planting seedlings
Planting cucumbers in the greenhouse should be carried out 2-3 months after planting the seeds. It is quite difficult to plant seedlings on your own and therefore it is recommended that you familiarize yourself in advance with how to plant cucumbers correctly.
Greenhouse preparation
Before planting cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse, you should start preparing the greenhouse. It is recommended to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse made from polycarbonate. It is with the help of this material that you can easily create a climate that is optimal for growing cucumbers.
After all, a greenhouse can be made of polycarbonate, in which there will be absolutely no cracks and there will be a good ventilation system. Another advantage of polycarbonate is that it does not need to be removed in winter, which greatly simplifies the process of spring preparation of the greenhouse. However, even a polycarbonate greenhouse should be prepared before sowing cucumbers in it.
It is recommended to start preparation with the disinfection of the greenhouse. Sterilization for cucumbers in a greenhouse is a mandatory procedure with which you can protect plants from the appearance of certain diseases. To do this, you must use a known chlorine solution prepared from 10 liters of water and 500 grams of lime. All this mixture should be applied to the inside walls of the greenhouse.
Preparing the beds
To figure out how to properly plant cucumbers in a greenhouse, you should familiarize yourself with the features of preparing the beds. Planting cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse should be carried out on pre-prepared beds. Cucumber seedlings should be grown in low acidity beds. Therefore, it is necessary to check this indicator in advance. The acidity of the soil should not exceed 6 pH. However, if you know what to put in the hole when planting cucumbers, then you can grow them in acidic soils.
It is recommended to add limestone before planting to reduce acidity.
It is necessary that the soil for cultivation is very loose and contains a large amount of nutrients. That is why compost with manure must be added to the soil. No more than 10 kilograms of fertilizers should be consumed per square meter. It is recommended to engage in such feeding in the autumn.
Also, when sowing, the following fertilizers can be added to the soil:
- 400 g superphosphate;
- 350 g of ash;
- 3 kg of special mixtures for fertilizing cucumbers.
All dressings should be scattered evenly over the area.When they are spread over the surface, they should be dug into the ground to a depth of 15 cm. For best results, the soil can be watered with a mixture to stimulate growth. With its help, the soil is enriched with humus, which is needed for young bushes for full development and growth.
Landing scheme
The scheme for planting cucumbers in a greenhouse will help to plant them correctly and determine how much distance should be between the bushes. Most vegetable growers plant them at a distance of 45 cm from each other. In this case, the width of each bed should be 100 cm, and the distance between them should be 50 cm.If the seedlings of short-growing varieties are planted, then the distance between the cucumber bushes can be 10-15 cm.
Planting
It is recommended that you study the basic rules for planting cucumbers in the greenhouse in advance so that no problems arise during planting.
First you need to water the soil with heated water and create holes. They should be staggered so that in the future the bushes cannot shade each other. In this case, the depth of the holes should not be more than 15 cm. A little organic fertilizer, diluted with several liters of water, must be added to each created hole. All seedlings should be planted upright. If the sprouts of some bushes are too large, then they will have to be sprinkled with a mixture of sawdust and peat.
When everything is planted, the sown seedlings are sprinkled with soil and watered with water. For each plant, at least a liter of liquid should be consumed.
Care
When growing cucumbers, you must definitely take proper care of them. Each greenhouse cucumber bush is recommended to be watered about once a week. In this case, use only heated and well-settled water. It is advisable to fill the plant in such a way that moisture does not get on the leaves.
It is recommended to care for the tendrils of the bushes. Excess antennae should be immediately disposed of, as they can consume nutrients that are needed for the formation of fruits. It is necessary to inspect grown bushes for the presence of whiskers every few weeks.
Conclusion
Every vegetable grower can start growing cucumbers. However, first you should familiarize yourself with how to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse and what planting methods exist.
