The best way to grow cucumbers on foil without weeding and hilling
The approach of the summer cottage is a signal to think about ways to grow vegetables on a personal plot. A good harvest can be obtained by growing cucumbers under agrofibre. This culture is quite capricious, therefore, in order to minimize negative phenomena, it is customary to use a covering material with special properties - spunbond. Thanks to this technology, the cultivation of cucumbers has become possible even in regions with a cool climate.
Types of spunbond
Agrofibre for summer residents is a truly indispensable material, because it is it that allows you to create suitable conditions for many types of crops under cover. Proper use will help maintain yields and speed up plant development. For more than 15 years, this material has been helping vegetable growers to get excellent yields, being an excellent alternative to polyethylene.
Surprisingly, the material, so similar to a thin fabric, is actually made of polyethylene fibers and exhibits much better qualities. This explains its fine fibrous structure. Spunbond is of different types:
- intended for open ground: the color of such a fabric is white, the density is up to 30 grams per square meter;
- used in greenhouses and greenhouses: white material, the density of which does not exceed 60 grams per one meter of area;
- used for mulching: the color of such material is black, the density, as a rule, is not less than 50 grams and not more than 60 grams per square meter.
Recently, vegetable growers have been able to use a two-color material. It can be of two options:
- Black and white fabric. Its density is quite high, its main purpose is mulching vegetable and berry beds. The dark layer is protection from weeds, and the white fabric will save the plant's root system from the scorching sun and strong winds.
- Red and white spanbond (or red and yellow). In most cases, it is used to protect plantings from bad weather. You can cover vegetable crops with such a cloth, like fruit trees and flowers.
Depending on what material is chosen, cucumbers can be grown either under a spanbond cover or using it as mulch.
Using black material
The black material is very dense and is best used for mulching the soil. Plants, including weeds, do not grow under such material. This allows you to create in the substrate the climate that is optimal for cultivated plants.
In the process of planting cucumbers on film without weeding and hilling, black material should be spread on the garden bed, cut the required number of holes in it and plant seedlings in them, and in some cases - immediately seeds. A sprout can appear only in a cut made; it is almost impossible for young shoots to break through the spunbond.
The lack of sun is the main reason why no other plants can grow in other places.
Water and air perfectly penetrate the soil through the material, which contributes to the creation of an ideal microclimate in the substrate. Plants are not afraid of rot and mold.
It is important that when using the material, the fruits of the planted cucumbers grow clean. This explains the fact that agrofibre began to be used not only for the cultivation of this crop, but also for the cultivation of strawberries, which can be quite difficult to wash from dirt and sand.
Advantages and disadvantages of spunbond
The material has a lot of advantages in the eyes of summer residents:
- spunbond perfectly permits air and water to the ground;
- the material is soft, as a result of which it absolutely does not injure plants;
- the material is better able to retain heat and repel ultraviolet light;
- low cost of fabric;
- ease of use.
The material (agrofibre) should be watered from above, which is very convenient. The resistance of the film to damage of a very different nature allows the fabric to be used repeatedly, over several seasons. If necessary, the spunbond can be folded, shaken out and even washed. Such savings are appreciated by everyone who plants plants under film.
It is important that the use of this material is not a solution to absolutely all the problems that arise when growing cucumbers. To obtain a good harvest, other factors must also be taken into account: the correct selection of the variety, the degree of soil warming, the level of moisture under the shelter. If I plant cucumbers, I am attentive to every detail.
Interestingly, even the slope of the beds can have an effect on yield. It should be remembered that cucumbers need pollination, so the cover material must be removed at night.
Planting cucumbers under the film
It is worth taking care of the preparation of the beds for planting on spunbond in advance. The selected planting site must be warm and well-lit. The optimal bed width is 0.7 meters. The digging depth is the length of the shovel bayonet.
After digging the soil over the surface, it is necessary to scatter organic fertilizer, compost or humus. The top layer of the earth should be leveled with a rake, after which you can lay the film and proceed to the organization of the grooves.
Planting cucumbers is a simple matter. First, you should heat the water to about 50 ° C. There should be diluted two ampoules of growth stimulant, which has a gelatinous consistency. The resulting solution should be in the furrows. At intervals of 0.5 meters, cucumber seeds are planted under a black film, after which it is necessary to lightly sprinkle them with earth and press with your hand.
For safety reasons, the beds are dusted with ground pepper (black) powder. This is necessary to protect against ants, mice and slugs. After dusting, the bed is covered with a material folded in half. So it will turn out to grow a wonderful harvest.
Care for cucumbers under the film
Care for the cucumbers that are grown on spunbond should be very careful. Firstly, this is a crop in which the root system is located very close to the surface of the earth. Drying quickly, the roots constantly need irrigation, the ideal option is a drip irrigation system.
To preserve life-giving moisture, experienced vegetable growers lay mulch, which is still represented by the same material.You can put a thin layer of freshly cut grass on top. Watering cucumbers on a black spunbond should be at least three times a week, preferably in the evening.
Watering when growing on the material is carried out at the root, the leaves should remain unaffected. If desired, cucumbers can be spud.
Pros of growing on spunbond
Growing cucumbers on the described type of agrofibre has undeniable advantages:
- Saving time spent on preparing cucumber beds.
- Investment efficiency: material can be removed in autumn for reuse in spring.
- No need for weeding. All the grass begins to rot, rot and fertilize the soil. We only weed the place that is not covered with black material.
- Maintaining soil moisture levels in the desired range. In rainy weather, the material perfectly absorbs moisture, and the plants above it do not come into contact with the water. Cucumbers can be grown without watering or weeding.
It is worth noting that covering the beds with agrofibre means saving money on the purchase of plastic wrap almost every year, on the purchase of fertilizer, because there is no longer any need to scatter vitamin complexes over the entire ridge. The fruiting period when using spunbond is extended, and the fruits are always clean and tidy.
