How to process and feed cucumbers with whey and iodine
Gardeners use new recipes for nutrient solutions in the care of cucumbers. Not so long ago, the treatment of cucumbers with serum and iodine began to be used. Many people say about its benefits for a vegetable plant. But one must be able to properly prepare the solution and know how and when to use it.
A new method of fighting cucumber diseases
Cucumber is one of the delicate plants that is often prone to various infections. During the wet summer, the vegetable suffers from the attack of pathogenic fungi that cause the formation of mold on the stems and leaves. And only spraying cucumbers with serum with iodine can save the future harvest of the vegetable. Prepare and traps for pests in the garden with whey.
How the components of the mixture work
A feature of whey - a product of milk processing during the preparation of cottage cheese - is an acidic environment that suppresses the activity of pathogenic microorganisms. There are no proteins and fats in the liquid remaining after curdling milk, but amino acids are present in large quantities. Fermentation of the product is associated with the activity of fungi, which have a detrimental effect on their fellows, causing plant diseases. Whey liquid is not for nothing referred to as natural fungicides.
In iodine there is an excellent antiseptic, which all garden pests are afraid of. The iodine solution will not only get rid of mold and aphids, but also prevent the cucumbers from being attacked.
Together with milk whey, iodine will help to improve the planting of cucumbers.
Solution preparation
Cucumbers must be treated correctly. Therefore, a mixture is prepared, observing the proportions:
- The serum is diluted with water at room temperature, taking them in the same amount 1:10.
- If you replace pure whey with kefir, then the dilution ratio is the same.
- Iodine needs a little for ten liters of whey solution, only ten drops.
- To enhance the therapeutic effect, add twenty grams of crushed laundry soap. It will help the mixture adhere better to the affected parts of the plant.
The prepared solution can also be used for prevention cucumber diseases... It works when the plant is infected with powdery mildew, root rot.
How to treat cucumbers for diseases and pests
For spraying diseased plants, they choose the morning hours, when the dew has already subsided. The day should be calm and not hot. Cucumber bushes are treated with a sprayer. If this is not possible, then a watering can will do. It is better to spray the leaves on top. When pathogenic fungi have already infected parts of the plant, they will die in an acidic serum environment after treatment.
Preventive measures also include spraying cucumbers with serum and iodine. It is better to carry out the procedures three times a season with a break of seven to ten days. The advantages of this treatment are that vegetable plants can be sprayed with fruits. There are no harmful substances in the mixture of serum and iodine. In addition to benefits, it will not bring anything to either cucumbers or humans.
Traps for insects - aphids, fleas, flies - are prepared by pouring whey into small jars. They like the sour smell and slugs and earwigs that eat green leaves of cucumbers. Insects get into the jars and die, not being able to get out. You can grease the walls and edges of the containers with odorless oil, which will prevent the pests of the garden from leaving the trap.
Can whey be used as fertilizer
Caring for cucumbers includes, in addition to abundant watering, fertilization. For the rapid growth of a vegetable and a high yield of greens, amino acids, calcium, phosphorus, copper are needed. All useful elements for cucumbers are contained in sufficient quantities in milk whey, which can be enriched with both iodine and wood ash.
It is recommended to use serum for feeding cucumber seedlings. It is better to water the young seedlings when two or three true leaves appear on them. Having received the trace elements and amino acids necessary for active growth, the seedlings will not stretch, but will become strong and healthy.
Serum is also used for root and foliar dressing of cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field. But do not forget that the acidity of the soil will increase. Therefore, it is imperative to dilute the whey before processing the cucumbers.
Fertilizer use methods
In the garden, fertilizer is applied at the root, diluting the whey in water, the temperature of which is at least 23 degrees Celsius. It is better to water the cucumbers within a radius of half a meter from the main stem. If the acidity of the soil in the bed is slightly higher than normal, then it may still rise. And for cucumbers it is harmful, so after a while pour the soil with milk of lime diluted in water.
You can also fertilize with whey liquid by the foliar method. For spraying, take a ten percent solution of a dairy product. The diluted whey is healthy and will not burn the cucumber leaves. You need to know how to spray plants and when to do it.
They choose windless, better cloudy weather for processing. To make the fertilizer stick well to the leaves, add a little laundry soap in the form of shavings to the nutrient solution. It is necessary to hold the fertilizer for three to four hours to dissolve the soap. After mixing, start spraying cucumber seedlings.
You can pour the compost with a whey solution, then it will ripen quickly, it will be enriched with useful microelements.
What fertilizers are prepared based on whey
To make whey more beneficial as a fertilizer, additional ingredients are added to it:
- Chicken droppings are mixed with wood ash in a twenty-liter container. Pour everything with an acidic liquid. The yeast is dissolved in warm water with added sugar. They are introduced into the resulting whey mixture. Fertilization is infused for one or two weeks. Fertilizing cucumbers will take place after the concentrated solution is diluted in a 1:10 ratio. Half a liter is enough for one plant.
- Serum, together with freshly cut grass, is an excellent fertilizer. After two days of fermentation, the liquid is diluted, feeding the cucumbers at the root.
- Use of serum with iodine, honey and ash is useful. For two liters of a dairy product, take a glass of ash, five tablespoons of honey and ten drops of iodine tincture. After stirring, leave the mixture for two to three days.Good results from applying fertilizer during cucumber flowering. The ovaries do not fall off, and the cucumbers produce delicious fruits.
Whey, in combination with other substances, will give plants those elements that are needed for the development of cucumbers, high-quality fruiting. Yeast will fill the deficiency of magnesium and B vitamins, and chicken manure - nitrogen. Due to the fermentation of the herb, cucumbers will receive amino acids and trace elements necessary for active growth. You need to know how to water cucumbers. Do this in the morning, in the absence of dew.
It is also useful to spray the cucumber leaves on top with nutrient solutions. Cucumber seedlings respond well to such fertilizers.
The use of whey as a fertilizer has been tried by gardeners and has many positive reviews. In addition, the product does an excellent job in eliminating the causes of fungal diseases in cucumbers. Iodine will only enhance the healing qualities of the serum.
