Why are cucumbers soft and thorny in the greenhouse and in the garden, what to do
Cucumbers are rightfully considered one of the most demanded agricultural crops among Russian gardeners, but problems arise when growing them. Cucumbers in a greenhouse often become soft and taste worse. Such fruits are not suitable for cooking. Before dealing with this problem, you need to find out the reason for its origin.
Why are the cucumbers in the greenhouse soft?
When growing seedlings in greenhouse conditions, it is difficult to maintain the microclimate that plants like. This is the first reason why the crop is growing of poor quality. For a stable harvest, you need to constantly maintain the required level of humidity and temperature. If it is too hot or cold in the greenhouse, the ovaries stop forming.
Turgor in cucumbers also decreases due to improperly organized watering. Cucumbers do not like excess moisture in the soil, but its lack also negatively affects the plants.
Common causes of soft fruit:
- Close proximity to tomato beds.
- Diseases.
- Lack of nutrients in the soil.
- The bushes are planted close to each other.
- Lack of sunlight.
- Hot and dry weather.
Many gardeners forget that most of the "cucumber" diseases appear due to watering the beds with cold water from a hose. The first thing to remember when growing seedlings is that watering should be carried out only with water heated by the sun.
What if the cucumbers grow soft?
If the cucumbers began to dry out in the garden, then urgent measures must be taken so as not to lose the entire crop.
How to deal with a greenhouse problem:
- Water the cucumber beds with a decoction of onion peels. To do this, you need a small bag of husk and 5 liters of water. Cover the husk with water and bring to a boil over low heat. Wait until the broth has cooled down and drain. Water the beds with warm broth.
- If possible, then planting tomatoes next to cucumbers is not worth it. Tomatoes prefer dry air over cucumbers. But if this is not possible, then "shading" is done. The essence of this method is that the roof and walls of the greenhouse are painted with whitewash. With this measure, the air temperature in the greenhouse is reduced.
- Small-drop sprayers are placed on the beds. They turn on several times a day.
- The windows in the greenhouse are periodically opened to ventilate the room.
- Fungal diseases often provoke a decrease in fetal turgor. If a fungus appears in the greenhouse, it is urgently disinfected. At the initial stage, you need to make a solution of copper sulfate, chalk and wood ash (1 tsp.vitriol, 3 tbsp. l. ash and chalk). Dilute the mixture in 1 liter of water. The resulting solution treats all foci of fungal lesions, and the plants themselves are sprinkled with dry lime.
Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse you need to carefully monitor every little thing so that the yield is at its best, and the cucumbers are tasty and crispy.
Why do soft cucumbers grow in the garden?
Soft cucumbers often appear on the beds. Most often this happens if the plants are in the sun all the time, especially if it is hot for a long time. Due to the high temperature, the cucumbers begin to wilt and become soft. Therefore, you need to choose a place for planting seedlings in such a way that in the evening or in the morning the plants are in the shade, and not all the time under open sunlight.
The bushes are regularly examined to rule out the likelihood of diseases. This is the second reason, after improper watering, which spoils the entire crop. If the leaves begin to dry out, spots appear on them, and the ovaries have ceased to form, then the plants are treated with chemicals. This will help get rid of the disease in a few days.
What diseases can there be?
Cucumbers become soft due to crop diseases.
- If the cucumber pulp has become soft, then the reason may lie in infection with root rot. Root rot is characterized by yellowing of leaves, decreased yield and wilting of fruits. Rot occurs due to overdrying of the soil, excessive moisture in the beds and overheated soil.
- If the prickly cucumbers have become soft, then powdery mildew may be the culprit. Sour kefir will help to cope with the disease. Dilute a package of kefir in 1 liter of water and pour the resulting liquid over the bushes. Whey is used instead of kefir.
- Fusarium wilting of the bush promotes the appearance of soft fruits. In order to cope with the disease, you need to prepare a garlic infusion. To do this, finely chop 100 g of garlic cloves and pour 1 liter of water. Insist for 24 hours, then strain. Before spraying the plants, dilute with 9 liters of warm water. Every 2 days, cucumbers are sprayed with garlic infusion.
Crop diseases must be dealt with immediately. If fungi have appeared on the site, then it is easiest to deal with them at the initial stage, when they did not have time to form their colonies and did not destroy the entire crop at their summer cottage.
Growing features
In order to avoid a decrease in turgor in cucumbers, you need to adhere to the rules of agricultural technology.
How to properly grow cucumbers in a greenhouse:
- The bush is formed into one stem and tied to a support so that the fruits do not lie on the ground.
- Pinching helps to limit branching and vegetative growth.
- Bee hives should be placed in the greenhouse so that the bees can naturally pollinate the inflorescences.
- If the soil in the area is rough, it must be loosened before watering.
- Watering is carried out only with warm water in the evening.
When cultivating seedlings in greenhouses, the soil is regularly renewed. If this is not done, then over time it accumulates less and less nutrients. And their lack leads to a deterioration in the yield. Saving on a covering material for greenhouses is fraught with the fact that it will be cold in them and the cucumbers will not be able to grow normally.
Another condition that it is advisable to observe is top dressing. The first top dressing is applied before planting the seedlings in a permanent place. Then during flowering and fruiting. Depending on the condition of the bushes, the amount of fertilizer applied to the soil varies.
