How to prepare the soil for greenhouse cucumbers in the spring before planting
Cucumber is a fairly common and sought-after vegetable. It is often grown in vegetable gardens, as well as in the garden beds. But, growing cucumbers in greenhouses with their own hands is very popular. This is due to the fact that this option allows you to collect a decent harvest of this vegetable. To achieve the desired result, you need to know how to prepare the soil for the cucumbers in the greenhouse.
Landing features
When planting cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse, it is worth considering some of the features of this process:
- Cultivation is carried out in two stages. In this case, planting of seedlings is carried out in early spring. The picking takes place at the end of July.
- If we are talking about cultivation in one stage, then the seedlings need to be prepared and planted in the beds at the end of winter. Cleaning ends at the end of autumn. Of course, you should pay attention to the weather conditions.
If the planting of cucumber seedlings is planned in the spring, then cultivation should be reduced to one stage. The works are carried out in early April. As for the harvest, it is received at the beginning of autumn. Of course, in order to achieve such a result, you need to correctly approach the care of the crop and know what cucumbers love in the greenhouse.
What kind of soil do cucumbers like
For this culture, loamy, as well as sandy loam, loose soil will be the best option. As for acidic soils, they are not suitable for planting cucumbers... The acidity of the soil mixture is also important. Neutral soil is considered the ideal solution. A soil for slightly acidic cucumbers is also suitable.
How to determine acidity
When the soil is being prepared in the greenhouse, it is necessary to conduct an analysis to determine the level of acidity. If the analysis shows a value of 7, then you can safely start planting plants. As already mentioned, the acidity of the soil is of great importance for the growth and development of the plant. Not to mention the fertility of the culture. The pattern here is pretty simple. The higher the indicator, the higher the likelihood of normal plant development. But, at the same time, too high acidity of the soil negatively affects growth.
Expert judgment is needed here. To do this, you need to seek help from a specialized laboratory. The analysis is carried out using a special device Alyamovsky. If desired and possible, you can purchase this device, which will allow you to determine the condition of the soil at any time. Of course, this option is suitable for farmers who grow cucumbers on a large scale.
An equally popular option is to use a special litmus paper.It can be found in a store that sells chemical reagents. Soil analysis is carried out in the following sequence:
- cut off the top layer of humus 30 cm thick;
- moisten it with distilled water;
- Wrap part of the mixture in paper and knead.
As a result, the paper will change its color. The color is compared to a control scale. Further, by coincidence, the acidity of the soil is established.
If this is not possible, then the usual method of observation and analysis should be used. So, if wood lice, horse sorrel or horsetail sprout on the territory, then this indicates that the soil here has a high acidity. The only solution is to lower the level. It is best to do this with slaked lime, which is freely available. If a clover or thistle grows on the territory, then this indicates that its acidity is low.
The soil is prepared very carefully. This is very important, since the yield of cucumbers depends on it. If you cook everything well, the result will be amazing.
Greenhouse preparation
Before planting cucumbers, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work. And this applies not only to the soil, but also to the greenhouse itself. If the culture is planted in one place from year to year, then you should not hope for a good harvest. There are several ways to solve this problem. So, if there is such an opportunity, then the greenhouse is rearranged to another place. This method is used in the case of mobile structures. Also, the problem is solved by changing or updating the soil.
After harvesting, the land is cultivated and the greenhouse is disinfected. For this, chloride lime is used. Each slit is carefully coated with the sediment of the used solution. After that, the soil is dug up and thoroughly sprinkled with lime in the form of a powder. In the spring, before planting, the top layer is removed, and then the site is dug up.
If we are talking about a shelving greenhouse, then a complete soil change is carried out here. Spent humus is thrown away. Cow dung is laid on the bottom of the containers. The thickness of the pillow is about 10 cm. New earth is poured over it. The work is carried out in several stages. First, 10 cm of soil is poured, and after a few days another 15 cm is added.
How to cultivate the land in a greenhouse
Spring soil preparation is carried out very carefully. Particular attention is paid to the choice of soil base for cucumbers. It must have the following qualities:
- good throughput and absorption capacity;
- high fertility;
- acceptable acidity level.
The best option here would be to use humus, as well as sod soil. Peat, humus, and field soil are used as a substrate. If we are talking about the introduction of nutrient components, then the base can be made from all components in the following ratio:
- peat - 50%;
- humus - 30%;
- field soil - 20%.
To increase the yield several times, experts recommend adding bark to the peat, which can be crushed beforehand. Instead, rotted woody foliage is also often used.
When planting cucumbers in glass structures, hot biofuels are often used. A bookmark of this substance is made in the middle of spring. The biofuel is laid with a 30 cm thick pillow. Immediately before planting the plants, the soil is treated with lime fluff. Wood ash is also used for this. The next step is to cover the pillow with a film. This will release harmful gases that negatively affect plant growth.
The land used for growing cucumbers is carefully checked for weeds. Filling is carried out in several stages.To begin with, an earthen pillow 15 cm thick is arranged over the entire area.In the places where the beds will be arranged, add another 15 cm of humus.
In order to ensure the normal development of the plant, you need to think about feeding the soil. For planting cucumbers in a greenhouse, ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate will be the best option.
How to prepare a garden bed
When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, medium-level beds are often used. They are formed by a wide-row, as well as a tape method. In the first case, the distance between the rows is 0.8 m. As for the strip formation, here the gap is two times less - 0.4 m. Such a bed for cucumbers will allow you to harvest more.
Feeding cucumbers
Before sowing this crop in a greenhouse, special attention should be paid to feeding. A common option here is to use ash. With its help, you can significantly increase the yield of the crop. But, besides this, cucumbers need to be fed with the use of other fertilizers that have a certain effect. If the bed is prepared and fertilized correctly, the yield will be very good.
In the first weeks after planting in prepared soil, cucumbers do not need fertilization. It will be enough to use nitrogen make-up here. Phosphorus recharge is applied before the inflorescences appear. During flowering and fruit formation, plants begin to consume large amounts of nutrients. Therefore, the culture must be processed very carefully. Fertilization is carried out a month later, after planting the seedlings. This will create a supply of nutrients that are necessary for the normal development of plants.
To begin with, experts recommend using nitrogen-potassium fertilizers. This is quite enough at the initial stage of crop cultivation. Top dressing of vegetable gardens is best done in the evening. After adding the substance, the plant is watered with warm water. Additionally, fertile soil is poured under the root. It should be noted here that greenhouse seedlings absorb liquid fertilizers better.
In addition to nitrogen fertilizers, cow and bird droppings, as well as manure, are widely used for feeding. To increase the effectiveness of the substance, they are combined with mineral fertilizers.
You can increase the yield of cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse by increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the air. To do this, you just need to install a barrel half-filled with manure in an enclosed space. Water is added to the top. The contents of the barrel are stirred daily. After a few days, fermentation begins, which is accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide. In the future, the contents are used as fertilizer.
Preparing the soil for cucumbers in the greenhouse in the spring must be done very carefully. Here we are talking not only about the renewal or enrichment of the soil, but also the preparation of the structure itself. Therefore, this work must be approached very carefully.
