How to plant, grow and care for cucumber seedlings
Cucumbers are a fairly common vegetable crop that is often found in the dacha plots of vegetable growers. Growing this vegetable is not so easy, especially for beginners who are doing it for the first time. Therefore, before starting planting, you need to familiarize yourself with how to feed cucumber seedlings and how to grow cucumber seedlings at home.
How to properly grow cucumber seedlings
Growing cucumber seedlings at home is carried out in several successive stages, which you must definitely familiarize yourself with.
When to sow cucumbers for seedlings
First you need to decide when it is best to sow cucumber seeds for seedlings. It all depends on where the germinated seedlings will be planted in the future. For further transplantation into the greenhouse, the seeds should be planted in the first half of March. If the vegetable will be grown in the garden, then it is better to plant the planting material in May in order to transplant the bushes into open ground by the beginning of summer.
Seed preparation
Before sowing seeds for seedlings of cucumbers, you must prepare them in advance for this. First, all planting material must be sorted. This is done to get rid of bad seeds with obvious defects or surface damage. Irregularly shaped seeds are not suitable for sowing.
When the seed sorting is complete, you can start calibration. This procedure is carried out to select the best quality cucumbers before planting. For calibration, a saline solution is prepared, consisting of a liter of water and 50 grams of salt. Then all the seeds for planting are added to it. They are soaked in liquid for about 10 minutes, after which all rejected seeds will begin to float to the surface.
You must immediately get rid of them, since they will not grow healthy seedlings of cucumbers.
Before planting cucumber seeds for seedlings at home, they should be disinfected. With the help of timely disinfection of seeds, it is possible to remove from their surface all germs and bacteria, which in the future may cause the development of serious diseases. For disinfection of cucumbers with folk remedies, it is recommended to use potassium permanganate. The seeds are placed in a manganese solution for 40 minutes, after which they are washed with running water and dried.
Soil preparation
Planting cucumbers for seedlings is carried out in a special soil mixture, which should be prepared in advance.To improve the germination of seedlings and grow strong seedlings, it is necessary to add organic components to the soil. For the growth of seedlings, a lot of peat should be added to the soil, which contributes to the faster development of cucumbers. Also, compost mixed with humus is added for planting in the ground. These components contribute to the development of the roots of the seedlings and loosen the soil well.
Some, for sowing cucumbers at home, add a little overripe sawdust with ash to the ground. With their help, you can stabilize the acidity of the soil.
Choice of capacity
It is necessary to plant seeds only in the containers most suitable for cucumbers. The roots of cucumber bushes need a lot of space. This should be taken into account when choosing a container for germinating seeds.
It is recommended to grow cucumber seedlings in cups made from peat. Such containers are very convenient, since the seedlings can be planted in open ground along with the cups. However, before planting, it is better to wrap such pots in plastic bags so that the moisture does not evaporate too quickly.
The main advantage of peat containers is that they quickly absorb moisture. Thanks to this, you do not have to water the planted seeds too often.
How to plant cucumbers for seedlings
To plant cucumbers for seedlings correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of planting this vegetable.
Before planting cucumbers in cups, the containers should be filled by two-thirds with the prepared soil mixture and poured with warm water. Some growers place a drain on the bottom of the container so that the moisture does not evaporate too quickly. After that, the pots with soil should be infused for 2-3 days so that the soil is fully ripe.
When the containers are filled with earth, it will be possible to start creating holes. Their depth should be at least one centimeter. If you dig the holes too deep, the seeds may not germinate. 2-3 seeds are sown in each hole and then sprinkled with earth. The containers with the planted cucumbers must be moved to a room with an air temperature of about 20-25 degrees.
How to grow seedlings
It is recommended to grow seedlings in well-lit rooms. Therefore, it is necessary to take care of additional lighting in advance. Several phytolamps and fluorescent lamps should be installed near the containers with planted vegetables. With their help, you can compensate for the insufficient amount of natural sunlight. Lamps must work at least 10 hours a day.
If the cucumber bush does not grow well, then pour it with settled water at room temperature. Watering should be done regularly so that the earth does not have time to dry out too much. At the same time, you should not spend too much liquid on each bush. It is enough to pour a tablespoon of water into the sprouts.
People who have been growing seedlings for several years claim that it needs to be fed regularly. It is not recommended to experiment while fertilizing cucumbers, so they are fed with special store-bought mixtures that contain all the necessary nutritional components.
How to properly plant seedlings in the ground
It is no secret that the grown seedlings must be transplanted into open ground for further cultivation. Many are interested in when you can start transplanting cucumbers after germination. It is recommended to do this in the second half of May, so that there are no severe frosts at night.
Before planting seedlings, you should read the recommendations to help you do it right.
Site selection
It is recommended to plant cucumber seedlings in an area where sunlight is constantly present. Shaded areas are not suitable for cucumbers, since they develop very poorly in such conditions. Many vegetable growers recommend planting seedlings near water bodies.In such an area, humid air, which contributes to the development and growth of young bushes.
When choosing a site for planting, you must carefully examine the soil. A permeable loamy soil, in which there is a lot of humus, is ideal for a vegetable. Cucumbers also grow well in the ground with a low level of acidity. Some growers plant them on sandy or clay soils. However, in this case, you will have to carefully look after the bushes in order to get a good harvest.
Site preparation
It is necessary to prepare the site for planting at the beginning of autumn. In September, all remnants of plants that were previously grown there are removed from the garden. It is recommended to bury them in the ground or simply burn them, and use the ash in the future to fertilize cucumbers.
The next stage of preparation begins in the spring. In the second half of May, you need to start preparing the beds. Each of them should not be wider than 80-90 cm. If the seedlings plant in heavy soil, then fertilizer will have to be applied to each garden bed, consisting of manure and compost mixed with the soil. In order for the bushes to begin better, the soil must be insulated in advance. For this, a small trench is made in the beds, into which fresh manure and warm water are added.
How to plant seedlings
Planting cucumbers begins with the creation of holes. They are done at a distance of 20-30 cm so that the bushes do not shade each other too much. Also, before creating them, you should determine the optimal depth. It is recommended to deepen them by 10-20 cm in order to completely cover the roots of the seedlings with earth.
Before placing the seedlings in the soil, each hole is watered with warm water. The seedlings are placed in the soil very carefully so as not to damage the plant roots. After planting, all the holes are covered with soil, re-filled with water and compacted a little. Supports are installed near each bush, to which the grown cucumber bushes will then be tied.
How to care for cucumbers
Proper care of cucumber seedlings contributes to a good harvest. Therefore, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself in advance on how to care for seedlings in order to collect a lot of cucumbers.
First you need to familiarize yourself with the features of watering this vegetable. Cucumbers do not like drought and therefore grow rather poorly in overdried soil. So that the soil does not have time to dry out too much, they must be watered at least five times every 10 days. On summer days, it is necessary to water the site daily, since at such a time the soil dries up much faster. Only carefully settled warm water should be used for irrigation. During watering, make sure that no liquid gets on the leaves of the plants.
Cucumber seedlings should also be fed regularly at home. It must be fertilized correctly to significantly increase yields. Before feeding the cucumbers, you should familiarize yourself with the features of this procedure.
Fertilizers are applied to the soil every day. At the same time, organic fertilizers are added first, and then mineral fertilizers. Before the formation of fruits, potassium and phosphorus with nitrogen are added to the ground, and then the plants are fed with magnesium.
It is recommended to monitor the number of tendrils on the plant and remove them regularly. This is done so that more nutrients are spent on the formation of fruits, and not on the growth of antennae. In addition, you should inspect each grown plant and remove excess shoots from it.
Conclusion
A large number of gardeners are engaged in planting cucumber seedlings. To plant correctly, you need to familiarize yourself with how to plant cucumbers for seedlings and transplant them into open ground.
