How to plant and grow cucumbers in the open field under a film
The summer season is gradually approaching and most vegetable growers are beginning to think about how to plant cucumbers for a good harvest. Many are interested in planting cucumbers under a film, since with the help of a covering material, you can get a good harvest even in climatic conditions that are not at all suitable for cucumbers.
Planting seeds for seedlings
Before planting cucumbers in the open field, you should start growing seedlings. It is the grown young seedlings that will plant in the garden under the covering material in the future. Sowing cucumbers for growing seedlings is quite difficult and therefore it is better to familiarize yourself with the features of such work in advance.
Seed preparation
First, preliminary preparation of the planting material is carried out, which is carried out in several successive stages. To protect the cucumber seedlings in the future, it is necessary to disinfect the seeds. To do this, a tissue bag with seeds must be placed in a container with a special solution made from aloe juice, boric acid and copper sulfate.
The seeds are soaked in this liquid for 20-35 minutes. Then the seed is removed from the liquid and washed with heated water.
In order for the planted seeds to germinate well, after disinfection they must be treated with biological stimulants. They contain special substances that help seedlings grow and develop better. For the processing of cucumber seeds, it is better to use biostimulants such as sodium humate or Elin. The seed should be treated with these preparations for 10-15 minutes.
Seedling soil
To grow cucumbers before they are transplanted in the garden, you need only in the most suitable soil. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself in advance with how to make the right soil mixture in which you will have to plant cucumbers.
There are several common methods for preparing soil for planting cucumber seeds. Many people mix part of the sod land with part of fresh sawdust and two parts of humus to create a soil mixture. For better growth of seedlings, you can add 25 grams of urea and a small glass of ash to the resulting mixture.
There is another recipe for the preparation of a soil mixture for growing cucumbers. In this case, the sod land is mixed with rotted humus, compost and ash. If necessary, 15 grams of superphosphate and 10 grams of potassium with sawdust can be added to the soil.
Landing
Peat cups are perfect for planting cucumbers, since seedlings grow much faster in them. Before planting, all containers are filled almost to the top with the prepared soil mixture.Then the soil in the pots is moistened with water and small holes are made in it for planting seeds. The holes are made 2-4 cm deep so that the seeds germinate faster.
When all the seeds are planted, they are covered with soil and re-watered. To accelerate growth, all cucumber pots should be covered with a film, which will have to be removed after the first shoots appear. However, there are gardeners who did not remove it before transplanting the seedlings into the garden.
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Planting under the film is carried out after real and well-developed leaves appear on the plant. Most often, seedlings are transplanted under a film shelter a month after the first shoots appear in pots.
Choosing a place to hide
Cultivation of cucumbers on film should only be carried out in an area that is ideal for this. Cucumbers under the foil should grow in a place with enough sunny best, as this vegetable needs good lighting. Therefore, it is worth taking care that the plant is not shaded by anything throughout the day.
It is also recommended to plant seedlings in an area with the most suitable soil. It is necessary to abandon the placement of covering material for cucumbers in an area with heavy soil. Such soil often has increased acidity, which significantly deteriorates the yield of cucumbers. It is necessary to cultivate cucumbers under a film in sandy loam and loamy loose soils. In such areas, you can get the best quality harvest.
Installation of a film shelter
To grow cucumbers without a greenhouse and a greenhouse under a film, you must first install a shelter on the site. This will require the following materials:
- twine;
- stakes;
- wire with rods;
- film;
- sackcloth.
Having prepared all the materials, you should start creating beds for growing a cucumber. First, you should decide on the size of the cucumber beds. It is recommended to make them not too large. It is enough to make 2-3 beds with a length of about three meters and a width of one meter.
After creating the beds, the planting of cucumber seedlings begins in the ground. Open field cucumbers are planted very carefully so as not to accidentally damage the seedlings. It is necessary to plant seedlings at a distance of 70-80 cm from each other so that the leaves of the plants are not shaded by neighboring bushes.
When the cucumbers are planted, you should proceed to the arches and cover the plants with foil. The arcs are made of strong wire or rods. The distance between them can be made equal to 60-70 cm. After installing the arches on the beds, they can be covered with a film material. In this case, first cover only part of the structure. This greatly simplifies the process of installing the covering material. Then cover the rest of the structure.
To make the structure with a film and covered arcs more reliable, it is recommended to drive in special pegs along the edges and pull the shelter with twine. If you plant cucumbers under such a shelter and grow them in it, you do not have to worry about low temperatures outside and heavy rainfall that can damage the leaves.
Care rules
Some growers do not know what to do to get a good harvest of cucumbers in a film. You can improve the yield of this vegetable with the help of proper care of the planted seedlings.
Watering
Even when growing cucumbers under a film in the sun, the soil will dry out quickly. To prevent the soil from being too dry, it must be watered periodically. At the time of watering, you can open a film shelter to make it easier to get to the bushes.
It is recommended to water the cucumbers under the root so that the liquid does not get on the leaves.It is especially dangerous to get moisture on the leaves on hot summer days, as this can lead to burns. Burnt leaves cannot be restored and therefore they can be immediately removed from the bushes. If you notice that all the bushes are burning or some of the leaves burns after watering, then immediately protect it from the sun and quickly cover the cucumbers with foil until other plants have burned out.
Too often, watering is not worth it so that the root does not start to rot. It is enough to water the cucumbers under the film twice a week.
Top dressing
It is imperative to feed the cucumbers in order to achieve a good yield. Before fertilizing, you need to familiarize yourself with which top dressing is best to use. To improve the yield of grown seedlings, it is recommended to add 20 grams of potassium sulfate, 100 grams of superphosphate and 50 grams of urea to the soil. At the same time, remove the film from the structure to make it easier to apply fertilizers.
Conclusion
Many vegetable growers are engaged in planting cucumbers in open ground under a film. Before you start growing cucumbers under a covering material without a greenhouse, you should familiarize yourself with the basic recommendations that will help you do everything right.
