How to spray, water and feed soda cucumbers
To solve many problems associated with agriculture, it is not necessary to spend money on expensive fertilizing and other chemicals, it is enough to use folk remedies. Processing cucumbers with soda will help not only cope with diseases, but also increase yields.
Useful properties for vegetables
Any housewife can find baking soda in the kitchen. But most often it is used only for culinary purposes. You can also use it for the garden. Using baking soda you can feed the cucumbers, cure diseases and get rid of insects.
Why else do you need soda? Soda can be used as a seed disinfectant. The seeds are soaked in a soda solution for 20 minutes. Then they are dried and planted in the soil.
The benefits of spraying cucumbers with soda:
- Protects cucumbers from the appearance of microbes and fungal diseases;
- Disinfects seeds;
- Can be used as fertilizer;
- Improves the taste of vegetables;
- Acts as an insect repellent. It helps to get rid of aphids, powdery mildew, downy mildew and caterpillars.
You can spray cucumbers with a soda solution at any time as a preventive measure. But overfeeding the plants is also undesirable. An increased sodium content in an area in the garden can lead to the fact that fruiting will stop. In some cases, this can lead to the "hooked" shape of the fruit.
When irrigating, it is advisable to use a spray bottle so that the agent evenly falls on all parts of the plant. Spray not only the foliage, but also the stems, inflorescences and fruits.
Feeding cucumbers
Very often, regular baking soda is used as a fertilizer for the garden. When feeding cucumbers with this remedy, you must adhere to some rules.
How to feed cucumbers correctly:
- We process cucumbers only in the evening. The most optimal time is after 6 pm or before 6 am. At this time, the sun is not scorching. If the treatment is carried out during the day, then there is a high probability of "burning" the plants.
- Do not use too high a concentration of soda solution. If at first it may seem that this method will lead to an improvement in the condition of the bushes and an increase in yields, but this is far from the case. Using too much baking soda to feed the cucumbers can burn them.
- Too often it is not advisable to use soda for feeding. This can harm the plants and the bush will be less productive. If you constantly water cucumbers with baking soda, it will lead to the accumulation of bicarbonate in the soil. Which in turn will lead to growth inhibition and fruit formation.
- Pouring soda on cucumbers and sprinkling them can only be on a windless, quiet day.
It can also be used for pests.
In order to ensure the appearance of ovaries on the seedlings, it is recommended to carry out two dressings. The first is carried out 2 weeks after disembarking the seedlings to a permanent place. The first top dressing helps to increase the quality of the crop, accelerates growth.
The second feeding is carried out 2 weeks after the first. The second feeding helps to prolong the fruiting period. If necessary, additional fertilizing can be carried out between them if the seedlings grow very poorly or a lot of barren flowers are formed. The main thing is not to overdo it and not overfeed the bushes.
How to feed cucumbers with baking soda? Two times a week, the beds with cucumbers should be watered with soda solution. To prepare it, you will need 10 liters of water and 3 tbsp. l. soda. You can water with the leaves. This will be an additional prevention against insects.
Pest and disease control
The use of baking soda for insect and pest control is due to its relative cheapness and effectiveness. In the garden, the tool will help solve many problems.
- Aphid soda on cucumbers
Often, summer residents have to fight aphids. These insects form large colonies and can cause significant damage to crops. They multiply quite quickly. Therefore, at the first signs of appearance, measures must be taken to preserve the harvest. Soda for spraying cucumbers from aphids is prepared as follows: 50 gr. dilute the product in 10 liters of water. Then add laundry soap and wood ash. You can spray the bushes against aphids only in dry, calm weather. The procedures are repeated every three days.
- Powdery mildew
Cucumber baking soda is beneficial because it can help you get rid of powdery mildew. This is a disease characterized by the appearance of white bloom on the leaves. Baking soda is diluted in 10 liters of water. Add grated laundry soap there. Three times a week in dry weather, bushes should be treated with this solution. If after a while it rains heavily, then the spraying should be repeated on the next sunny day. It is advisable to process cucumbers after sunset, when there are no longer bright scorching rays.
- Downy mildew
Downy mildew is much more difficult to cure than powdery mildew. If the disease has just begun to spread, then a recipe with laundry soap can be used for treatment. You need to spray the bushes every two days.
If the disease has spread to almost all the bushes, then copper sulfate should be added to the soda solution. Mix all ingredients thoroughly and process the cucumbers once a week.
- Gray rot
Gray rot is a fungal disease that affects foliage and internodes. The disease is characterized by the fact that white spots appear on the leaves, and internodes and ovaries begin to rot. It is possible to process the bushes with a soda solution with gray rot. You can spray plants in a greenhouse. 80 gr. dilute soda with 4 liters of warm water. Spray the bushes every 2 days. The procedures are repeated until the gray rot has passed.
- Spider mite
Spider mites appear in high temperatures and dry air. Ticks prefer overwintering in fallen leaves or in the upper layer of the soil. The main signs of the appearance of a tick are a slowdown in plant growth, the appearance of a cobweb on the foliage and its yellowing.
To prevent spider mites from appearing on cucumbers, they should be planted next to tomatoes. If the insect has already begun to spoil the crop, then you can use a soda solution to get rid of it. To prepare it, you need 80 gr. soda and 5 liters of water. Spray vegetables until the insect disappears. For prevention, you can spray nearby growing crops.
- From yellowing foliage
Many gardeners are faced with the problem of yellowing of the leaves.There can be many reasons that preceded this process. And it is not always possible to understand exactly why this is happening. Maybe the cucumbers lack nutrients, or maybe insects have appeared on them. When watering cucumbers, add a tablespoon of soda to the watering can. Watered every other day at the root. Such feeding of cucumbers will help to increase the fruiting period.
- From wastelands
If a large number of barren flowers begin to appear in the garden, then you can use a solution of baking soda. Dilute a tablespoon with 5 liters of water. Water the plants under the root with it. Water the cucumbers with baking soda every 3 days.
With the help of these simple tips, you can get rid of the invasion of insects, overcome cucumber diseases and increase productivity.
