Step-by-step cultivation and care of cucumbers in a barrel

A considerable number of vegetable growers are engaged in the cultivation of cucumbers. After all, it is quite difficult to find a person who would not like this culture. Owners of small household plots face certain difficulties during planting, since it is difficult to get a good harvest in a small area. That is why some grow cucumbers in a barrel.

Growing and caring for barrel-planted cucumbers is not an easy job. Therefore, it is necessary to familiarize yourself in advance with how to grow cucumbers in a barrel.

Pros and cons of the method

Growing cucumbers in barrels has positive and negative aspects that should be familiarized with before planting cucumbers.

This technology has the following advantages:

1. Planting cucumbers in a barrel is carried out not in ordinary soil, but in humus. Thanks to this, the bushes will always have a sufficient amount of nutrients.
2. Growing cucumbers in a barrel is easy enough, so you don't have to spend a lot of time grooming.
3. The soil temperature in barrels is always higher than in the open field. The soil in the containers is warmer due to the fact that rotting plants are placed in each barrel for planting cucumbers. It also protects young bushes from frost and some diseases.
4. The picking of cucumbers grown in this way is carried out much earlier than when growing vegetables in vegetable gardens.

Planting and caring for cucumbers in barrels does not have many disadvantages. The main disadvantages are associated with the fact that the soil in the barrels dries up rather quickly. Therefore, you need to know how to care for cucumbers in a barrel.

Preparation of containers

Before planting cucumbers in the country, you should familiarize yourself with the features of the preliminary preparation of barrels. First, you need to decide which containers are suitable, how many are needed and where it is better to put them. Cucumbers grow best in barrels made of metal. It is recommended to use containers with holes that will not be needed for storing water in the future. Some even use barrels without a bottom, since it is not needed for growing cucumbers.

All barrels must be taken outside and placed in a well-lit area. Then each of them should be thoroughly cleaned of debris. This can be done with a broom or a small broom. When the kegs are cleared of debris, holes will need to be made in them along the walls. With their help, a natural microclimate is created and air exchange is improved several times. Also, the drilled holes provide access to the barrel for worms, which are needed to loosen the soil.

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Soil preparation

Before growing cucumbers, you need to prepare the soil for planting them. The soil must be prepared in the fall and therefore it is necessary to do this already in October. Many vegetable growers are interested in how many layers the soil is laid in barrels. They should be filled in three layers, the height of each of which should be one third of the container:

• The first layer is formed from the waste of various plants. This layer is created to remove excess moisture from the soil and improve drainage. To create it, at least five stalks of cabbage and corn are placed on the bottom of the container. You can also put some food waste with fallen leaves on top. Over time, all these components will rot and feed young seedlings. To speed up composting, the first layer can be treated with special preparations.

• The formation of the next layer begins with the addition of fresh manure to the container. It is necessary to maintain soil temperature. Most often, this layer is added during the cultivation of early cucumbers, as they are more thermophilic.
• The topmost layer consists of several components. Peat with compost and sod land is added to it. If peat is not at hand, then ordinary sawdust or small straw can be used instead. Lovers of dressing add a little nitrophoska to improve the growth of cucumbers.

Planting

Before planting, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with how to properly plant a cucumber in metal barrels. It is recommended to plant cucumbers in barrels when the outside temperature does not drop below 15 degrees. A few days before that, the soil in each container must be watered with heated water. Then you should prepare the tools that you may need for planting. These include:

• scissors;
• rubber;
• humus;
• film.

During planting, four small holes are created in each cucumber barrel. In this case, the distance between them should be at least 5-8 cm. It is necessary to place one seed in each hole and sprinkle it with earth. It is not recommended to immediately water the planted cucumbers.

When all the seeds are planted, the containers are covered with a polyethylene film and tied with a dense twine. In some cases, regular linen gum is used instead. It is imperative to cover the barrels with foil, since it creates a greenhouse effect, which is needed for the rapid germination of seeds.

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Care features

It is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the intricacies of care after planting cucumbers in a barrel.

Tying

It is imperative to tie up cucumbers in barrels so that young bushes grow better. Also, a garter of planted cucumbers helps to protect plants from most diseases transmitted by open ground.

There are several ways to attach bushes to supports. The most common, however, is to set the meter peg in the middle of the barrel. It is to him that cucumber seedlings will be tied. First, the whips will twist along the rope to the very top of the peg. When they get to the cross, they form a small umbrella there.

It is not recommended to set the support too high, as this may complicate the harvesting process.

Watering

You need to water the cucumbers regularly so that you can harvest a good harvest in the future. It is water that is responsible for the delivery of useful elements to the roots of the plant. If it is not too hot outside, then watering should be done no more than once a week. In the summer, you need to do this a little more often, since due to the high temperature, the earth dries up several times faster.

Many vegetable growers are faced with the problem of rapid evaporation of liquid. To keep moisture in the soil longer, it should be mulched in advance. Quite often, dried grass is used as mulch.

Formation

The formation of cucumber bushes is a rather important procedure, since the amount of the crop obtained largely depends on it. First you need to decide how many main stems to leave for the plant. Many form them into one stem. Every grower who forms cucumbers with this method claims that this method is the best. In order for the plant to grow into one stem, you will have to get rid of all the stepsons and flowers that are in the first five nodes.

There is one more way of formation - bush. In this case, you will have to get rid of the top, which is located after the fifth leaf. This has a positive effect on the formation of new stepchildren, which in the future will also have to be pinched under the fifth leaf. The result should be a bush that will have about ten fruiting whips.

Conclusion

If there is not enough space and a lot of cucumbers, you need to plant the cucumbers in a barrel. It is quite difficult for people without specific experience to do this on their own. Therefore, it is recommended that you read the reviews with planting recommendations in advance or watch a video that will show you how to grow cucumbers in a barrel step by step.