Content:
The beginning of the dacha season sets the task for the gardener - to get the largest possible harvest of all crops, including cucumbers. These vegetables are quite capricious, they do not tolerate frost, shade and high soil moisture. To create optimal conditions for the growth of cucumbers, they practice such a method as planting cucumbers under the covering material.
Features of planting cucumbers under the covering material
It is possible to plant seeds and seedlings in open ground only by the end of spring, when the ground is well warmed up and there is no threat of frost. The sheltered planting method makes it possible to plant seed or seedlings at the very beginning of spring.
Planting cucumbers under cover has several significant advantages:
- It makes it possible to get a harvest of cucumbers 2-3 months earlier.
- The use of a covering material provides reliable protection of seedlings from exposure to sunlight, the required level of soil moisture, protects plants from pests and various kinds of diseases.
- Provides an increase in yield.
There are three ways to implement such a landing pattern:
- The covering material is stretched over metal arcs.
- The material is stretched over a rectangular mobile frame.
- Fixing the material directly to the ground. This option is the simplest, but it is considered the least productive.
Greenhouse plastic film
Before sowing, prepare the ground. To do this, it is dug to the depth of the shovel bayonet. On the site, it is necessary to break up large clods of soil, apply fertilizers. Now is the time to start arranging the longitudinal beds, the distance between them should be about 50 cm.
When the site is ready, the arcs or frame are installed on it. The height of the finished structure should not be less than 1 m. This will make it possible to equip supports for the grown cucumbers.
Under the shelter, you can plant both seedlings of cucumbers and sow their seeds. When using the seedling method, it will be possible to get the crop several months earlier.
The first month after planting cucumbers, it is not recommended to water the plants often, 2-3 waterings for a week are enough.
Polycarbonate for greenhouses
Covering material should be lifted at least once a week. Thus, it will be possible to avoid the development of pathogenic fungi on the soil surface, as well as provide additional lighting for plants.
In the second month after planting, the plants can already be fed.
It is recommended to use sodium humate as a top dressing, which dissolves in water in a ratio of 1:10. For 1 m2 of plot, you need to use 8 liters of ready-made solution. At least 1 time for 30 days, cucumbers must be fertilized with chicken manure dissolved in water.
You can start building supports after the formation of 2-4 leaves on the plant. Different materials are used to make the support: strong rope, wooden slats or metal rods.
After the flowers appear, the shelter must be raised as often as possible. This will enable insects to pollinate the flowers. If the air temperature reaches 28 degrees and above, plantings should be opened only early in the morning or in the evening. Thus, the plants can be protected from direct sunlight.
How to cover cucumbers in the open field
Agrotechnical fabric for greenhouses
It is necessary to decide what to cover the cucumbers in the garden with after the method of fastening the covering material has been chosen. In specialized stores, you can find several types of covering material:
Made from non-woven polypropylene fibers. By density, it is conditionally divided into several subspecies:
- 17-30 g / m2 - used to protect plants in open ground from frost and direct sunlight. Has a high permeability to air, light and water. In addition, it protects young seedlings from birds;
- 42-60 g / m2 - used for shelter with arches;
- 60 g / m2 - when creating it, a UV stabilizer is used, which extends the life of the material several times. It has a black color, which helps to increase the coefficient of absorption of heat and sunlight
- Spunbond. It is the best covering material for outdoor cucumbers. It has the following characteristics: strength, lightness, environmental friendliness, air permeability, does not deform. Used to shelter plants in all areas of our country.
Polyethylene film... Manufacturers offer several types of this material:
- light stabilized - when creating, a UV light stabilizer is used, which helps to retain heat under the material;
- reinforced - this type of film is most often used when installing greenhouses and greenhouses. Consists of a layer of reinforced mesh, which gives it strength.
Polycarbonate. If the gardener does not know what is the best way to cover the cucumbers, this material is perfect.
Agrotextile. Provides reliable protection of plants from weeds. It is durable and sustainable.
Glass. Cucumbers under glass will feel just fine. It is an ideal shelter material for cucumbers.
Vegetable waste, sawdust, dry leaves, straw, dry grass can be used as a heater for a bed under a shelter. They densely cover the soil surface, which protects the root system of plants from hypothermia.
Glass greenhouse
When and how you can plant seeds and seedlings in the garden
Cucumber seedlings can be grown directly on the windowsill. To do this, you can use peat cups filled with a mixture of soil from the garden and peat in equal quantities.
The seeds must first be disinfected and germinated. For disinfection, they are placed for 20 - 30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Seeds can be germinated by placing them on moistened gauze for 3 to 5 days.
Before planting seedlings, the bed must be warmed up by watering it with boiling water and covering it with any covering material for the night. This method will not only help the seedlings take root, but will also destroy all harmful insects in the ground.
Planting cucumbers under the covering material
If the cucumbers are grown from seeds, they need to be prepared in the same way as in the previous version. Seeds are planted into the soil in 2 pieces per hole, the distance between which ranges from 50-65 cm.The planting material is immersed in the soil to a depth of no more than 1.5 cm.
After the seedlings or seeds have been placed in the soil, it is recommended to cover it with a covering material. This will help the seedlings to take root faster, and the seeds to sprout faster.
Having figured out how to cover the cucumbers and following the recommendations, you can get a good harvest of cucumbers not only in warm regions - the Rostov region or Krasnodar Territory, but also in cool Siberia, in the middle lane.
