One of the most popular and beloved vegetable crops by summer residents is rightfully cucumbers. Although they are a little capricious to the humidity of the soil and air, and also do not tolerate temperature changes and coolness, but with good care they always give large yields of tasty, crispy greens. How cucumbers are planted in open ground, about the preparation of seeds and places for planting them, as well as about other nuances of the procedure for growing these vegetables will be described below.

How cucumbers are planted in open ground

You can plant this vegetable crop in the beds in the garden in two ways: seedling and non-seedling. Both of these methods are equally correct, but by planting seedlings in advance at home, and then replanting them to a permanent place, you can get a harvest of greens much earlier than when growing cucumbers in seed beds.

On a note! The seedling method of growing this vegetable crop is actively used in the middle zone of our country, as well as in the Urals or Siberia, where the period of spring frosts is quite long, and the summer is short.

Summer residents are already planting quite mature cucumber bushes on the beds, which quickly enter the fruiting period.

Even novice vegetable growers know how to plant cucumbers in open ground, but nevertheless, sometimes when planting, some violate the basic rules for planting seed, as a result of a rich harvest, you can not wait.

When can you plant cucumbers: time and temperature

Cucumbers are a very thermophilic culture, in addition, these plants have one rather significant disadvantage - they do not have a cold snap resistance gene, therefore they react negatively to a decrease in air temperature: they can stop growth and development, and with a significant cold snap they simply die.

Planting a cucumber in open ground

Transplanting cucumbers into open ground

Soil temperature is also important when planting seeds (or seedlings) in the beds. The minimum soil temperature is 16⸰C, at lower rates the seeds will "sit" in the soil without germinating.

Important! Often, in cold soil, seed germinates much longer than in warm soil, and often does not germinate at all.

And seedlings planted in cold soil will also not grow, because the root system under such conditions does not absorb nutrients from the soil, so such seedlings may die.

It is also impossible to delay the planting of seed, because cucumbers are equally poor at tolerating low and high temperatures. And if, as a result of late planting, the ripening of the fruits occurs in a hot season (mid-summer), the lashes will begin to dry, and the harvest will not ripen.

Experienced summer residents, when planting cucumbers, take planting potatoes as a reference point: if this vegetable crop has released at least 3-4 shoots, then the cold snap is over, the warm time is coming and you can sow heat-loving crops.

Potato shoots

It is better to plant cucumber seeds in open ground and for seedlings according to the lunar calendar. For 2018, days are considered favorable for planting:

March - 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 27.28;

April - 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24;

May - 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23.

The specific time and timing of planting seeds in spring should be chosen depending on the purchased varieties of cucumbers and climatic conditions in the region.

How to plant cucumbers in the garden

Knowing how to plant cucumbers in the open field and at home for seedlings, you can get healthy, strong seedlings.

Seedlings

Seedling

Planting cucumber seedlings in open ground

The correct planting of seed for seedlings implies, first of all, the correct choice of varieties of cucumbers that will be grown in the garden. Purchased seeds usually do not require additional disinfection; they should only be soaked for a day to germinate in a damp cloth.

It is better to prepare the soil for planting yourself; you should not add peat fertilizer to it, which contributes to the rapid removal of moisture. It is better to make a mixture of the following components: turf (or leafy soil, compost (or humus) and coarse river sand. The summer resident decides what composition of the mixture to choose, but it is better if it is as close as possible to the soil, which will be in the area with the beds. Such a nutrient mixture will be loose, moisture is well retained in it, and oxygen is supplied to the roots.

You should also provide the cucumber seedlings during the growth period with proper lighting - daylight hours should be at least 10-11 hours. If necessary, the plants require additional lighting with any lighting fixtures. These vegetables do not light up at night.

Advice! It is better to plant the plants in hotel cups so that then the thickened crops do not have to dive.

Before emergence, it is better to cover the containers with foil to create a greenhouse effect.

The correct further care of the sprouts consists in timely watering, maintaining the required temperature and humidity level in the room for the good development of cucumber plants, as well as making at least two dressings before transplanting the seedlings to the street.

Transplanting cucumber seedlings to a permanent place is carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves. If the night air temperature is much lower than the daytime, you need to make a shelter for the seedlings - a low greenhouse that will protect the seedlings from the night cold.

Planting cucumbers under the covering material

Seeds

Before planting cucumber seeds immediately in a permanent place, you must first choose a well-lit area that is protected from strong winds, and prepare the beds. The soil on it should be fertilized in the fall: organically fertilizers (cow dung, compost or humus) were introduced for digging, and in the spring, beds are formed on the loose soil. It is better to direct them from north to south so that the cucumber whips are illuminated from different sides during the day as they grow.

When to plant cucumbers in the ground depends on weather conditions, usually this vegetable crop is planted with seeds from mid to late May, but planting is possible in early June (but not later). The seeds are buried 1-1.5 cm into the soil, it is better to sow already germinated seed, then the seedlings appear several days earlier.

The soil is well watered, the crops are covered with a film so that the sprouts appear faster.

Watering cucumbers in a greenhouse

Landing patterns

In order to plant seeds in open ground, first, even furrows are made in the beds, into which the germinated seed material must be planted. The distance between the plants should be at least 0.4 m, and between the rows - at least 0.6 m. Such a planting scheme for cucumbers is optimal - the bushes do not interfere with each other, grow freely, without casting a shadow on the neighboring lashes.

When planting seedlings, you need to remember the number of bushes per 1 m2 should not exceed 3-4 pieces, otherwise the plants will interfere with each other to develop normally.

Caring for the area with cucumbers

After the plants have begun to grow, it is important to create good conditions for them for further growth and development. And you need to start with regular watering. During the growth of seedlings under the covering material, you do not need to water them often, since the film does not allow moisture to evaporate too quickly.

Favorable growth

Planting pumpkin seedlings in open ground

After the shelter is removed, you need to water the cucumbers every 3-4 days, and in hot weather and during flowering and fruiting - once every two days or every day. Watering time - morning or evening hours.

Water for irrigation should be constant and warm, and cold moisture can provoke root rot.

It is important to know! The correct watering regime and maintaining air humidity are the main conditions for the good development of cucumbers!

After the bushes have 5-6 permanent leaves, they will need to be tied up. To do this, a net is stretched in each row (if cucumbers grow in open ground). In greenhouse conditions, it is better to install trellises for tying.

Do not forget about loosening the soil and timely removal of weeds. After watering, you can mulch the trunks of the cucumber lashes, then the moisture will not evaporate intensively in hot weather, and the mulch layer also prevents the active growth of weeds.

An important stage in the care of cucumbers is the introduction of dressings. It is necessary to fertilize cucumbers at all stages of their development, starting from the period of growing vegetative mass and ending with the ripening of greenery.

Yield enhancement technologies

To increase the yield of cucumber lashes, you need to remember the following conditions:

  • the soil in the beds should be moist all the time;
  • air humidity cannot be less than 55-60%;
  • regular feeding.

Correctly applied fertilizers can significantly increase the yield of planted cucumber varieties. Before flowering, top dressing is added to the soil, containing a large amount of nitrogen. When ovaries appear, mineral dressings containing phosphorus and potassium are applied under the lashes of this vegetable crop.

You can alternate organic and mineral dressings.