Mulching cucumbers in a greenhouse and open ground: how and with what, is it possible

An important condition for a rich harvest is constant moisture in the root zone, mulching cucumbers in a greenhouse allows you to maintain it without additional labor. Mulch facilitates the care of moisture-loving crops, reduces water consumption. It is beneficial to use it with any method of cultivation (open ground, greenhouse).

Benefits of mulching

Understanding the benefits of mulching cucumbers is not difficult, the long list of benefits that this agricultural technique provides convinces and motivates to use.

Consider all the positives:

1. Mulched beds are less affected by daily temperature fluctuations at the beginning of summer and at the end of the season. Cucumber roots are protected from low temperatures, which reduces stress from bad weather conditions.
2. Mulching layer prevents moisture from evaporating. Even with rare visits to the dacha, cucumbers in the open field (greenhouse) do not lack water. The soil remains moist for a long time, the roots do not suffer from overheating.
3. In the greenhouse and on the ridge, the soil under the layer of organic material remains loose. Summer residents do not need to loosen the soil after each watering. A crust does not form on the surface of the earth. Earthworms breed well under mulch, loosen the soil, enrich it with oxygen. Roots develop best in loose, moist soil.
4. Soil fertility is better preserved with the annual cultivation of vegetable crops. Organic material protects it from aggressive influences (washout, weathering), organic matter, overheating, increases the humus content, increases the fertile layer.
5. Mulch beds do not grow weeds. Reduced weeding time. Cucumbers (fruits, leaves) do not come into contact with the ground, therefore they are less susceptible to infection by fungi, less likely to be invaded by pests.

How to mulch cucumbers

You can mulch cucumbers in a greenhouse (open ground) with different materials. Their choice depends on the specific conditions: the quality of the soil, the availability of this or that material in the country or the possibility of acquiring it.

Mulching material is of two types:

• organic (natural);
• manufactured synthetic.

Organic mulch

For cucumbers grown on depleted, poor soil, it is worth using home-made compost, manure (horse, cow) or humus.Manure provides cucumbers with additional nutrition, releases nitrogen in a form available to plants. In its pure form, manure is not used, it is mixed with a small amount of hay or straw.

Using cut grass

Most summer residents have a reasonable question: is it possible to mulch the beds with cucumbers with lawn grass, weeds growing in wastelands or in the garden? Grass is the cheapest option for organic mulch and can be cut with a trimmer, scythe, or lawn mower. Subject to the rules of use, there will be a good harvest of cucumbers.

First rule - do not mulch cucumbers with freshly cut grass. It needs to be dried. Fresh grass can rot, it cakes and passes air poorly. Slugs and other pests crawl onto wet grass. They can carry diseases.

The dried cut grass is laid out in a layer of 7 cm. A thinner layer will not maintain the optimal level of soil moisture. Grass with seeds cannot be used for mowing.

It is not recommended to use straw that has begun to rot, it will slow down the development of cucumbers, we mulch only with fresh material.

Fresh straw, pre-fertilized, for every 10 kg of raw material added:

• 200 g urea;
• 200 g superphosphate;
• 120 g potassium s alt.

Accelerated sawdust preparation

Sawdust that is completely rotted or semi-rotted is suitable for use. You can’t cover the soil with fresh sawdust, they will take nitrogen from it. It is recommended to carry out special processing of fresh sawdust before use.

For accelerated preparation of sawdust, you will need a film, water, urea. Spread the film on the ground, sprinkle 3-4 buckets of fresh chips on it. Scatter 200 grams of urea on top, pour everything with water from a watering can. One such layer of water takes up to 10 liters.

Usually two layers are made, both seasoned with urea and watered. The formed pile is wrapped in polyethylene and left for 2 weeks. Sawdust prepared in this way can be poured onto a cucumber bed.

Mulching cucumbers outdoors with sawdust improves soil structure. In autumn, the mulch that has not rotted over the summer is dug up, adding all the necessary mineral fertilizers. By the next season, the loose soil is ready for new plantings.

Decorative mulch

For many summer residents, the design of the cucumber ridge plays an important role. Decorative wood chips will decorate a high warm bed and perform all the basic functions of mulch. Wood chips of any color can be purchased from the market and can be reused.

When planting cucumbers on low ridges, you can sprinkle with wood chips not only the surface of the soil under the cucumbers, mulch the paths with it. A trellis with cucumbers will decorate the garden.To retain moisture in the soil, the thickness of the covering layer should be at least 5 cm, this thickness is enough to protect against weeds.

If a summer resident has a woodworking machine, he can start making wood chips, saving on its purchase.

Synthetic mulch materials

Greenhouse cucumbers, many gardeners mulch with black perforated film. It is laid before planting seedlings on fully prepared soil. Landing holes are made in advance or notched already laid fabric. This method has a minus - overheating of the soil in the summer heat. To avoid it, they additionally use white covering material, lay it on top of the black one.

When sowing cucumbers in the soil with seeds, many gardeners use transparent plastic wrap. The film creates a greenhouse effect, retains moisture. When sprouts appear, it is carefully cut, releasing young plants out.Black film and black non-woven fabric are used in the seedling method of growing cucumbers.

How to mulch cucumbers

In any work carried out in the garden, you must follow the rules so as not to harm the plants with your actions. Let's figure out how to mulch to get the most out of this simple agricultural technique.

It is better to mulch the prepared (dug) bed in the spring, at the end, when the earth has already warmed up, but still retains the remnants of natural moisture. The protective layer will prevent rapid drying of the soil, its compaction.

Before you start mulching the cucumber bed, prepare the soil:

• remove the remnants of roots, grass, other debris from the surface of the ridge;
• scatter the required amount of fertilizer and dig up the soil;
• water if there is not enough moisture in the ground.

The thickness of the layer laid on the soil depends on the type of mulching material. It is necessary to pour sawdust and other dense materials in a thin layer of 2 to 5 cm. When covering the soil with straw or other light compositions, the thickness is greater, it can reach up to 7 cm.

Not the entire surface of the cucumber bed falls asleep. So that the cucumbers do not suffer from rot, the root zone is left open.

It is required to avoid contact of the mulch with the cucumber stalk. Put synthetic materials before planting seedlings (seeds), plant cucumbers in slots.

In the summer, the mulch overheats, turning into humus, so it is regularly sprinkled throughout the season. Not rotted residues in the fall should be raked and sent to compost. If they did not manage to remove them in the autumn, then they rake them at the beginning of winter so as not to slow down the warming of the soil.

An overview of mulching materials and the basic rules for mulching the soil will help the novice gardener master a simple but effective technique for caring for cucumbers in the open field and in greenhouses.

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