Nitrogen fertilizers for cucumbers: what are they, what to feed if not enough

Cucumbers are a very warm and moisture-loving vegetable crop that does not grow on poor, unfertilized soil. The importance of nitrogen fertilizers for cucumbers will be discussed.

Why plants need nitrogen

Since nitrogen is the main element involved in the metabolism of animal and plant cells. It is a component of almost all parts of the plant cell cytoplasm, its proteins, chlorophyll, most vitamins, nucleic acids, enzymes.

What is the risk of low nitrogen content in the soil?

It is known that plants take everything they need for their nutrition, growth and development from the soil. If there is a nitrogen deficiency in the soil, then the plants develop poorly: the stems and leaves are thin, sluggish, quickly turn yellow, a small number of ovaries are formed that do not give or give poor fruit. As a result, plants die quickly.

Classification of cucumber fertilizers

Lack of minerals in the soil provokes diseases and poor development of plants. Cucumbers need nutrients at all stages of their development, from planting in the soil to fruiting.

Fertilizers are of the following types:

1. By origin:

• Mineral;
• Organic.

1. By the method of application to the soil:

• Intrasoil;
• Surface.
• By structure and physical condition:
• Liquid;
• Semi-liquid;
• Solid.

1. By feeding method:

• Root method;
• Foliar method.

1. By the number of substances in the composition:

• Simple;
• Complex.

Characteristics of nitrogen fertilizers

Mineral fertilizers. Mineral nitrogen fertilizers are produced in three types:

• Ammonia, which include ammonium sulfate. They are applied to the soil in the spring before sowing cucumbers, as well as in the autumn after harvest.
• Nitrate, which include ammonium nitrate. Such fertilizers are most often used as top dressing: they are applied in dissolved form in early spring and summer.
• Amide, which include urea. They greatly increase the acidity of the soil, act quickly, and just as quickly break down and are excreted with water.

Organic fertilizers are manure, bird droppings, peat, silt, plant and foliage remains, green manure. All organic fertilizers must first be prepared before being applied to the ground, and the gardener himself decides what to feed specifically.

Description of organic fertilizers Bird droppings, and most often chicken or quail droppings, also can not be dug into the soil fresh. Fresh litter should be diluted in water in proportions of 1:5. It is good if there is a barrel on the site or in the greenhouse in which you can dilute the litter with water and leave it to infuse for several days. The so-called mother liquor will turn out. It is bred in a bucket of water in proportions of 1:9 This fertilizer is very popular with cucumbers, is optimal for irrigation and gives excellent results.If there is not enough nitrogen in the soil on the site, then peat is dug into it . It can be bought at any specialized store and in any quantities. It is better to apply peat immediately when preparing the site for planting cucumbers, but you can just pour a little into the holes when planting seedlings.Gardeners are called plants (legumes and cereals), which, having grown until the moment when the seeds begin to pour, are dug into the soil. This has a very beneficial effect on the condition of the soil, improves its mineral composition, enriches it with nitrogenous compounds of natural origin, increases the hygroscopicity of the soil, which is very useful for cucumbers.

Dung	Dung (mullein or pork) cannot be brought in fresh. Due to the high content of urea, this can lead to complete "burning" of plants. It is best if rotten or semi-rotted manure is diluted with water and watered under the root of each bush of cucumbers.Plants can also be sprinkled with manure that has completely rotted (at least a year in a compost pit) for better nutrition and rooting of the stem.
Bird droppings
Peat
Silt	Silt from the bottom of rivers and lakes is very rich in minerals and nitrogen. This organic fertilizer is used as a component to improve the quality of sandy soil. Before applying this fertilizer for cucumbers, you need to spread it in a thin layer and dry it in the sun for 2-3 days, and then powder the soil around the stems with it. The layer should not exceed 1.5 cm. on a compost heap, form a good humus. Such humus can be poured into the holes, mixed with soil and sprinkled with beds around the stem of the plant. Also, if you dig the foliage and the remains of grass stems into the soil in the fall, then in the spring such a site will be rich in nitrogen and ready for planting vegetables.

Fertilizers for cucumbers in the greenhouse

Cultivation of cucumbers in greenhouse conditions is the most effective, as it guarantees earlier and more abundant harvests. The fruiting period of the bushes is extended due to the fact that it is easier to control and maintain the optimal temperature and humidity for this crop in shelters.

Fertilizers for cucumbers in the greenhouse must be balanced, applied in a timely manner and not exceed the allowable limits. The scheme of conventional cucumber feeding includes at the beginning a nitrogen formula for better vegetation, then potassium and phosphorus for yield and bush he alth.

Tips:

Cucumbers at different stages of growth and development need to change the types of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. So it is better to dig peat or well-rotted manure into the soil before planting seedlings.

If a cold snap is expected, or immediately after it, it is better to water the young cucumber seedlings with ammonium nitrate.

Feeding cucumbers in the flowering stage and fruit formation is carried out with each watering. At the same time, along with nitrogen, the plant also needs other substances, especially potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.

The triple fertilizer nitroammophoska and other similar complex fertilizers work well during this period. Also, excellent results during the flowering and formation of cucumbers are given by watering with mullein and bird droppings with water in the proportions of 1 liter of stock solution per 10 liters of water.

It should be remembered that nitrate nitrogen accumulates in the fruits of plants and therefore, at the stage of flowering and fruiting, it should be excluded from top dressing.

With the normal content of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and nitrogen in the soil, cucumbers develop a strong immunity to diseases, as well as stressful temperature fluctuations.

Lack and excess of nitrogen in the soil

Manifestations of deficiency and excess of nitrogen in the soil. Detailed characteristics are given in the table:

Nitrogen deficiency

Nitrogen excess

Insufficient N content in soils (this is especially often observed in podzolic, sandy soils, as well as sandy loam and gray soils) is characterized by a general inhibition of plant growth and development. They are underdeveloped, have a pale color and weak tillering and foliage. The flowering part of plants is weak. Leaves with such deficiency grow at an acute angle. Vegetation slows down, shoots become thinner. The leaves begin to turn yellow early. Moreover, yellowing begins with the veins and passes to the tissue part of the leaf, first at the lower leaves of the plant. If you do not take action immediately after the first signs are detected, the plant will die.

Excessive N content in soils is characterized by very strong plant growth.The stem and leaves thicken, become saturated green, however, the flowers are few and mostly male. Fruiting at an increased content of N is poor, and the immunity of plants is reduced. An excess of nitrogen and a lack of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium leads to an undermining of metabolic processes in the plant, its morbidity and death.

Cucumbers for normal growth and development need a balanced complex of minerals from the soil, which through chemical transformations ensures normal metabolism in plant tissues, and hence a generous harvest.

How to grow a great crop only organically

When growing cucumbers, they need warmth, watering and fertile soil. To provide warmth and nutrition, they arrange warm beds, which can be easily made with your own hands and placed both in greenhouses and in the open field.

The side and end parts of the box for beds are made of boards or slate. These beds consist of several layers:

1. The first layer is cardboard or sand. At least 10 cm of sand fall asleep. One, two layers of ordinary packing cardboard from unnecessary boxes also does an excellent job of isolating a warm bed from weeds.
2. Any grass is laid in the second layer: freshly cut, hay, straw or mulch. It is evenly distributed and trampled down in the box. The thickness of this layer is at least 30-40 centimeters.
3. The third layer consists of humus, peat, bird droppings or any manure, but not fresh. It is best if the manure and litter are last year's. There should be about 10-15 centimeters in this layer.
4. The last layer is whatever primer you have. Of course, chernozem lightened with sand is optimal. On a bucket of black soil, you can take one kilogram of peat and two kilograms of sifted sand, as well as two glasses of ash. The thickness of this layer should be 40-50 centimeters.

Such beds are provided with nitrogen fertilizers and will last two or three years. They are warm due to insulation from the soil with cardboard or sand, and also due to the heat generated during the processing of manure and grass by bacteria. They are only watered with warm water and harvested.

In the third year, you can feed vegetables a little in the garden during fruiting with mullein or bird droppings, watering the plants under the root. After three years, the contents of the beds are raked out and arranged anew in the same way.

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