Planting cucumbers in open ground under film: growing, how to cover and when to shoot

The summer season is gradually approaching and most vegetable growers are starting to think about how to plant cucumbers for a good harvest. Many are interested in planting cucumbers under the film, since with the help of covering material you can get a good harvest even in climatic conditions that are not at all suitable for cucumbers.

Planting seeds for seedlings

Before planting cucumbers in the open field, you should start growing seedlings. It is the grown young seedlings that will be planted in the garden under covering material in the future. Sowing cucumbers for growing seedlings is quite difficult and therefore it is better to familiarize yourself with the features of such work in advance.

Seed preparation

First, preliminary preparation of planting material is carried out, which is carried out in several successive stages. To protect cucumber seedlings in the future, it is necessary to disinfect the seeds. To do this, a fabric bag with seeds must be placed in a container with a special solution prepared from aloe juice, boric acid and copper sulfate.

Seeds are soaked in this liquid for 20-35 minutes. The seed is then removed from the liquid and washed with heated water.

In order for the planted seeds to germinate well, after disinfection they must be treated with biological stimulants. They contain special substances that help seedlings grow and develop better. For the processing of cucumber seeds, it is better to use biostimulants such as sodium humate or Elin. Seed material should be treated with these preparations for 10-15 minutes.

Soil for seedlings

Growing cucumbers before transplanting them in the garden is necessary only in the most suitable soil. Therefore, you should familiarize yourself in advance with how to properly make the soil mixture in which you have to plant cucumbers.

There are several common ways to prepare soil for planting cucumber seeds. Many people mix part of the soddy soil with part of fresh sawdust and two parts of humus to create a soil mixture. For better growth of seedlings, you can add 25 grams of urea and a small glass of ash to the resulting mixture.

There is another recipe for preparing soil mixture for growing cucumbers. In this case, the soddy land is mixed with rotted humus, compost and ash. If necessary, 15 grams of superphosphate and 10 grams of potassium with sawdust can be added to the soil.

Landing

Peat cups are perfect for planting cucumbers, as seedlings grow much faster in them. Before planting, all containers are filled almost to the top with the prepared soil mixture. Then the soil in pots is moistened with water and small holes are made in it for planting seeds. Holes are made 2-4 cm deep so that the seeds germinate faster.

When all the seeds are planted, they are covered with soil and re-watered. To accelerate growth, all pots with cucumbers should be covered with a film, which will have to be removed after the first shoots appear. However, there are gardeners who did not remove it until the seedlings were transplanted into the garden.

How to grow cucumbers under film

Planting under the film is carried out after real and well-developed leaves appear on the plant. Most often, seedlings are transplanted under a film shelter a month after the first shoots appear in pots.

Choosing a place to hide

Cultivation of cucumbers on film should only be carried out on a plot that is ideal for this. Cucumbers under the film should grow in a place with a sufficient amount of sunshine, as this vegetable needs good lighting. Therefore, it is worth taking care that the plant is not shaded by anything throughout the day.

It is also recommended to plant seedlings in a plot with the most suitable soil. You should refuse to place covering material for cucumbers in a site with heavy soil. Such soil often has high acidity, which significantly worsens the yield of cucumbers. It is necessary to grow cucumbers under a film in sandy and loamy loose soils. In such areas, you can get the highest quality crop.

Installation of film cover

To grow cucumbers without a greenhouse and a greenhouse under a film, you must first install a shelter on the site. To do this, you will need the following materials:

• twine;
• stakes;
• wire with bars;
• film;
• burlap.

Having prepared all the materials, you should start creating beds for growing cucumbers. First you need to decide on the size of the beds for cucumbers. It is recommended to make them not too big. It is enough to make 2-3 beds with a length of about three meters and a width of one meter.

After creating the beds, the planting of seedlings of cucumbers in the ground begins. Cucumbers in the open field are planted very carefully so as not to accidentally damage the seedlings. Seedlings should be planted at a distance of 70-80 cm from each other so that the leaves of the plants are not shaded by neighboring bushes.

When the cucumbers are planted, you should proceed to the arcs and cover the plants with a film. Arcs are made of durable wire or rods. The distance between them can be made equal to 60-70 cm. After installing the arcs on the beds, they can be covered with film material. In this case, first cover only part of the structure. This greatly simplifies the installation process of the covering material. Then cover the rest of the structure.

To make the design with film and covered arcs more reliable, it is recommended to drive in special pegs along the edges and pull the cover with twine. If you plant cucumbers under such a shelter and grow them in it, then you can not worry about low temperatures on the streets and heavy rainfall that can damage the leaves.

Rules of care

Some vegetable growers don't know what to do to get a good harvest of cucumbers in the film. You can improve the yield of this vegetable with the help of proper care for planted seedlings.

Irrigation

Even when growing cucumbers under a film in the sun, the soil will still dry out quickly. So that the soil is not too dry, it must be watered periodically. At the time of watering, you can open the film shelter to make it easier to get close to the bushes.

Cucumbers are recommended to be watered under the root so that the liquid does not fall on the leaves. Moisture on the leaves is especially dangerous on hot summer days, as this can lead to burns. Burnt leaves cannot be restored and therefore they can be immediately removed from the bushes. If you notice that all the bushes are burning or some of the leaves are burning after watering, then immediately protect it from the sun and quickly cover the cucumbers with a film before other plants burn out.

Don't water too often to prevent root rot. It is enough to water the cucumbers under the film twice a week.

Feeding

It is imperative to feed cucumbers in order to achieve good yields. Before fertilizing, you need to familiarize yourself with which top dressing is best to use. To improve the yield of grown seedlings, it is recommended to add 20 grams of potassium sulfate, 100 grams of superphosphate and 50 grams of urea to the soil. At the same time, remove the film from the structure to make it easier to fertilize.

Conclusion

Many vegetable growers are engaged in planting cucumbers in open ground under the film. Before you start growing cucumbers under covering material without a greenhouse, you should familiarize yourself with the basic recommendations that will help you do everything right.

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