Blinding of cucumbers: in the greenhouse and open field, the scheme is correct

Blinding cucumbers must be done without fail when growing them in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. It can be carried out in open ground, in greenhouses, if a trellis is built for the culture. When the whips are on the ground, it is quite difficult to do it.

What is this

The question of what it is may arise for a novice gardener planting cucumbers for the first time. The term refers to the removal of leaves from the axils in the area from the beginning of the stem to a height of 50 cm in total. The concept of everything includes: flowers, ovaries, stepsons, mustaches.

The need to blind cucumbers in greenhouses is dictated by the following points:

• characteristics of the hybrid (variety);
• reducing the timing of early harvest;
• getting the maximum yield in the greenhouse;
• reducing the incidence of greenhouse cucumbers;
• prolongation of the fruiting period.

Which varieties need blinding

Let's figure out which varieties require the blinding procedure, and which ones do not. The summer resident, in addition to blinding, must understand how to carry out the formation of a bush. A gardener can deal with this at the stage of buying new seeds by carefully reading the description of the variety (hybrid).

Types of cucumbers and options for the formation of bushes

All varieties and hybrids are divided into two large groups according to the method of pollination:

• bee-pollinated;
• parthenocarpic.

With bee-pollinated varieties and hybrids, everything is clear. There are male and female flowers on the bushes, insects are needed for their pollination.

These varieties are bought for growing cucumbers in the open field. Planting such species in a greenhouse is not justified. Yield will be low due to poor pollination. You will have to attract bees to the greenhouse, and this is an additional cost of time.

Parthenocarpic hybrids do not need insects for pollination, they do not need pollination in principle. It is cucumbers of this type that need blinding and forming pinching of the bush. The exception is plants that practically do not form side shoots, in this case, plants do not need to be formed, cucumbers themselves grow in one stem.

A well-known hybrid growing in one stem is Sarovskiy F1, cucumber Petrovsky F1 is no less relevant. Greenhouse cucumbers with few side shoots are F1 hybrids:

• Valdai;
• Izhorets;
• Blizzard;
• Northern;
• Snowstorm.

About the correct formation of cucumber bushes

The rules for the formation of bushes are different for bee-pollinated varieties and parthenocarpic hybrids, this is due to the peculiarities of fruit formation.

The varieties for open ground have female flowers, which means that the fruits are located on the side lashes. In greenhouses, cucumbers form the bulk of the crop on the central conductor.

We form bushes in the open field

One can give an example of bee-pollinated cucumbers, which summer residents have been planting for pickling for many years:

• Vyaznikovsky;
• Topolek F1;
• Far Eastern;
• Fannula F1;
• Monastic.

In the hybrids and varieties given for example, fruiting is concentrated on the side lashes. Male flowers bloom on the central shoot. You can often hear a complaint from summer residents that today he had a poor crop of cucumbers because of an empty flower.

Unlucky gardeners blame the seeds, the weather, but in fact they themselves are to blame. It was necessary to forcibly stimulate the growth of lateral shoots, then there would be more female flowers, which means a higher yield.

Distinguishing female and male flowers is simple: male flowers are larger and attached to pedicels, their purpose is to pollinate. Female flowers are located at the ends of the ovaries, from which, after pollination, fruits begin to form.

To stimulate the accelerated growth of the lateral lashes, pinch the central stem as early as possible. Experienced gardeners wait for 6 leaves to appear on young bushes, and then pinch the top of the head.

From the shoots that appeared in the axils of 2, 3, 4 leaves, form a bush. Sinuses 1 and 2 sheets need to be blinded - remove everything that appears there: stepchildren, mustaches, flowers. It is also necessary to remove the ovaries from the first two sinuses, they will not give a large harvest, but they can pull the forces of the bush to their formation. Therefore, they should always be plucked without any regret.

Benefits of Forming Bushes

By forming a cucumber bush, pinching the tops, blinding the lower nodes, the gardener gets significant advantages over those gardeners who ignore these operations. The following positive points can be noted:

1. The growth of lateral shoots is accelerating, which means that the number of female flowers is increasing.
2. The blinded bush directs all its forces to the growth of green mass.
3. Fruiting comes much earlier, cucumbers ripen together.
4. Higher palatability of fruits, less bitterness.

Pollinator varieties

Pollinating varieties planted 1-2 per 10 sq. m, can significantly increase the yield of bee-pollinated varieties in open ground. A pollinator variety should be planted on a bed with varieties, a pollinator hybrid should be planted on beds with bee-pollinated hybrids.

F1 Slider and F1 Vigor deserve attention. Both hybrids are good pollinators. On their bushes a large number of male flowers of long flowering are formed. The Runner can form up to 25 male flowers in the nodes.

Formation of bushes in the greenhouse

Parthenocarpic varieties (hybrids) are suitable for greenhouses. Plants of this type are dominated by female flowers, which do not require pollination. If in the summer there is no time for work on the formation of bushes, hybrids (varieties) should be chosen with low branching. The fewer stepchildren, the easier care.

Cucumbers in a greenhouse are preferable to keep in one stem. These bushes are easier to care for. They are easier to fix to the trellis. The crop on the bushes ripens more amicably due to the good illumination of all parts of the plant.

The bushes get sick less, as the air circulates freely between the bushes, it does not stagnate. Good ventilation in the root zone reduces the risk of fungal diseases at times.

How to pinch greenhouse cucumbers

In the greenhouse, the scheme for the formation of a cucumber bush is different. The main crop will be concentrated on the central stem, so you do not need to pinch it. When 5 leaves are formed on the bushes, attach the stem to the trellis with twine. When the crown reaches a height of 50 cm, the bushes are blind - everything is removed from the leaf sinuses.

When the next section of the stem grows (from 50 cm to 100 cm), leave the ovaries in the axils, pinch the side shoots over the first leaf. Throughout the stem from 100 cm to 150 cm, pinch over the third or fourth leaf.

When the top of the stem reaches the top of the trellis, throw it over the top wire and point it down. Leave 4 leaves on the side shoots at a stem spacing of 150 cm or more. It is important to leave at least one leaf above each ovary, which is needed to nourish the fetus. To infinity, the cucumber lash should not grow. When 50 cm remains from her crown to the ground, pinch the growth point.

The suggested recommendations should be used throughout the summer. It makes no sense to engage in pinching side shoots if the formation of bushes is late and the lashes are already long. Large wounds from circumcision of adult lashes can do harm: weaken the immune system, become a gateway for infection.

You can greatly simplify your life if you choose the right varieties. It is easier to follow the bushes of weakly branching hybrids; it will take little time to care for them. It is easy to master the technique of forming cucumber bushes according to the schemes.

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