Picking cucumbers: how and when to do it right at home

Picking cucumbers is not a mandatory procedure during their cultivation. Moreover, most gardeners prefer to do without it. The root system of a vegetable crop is superficial, weak, so it is difficult for cucumbers to transplant.

Do I need to dive cucumbers

Disputes among vegetable growers about whether it is possible to dive cucumber seedlings have always been going on. Discussions on this topic will continue, because everyone has their own opinion and their own growing experience on this matter.

Information on how to dive seedlings of cucumbers may be of interest to summer residents who do not have experience in growing them. An experienced gardener will grow a good harvest in both cases. For those who know well how to dive cucumbers correctly, there are no problems.

For the information of beginner gardeners: the term "dive" is translated into ordinary language simply. This is a common transplant of plants planted with seeds in boxes or greenhouses to a new place (separate pot, bed).

About when picking makes sense

By the way, there is no need for a transplant for the plant itself, if the cucumber seeds are sown immediately in separate cups. Seedlings of cucumbers, planted in separate containers, develop well, and after 25 days are ready for relocation to a permanent place.

In this, cucumber seedlings are fundamentally different from tomato seedlings. Tomatoes need a transplant, because of this, their root system is better formed. Picking seedlings of cucumbers is justified in the following cases:

There are a lot of cucumber seeds, there are questions about germination, but there is no time to germinate them. Dry seeds can be sown in a container. Plant the strongest seedlings in separate cups after full-fledged cotyledon leaves have formed.
If you have a polycarbonate greenhouse, you can sow several seeds in a hole at the same time. In the phase of cotyledons or 2 true leaves, picking cucumbers in the greenhouse can be carried out. Plant extra seedlings in other holes, one in each.
It makes sense to save a diseased plant with a transplant. Use new soil and a new container for this.
The transplantation of overgrown cucumber seedlings is justified. Lack of sunlight leads to stretching of plants. If you transplant frail, stretched seedlings into another container and deepen it almost to the cotyledons, you can slow down the growth of the aerial part, stimulate the formation of additional roots. Stimulates the growth of new roots pinching the central root to a third of the length.

How to dive cucumbers

First of all, you need to clearly define the time of the picking work. Cucumber seeds germinate fairly quickly. Full-fledged cotyledon leaves are formed already 7 days after sowing.Experienced gardeners prefer to plant cucumbers in cups during this period.

Preparing for a pick

Prepare containers for transplanting in advance. You can use disposable glasses with a volume of 0.5 l, peat pots of the same volume are suitable. You can use milk bags for growing seedlings. Make a drainage hole in the cups at a distance of 1 cm from the bottom. At the bottom, you can put an egg shell or a piece of dried banana skin.

Many gardeners prefer peat cups, which are convenient because you do not need to get the plant out of it. They plant a cucumber along with a glass.

When watering, the glasses get wet and do not interfere with the growth of roots. Peat glasses have a minus: the earth dries out faster in them, cucumbers need to be watered more often.

You can fill the glasses with purchased soil.Take a universal vegetable soil, consisting of soddy soil, humus, lowland peat and a complex of mineral fertilizers. Peat soil is not suitable for these purposes; it must be mixed with garden soil and humus. You can take the land from the garden, from the beds from under the roots, cabbage or greens.

Mix garden soil with humus, rotted sawdust, peat. Take everything in equal parts. Add 0.5 liters of ash to a bucket of soil mixture. Spill the soil from pathogens with a solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin-M fungicide.

The soil should be sufficiently loose, after watering not covered with a dense crust. Store the earth from your garden in the fall, in winter you can freeze it, and before pouring it into cups, warm it up in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 80 - 100 ° C. It is necessary to pour the earth into cups 5 - 7 days before transplantation, on the eve of the work, water it abundantly and mark a hole for seedlings in the center. The depth of the fossa is small, a maximum of 3 cm.

How to dive cucumbers

To make it easier to remove plants from the ground, water them before transplanting.

Water 2 hours before work starts. You can take seedlings out of the ground with an ordinary teaspoon or a table fork. Do not touch the roots with a tool, do not touch the stem with your hands, do not scatter the root ball of the earth.

Before a plant is transplanted, it must be inspected. Throw away seedlings with the slightest signs of illness, without sparing. Pinch off the long central root. Bury the seedling into the ground, not reaching 0.5 - 1 cm to the cotyledon leaves. Press the earth around the stem lightly with two fingers. Water seedlings after transplantation.

Picking in a greenhouse or open field

When growing greenhouse cucumbers in a seedless way, from 3 to 5 seeds are sown in a hole. After germination, no more than one plant should be left in the hole. It is better to dive cucumbers in a greenhouse in phase 2 of true leaves.

The principle of transplantation is the same as for home seedlings. The main thing is to keep the earth on the roots intact, transplant into moist soil.

In the open field, densely planted cucumbers can be dived in a similar way. Transplanted cucumbers cover from the sun for several days. White covering material is suitable for shelter.

When picking cucumbers in a greenhouse, seedlings are planted in a permanent place according to the recommended planting pattern. When maintaining hybrids in one stem, the wells are placed at a distance of 30 cm from each other. The optimal density is 3 bushes per square meter.

Care after picking

Seedlings are stressed during transplantation. Helping them cope with it is the main task of the vegetable grower. The first week is the most important. Seedlings are comfortable at a temperature of 18 - 20 ° C, a higher temperature is undesirable, it will reduce survival.

Increase the survival rate of air humidity in the region of 80 - 85%. Now it is not difficult to achieve it. You need to put a household air humidifier next to the seedlings, and the necessary humidity will be provided.

Place containers with seedlings where there are no drafts. Drafts are poorly tolerated even by adult plants. The window sill in winter is not the best place for seedlings, weakened transplants. A rack equipped with fluorescent lamps (phytolamps) is the most comfortable place for young seedlings.

Daylight for seedlings should last from 8 to 12 hours. You do not need to light up beyond this time. Cucumber is a short day crop. After 20:00 seedlings need to be in complete darkness.

Irrigation

You need to check soil moisture before watering seedlings. Excess moisture can provoke a fungal disease blackleg.

Cucumber seedlings most often die from it. The frequency of watering and the volume of water depend on the humidity and air temperature in the room.

Tap water must be defended for at least 12 hours before watering. The water temperature should be the same as the air temperature, or slightly higher (20 - 25 °C). With properly organized watering, the earth is always moderately moist.

Feeding

It is better to feed the seedlings 2 times. The first time - after transplantation in a week. The second time - in 2 weeks. Ordinary mineral fertilizers are suitable for top dressing: ammonium nitrate, potassium s alt, superphosphate. Pour 1 teaspoon of each fertilizer into a bucket of water.

Feed seedlings of cucumbers with a solution of fertilizers in the morning, preferably in the morning. Water it first, and apply fertilizer a little later, so as not to burn the delicate roots. The solution should not fall on the leaves and stem of cucumbers.

Reviews

Andrey, Volgograd:

“Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse. In April, I sow the seeds directly into the ground, 5 pieces per hole, cover with foil. When the cucumbers sprout, I leave one seedling in the hole, the rest I dive into the next ridge. In June, we are harvesting the first crop of fresh cucumbers.”

Conclusion

When growing seedlings of cucumbers at home, if necessary, it can be transplanted into other containers. Properly performed procedure will not harm the seedlings. The quality of care has a greater impact on the he alth of seedlings.