Preparing the soil for cucumbers in a greenhouse in spring: what kind of land they like, how to cultivate

Cucumber is a fairly common and sought-after vegetable. It is often grown in vegetable gardens, as well as in beds on a personal plot. But, growing cucumbers in greenhouses with their own hands is very popular. This is due to the fact that this option allows you to harvest a decent crop of this vegetable. To achieve the desired result, you need to know how to prepare the soil for cucumbers in the greenhouse.

Fit features

When planting cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse, it is worth considering some features of this process:

1. Cultivation is carried out in two stages. In this case, planting seedlings is carried out in early spring. Cucumber harvesting is carried out at the end of July.
2. If we are talking about cultivation in one stage, then the seedlings need to be prepared and planted in the beds at the end of winter. Cleaning ends at the end of autumn. Of course, you should pay attention to the weather conditions.

If the planting of cucumber seedlings is planned in the spring, then cultivation should be reduced to one stage. Work is carried out in early April. As for the harvest, it is received already in early autumn. Of course, in order to achieve such a result, you need to properly approach the care of the crop and know what cucumbers like in the greenhouse.

What kind of soil do cucumbers

For this crop, the best option would be loamy, as well as sandy loamy loose soil. As for acidic soils, they are not suitable for planting cucumbersThe acidity of the soil mixture is also important. Neutral soil is considered the ideal solution. Also suitable soil for cucumbers with low acidity.

How to determine acidity

When the soil is being prepared in a greenhouse, it is necessary to conduct an analysis to determine the level of acidity. If the analysis shows a value of 7, then you can safely proceed to planting plants. As already mentioned, the acidity of the soil is of great importance for the growth and development of the plant. Not to mention the fertility of the culture. Here the rule is quite simple. The higher the indicator, the higher the probability of normal plant development. But, at the same time, too high acidity of the soil negatively affects growth.

This needs an expert opinion. To do this, you need to seek help from a specialized laboratory. The analysis is carried out using a special Alyamovsky device.If desired and possible, you can purchase this device, which will allow you to determine the condition of the soil at any time. Of course, this option is suitable for farmers who grow cucumbers on a large scale.

An equally popular option is to use special litmus paper. It can be found in a store that sells chemicals. Soil analysis is carried out in the following sequence:

• cut off the top 30 cm thick layer of humus;
• moisten it with distilled water;
• wrap part of the mixture in paper and knead.

As a result of this, the paper will change color. The color is compared with the control scale. Next, coincidentally set the acidity of the soil.

If this is not possible, then the usual method of observation and analysis should be used.So, if woodlice, horse sorrel or horsetail sprout on the territory, this indicates that the soil here has a high acidity. The only solution is downgrading. It is best to do this with slaked lime, which is freely available. If a clover or a vegetable garden grows on the territory, then this indicates that its acidity is low.

The soil is prepared very carefully. This is very important, since the yield of cucumbers depends on it. If you cook everything well, the result will be amazing.

Greenhouse preparation

Before planting cucumbers, it is necessary to carry out a number of preparatory work. And this applies not only to the soil, but also to the greenhouse itself. If a crop is planted in one place from year to year, then you should not hope for a good harvest. This problem can be solved in different ways. So, if there is such an opportunity, then the greenhouse is moved to another place.This method is used in the case of mobile structures. The problem is also solved by changing or updating the soil.

After harvesting, the land is cultivated and the greenhouse is disinfected. For this, lime chloride is used. Each slot is carefully smeared with a residue of the used solution. After that, the soil is dug up and carefully sprinkled with lime in powder form. In the spring, before planting, the top layer is removed, and then the site is dug up.

If we are talking about a rack greenhouse, then a complete change of soil is carried out here. Waste humus is thrown away. Cow dung is laid on the bottom of the containers. The thickness of the pillow is approximately 10 cm. New earth is poured on top of it. The work is carried out in several stages. First, 10 cm of soil is poured, and after a few days another 15 cm is added.

How to cultivate the land in a greenhouse

Spring soil preparation is carried out very carefully. Particular attention is paid to the choice of soil base for cucumbers. It must have the following qualities:

• good throughput as well as absorbency;
• high fertility;
• allowable level of acidity.

The best option here would be to use humus, as well as soddy soil. Peat, humus, and field soil are used as a substrate. If we are talking about the introduction of nutrients, then the base can be made from all the components in the following ratio:

• peat - 50%;
• humus - 30%;
• field soil - 20%.

To increase the yield several times, experts recommend adding tree bark to peat, which can be crushed beforehand. Mature tree foliage is also often used instead.

When planting cucumbers in glass structures, hot-type biofuels are often used. A bookmark from this substance is made in the middle of spring. The biofuel is placed in a 30 cm thick cushion. Immediately before planting, the soil is treated with lime fluff. Wood ash is also used for this. The next step is to cover the pillow with a film. This will release harmful gases that adversely affect plant growth.

The land used to grow cucumbers is carefully checked for weeds. Backfilling is carried out in several stages. To begin with, an earthen cushion 15 cm thick is arranged over the entire area. In places where the beds will be arranged, add another 15 cm of humus.

To ensure the normal development of the plant, it is necessary to think about feeding the soil. For planting cucumbers in a greenhouse, ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate will be the best option.

How to prepare a garden bed

When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, medium-level beds are often used. They are formed by a wide-row, as well as a tape method. In the first case, the distance between rows is 0.8 m. As for the tape formation, here the gap is half as much - 0.4 m. Such a bed for cucumbers will allow you to harvest more.

Feeding cucumbers

Before sowing this crop in a greenhouse, special attention should be paid to top dressing. A common option here is to use ash. With its help, you can significantly increase the yield of the crop. But, in addition to this, cucumbers need to be fed using other fertilizers that have a certain effect. If the bed is prepared and fertilized correctly, then the harvest will be very good.

In the first weeks after planting in prepared soil, cucumbers do not need fertilizer. Here it will be enough to use nitrogen recharge. Phosphorus supplementation is applied before inflorescences appear. During flowering and fruit formation, plants begin to consume a large amount of nutrients. Therefore, culture must be handled very carefully. Fertilization is carried out a month later, after planting seedlings. This will create a supply of nutrients that are necessary for the normal development of plants.

To begin with, experts recommend using nitrogen-potassium fertilizers. This is quite enough at the initial stage of growing a crop. Fertilizing gardens is best done in the evening. After adding the substance, the plant is watered with warm water. Additionally, fertile soil is poured under the root. It is worth noting here that greenhouse seedlings absorb liquid fertilizers better.

In addition to nitrogen fertilizers, cow and bird droppings, as well as manure are widely used for top dressing. To increase the effectiveness of the substance, they are combined with mineral fertilizers.

You can increase the yield of cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse by increasing the level of carbon dioxide in the air. To do this, you just need to install a barrel half-filled with manure in a closed space. Water is added to the top. The contents of the barrel are stirred daily. After a few days, fermentation begins, which is accompanied by the release of carbon dioxide. In the future, the contents are used as fertilizer.

Soil preparation for cucumbers in a greenhouse in spring must be done very carefully. Here we are talking not only about updating or enriching the soil, but also about preparing the structure itself. Therefore, this work must be approached very carefully.

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