How to tie cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse: better and right with photo video

Table Of Contents

Why is this done
Tools and materials
Basic Methods
Other methods
Garter organization rules
Conclusion

During the cultivation of cucumbers, you need to carefully care for the bushes. Many vegetable growers are engaged in their garter, which prevents young fruits from rotting on the ground. It is quite difficult for inexperienced people to do this. Therefore, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself in advance with how to tie up cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse.

Why is this done

Not everyone knows whether it is necessary to tie up cucumbers or you can do without it. To understand, you should familiarize yourself with what the garter is for.

There are several main reasons why you need to make a garter to the supports. This is done to:

simplify the process of picking ripe cucumbers;
prevent tendrils from clinging to neighboring bushes;
preserve the harvest and keep the flowers from falling off;
improve bush lighting.

Cucumbers belong to the gourd family and therefore, during cultivation, they spread over the surface of the soil. If you do not tie them to supports in a timely manner, then in the future it will be possible to lose most of the fruits even during flowering. Bushes that are not tied to a support suffer from a lack of light and because of this, their flowers begin to crumble. Also, some of the fruits can be lost during their ripening. If they lie on the ground for a long time, the process of decay will begin.

The lighting of tied bushes is improved several times as they are closer to the light source. This allows light to reach even the ovaries and fruits of the plant, and not just its leaves. Thus, the growth and development of young bushes is improved.

If the vegetable grower refuses to tie cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse, then there will be a risk of adhesion of the shoots of neighboring bushes. This leads to the fact that they grow worse. It is also much more difficult to harvest from untied bushes. You often have to bend over and look for the fruits.

During the harvest from the ground, there is a possibility of damage to plants. Therefore, it is better to figure out in advance how to properly tie cucumbers in a greenhouse and do it.

Garting cucumbers in a greenhouse is performed a month after planting the seedlings in the soil. By this time, young bushes should grow to 30-40 cm and about five flowers should appear on them. It is better not to transfer this procedure and perform it exactly at such times. Young seedlings are much easier to tie, as their stem is still quite elastic. Older bushes often break if bent too hard.

Tools and materials

Proper tying of cucumbers in a greenhouse should be done with tools and materials that can secure the bushes well to the supports. For this you will need:

poles made of iron or wood;
strong wire that won't sag;
plastic or metal mesh.

It is very important to choose the most suitable tying material that would not damage the fragile stems of the bushes. Some gardeners use wire or fishing line for this. However, such material is completely unsuitable, because over time it will begin to pinch the plant and because of this it may die.

The best choice would be cotton fabric, cut into several small strips 2-5 cm wide. It is quite durable and can cope with serious loads without problems.At the same time, it will not harm the stems, since wide fabric strips will not pinch them. You can also use synthetic nylon fabrics instead. Their advantages include the fact that they do not pinch the plant and stretch well. Before using any tying material, it should be disinfected. It is carried out using a chlorine solution or boiling water.

For a more reliable attachment of the bushes to the support, you can use special tools. Some garden stores sell plastic clips that hold the fruit and tie the stems. Their main advantage is that they can be used for several seasons in a row.

Gardeners with experience use a special garter, the principle of which is very similar to a stapler. Using this device, the support is wrapped around the stem and attached with a strong tape.

Basic Methods

Before you grow cucumbers, you should learn the methods of their garters. There are various ways to garter cucumbers in a greenhouse. However, there are two main methods that are used most often.

Vertical tying

Before tying cucumbers in a greenhouse, you need to familiarize yourself with the vertical method. During the application of this method, you will have to use a strong cord. The rope is stuck into the soil with a peg, anchor or staple. The second end rises to the bus, located almost under the roof itself. The top tire can be made by yourself. Quite often it is made from ordinary wire, twine or a small wooden slat.

After creating and installing the tire, the stem of the bush can be tied to a rope.

Also, the stem can be tied up at the bottom. Some gardeners tie an extra string between the second and third leaf.To prevent the lace from tearing out and damaging the bush, it is recommended to pull it with a small sag. Tie the cord at the top with a slipknot or loop. This is done so that in the future it will be possible to regulate its position.

Cucumbers tied up in a vertical way are better to collect. The vertical arrangement of the stems improves lighting. Also, this method of garter makes it possible to monitor the position of the stems and, if necessary, adjust it.

Horizontal tying

Not all gardeners know how to tie up cucumbers in a greenhouse in a horizontal way. For this, a rope and several laces are used, which must be pulled with a ladder. This is done at a distance of 45 cm from the soil. The interval between each attached rope is made approximately the same.

Sometimes people don't want to spend time pulling their shoelaces. In this case, they can be replaced with a grid or trellises.The mesh is fixed between two high supports, which are located at the edges of the beds. The stems of the tied bushes will wrap around in a horizontal line, and the ripened cucumbers will begin to hang down. During the growth of the bushes, you will have to periodically shift the mustache. If side shoots appear, they will have to be placed on the nearest horizontal.

This method is most suitable if you grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, as in this case the bushes will not grow too high. However, because of this, there is a possibility that adjacent tendrils will cling to each other.

Other methods

In addition to the basic methods of tying, there are other methods that are used a little less often. You also need to familiarize yourself with them in order to understand which of the considered methods is the most suitable.

Mixed method

Most often it is used if the cucumbers were planted using a circular pattern. In this case, 10-15 iron bars are dug into the ground in such a way as to form a cone. Then a fine mesh is pulled over them, through the holes of which the stems and tendrils of the bushes will be launched.

It is quite easy to make a garter on the made cone design. To do this, it is enough to stretch the antennae into the holes, and over time they will independently begin to braid the mesh. It is not recommended to use a mixed method to fix too young seedlings.

Use twine

It is recommended to use this method when the bushes have already grown 20-25 cm in height and have five true leaves. If you use twine to tie seedlings that are too young, you can accidentally break them.

Most often, vertical twine is used for gartering greenhouse cucumbers. In this case, the loops are tied around the third or second leaf. And do not tighten the loop too tight, as this may adversely affect the development and growth of the stems.

Sometimes stakes are used to fix the twine. They must be placed near the planted bushes.It is recommended to use not too high pegs. The optimal height is one meter, but higher supports can sometimes be used. In addition to stakes, you will also need fabric strips that will be used to attach whips.

Strips of fabric will be needed until the bush grows to the intersection of the twine with the peg. After that, they can be removed, since the stem can be fixed to the twine.

Using a hedge

This method is not popular among vegetable growers, but it is quite convenient. To make a hedge for a garter, you will need a strong mesh that will have to be stretched along a row with planted cucumbers. To ensure high-quality fastening, the bushes are tied to the hedge with a strong rope. Installing the grid is quite simple. To do this, several high stakes will have to be placed along the entire length of the row, to which the grid will be attached.

The main advantage of this method is that in the future the bush can be gradually tied up to different levels.

Arc garter

Quite often, cucumbers are planted under arcs, to which they will be tied in the future. To create arcs, a strong wire is used, which is dug in near each row. This method is not very common among gardeners, as it is most often used when growing a large number of cucumbers.

Blinding

This method has been used by gardeners for many years to tie cucumbers. In this case, the main stem of the bush is tied to a special trellis. After that, all unnecessary shoots and mustaches located in the upper part of the bush are removed from the plant.

Garter organization rules

There are a few basic rules to follow when tying cucumbers to supports:

Tie up only seedlings over 30 cm high.
First, it is recommended to dig in supports and only then plant seedlings.
The stem is tied only after the third or second leaf. At the same time, do not press down the plant too much, as this may adversely affect the intake of nutrients.
High whips are cut off at the height of the garter. This is done to improve the development and growth of seedlings.
When leaving two lashes, choose only the strongest side shoots.
When creating supports, it is better to use pegs made of wood. Iron supports will begin to oxidize over time and harm the bushes, and plastic slats will not be able to cope with serious loads. Also good supports are made of plastic pipes. However, they will have to be dug deep into the ground for greater reliability.
You need to tie up the stems with garden ropes, twine or fabric strips. Some gardeners use strips made from plastic bottles.
To reduce the load, it is recommended to install supports every one and a half meters.

Conclusion

It's very easy to learn how to make your own cucumber garter. To do this, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with how to properly tie cucumbers in a greenhouse and what materials will be needed for this.