How to pinch cucumbers in the open field correctly, photo and video

The mistake of many inexperienced owners who do not know the nuances of how to pinch cucumbers correctly is to apply one chosen scheme to all types and varieties of cultivated crops. In fact, there are several methods by which cucumbers are pinched, and they strictly separate the procedure for carrying out the procedure in open and closed ground.

Why pinch the side shoots of cucumbers and is there any real benefit from this?

The essence of the procedure for pinching cucumbers

Pinching cucumbers has another name - blindness. This operation is performed in order to provoke the formation and promote the rapid growth of lateral shoots from the main stem of the cucumber bush. What is it for and why pinch cucumbers?

With the natural growth of the bush, without human intervention in this process, the plant basically produces “idle”, male shoots, characteristic in that, when the flower wilts on them, the ovary of the fetus does not occur. Needless to say, such a plant will respond with a meager harvest even to the most careful care.

For full fruiting, each plant must have a paired set of female and male inflorescences and the creation of female, and there is an actual task of such a method as pinching cucumbers.

An important condition for the procedure is the preservation of he althy seedling leaves. The value of the leaf is in the unique combination of trace elements, after which it turns into growing vegetables. For the same reason, it is necessary to remove leaves that are rotten, damaged by insects or starting to turn yellow in time.

If the cucumber blinding algorithm is followed correctly, as a result we get a bush of the following form: a long liana with short shoots coming from the stem.Experienced owners go further and do not allow the shoots of the lower sinuses to grow, removing them from the base. Stepchildren, which are formed in a leafy rosette, and small cucumbers, which appear in the lower four sheets, are subjected to the same procedure. Such pinching of cucumbers in the open field or in a greenhouse preserves the strength of the plant for abundant fruiting.

Competent pinching

Even when the seedlings are just transferred from the seedling box to the ground, it is already taken into account that in the future the bushes will need to be pinched. The optimal distance between cucumbers is determined in advance at least 30 cm, and a trellis is installed near each creeper for a future garter. Seedlings of cucumbers are usually tied up 12-15 days after planting a seedling, and it is recommended to use soft copper wire or tight twine.

Hybridity or purity of a variety, type of plant according to the type of pollination - all these nuances are taken into account when the question arises of how exactly to pinch cucumbers, and whether it should be done at all.Since there are a lot of varieties of these bushes, it is conventionally customary to divide them into two main categories: parthenocarpic (self-pollinating) and insect-pollinating. The following differentiation of culture occurs according to the ripening of fruits: Renne, medium and late-ripening varieties.

The basic method of how to properly pinch cucumbers can be applied both indoors and outdoors:

First, a garter is made, and the attachment of the cotyledon leaves is avoided, and the twine itself is not tightly applied, just to fix the top in the desired position;
six sheets are counted from the bottom and above the sixth sheet the crown is trimmed;
cucumbers pollinated by insects have only weak, non-viable shoots removed, leaving four growth points;
hybrids retain 3 strong shoots;
with the beginning of flowering, the formation of the bush stops.

Leaves need to be preserved to the maximum, but only if they are completely he althy and not damaged, so you need to pinch cucumbers in open or closed ground carefully, without pinching the leaves with twine and not twisting them with wire. You should also pay attention to the presence of insects and remove those parts of the plant that have been badly affected by their activities.

Pinching outdoors

Whether it is necessary to pinch cucumbers in the open field, again depends on the plant variety, which in turn is characterized by the length of the side shoots. In the presence of scanty branches, it is not necessary to pinch cucumbers in the open field. If the shoots are of medium and high length, the top is removed as soon as the central shoot reaches a meter length. The development of shoots on other shoots is also adjusted.

When tying is not possible because the planting was too dense, pinching cucumbers means removing the growing points located on top of the fourth leaf on the main shoot and on top of the second on the side shoot.

Hybrids are blinded a little differently - side shoots and all axillary shoots are removed from them.

Insect-pollinated cucumbers, as the most in need of care, require pinching with mandatory preliminary tying, so they are placed at a sufficient distance from each other in the garden and a trellis is installed in advance. Step-by-step instructions for blinding such varieties include strict adherence to important conditions:

distance between seedlings - from 30 to 45 cm;
tying up is carried out no earlier than the 10th and no later than the 15th day from planting seedlings;
not only shoots are removed from the bottom of the bush, but also the very first ovaries, because the emerging cucumbers pull all the juices of the plant onto themselves and do not allow the upper ovaries to form;
be sure to keep all he althy leafy greens.

The liana is modeled in this way:

the top is cut off above the 6th sheet, and the side branches can be tied up so that they calmly curl further;
all but the 3 most viable sprouts break off;
shoots are examined, while all weak ovaries are removed and no more than 4 pieces are left on each shoot.

The late varieties of these vegetables require the closest attention - when growing such cucumbers, pinching is carried out in any case.

Blinding of parthenocarpic varieties

Self-pollinated cucumbers are completely independent and more often than others are supposed to be sown in the regions of the middle lane. Growing them does not require much trouble in terms of modeling the pattern of the liana, since the bush quickly throws out the required number of shoots, on which, over time, a full-fledged ovary is formed from almost every flower.

Why pinch cucumbers in the open field, if the yield does not depend on it? The fact is that letting the cucumber liana grow as it pleases, there is a risk of getting a wild, long and completely useless plant, randomly dotted with unformed fruits. Therefore, by adjusting the growth, the gardener at the same time improves the quality of each fruit unit. When to pinch such cucumbers? Just like any other, between 10 and 15 days from the moment of planting seedlings.

Scheme of how to pinch cucumbers in the open field, if they are self-pollinated varieties:

the bush is tied to the reference element;
when the main stem reaches a height of 50 cm, all shoots from below are removed, along with flower rosettes and small cucumbers - this will become an area of \u200b\u200bdazzle;
on top of the designated area, side lashes are stopped, growing over the first sheet;
at a distance of 40-50 cm from the blind area, a formed ovary and 2-3 leaves are left;
further, four shoots with 2-3 ovaries on each are kept at a distance already meters;
even higher, after 40-50 cm, on the same number of shoots, you can save 4 cucumbers and 3-4 leaves each.

Often, after the manipulations, the plant begins to grow even more intensively - in this case, the vine is thrown over the bar stuffed on top of the support and the bush grows further down. When 25-30 cm remains to the ground , the growing point of the cucumber is cut off, and it stops stretching in length.

Do hybrid cucumbers require pinching

The task of breeders involved in breeding suitable for home cultivation, unpretentious varieties of culture, for a long time was to create species that do not need pinching at all.These varieties belong to the single-stem type - let's take Sarov F1 as an example, or to hybrid derivatives that release a small amount of underdeveloped shoots. Such varieties were given the name: Valdai F1, Understudy F1, Blizzard F1.

On the main (or only) stem of cucumber hybrids there is a sufficient number of fruitful inflorescences, but in some cases it is necessary to provoke their appearance, for which pinching is used. When buying seeds of one of the hybrid varieties, you need to check with the seller about the need for this procedure.

Pinching in hybrid varieties has its own pattern:

side lashes need to be removed at the stage of formation of the fifth leaf;
counting the next 6 leaves, you need to pinch off a little at the lateral process, leaving about a quarter of a meter on the bush;
the next pinch is done after another 6 sheets, but leaving already about half a meter of the process;
in conclusion, after waiting for the formation of six more sheets, pinch the top.
gardeners with extensive experience are unequivocally sure that whatever variety is in the ground, pinching is necessary until the barren flowers are completely removed, since the presence of “male” flowers is one of the reasons why cucumbers give off bitterness. Accordingly, the more empty flowers take strength from the cucumber stalk, the more bitterness will come through.

Procedure in greenhouse conditions

Cucumbers intended for planting in a greenhouse are formed into one stem, removing shoots so that they can accommodate no more than two fruit-bearing inflorescences.Varieties Ritual, Malachite, Poplar, that is, varieties actively hitting the branching, are organized in this way.

On the contrary, cultivars with conditionally degraded lateral shoots require a look at this procedure. If the plant grows on its own into one stem, and the branches do not reach an interfering length, it is not recommended at all.

Pay attention to the varieties to which this warning applies: April, Zozulya, Doubler. They are all marked F1 and require minimal adjustment.

Among owners who emphasize growing crops in greenhouses, a method that allows you to harvest within 5-6 months is popular. For this method, it is required to pinch the top of the head at the part of the gudina located on the wire or crossbar of the trellis, and start two branches down the support, on which more shoots will subsequently grow. They do not need to be touched, as the flowers that appear on the lashes will become fruitful.

Don't forget about the organization of the so-called blind area, which is formed at a distance of half a meter from the ground. In the area included in this zone, there should be neither ovaries nor side shoots. You should also regulate the mass of deciduous formation - at least one full-fledged he althy leaf should remain for each ovary.