The homeland of cucumbers is considered to be the tropical and subtropical region of India, where they grow in completely wild conditions for about six thousand years. Today, cucumbers grow in almost all countries. It is not known exactly by whom and when they were brought to Russia, however, starting from the 16th century, raw and pickled fruits were already on the tables of rich people. At the moment, a huge number of dishes can not even be imagined without this vegetable.
Cucumbers in greenhouse conditions
Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round is a pretty profitable business. In these conditions, it is possible to create a microclimate that is most optimal for high and fairly stable productivity. The heated greenhouse will allow this crop to bear fruit all year round, and the autumn and winter crops will bring profit, sometimes several times higher than incomes from the summer months. Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round as a business is very profitable. The profitability of such enterprises is high - it reaches 400-600%.
What is needed for growing cucumbers in a greenhouse
In order to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse in winter and all year round, you must:
- Create favorable conditions inside the greenhouse. As a rule, they depend on the materials from which these structures are made.
- Make the right choice of the most productive varieties of cucumbers.
- Decide when exactly the cucumbers will be grown, since the choice of varieties depends on this.
- Perform soil preparation and create all the necessary systems to provide greenhouses.
Greenhouses
How to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round? First of all, you need to properly make a greenhouse:
- It should have a coating that will reliably retain heat inside the structure.
- The greenhouse should have a frame that can withstand the weight of the coating. And if the cultivation of cucumbers is planned for more than one year, then it must also be strong, sufficiently reliable and resistant to weather conditions.
Designs of greenhouses can have a variety of shapes and sizes, differ in height and material of manufacture.
Material for the manufacture of greenhouses
Currently, greenhouse frames are:
Metal carcass
They make it from a channel, profile pipes or a large diameter of reinforcement (depending on the selected material for coating).
For a reinforcing cage, the best option would be to use a simple plastic film, which is commercially available in a large assortment. In its properties, it is in no way inferior to the often used polycarbonate.
For the frame of pipes, you can use absolutely any coating material. The most common option is the use of reinforced plastic film or cellular polycarbonate.
If you plan to grow cucumbers in greenhouses all year round, it is better to use cellular polycarbonate. With proper heating, it is able to maintain a constant temperature inside.
Metal frames can be used up to 10 years or more. However, it should be borne in mind that due to irrigation inside the greenhouse, air humidity rises, and this negatively affects the metal. To protect the frame, it must be covered with paint or varnish after construction.
Wood frame
It is less practical since wood has a much shorter life than metal. It is also subject to weather and climate influences.
After manufacturing, such a frame is necessarily painted, which allows you to protect the wood from the harmful effects and significantly increase its life.
The main advantage of a wooden frame is its environmental friendliness. In addition, it is durable and reliable.
Both metal and wooden frames can be made on their own. If the greenhouse is large, it would be better to fill it with a small base for strength. The cost of a wooden frame is lower than a metal one, which ensures an increased demand for these particular structures.
To cover a wooden frame use:
- different kind of film;
- cellular polycarbonate;
- glass.
With a cellular polycarbonate or glass coating, you can grow cucumbers in a greenhouse in winter and all year round.
Grade selection
Growing cucumbers in greenhouses all year round begins with the right choice of seeds. There are a huge number of both ordinary and hybrid varieties that produce good fruit in greenhouses.
To grow cucumbers in greenhouses all year round, seeds of varieties are selected that:
- tolerate temperature extremes and are frost-resistant;
- characterized by frequent bearing;
- resistant to disease;
- the taste is not bitter;
- Do not need thorough care.
The most popular varieties for greenhouses today are:
- "Cartoon" - fruiting begins 40 days after planting.
- โCourageโ - bears fruit after 45 days of planting. Cucumber is quite long.
- "Barcelona" - is an early ripening variety of cucumbers. It is most often used in the greenhouse business.
- "Beaver" - has increased resistance to low temperature effects. Used for growing in winter time.
- "Shchedryk" is an early and productive variety. Used at different times of the year.
- "Matrix" - refers to the most popular variety. The cucumber itself is not very long, has good resistance to disease.
Also, the best hybrid varieties of cucumbers include Emelya, Annushka, Dynamite and Hercules.
It is recommended that you purchase F1 seeds that have the best characteristics. Removing infected and "empty" seeds can be done with water and a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Seeds are poured with a solution per 1 g of potassium permanganate per 150 ml of water. This will kill pathogens. Next, the seeds are washed with clean water ("empty" will pop up). This is done immediately before planting the seeds.
Soil for growing cucumbers
Before you start growing cucumbers in a greenhouse year-round (see photo below), you need to prepare the soil for this. It is fertilized and cleaned of different vegetation, which can have a negative impact on the development of the root system of cucumbers.
To prevent the drying out of the soil and to allow the root system to develop freely, sawdust is added to it. For fertilizer use minerals. To enhance the growth of cucumbers, it is recommended to use saltpeter, but only if the greenhouse business is large-scale.
Growing cucumbers in greenhouses all year round
Two methods of planting cucumbers are used:
- ready-made seedlings that can be grown both directly in the greenhouse (when all conditions are created) and at home;
- seeds.
To land you must have:
- peat cups or other small containers, such as plastic bottles with a small displacement;
- pre-fertilized soil;
- seeds disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in a liquid for several hours.
Seeds for seedlings are placed in a nutrient substrate. When favorable conditions are created, the seeds will germinate within four to five days. Fertilizing seedlings is carried out when its first leaf appears and a few days before transplanting into greenhouse soil.
Transplanting seedlings can be performed when two or three leaves appear on the bush (after about 20-25 days). During this period, the daytime air temperature inside the greenhouse should not be higher than 18 degrees, and the night temperature should not be 15. In addition, you need to monitor the nutrition, irrigation and lighting of seedlings. Watering seedlings is best done with warm water. On a cloudy day, additional lighting must be included.
Sometimes it happens that seedlings or seeds are not accepted. The appearance of new leaves and the beginning of flowering will indicate that its root system feels quite comfortable in the ground.
Planting seedlings
Growing cucumbers in greenhouses all year round cannot do without improvised garden tools, such as:
- hoe;
- small shoulder blade;
- rake etc.
Landing is carried out in the following order:
- First of all, with the help of a tool, the location of each row of landing is determined and special trenches or individual holes are made.
- The distance between the cucumbers is done depending on the variety. Some varieties of hybrids require a lot of space for normal development. The most optimal distance between the bushes of cucumbers is 30-50 cm.
- Near each of the bushes, seedlings insert a metal rod or wooden stick into the ground. Seedlings as they grow will be tied to them.
Planting seedlings is carried out so that the root system is in the soil in which it grew. It is transplanted together with a lump of soil located in a peat cup or some other capacity.
When is the first watering of seedlings
After planting in greenhouse soil, you can irrigate seedlings only after a few days, as it should be acclimatized in a greenhouse. It is better to give preference to drip irrigation, which can saturate the root system with the necessary amount of moisture and significantly save the expense of finance, since it belongs to the most economical one. Fertilizing seedlings is performed after it is well accepted.
Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round: yield
The yield of cucumbers in modern greenhouses is approximately 30-45 kg per square meter, which is a good indicator, since the crop can be harvested several times a year.