Preparation of cucumber seeds for planting in the ground, for seedlings, in the greenhouse

Every year from January to March for each gardener there comes an exciting moment - harvesting seedlings of your favorite vegetables. All gardeners, of course, have their own trade secrets to get an excellent harvest. But what to do for those who do not have too much experience in such matters? Preparing cucumber seeds and planting cucumber in open ground or a greenhouse - these questions are of great interest to many beginning summer residents. So let's dwell on the main points.

Choosing the right seeds

First of all, the preparation of cucumber seeds for planting begins with the selection of high-quality seed. If you neglect this point, all efforts can go to dust, you will not get a crop.

The highest quality are full, heavy seeds of large sizes. Defining such is very simple - this is done using a solution of sodium chloride. In one liter of water you need to dissolve 30 g (a little more than a tablespoon) of salt and mix thoroughly. In this solution, seeds should be lowered and left for 10-15 minutes. After this time, you will see that part of the seed sank, and some remained floating on the surface of the water. This is the "dummy" that you can safely get rid of - the crop from them still does not work. After the manipulations, rinse the remaining seeds with clean running water for several minutes and proceed to the next step.

The choice of capacity for seedlings

The next item, which includes preparing the seeds of the cucumbers for planting, is the choice of container where they will grow. The beauty of growing cucumber seedlings is that you can do it in anything - the main thing is that two conditions are met:

• the diameter of the container should be at least 5–7 cm;
• you need to make as many drainage holes as possible;

You can use for planting plastic cups, containers of yogurt or sour cream, tetrapaki made from milk or kefir, and so on. You can also spend a little money - now a huge number of various plastic and peat cups, small greenhouse containers equipped with transparent covers, and much more are offered in gardener stores. You can also grow seedlings in peat tablets. Experienced gardeners still prefer square-shaped containers - it is believed that they create more favorable conditions for the root system of plants than round ones.

Another way to save money on containers is to make them yourself from several layers of newsprint or cardboard. Their only drawback is that such cups dry out faster, but this problem can be eliminated by laying a capillary mat, a thin piece of foam rubber or synthetic winterizer in the pallet for seedlings.

The soil

Even if the preparation of the seeds of the cucumbers for planting was successful, you still will not have a good harvest if you choose the wrong soil. This stage is also extremely important - it depends on it whether your seedlings will be strong and strong, and the crop will be rich.

For growing seedlings, ordinary land taken in the garden or the nearest front garden is not suitable. Firstly, it may contain weed seeds, which will not allow cucumbers to sprout well, and secondly, such soil is compressed very quickly and sprouts receive little air and moisture.

For cucumbers, a soil mixture of the following composition is most suitable:

• 2 parts of compost or dung humus;
• 2 parts of peat taken from the lowlands;
• 1 part of last year’s sawdust;

All components must be thoroughly mixed. Then for each bucket of soil mix you need to add:

• 3 tbsp. l wood ash (pre-sift);
• 1 tbsp. l the drug "Kemir-universal" or "Solution";
• 1 tbsp. l nitrofoski;
• 1 tsp urea
• 1 tbsp. l crushed superphosphate double;
• 1 tsp potassium sulfate.

Of course, you can use other mixtures, but the easiest way is to buy a ready-made store substrate. If you still decide to harvest the soil yourself, then you need to do this in the fall, so that during the winter the mixture is properly frozen in the barn or on the balcony. This will greatly reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria. Also, to destroy the causative agents of various diseases, the soil is recommended to be steamed. This is done very simply:

• about a liter of water is poured into the old bucket;
• a fine mesh, a sieve or some jar with holes made in it is placed on top;
• put the earth in a sieve and use a stick or spoon to make a wide funnel in the center.

The steam bath is ready. Next, the structure is covered with a lid and placed on fire for 40–45 minutes. After the soil mixture has been steamed well, it is cooled, mixed well and laid out in containers for planting.

Cooking seeds

Preparing the seeds of cucumbers for planting on seedlings is a very responsible matter, because you need to properly prepare not only the soil, but also the sowing material. First of all, it also needs to be disinfected. To do this, the selected seeds are soaked for 15–20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 g per 0.5 l of water), after which they are washed with clean water.

Further, the preparation of cucumber seeds for planting is as follows - clean, disinfected seeds are placed in bags of soft tissue or several layers of gauze and soaked for 12 hours. The nutrient mixture solution may be as follows:

• 1 tsp nitrofoski;
• 1 tsp wood ash;
• 1 liter of pure water.

After the specified time, the seeds are washed again and put on a damp cloth or gauze for swelling for 1–2 days at t = + 23 ° C. In this case, be sure to ensure that future cucumbers do not sprout, but only “hatch”. At the end of all procedures, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator for 24-40 hours.

Germination

After all the manipulations done, the preparation of the seeds of the cucumbers before planting can be considered finished. Next, we move on to the next stage - sprouting seedlings. There are two ways to do this:

1. Put the seeds on a flat plate or saucer, placing them between several layers of gauze. Place the structure in a warm place and make sure that the seeds, on the one hand, do not dry out, and on the other hand, do not float in water. The fastest process will go at a temperature of 28-30 ° C.
2. You can sow seeds that are stuck right in the pots. This, of course, is faster, but you won’t be able to understand which seeds have germinated and which haven’t.

We plant in open ground

The preparation of cucumber seeds for planting in the soil differs from the greenhouse only in one point - good hardening. If you remember, after all treatments the seeds are placed in the refrigerator. This is it - hardening. This is done in order to germinate well and at a low temperature. In addition, when planting in open ground, cucumbers that have been hardened at the seed stage, “throw out” female flowers much earlier, which means that the crop will be larger and ripen faster.

In order to increase the plant's resistance to extreme outdoor temperatures, adult seedlings are also hardened. The week before landing, the containers are little by little taken out onto the street (on the balcony) in the daytime, evening, and nighttime, while the daily stay is increased by 15–20 minutes.

Greenhouse - when to plant

The preparation of cucumber seeds for planting in the greenhouse is practically no different from the “ground” one. Only the planting dates differ here, and in this case many people neglect seed hardening.

Seeds in the greenhouse can be sown already in early to mid-April, and full seedlings will feel good there in early May. If your greenhouse is film-free and does not have heating, then you can make a design consisting of two layers of polyethylene, leaving a gap of 2.5-3.5 cm between them. This will avoid any spring frosts and save your crops.

Landing Features

When the preparation of cucumber seeds for planting in the greenhouse is done, the soil should also be prepared. It is best to start preparation in the fall - to process the earth with a solution of bleach. In the spring, before planting, the soil should be "steamed" well with boiling water with potassium permanganate diluted in it; the solution should not be very strong, bright pink.

If there is such a need, mineral fertilizers should be applied to the soil and well loosened.

You need to plant the cucumbers in small grooves, 1.5–2 cm deep, and sprinkle the top with a mixture of half in half with wood sawdust. This method of planting will allow you to retain moisture longer and provide a good harvest.

Cucumber Care

Of course, the proper preparation of cucumber seeds for planting is very important, but the subsequent care of the plants is no less important. Cucumbers are very hygrophilous, so, first of all, you need to provide excellent watering, best with a drip system. Note that you need to water with warm water, since cold or even cool significantly slows down the growth of the plant. At the same time, you need to make sure that water, and especially fertilizer, does not get on the leaves of the cucumber, otherwise they may “burn out”.

It is also worthwhile to loosen the soil as often as possible, trying, however, not to damage the stem - it is very fragile. If you grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, then try to ensure constant ventilation, especially in warm weather. This will very well affect the growth and yield of cucumbers.