Wanting to get a crop of cucumbers for fame, many summer residents are thinking about growing this plant in a greenhouse. With this method, fruiting is much higher than in open ground. However, in order to get a big crop, you need to know how to choose the right varieties and what should be the care of cucumbers in a greenhouse.
Grade selection
To begin the implementation of the plan for growing cucumbers in the greenhouse should be the choice of seeds. To get a big crop, you must carefully read the information on the packaging. In it, manufacturers indicate which type a variety belongs to and whether it is suitable for growing in a greenhouse. But there is no mention of caring for cucumbers in the greenhouse, because not every summer resident will plant plants under cover.
So, cucumber varieties are divided into two groups: self-pollinated and bee pollinated. It is recommended to plant self-pollinated plants in greenhouses. They don’t need insects to get a crop. Otherwise, it will be necessary to lure bees and hornets into the greenhouse so that they pollinate, or pollinate by hand, armed with a brush and a magnifying glass.
When choosing a variety, the following parameters must be taken into account:
- Sowing dates. If you plan to get an early harvest, then you should give preference to shade-hardy varieties. Breeders bred varieties capable of producing good crops in extreme conditions. For example, the April variety, which is ideal for harvesting in April-May.
- Ripening dates. Manufacturers indicate on the packaging the timing of fruit ripening. Usually, all varieties ripen on the fortieth day, but there are early ripening crops that yield crops on the 33rd day, and there are late cucumbers, the first crop of which is removed on the 55th day.
- Disease resistance. In a greenhouse, plants are subjected to a variety of diseases, so it is important to choose resistant varieties. In this way, the multiplicity of culture treatments with various fungicides can be reduced.
- Plant growth. Some varieties do not have growth restrictions, but there are those that themselves form lashes and limit their growth.
After selecting the seeds, they are prepared and then sown. Such varieties as Athlete, Pomegranate, White Angel, German, Crystal, Regatta, Hercules, Garland, Emelya, Annushka, Dynamite are suitable for the greenhouse. Among these varieties there are self-pollinated and bee-pollinated plants.
Seed preparation and sowing
Caring for cucumbers in a greenhouse begins with proper seed preparation. First you need to process them. Each summer resident has his own secret of processing plant seeds: someone does this using a solution of potassium permanganate, and someone uses boric acid. In any of the solutions, the seeds are soaked for a couple of hours, after which they are thoroughly washed under running water. Then they are sown for seedlings in containers or immediately sown in the ground.
Soil preparation
While the seedlings will grow, you should take care of the soil. It must be of high quality and have the following properties:
- Have an average pH level.
- Have excellent bandwidth.
- Perfectly absorb moisture.
- Possess high fertility.
Experts assure that the best mixture is fresh humus and soddy soil, to which peat, fertilizers are added. At farms, when growing cucumbers, sawdust of coniferous trees is added to the ground. They reduce the cost of production, increasing productivity.
Seedlings
To get a high yield in the greenhouse, you must first grow seedlings. Experienced gardeners recommend growing the plant in a seedling method in order to get the crop earlier.
Cucumber seedlings are placed in two rows. This method simplifies the care of cucumbers in the greenhouse. To get a big crop, you need to prepare the holes in advance. They should be at least fifteen centimeters deep. Fertilizer% of five grams of superphosphate and potassium, nitrogen is placed in each well. Be sure to add 500 grams of compost, peat. Everything is mixed inside the hole.
In order for the care of cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse to be correct, you must install trellis or think about how you will tie them up. Twine is fixed immediately when planting seedlings. So how to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, what should they care for?
Ready thirty-day seedlings are planted in a greenhouse at a distance of at least half a meter between rows, and between plants - twenty centimeters. During planting it will be convenient to make small holes around crops: this way you can reduce water consumption when watering with a watering can.
After planting, the ridges are mulched. This helps prevent crusting in the soil and reduces the rate of moisture evaporation.
Important Rules
Proper care of cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse will allow you to get a high crop of greenhouses. You should start by eliminating sharp temperature fluctuations day and night, and try to maintain one level of humidity. Do not pour cucumbers with cold water and prevent excess moisture.
Top dressing
Plants are fed only three weeks after planting. To do this, use a nutrient mixture of nitrogen and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers taken in equal parts. With this composition, plants are watered once a month and once a month they are fed with complex fertilizer. It is best to use liquid vermicompost. It contains all the nutrients and trace elements necessary for the plant.
Loosening and microclimate
If the plants are not mulched, then the earth must be loosened. This is an important rule for the care of seedlings of cucumbers in the greenhouse. While the plants are small, irrigation and loosening alternate: once they were watered, the soil was loosened the next day.
In a polycarbonate greenhouse, conditions with increased humidity are created. So that the plant does not rot and other diseases do not appear, the greenhouse must be aired, but without drafts. To do this, open either one window, or completely the door.
Watering
When growing cucumbers, care involves not only loosening and creating the right microclimate, but also ensuring the proper watering. According to the analysis of the composition of the greenhouse itself, it contains almost 97% of water, therefore, the plant must be regularly watered.
The first watering of seedlings is carried out three days after the seedlings are planted. Water is poured a little, and only on the basal zone. This helps to stimulate root growth. If the plant is poured, the roots will rot.
Then, during growth and flowering, the culture is watered once a week. If suddenly the soil dries faster, then watering is quicker. During the pouring of cucumbers, the culture is watered daily until the entire crop is harvested.
Care for growing cucumbers requires compliance with the following irrigation rules:
- You can not pour water from a watering can on the leaves of a plant. In a closed ground there is no good ventilation, and the plant just begins to die. In the greenhouse, watering is carried out under the root, using warm, settled water.
- Do not water during the day. During watering, droplets of water may form on the leaves. Even if watering is done at the root, moisture on the leaves will still be. This is due to its increased excretion with vapors: rising upwards, vapors settle with dew drops on the leaves of the plant. During daytime watering, the plant receives sunburn.
- Watering is carried out only with warm water. Cucumbers are very thermophilic plants. When watering with cold water, they begin to shed ovaries. The ideal option would be to collect water in the tank, and after the water has infused and becomes at the same temperature as the environment, it is used for its intended purpose.
- Cucumbers love high levels of moisture. If the greenhouse has dry air or lack of moisture, then a bucket of water is placed in it.
Garter plants
Caring for cucumbers involves constant tying the lashes. This procedure is performed as follows: a free loop is made around the plant. She should not squeeze the stem, as it will increase in thickness. Then several times the lash is twisted around the twine.
The method of tying the twine to the trellis depends on how the plant will be formed. If you plan to lead one lash, then one twine is lowered. If you leave two lashes on the culture, then the rope is tied in the shape of the letter "V". Some gardeners use a trellis net. With this option, the plant does not bind: it will cling to the cells with its antennae, climbing higher and higher. Although some bushes will have to help: they are tied to a grid, so that later the plant itself can grow up. If deviated to the side, the lashes are redirected.
Bush formation
Proper care and the formation of a cucumber are two inseparable concepts. At beginner growers, you can see a picture of the jungle in the greenhouse, where cucumbers crawl along the walls and along the ground. This is the result of untimely formation.
Cucumber is one of the simplest tropical vines, from where it was once brought to us. Thickness is destructive for a plant: it does not receive light, it does not have enough air, humidity increases, and various diseases develop. To avoid all this, you need to learn how to properly form a bush.
During care, form cucumber bushes as follows:
- From the sinuses of the first three true leaves, all shoots and buds are removed. Thus, the plant is stimulated for further development. It begins to actively grow, develop, lay many ovaries. If you leave the ovary and shoots, then the culture will stop growing, will begin to exert all its forces in the development of this crop.
- From the ground to a height of half a meter, all side shoots are removed. Then, at a height of half a meter and a half meters, only one leaf is left on the side shoots.
- As the lash grows, pinch all the side shoots on one sheet.
During the formation of a cucumber in a polycarbonate greenhouse, it is important to remove yellowed, diseased leaves when leaving. All formation procedures are carried out in the morning so that the wounds can dry out and heal in the evening.
There are varieties of cucumbers in which the formation is carried out to a minimum, and there are those that do not need pinching at all.
Pollination
If you buy self-pollinated seeds, then such plants will tie greenhouses themselves. But for those pollinated in the greenhouse will have to lure insects that will pollinate them. It is simple to lure the bees into the greenhouse: this requires sweetness, but not just what. Honey or jam is ideal for luring. Sweetness is placed in a container and diluted with water. The finished mixture is placed in a greenhouse, open a window or door.
If the bees do not fly into the greenhouse, then you have to work as a pollinator yourself. To do this, a brush is taken and pollen is collected from male plants and transferred to female ones. It’s easy to distinguish these flowers: the male does not have a greenhouse, and the female has a thickening at the base of the flower. Pollination is carried out in the early morning, as soon as the flowers open.
The problems of growing cucumbers
During the cultivation of crops in closed ground, you can encounter a variety of problems. In hot weather, with a lack of air, the lower leaves dry out of the lashes. In this situation, it is necessary to remove all damaged leaves, but not in a day. The whip itself is removed from the trellis and laid with a ring on the ground, slightly pressed. New roots will begin to form on it, and new shoots will begin to grow from the top.
In some cases, the plant may not set fruit. This happens for various reasons: due to lack of pollination, too hot climate. The absence of ovaries may indicate a lack of nutrition of cucumbers in the greenhouse. Care and top dressing help fix this.
Cucumbers may be bitter. This is usually observed with a lack of moisture. To get rid of bitterness, plants begin to water abundantly. Variety and the harvesting period may also affect bitterness. Summer residents recommend collecting Zelentsy in 1-2 days. If you overexpose the vegetable on the whip, then it begins to gain bitterness.
Cucumber Disease
Plants can get sick. Most often, cucumbers are infected with peronosporosis, powdery mildew. This culture is loved by aphids. To combat diseases and pests, it is necessary to carry out periodic treatment of plantings with the use of fungicides. After processing the plants, the greenhouse is aired.
To control pests, they use drugs such as Sherpa, Mitak, BI-25, Zolon, Aktara, Fufonon and others. Each summer resident has his own means. Some use only folk remedies for pest control. It can be tinctures of herbs, ash and other means.
It will be useful for gardeners to watch the video below.
Cucumbers are among the most unpretentious garden plants. In order to get stable large yields, it is necessary to water bushes and fertilize in a timely manner. In the greenhouse, you can install drip irrigation: it is ideal for growing cucumbers and is able to prevent drying out of the soil. This method of irrigation helps maintain the humidity level inside the greenhouse at the same level, without sharp fluctuations.