Cucumber is the only vegetable that is eaten unripe. In order to preserve all its beneficial properties during cultivation, you need to properly care for the plants. Read about the formation of a cucumber bush in a greenhouse and open ground, see the article.
Historical reference
Cucumbers became famous 6,000 years ago. Their historical homeland is India. In this country, varieties are grown today, the stems of which feel comfortable on tree trunks and fences. They braided all the squares and walls of buildings.
The fruits of cucumbers are called berries. In Japan and China, vegetable fertility can be envied. Harvested in these countries three times a year. First, cucumbers are grown in crates and on the roofs, and then - on the beds in the garden. By the time of harvesting huge fruits hanging from the trellises, reaching 1.5 meters in length. Chinese cucumber varieties in Europe are grown in greenhouses.
In our country, the first mention of a vegetable dates back to the 9th century. During the reign of Peter I, cucumbers began to grow in special farms - greenhouses. They immediately won recognition among the Russians, which is why they took root here better than in Europe.
Why form bushes of cucumbers?
This is necessary for the penetration of air and light to the bushes, to rid the plants of diseases, to get a good harvest. Vegetable growers very often do not consider the formation of a bush of cucumber a necessary procedure. Indeed, this is not necessary if the plants grow in a climate suitable for them or in conditions without saving space. But when every piece of land counts in the greenhouse and the summer is short, it becomes necessary to provide plants with suitable conditions for growth.
The reasons why the formation of a bush of cucumber is necessary is as follows:
- If the growth and formation of the ovaries is uncontrolled, the roots will not be able to provide them with water and nutrition. Most of the fruits will not ripen or even grow - they just will not have time, but they will receive food by taking it away from the earlier formed ovaries, which will grow tasteless and deformed. Growing cucumbers, the formation of a bush which is carried out according to all the rules, does not cause trouble and guarantees a crop.
- If the cucumber stalks turn into thickets, the influx of fresh oxygen and the penetration of light will be insufficient. In this case, do not expect good quality fruits.
- Thickening of the shoots is the main cause of the defeat of cucumbers by pests and diseases.
- The formation of a bush of cucumber facilitates care. The stems of many varieties of culture need to be tied. Given that cucumbers are lianoid plants, their lashes will spread along the surface of the earth. Upon contact with the soil, cucumbers will begin to rot.
The formation of a bush of cucumbers in one stem with a garter
No need to wait until the cucumbers in the greenhouse stretch. The sooner they are tied up, the better. This is done 14 days after the seedlings are planted. So it will be easier to monitor the emergence of newly formed shoots and ovaries.
To avoid difficulties in maintaining order in the greenhouse, you need to follow the instructions. If you regularly remove the resulting growth, then young cucumbers will begin to grow well. The formation of the bush in the greenhouse is as follows:
- When it takes 12-14 days after planting, they need to be tied to a wire stretched at a sufficiently high height.
- Using sharp scissors, flowers and shoots are removed from the bottom of the stem. Their location at this moment are the sinuses of the first 4-5 leaves.
- The lash will begin to grow. When 3-5 more leaves appear on it, the ovaries and flowers in their sinuses are left, only the side shoots are removed.
- Plants growing on another bed leave ovaries with lateral shoots. But when leaflets are formed on the stems, the shoots above them are pinched.
- With older lashes, they do the same. On each subsequent plot on the side shoots, 2 leaves of 3-5 are left, then one more, then two. The top of the shoot is nipped every time directly above the leaves.
- Their axils of the leaves of the side lashes will grow new shoots. They do not need to be left, they are immediately deleted.
- It is easy to grow cucumbers correctly. The formation of the bush in the greenhouse ends when the top of the main stem is removed. This is done when the length of the whip is greater than the height of the stretched wire. Liana is thrown several times through the device, and when she grows a little, her top is cut off.
It is important to prevent the growth of shoots for a long time, at the very beginning, the top should be removed. If they grow in length by 20-30 centimeters, the bush will greatly weaken. This threatens that the ovaries may suffer - the plant will throw them off.
Formation of bushes without garter
Cucumbers that do not need a garter are easier to shape. There are many ways for any varieties of cucumbers and their hybrids. On the stems of various varieties of cucumbers that are pollinated by bees, empty flowers appear, they do not form ovaries.
The location of the female flowers from which the fruits are formed are lateral shoots. The growth point is pinched when there are 4 leaves on the central stem, and 2-4 on the side shoots.
Most hybrids have only female flowers, therefore, pinch only the side shoots above the level of the second leaf. The main stem does not need this.
What is a trellis?
This device, for the construction of which you will need poles for support, metal wire or mesh. They are placed on the southern side of flat areas with fertile soil. Supports can be stakes made of wood or metal pipes 1-2 meters high, depending on the variety of cucumbers. For stability, supports are dug half a meter into the ground. Between them, a mesh or wire is stretched along which the stems will curl.
Formation of a bush on a trellis
Seedlings grown in this way have a high yield. Typically, this method is used for greenhouse cucumbers, but recently they have increasingly resorted to it when growing vegetables in open-air beds.
The formation of a bush of cucumber in the open ground using trellis provides plants with light and prevents the appearance of diseases. Supports are installed after 1.5-2 meters. A net is pulled on them. A rail is mounted on top, which will not allow the grid to fall down.
The formation of cucumbers on a trellis in open ground is carried out as usual. In the sinuses of the first four leaves, the ovaries are removed. In the future, this procedure is not controlled, only the lateral processes are removed.
The formation of a bush of cucumber in the open ground with a bunch of fruits on the stem is carried out on a trellis. But instead of the mesh between the supports, the wire is pulled in an upright position. In the formation of the bush, another goal is pursued - the removal of all lateral processes, therefore, the scheme here is different. You can leave no more than two shoots next to the trellis. First, the ovaries are removed from the first 4 leaves, the crop is collected near the central trunk. Then this is done in the area of the processes.
The scheme for forming a bush of cucumbers can be carried out according to Danish technology - in the form of an umbrella. It is suitable for parthenocarpic cucumbers. This method helps to form a bush of a given height. According to the scheme, shoots and fruits up to 5 leaves are removed. Up to 9 leaves, each sinus may have a fetus. In the future, their number is not standardized. When a bush is formed on a trellis in open ground, the yield of cucumbers is much higher.
Care
A high yield of good quality is bestowed upon the owner by cucumbers grown on trellis. Care, bush formation is to provide a comfortable environment for growth. Growing cucumbers in a trellis way allows you to apply drip irrigation, after which the soil needs to be mulched. So the soil does not dry out, and the weeds will grow less. Leaves, which for some reason have turned yellow and dried out, need to be torn off and thrown away, not left on the planting site.
Cucumbers are fed 5-6 times per season. The first time this is done when three leaves appear. To build green mass, a plant needs nitrogen. To do this, a solution is made: a tablespoon of urea in a bucket of water. A liter of liquid is introduced under each bush. The second feeding is done 15 days after the first, mullein is used. The third time vegetables are fed during the flowering period. At this time, they need potassium, so cucumbers are poured with a solution of ash and water in a proportion of 10 tablespoons per 10 liters of water. The last top dressing is done during fruiting during chicken droppings.
Useful Tips
Everyone chooses the method of forming cucumbers, but good advice will never be superfluous.
- The formation of bushes is best done in the morning.
- The tops begin to pinch before the beginning of the flowering period and continue until the height of the plant is more than 20 centimeters.
- When flowering or bearing, you can not turn the cucumbers in the opposite direction.
Benefit
Structured water makes up 95% of the total mass of cucumber, and only 5% are minerals and vitamins. Cucumber water is many times healthier than the water we use daily for drinking. In purity, it is comparable to distilled.
The composition of the cucumber, in addition to water, includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats. In a vegetable weighing 100 g they are contained in an amount of 3.7; 0.7, 0.1 g, respectively. 100 g total 13.7 calories. The most amazing thing is that cucumbers contain almost all the elements from the periodic table.
The benefits of the vegetable are as follows:
- Any part of the plant is valuable, especially an 8-12 day old ovary. The chemical composition of garden cucumbers is much richer than greenhouse cucumbers.
- The vegetable has antipyretic, analgesic, laxative, antitoxic, antisclerotic, antispasmodic and antitumor effects.
- Cucumber is the strongest diuretic. Its regular use lowers blood pressure and relieves swelling.
- Iodine in the vegetable helps the thyroid gland, and potassium helps the heart.
- Organic cucumber acids relieve the intestines of rotting processes.
- Vegetable recommended for people with low acidity, gastritis, peptic ulcers and constipation.
- Cucumbers, due to their zinc content, have a beneficial effect in the treatment of diabetes.