Getting a rich crop of cucumbers in the open field in our unpredictable climate is almost impossible task.
Therefore, more and more vegetable growers are choosing for themselves the option of growing cucumbers in greenhouses.
However, even with this method, it is worthwhile to learn the basic rules and learn the secrets of obtaining the maximum number of fruits during the summer period.
Choosing the right grade
Even having put a good greenhouse on its site, some vegetable growers cannot achieve good yields of cucumbers that meet all the requirements. The thing is that Not all varieties of cucumbers are suitable for growing in a greenhouse.
But before choosing certain cucumber varieties for the greenhouse, you need to decide what is more important to you: getting early production, maximum yield from one meter of planting or feasting on fresh vegetables until the frost.
In each of these cases, certain requirements are imposed on the seed material:
- the earliest varieties are Zozulya, Masha F1, Hector. These varieties are ultra-fast. Their first fruits begin to form already on the fortieth day after germination;
- the most fruitful recognized varieties Tumi, Courage, Cupid. With proper care, these varieties yield up to 30 -40 kg per planting square;
- in order to there are cucumbers to the frostshould be planted in a greenhouse Marinda, Martha, Graceful, Bully;
- grade Athena F1 gives large yields even in low light conditions.
The peculiarity of growing cucumbers in a greenhouse is their arrangement in the tied-up state or the arrangement across the rows. We should choose varieties with weak branching, since they do not spend a lot of effort on the formation of leaf mass and are distinguished by the rapid formation of fruits. Besides, Strongly branching varieties in a closed greenhouse will create shadingthat will adversely affect yield.
The second criterion for selecting a variety is self-pollination. In an enclosed space, pollination with the help of insects will not occur, and you will not wait for the harvest from bee-pollinated cucumbers. Of course, you can theoretically do manual pollination. But for gardeners it is not possible, since this process is quite time consuming and time consuming.
Breeders brought a lot of self-pollinated cucumber varieties. All these varieties are called parthenokarpiki, and they are intended for cultivation in greenhouses. Ovaries on them are formed without pollination, that is, for the formation of fruits, cross-transfer of pollen is not required.
It is impossible to choose one of the best varieties of cucumbers for the greenhouse. The variety of varieties is currently quite large, and each vegetable grower can easily choose the most suitable for himself, focusing on the taste of the vegetable and its external characteristics. Hercules, Farmer, Annushka - all these species are hybrids, are distinguished by resistance to many diseases, high yields, shade tolerance.
IMPORTANT! Hybrids grown in greenhouses are not suitable for collecting seeds. Therefore, purchase new seeds every year.
Choosing a greenhouse
Greenhouses differ from greenhouses, first of all, by their height, so their design should be thought out in such a way to make plants comfortable to care for.
By design, greenhouses for cucumbers can be square or rectangular, in height - low and medium height.
The upper part of the greenhouse can be odnoskatnoy, gable, broken. The most convenient is the design in which there is the ability to open the roof.
The base for greenhouses is made of metal or wood. Popular greenhouses on the basis of metal wire, placed at a shallow depth in the ground.
The coating used is a polyethylene film, non-woven covering material.
The main condition for choosing a greenhouse cover is the light-throughput. Cucumber for ripening need a sufficient amount of light.
At the same time, the material must be dense enough to protect the heat-loving plants from wind and drafts. Very important for this vegetable and protection from the morning, cold dew.
How to grow early cucumbers?
Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse is not such a difficult task. But still you need to follow a few simple rules.
How to make beds?
The secret of the early harvest of cucumbers in a greenhouse is the special preparation of the beds. It is worth starting their cultivation as soon as the snow comes down from the site.
For better lighting plants greenhouse arrange, positioning in the west-east direction. When setting warm weather on the day of the film is removed from the south side, and cucumbers will receive the maximum sun.
IMPORTANT! On hot days, the shelter from the greenhouse must be removed without fail, so that the cucumbers are not burned.
The most effective way to grow cucumbers in the greenhouse - a device for their landing "warm beds". This will allow the vegetables to be planted in the soil at an earlier date, which means getting an early harvest.
From the formed ridges of the desired length, remove the top layer of earth on two bayonet shovels. The bottom layer of 20-30 cm in size is filled with straw, hay or small branches. This filling will begin to actively overheat in a month, which will give the plants warmth. To enhance the rate of decay and increase the heating temperature, manure is laid on this layer with a layer thickness of 15-20 cm.. On top of the warming layer sprinkled with lime-fluff, to reduce acidity.
On the compacted warm cushion fit the previously excavated soil. On the bed they pour all the soil, making a high bed. In the process of growing cucumbers, the earth will settle by 20-30%, because the substrate will condense and decrease in height.
Thus prepared warm bed for vegetables will serve as a heater and a nourishing layer for them. The crop of cucumbers on a warm bed many times exceeds usual cultivation.
For additional food wood ash at the rate of 50 gr. per one square meter, superphosphate 150 gr., potassium sulphate - 50 gr.
Seedling or soil?
The question of whether to sow cucumbers for seedlings at home, then to plant them in a greenhouse does not have a clear answer.
This vegetable has a weak root system that reacts badly to transplantation. The sucking hairs that nourish the plant do not regenerate when they break, and the cucumber begins to absorb moisture only when new ones grow, therefore seedlings take root badly. But if you still decide to get a harvest a couple of weeks earlier, you can try.
Sowing is carried out in cups without a bottom, so that during transplantation you can press the plant together with the earthy clod into the prepared well. You can use newspaper cups, which land without releasing the roots from newspapers.
Rolled newspapers or cups without a bottom fit tightly in a box and fill with soil. You can use ready-made special soil for pumpkin. The mixture is made from two parts of the soil, one part of peat and half of the sand.
Soak the seeds before sowing in water heated to 45-50 degrees with the addition of a small amount of potassium permanganate (the solution should be medium-pink). This procedure will help disinfect the seeds and warm them for better germination.
Heated seeds are buried in 2 cm cups, the box is covered with foil and put in a warm place. After five days, the first shoots will appear.
IMPORTANT! Immediately remove the film from the box, as soon as you see the first shoots.
Wait for the time when the cotyledon leaves will fully unfold and lower the temperature of the seed content to 180 so that the sprouts do not stretch. Water the seedlings should be a small amount of warm water. After the appearance of these leaves, the volume of liquid during watering increase. During the cultivation, seedlings are fed two or three times.
An important procedure for growing seedlings is hardening.
Indoor Cucumbers without tempering, do not tolerate abrupt change of conditions cultivation.
In order to accustom cucumbers to a lower temperature regime. You can open the vents, carry boxes on the balcony. AT night hours the optimum temperature is 15-16 degrees.
When to land?
Terms of planting cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse are of great importance to obtain an early harvest. The age of seedlings for planting in a greenhouse should be 20-25 days. At the time of planting the soil should warm up to 16-18 degrees, it happens by about the middle of May.
Around this time, you can sow cucumbers directly in the greenhouse. If a warm bed is prepared, then you can sow vegetables two weeks earlier. For sowing the wells are prepared and placed in them at once 2-3 seeds. Distance between rows when landing should be from one to one and a half meters, and in a row the plants are planted 20-30 cm apart.
When growing seedlings in newspaper cups, you need to remove the bottom from them and put the sprout in the hole along with the walls. Soak the roots of the damp newspaper easily, and with such a landing will not be damaged. Plastic cups are placed in the hole and, holding a clod of earth with a hand, the second one carefully removes the glass upwards.
After planting cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse or sowing seeds, the wells are watered and must be mulched to prevent the formation of a crust. To prevent weed growth in between rows the soil is covered with a black film or an opaque fabric. This technique is necessary, as in the greenhouse weed between the rows when cucumber lash grows are quite problematic.
We form bushes
Cucumbers, when grown in greenhouses, can be grown by creeping on the ground or tied to a frame.
The purpose of the garter is the direction of growth of the lashes, so that they do not spread out beyond the boundaries of the ridges.
The main stalk of cucumber pinch after the fifth leaf grows. After pinching the plant begins active growth of lateral shoots.
Pinching needed. Since the ovaries of the fruit are formed mainly on the side stems.
For more information on how to grow early cucumbers in a greenhouse, you can see and hear in this video:
How to improve the warming up of a greenhouse?
If a warm pillow is not made in your greenhouse, you can raise the temperature in it using some techniques:
- Poultice. It is carried out after the morning watering. Watering the plant, the greenhouse closes for 2 hours in spring and half an hour in hot summer weather. At the same time, the temperature in the greenhouse increases sharply, which contributes to the growth of cucumbers.
- The use of solar heat. The essence of this method is to let the heat into the greenhouse and not let it out. Retention contributes to the quality of the material used for the shelter and the location of the structure. It should be spherical and located in such a way as to maximally be illuminated by the sun from the south side. The northern wall of the greenhouse should be covered with foil or an opaque cloth. In this case, the heat from the south will not leave the structure.
- Bottled water. Plastic bottles are filled with water and placed around the perimeter of the greenhouse, for stability they are slightly buried in the ground. During the day, the water heats up in the sun. And at night, evaporating, it gives off heat to the plants.
All these simple techniques will help you to obtain consistently high yields of cucumbers in the greenhouse at the site without high material costs.
