Content
Cucumbers are one of the oldest vegetable crops, more than 6,000 years old. During this time, cucumber has become a favorite of many, because it is a dietary product that does not contain fats, proteins and carbohydrates. Cucumbers are rich in potassium and other useful microelements; most of the vegetable is water, which is similar in composition to distilled water, but much more useful. All this helped cucumbers become an indispensable product for many dishes, conservation and even cosmetology.
Seed selection
You can buy cucumber seeds, this is the easiest and fastest way. Such seed is already protected from most diseases and treated with antifungal and antibacterial drugs. There are two types of seeds:
- processed;
- granular.
Processed seeds do not need additional protection, they are enveloped by a thin film of fungicides and antibiotics. AND granulated seeds additionally covered with a thick layer of nutrients - they can be planted in open ground at once, the young plant will have enough nutrients contained in the granule.
Another option is that the seeds can be harvested from your own harvest.
To do this, several of the best cucumbers from the previous harvest are overexposed in the garden, only the yellowed vegetable is considered ripe and ready for seed collection.
The seeds are washed and dried, but they are not suitable for planting next year. Seeds 2-4 years old are considered the best material, they give the highest germination and a large yield.
When transplanting seedlings into the ground, it is better to choose bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers. For the greenhouse, parthenocarpic or self-pollinated varieties may be preferred.
Another important factor is the time of planting seedlings in the ground. The ground for cucumbers should be moist and warm, they do not tolerate cold and die. In many regions of Russia, the heat is established by the end of May, so you need to sow seeds for seedlings at the beginning of the month - it ripens for 22-25 days.
Seed preparation
It is best to plant only seeds that have hatched, because the sprouts are very fragile, they are easy to break off.
Do-it-yourself seeds need to be discarded - throw out uneven and too small seeds. Then the seeds are placed in a strong manganese solution and left for 30 minutes, after which they are washed with water. Seeds can be nourished with useful substances from ash - ordinary wood ash dissolves in water, the seeds are immersed in this mixture for a day or two.
The washed seeds are spread on a moistened napkin and left to germinate in a warm place (28-30 degrees). Radiators and batteries are ideal. When the sprouts reach 2-3 mm, they can be hardened - placed in the zero chamber of the refrigerator. But this is only necessary for early seedlings, which still risk freezing.
Soil preparation
So that the yields are high, and the cucumbers do not get sick, the soil for seedlings must be prepared the same as the one in which it will subsequently be planted. That is, it will be correct to collect the land for pots with seedlings from the same site to which the owner plans to transplant seedlings.
Only before planting seeds, this land needs to be disinfected and enriched. Experienced gardeners recommend the following:
- Remove only the top, turf layer from the ground.
- Mix this soil with peat, humus, sand and sawdust. Soil for seedlings of cucumbers should be loose, moisture-absorbing, with good ventilation and drainage.
- Enrich the soil with ash and nitrophobic.
- Spread the soil in the pots, filling them not completely, but 23.
- Thoroughly cover the ground with a weak solution of manganese.
Because of the bacteria and fungi found in the soil, cucumbers are most often sick. Some owners freeze the earth, others heat it in the oven. The best option is to warm the soil over steam. So, harmful microorganisms will die, but useful ones will remain.
Of course, the easiest way is to buy ready-made soil for seedlings of vegetables or cucumbers. But cucumber seedlings are very fragile and painful, it is better to plant them in soil, the composition of which is close to where it will be transplanted.
The choice of containers for seedlings
Since cucumbers do not tolerate transplanting very well, disposable dishes for seedlings should be chosen. These can be plastic cups, paper cups, or peat cups.
The latter dissolve in the ground, enriching it, so the seedlings are not removed from them, but placed in the ground together with a glass.
It is better to cut plastic and paper pots, so it is more convenient to get the roots of the seedlings. If the seeds were sown in a common large container, it will be very difficult not to damage them during transplanting. It is still correct to choose individual containers for cucumber seeds.
Sowing seeds
Put two seeds in one pot.
Cups with soil are left for several days in order for the earth to be compacted (it is impossible to specially compact the soil with your hands, it will become too dense). Watering the soil with water with manganese also needs to be done in advance - 2-3 days in advance. And just before planting the seeds, a little warm water is poured into each pot.
The seeds are laid horizontally without pressing them into the ground. Sprinkle the seeds with sifted earth on top, burying them shallowly - by 1.5-2 cm. Now the seeds can be watered a little, or better sprinkled with warm water. Cups with seedlings are placed under a film until the first green shoots appear. Seedlings are placed in a warm place, the temperature should be maintained around 28-30 degrees.
Seedling care
Properly grown seedlings are the key to a high and early harvest. Only strong and healthy cucumbers can quickly take root in a new place and start bearing fruit.
Therefore, it is very important to monitor the condition of the seedlings by following these rules:
- There should be no sick, lethargic, infected plants among the seedlings - these should be removed immediately.
- If two seeds were sown in each pot, the seedlings need to be thinned out. To do this, wait for the appearance of the first two leaves and choose a stronger plant with a plump trunk and dense leaves. The second cucumber seedling is removed, it will only interfere, taking on half of the nutrients and moisture. In order not to damage the roots of a stronger plant, a weak seedling cannot be pulled out, it is better to cut it off with scissors or pinch it off at ground level.
- It so happens that the seedlings of cucumbers begin to bloom very early - when the plants are not yet ready for planting in the ground. In this case, you need to get rid of the first flowers, because they will draw out all the forces from the plant that are so necessary for it to adapt to a new place. Such seedlings can be planted in open ground or in a greenhouse together with the rest, they will begin to bear fruit a little later, but they will take root well and give a stable harvest.
- Cucumber seedlings need light and warmth. However, direct sunlight is harmful to plants; they can burn thin leaves. It is better to choose light windows for seedlings that are illuminated in the morning or afternoon. Lack of light leads to stretching of seedlings, in these cases artificial lighting is necessary.
- The night temperature for seedlings should be a couple of degrees lower than the daytime, this will help the cucumbers to acclimatize faster in a new place.
- Watering the cucumbers also needs to be done correctly: only with warm water and only in the morning. Water should not fall on the leaves, and especially, stay on them overnight - this will lead to disease of the plant with powdery mildew or rot.
- Seedlings of cucumbers can be sprayed, but this must also be done in the morning.
That's all the secrets on how to properly grow cucumber seedlings from seeds. There is nothing super complicated in this matter, but all stages must be taken seriously, not missing out on trifles.
If you plant the seedlings correctly, you can get the first cucumbers before your neighbors.
And in this matter, as you know, even a few days play a big role - the first vegetables are always in demand. However, it is better to combine seedlings with seeds, after all, the transplanted cucumbers take root rather badly. For a stable harvest for the entire season, you can combine two methods: plant seedlings of early varieties and sow the seeds of later crops directly into the ground.
