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

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

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

Choose 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 item, all efforts can go to waste, you will not get a harvest.

The highest quality are full, heavy seeds of large sizes. It is very simple to determine these - 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 s alt and mix thoroughly. In thatthe solution should be dipped in the seeds and left for 10-15 minutes. After this time, you will see that part of the seed has sunk, and part has remained floating on the surface of the water. These are the “dummies” that you can safely get rid of - you still won’t be able to harvest from them. After the manipulations, rinse the remaining seeds with clean running water for several minutes and proceed to the next step.

Choice of capacity for seedlings

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

• tank diameter must be at least 5-7 cm;
• need to make as many drainage holes as possible;

You can use plastic cups for planting, containers from yogurt or sour cream, tetra packs from milk or kefir, and so on. You can also spend a little money - now gardening stores offer a huge variety of plastic and peat cups, small greenhouse containers equipped with transparent lids, and much more. 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 padding polyester in the tray under the seedlings.

Soil

Even if the preparation of cucumber seeds 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 harvest will be rich.

For growing seedlings, ordinary land taken in a vegetable 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 very quickly compressed and the sprouts receive little air and moisture.

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

• 2 parts compost or manure;
• 2 pieces of peat taken from the lowlands;
• 1 piece of old, 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. drug "Kemir-universal" or "Mortar";
• 1 tbsp l. nitrophoska;
• 1 tsp urea;
• 1 tbsp l. crushed double superphosphate;
• 1 tsp potassium sulfate.

Of course you canuse other mixtures, but the easiest way is to buy a ready-made store substrate. If you still decide to prepare the soil yourself, then you need to do this in the fall, so that the mixture freezes well in the barn or on the balcony during the winter. This will greatly reduce the number of pathogenic bacteria. Also, to destroy pathogens of various diseases, it is recommended to steam the soil. This is done very simply:

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

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 steamed well, it is cooled, mixed well and laid out in containers for planting.

Preparing seeds

Preparing cucumber seeds for planting seedlings is a very responsible matter, because you need to properly prepare not only the soil, but also the seed. 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), and then washed with clean water.

Further, the preparation of cucumber seeds for planting is as follows - clean, disinfected seeds are placed in bags of soft cloth or several layers of gauze and soaked for 12 hours. The formula solution might look like this:

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

After the specified time, the seeds are washed again and placed on a damp cloth or gauze to swell for 1–2 days at t=+ 23 ° C. In this case, it is imperative to ensure that future cucumbers do not germinate, but only a little " hatched." 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 cucumber seeds before planting can be considered completed. Then we move on to the next stage - the germination of seedlings. There are two ways to do this:

1. Spread 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 the water. The process will go fastest at a temperature of 28–30 ° C.
2. You can sow the seeds that have hatched directly into pots. This, of course, is faster, but this way you will not be able to understand which seeds have sprouted and which have not.

Planting in open ground

Preparation of cucumber seeds for planting in the ground differs from the greenhouse only in one point - good hardening. If you remember, then after all the treatments, the seeds are placed in the refrigerator. This is what it is - hardening. This is done so that germination goes well even at low temperatures. 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.

Forin order to increase the resistance of the plant to the difference in street temperatures, adult seedlings are also hardened. A week before planting, the containers are gradually taken out into the street (to the balcony) in the daytime, evening and night, while daily stay time is increased by 15–20 minutes.

Greenhouse - when to plant

Preparing cucumber seeds for planting in a greenhouse is practically no different from "ground". Only the timing of planting differs here, and in this case, many neglect the hardening of seeds.

Seeds in the greenhouse can be sown already in early to mid-April, and full-fledged seedlings will feel good there in early May. If your greenhouse is film and does not have heating, then you can make a structure 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.

Fit 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 preparing in the fall - to cultivate the land 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 loosened well.

You need to plant cucumbers in small grooves, 1.5–2 cm deep, and sprinkle the soil mixture on top in half with sawdust. This method of planting will allow you to retain moisture longer and ensure 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 moisture-loving, so, first of all, you need to ensure excellent watering, best of all with a drip system. Note that you need to water with warm water, as cold or even cool significantly slows down the growth of the plant. At the same time, you need to make sure that water, and even more fertilizer, does not fall on cucumber leaves, otherwise they may “burn out.”

It is also worth loosening the soil as often as possible, trying, however, not to damage the stem - it is very fragile. If you are growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, then try to ensure constant ventilation, especially in warm weather. This will have a very good effect on the growth and yield of cucumbers.