Cucumber cultivation - planting and care in garden and greenhouse

• Cucumber cultivation - information
• Sowing cucumbers
• Planting in the greenhouse
  • maintenance
  • Diseases and pests
• The planting of free-range cucumbers
  • maintenance
  • Diseases and pests

Homegrown cucumbers are much tastier than those obtained in the trade, because they are freshly harvested and quickly eaten. Anyone who compares their own harvest with a conventional cucumber will soon realize that. Basically, cucumbers can be grown in the greenhouse or in the field, it is only important that you choose each suitable varieties. Then you have to choose whether you want to have cucumbers or cucumbers. Once the decision is made and the seed is concerned, it can go to sowing. Alternatively, you can also work with purchased, preferred plants. As a rule, two cucumber plants are enough to cover the needs of a family of four. It is ideal not to sow and plant the cucumbers at the same time, but to shift them. This prolongs the harvest time. So you start in mid-May and then again in late June.

Cucumber cultivation - information

• Annual plants
• Growing or crawling
• heat Loving
• Partly high demands on the soil condition
• Important is the right variety
  • Resistant to certain diseases
  • Cucumber and leaf brandy
  • High resistance to powdery mildew
  • Even if the varieties are more expensive, in the end it pays off (saving necessary crop protection measures)
• Finest young plants are best for cultivation, they are less susceptible to root diseases. These are available at the appropriate planting times in nurseries.
• For open-air cucumbers select varieties whose fruits are no longer bitter.

Sowing cucumbers

If you want to do everything yourself right from the start, you can begin sowing in the heated greenhouse or in a bright location in the house from the middle of March. There are different varieties for cultivation in the greenhouse and in the garden, you should pay attention to this when buying. For the greenhouse, the seeds can already in the middle of March in the soil, outdoor cucumbers should wait a little longer, because the young plants may not be too large when transplanting outdoors. Best suited is seedling, this is germ-free and contains no fertilizer. In addition, can be sown in normal small plant pots, always two to three seeds per vessel.

• Use cultivation soil
• Either special seed pots or normal plastic planters
• Only make half the earth
• Two to three seeds per vessel
• Dark germs, so cover about one to two inches with soil
• Germination temperature at least 20 ° C
• Keep the substrate evenly moist
• When all seeds have risen, the weaker seedlings must be removed.

Only the strongest is preserved. This happens when the leaflets begin to grow beyond the rim of the vessel.

• Now filling the vessel full of earth, stronger roots are formed.

Planting in the greenhouse

A greenhouse offers the best conditions for cucumbers. The plants like warmth and high humidity and are simply the best protected. In the heated greenhouse, the young plants can be planted as soon as they are about 25 cm high. Temperatures around 15 or 16 ° C are necessary, even at night. In an unheated greenhouse should be planted for safety's sake only after the Eisheiligen. It is important to follow the planting distances. Here, the soil condition is of the utmost importance for the growth of cucumber plants.

• Earth has to guarantee a high supply of water and nutrients
• Also important is a good floor ventilation
• For soil improvement incorporate organic materials
• Suitable are manure, compost, peeling bark and even bark mulch (fine)
• Specialists recommend planting the cucumbers on about 30 cm high dams
• Planting distance 60 cm
• If you have enough space - row spacing - 1.50 m
• The earth has to be loosened up well
• Plant plants up to the cotyledons

maintenance

... of greenhouses

Care includes watering and fertilizing, lacing, lacing and necking. Especially the right water and fertilizers are crucial. In addition, the greenhouse should be shaded, because the bright midday sun is often too much for the plants. Shading can also prevent the soil from drying out too much. Especially at lunchtime this is harmful and can lead to the dropping of cucumbers before maturity.

• Cucumber plants should be sprinkled on a 2 m high scaffold.
• Leave the first fruit in the leaf ax of the 6 leaves. All underlying fruits from the leaf axils break out, as you do with tomatoes. We have detailed instructions for picking tomato plants here for you: Extracting tomatoes Then remove the side shoots as well.
• Then leave only one fruit on the following leaf axils, never more.
• Remove all side shoots
• Only leave two side shoots at the top of the plant
• When the end of the cord is reached, trim the main drive. 10 to 12 stem fruits are hanging on it.
• First side shoots let grow unimpeded, nothing breaks out. After about 10 leaves trim to promote the new shoot
• Daily watering - water needs 1.5 to 3 liters, depending on sunlight and season
• Do not use cold water! Ideal for rainwater.
• Composting is ideal as a fertilizer
• Use acidified lime on acid soil, while at the same time providing enough magnesium.
• Nitrogen and potassium by top dressing, about 3 times a month

Diseases and pests

... with greenhouse cucumbers

Cucumber cultivation is often complicated by pests and diseases. It is best to prevent as much as possible. This starts with looking for healthy or better resistant plants. For example, powdery mildew can be well prevented. In addition, many varieties are resistant to leaf burn and cucumber scabies. Gray mold and downy mildew can be avoided by a good ventilation of the greenhouse as much as possible. It is important that condensation is prevented. The diseases are also promoted by dense planting, which is why planting distances are very important. As described above, foot diseases can be avoided by grafted cucumber plants. One can also prevent diseases with an annual replacement of the plant substrate.

• Prevention helps to get healthy plants
• Select healthy and resistant plant varieties
• Good ventilation
• Avoid condensation
• Do not plant too close

Spider mites, aphids and whiteflies can occur as pests. Helpful against the pest spirits is a high humidity. In addition, yellow sheets can be used against the flies. Beneficial insects, natural enemies of insects, such as predatory mites, are suitable for controlling. Many beneficials can be sent.

The planting of free-range cucumbers

Outdoor cucumbers like it warm and tolerate too low temperatures. They should be planted after the icy saints. Important is a warm, sunny and sheltered as possible location. The soil must be well prepared. The addition of abundant ripe compost is recommended. The more humus-rich the plant substrate, the better this is for the growth of the plants. In addition, the soil must be well loosened. Outdoor cucumbers need space and should not be planted too narrow for this reason. At the beginning, they are put together quite densely, so that the plants give each other protection. Later, the plants are diluted.

Tip: Although you can grow the plants lying on the ground, but a trellis is more advantageous. You can quickly build this yourself from a few wooden slats. Ideas and instructions can be found on the World Wide Web.

• No heavy and cold floors
• No sandy soil
• Best humus soil
• No temperatures below 5 ° C
• Preventively best cover with fleece first
• Young plants thrive on black mulch foil better, this ensures significantly higher soil temperatures
• It is ideal to harden the young plants before planting out. For this they are put out for a few hours a day.
• Cucumbers should have two to a maximum of four leaves when planted.
• Gherkins may have only two, no more than three leaves.
• If the plants are too old, too big, they often react to the planting out with a growth stop and this does not happen again.

The thinning of free-range cucumbers

Thinning is important so that the small cucumber plants have enough space, but are not yet completely alone and unprotected, as it would be the case, they would put them immediately with the appropriate planting distance to their destination. Therefore, they are first moved with a distance of 20 to 25 centimeters. The right time for this is when the young plants touch each other.

maintenance

... of free-range cucumbers

Important for free-range cucumbers is that they are used. This is how two tendrils form and thus more fruits. The best time to do this is before three leaves have formed properly. Is trimmed over the second sheet. If no trellis is available, the tendrils must be guided evenly over the ground without this. On cold and damp ground, it is recommended to put under cracking. This rot is prevented.

• Cut cucumbers in time
• Before three leaves have formed properly
• Trim over the second sheet
• Tendrils over ground or on a scaffold

Outdoor cucumbers require regular water and fertilizer. Dryness does not get the plants well, the fruits quickly become bitter. To prevent the soil from drying out, mulching is recommended. For manuring, manure and compost are suitable. Also, horn meal or horn shavings are doing well, depending on whether the fertilizer should work faster or value is placed on the long-term fertilization.

• Cucumbers need plenty of water
• Keep the soil evenly slightly moist
• Water abundantly, especially during fruiting
• No waterlogging
• Do not pour with cold water
• Rainwater is best
• Fertilize with manure or compost
• Beware of mineral fertilizers - during fruiting the plants tolerate no salts
• Better is stone or bone meal

Tip: Cucumbers are incompatible with themselves. You have to wait at least four years to plant cucumbers in the same place again.

Diseases and pests

... with free-range cucumbers

Also with the free-range cucumbers there are some illnesses and pests, which can ruin the fun at the cultivation. Snails love the young plants and can kill everyone in one night. In addition, leaf spot disease, spot blight, true and downy mildew and cucumber wilt may also occur.

Angular leaf spot disease - bacterial leaf spots, often simultaneously with downy mildew, occurs especially in frequent moisture and nocturnal dew formation, infestation from around the beginning of June. Preventive maintenance of plant pauses, use of healthy seeds and the purchase of healthy varieties and plants. warm place, which dries quickly, pour before 15 o'clock, do not pour in the evening, or do not wet the leaves. A fight is not possible

Downy mildew - fungal infection, yellow spots on the upper side of the leaf, delimited by the leaf veins, gray spur grass on the underside of the leaf. Over time, the spots turn brown. The leaf dies off, usually starting from the edge. From the beginning of June, the infestation must be expected. In 4 to 6 weeks the plant can be transplanted. Prevention by selecting resistant varieties and a good location. Do not pour after 3 o'clock! Copper-containing agents help

Powdery mildew - also fungal attack, floury, whitish, later gray fungus turf on the upper leaf surface, which can cover the entire plant when spreading, the leaves die off. The infestation must be expected from mid-July. Again, the selection of resistant varieties is beneficial. In addition, network sulfur can be used at infestation start. Plant repellents or oil preparations are also ideal.

Burnt Spot Disease - Fungal infestation, stems, leaves and fruits have brown-brown sunken spots. Occurs especially in cold weather and high humidity. Nothing helps here, the infested plants should be destroyed in time. Do not grow on this bed for at least three years!