Growing Cucumbers In The Open Field

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

How to sow cucumbers so that they please with their harvest

Cucumber is a herbaceous vegetable annual plant belonging to the pumpkin family. Cucumber roots are superficial, the stem is flexible and juicy. Male and female flowers are formed on the same plant, but bisexual flowers may be present in different places.

The nutritional value of a cucumber is not great, its fruits attract with juiciness, pleasant and refreshing taste and aroma. Cucumber contains enzymes that help assimilate animal proteins, vitamins C, B ₁, B ₂, potassium salts, sugar, and many trace elements. Fresh cucumbers are recommended for diseases of the cardiovascular system, liver, kidneys, arthritis, gout. It is a valuable dietary product for people with diabetes and overweight.

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Cucumbers are the most difficult culture to choose, because there may be varieties of salad, pickling, and canning types on sale. If you sow them side by side, then when the plants are intertwined, it is very easy to confuse the fruits. For fresh consumption, this does not matter, but if such a mixture is salted, then after a couple of months the cucumbers will have to be thrown away.

Cucumber varieties vary greatly in their biological characteristics. Judge for yourself, some varieties are grown in greenhouses, others in the open field. Some require bee pollination, others (parthenocarpics) produce fruits without pollination. But there are still varieties of hybrids with a female type of flowering, and for pollination it is necessary to plant pollinating varieties.

For completeness, I will add that in recent years there has been an almost complete replacement of varieties. Honored veterans - varieties Vyaznikovsky-37, Muromsky-36, grown since 1943, almost left the gardens. Their place was taken by the varieties Solnechny, Volgodonsky, Lyubimchik, Pasamonte and others.

What cucumbers to choose for growing? It is best to plant self-pollinating varieties in greenhouses: short-fruited Micron, Gypsy, Phillipok, Favorite, Teacher, Success, Three Tankers, Soldier, Nightingale, Old Russian, Sancho Panza, Russian style, Russian size, Rita, Merchant, Bouquet, Stork, Hector, Dobrynya, Noble; varieties with fruits of medium length (14-18 cm) and weighing more than 100 g - Apocalypse of the Konyaevs, Ascon, Blik, Herman, Moth.

For pickling, you need to plant varieties of cucumber of the Far Eastern selection - Mig, Cascade, Haba, Far East-27, Far East-6, Lotus, Graceful. They are not affected by downy mildew, but they love moist air. Also, early ripening cucumbers are good for pickling - Altai, Malysh, Aquarius, Nightingale, Moravian gherkin, Monastyrskie.

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Growing cucumbers in the open field

For nearly twenty years, I have been growing cucumbers in the open field in my tried and tested way. What is it?

First: I use a new place every year for the beds with cucumbers. Second: I divide the cultivated land into 2-3 beds 75-80 cm wide, 150-250 cm long with a passage width of 20 cm between the beds. I level the beds, after which I plant cucumber seeds to a depth of 1-1.5 cm in four rows with a distance in each row 12-15 cm. After sowing, I water the ground well and cover all the beds with a film, it is possible and old, but more or less transparent and without holes. I carefully press down the edges of the films with metal rods, pipes, or simply drop them in with earth so that cold air cannot penetrate under the film.

As a result of the receipt of a sufficient amount of heat and moisture under the film, the cucumbers quickly germinate and begin to support the film. To prevent the cucumbers from burning under the film from the sun, I use a blade to make cross-shaped cuts in the film over each cucumber plant. And I gently pull these plants with two leaves onto the surface of the film, while the cucumber root remains under the film. After that, I water the plants through the cracks in the film from a watering can without a sprayer every 6-7 days, or more often.

When the cucumbers grow so that they cover the holes in the film with their tops, and it will be inconvenient to water, then I water the cucumber plants directly over the leaves and stems, and the water itself finds cracks in the film and falls into the ground, feeding the roots of the cucumbers. In addition, to improve the microclimate and normal growth of cucumbers, from the moment they begin to bloom, I enclose all the beds around the perimeter with boards or shields 25-30 cm high. This allows you to cover the cucumbers with foil in a timely manner in case of cold snaps.

What is the advantage of this method? Cucumber roots are kept in constant moisture and warmth even in hot, cool or windy weather. In contrast to the greenhouse method, pollination occurs due to the wind, bumblebees and bees. Watering has to be done twice less often than in the open field. It is also cheaper, because old waste films can be used instead of new ones. Cucumbers grow neat because they lie on the surface of the film or later on the fence.

Due to early planting and accelerated growth, the harvest of cucumbers is harvested earlier. And in general, the yield in comparison with existing methods is increased by 50 percent or more. For example, in this way, excellent yields are given by the varieties Volgodonsky-231, Solnechny, Lotus, Shanghai, Haba, Chinese climbing, Erofei.

I can send seeds to those who want to grow the varieties of cucumbers that are named above. For answers I'm waiting for an envelope with stamps and a return address + 1 clean. Write: Brizhan Valery Ivanovich, st. Kommunarov, 6, stanitsa Chelbasskaya, Kanevsky District, Krasnodar Territory, 353715.

Valery Brizhan, experienced gardener

Photo by Olga Rubtsova