Seedlings of cucumbers

Cultivation of seedlings of cucumbers in its agricultural technology is based on the fact that the cucumber - very heat-loving plant, which for a good harvest requires a lot of water and good lighting. Unlike tomato seedlings, cucumber seedlingsDo not suffer a dive. If the integrity of the root is violated, the plant begins to ache and stops for a long time in growth. Also growing cucumber seedlings is very different from caring for pepper seedlings. In this case, it should be noted that cucumbers develop much faster than peppers, so they should not be planted in seedlings in February or early March.

Cucumber seedlings: preparation of seeds and soil

As for growing any seedlings, first should prepare a good primer and packaging, which will grow cucumbers. It is very important to consider that seedlings of cucumbers mustgrow in the soil, which will be similar to the one that you have in the country. Such soil is needed for the plant to get used to the new conditions as little as possible. Also, it should not be forgotten that a different soil structure requires a certain irrigation frequency. So, peat soil will dry up too much, which is absolutely undesirable for the correct growth of cucumbers. Therefore, in advance, consider what kind of soil for cucumbers you will use.

As a good soil, you can use this mixture: 2 parts of the soil from the garden, 1 part peat and 0.5 part sand. Of course, you can not add sand. A very good option would be the use of soil mixed with rotted compost. Also you can buy the ready mix in the store, but in this case, the ground should be poured from the package for a couple of days in a large saucepan and from time to time it is stirred. Soil from the package should breathe a little.

As already mentioned, seedlings of cucumbers do not bear a dive, so the seeds of this vegetable should be immediately to put in small glasses. You can use plastic cups,but in this case you have to very carefully extract the plant along with a clod of earth to transplant it. You can also use special peat pots, which, after planting, are completely mixed with the earth and the roots sprout through their walls.

Seeds before planting should be sorted out to reject poor-quality material. To do this, the seeds are dipped into a salt solution (30 grams per1 liter of water). Empty seeds should float after a while. Then the seeds are disinfected, for which they are kept in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for half an hour. Finished seeds should be washed and then germinated. For germination, the seeds of cucumbers are kept on a damp cloth for 2-3 days. Then the seeds can be sown.

Cucumber seedlings: planting time

Cucumbers are very thermophilic plants, so their planted in the open ground, when it warms up to 16-17 ° C, and the night temperature will not be lower than 14 ° C. Since for planting in the ground use seedlings of about a month old, you can count yourself when planting cucumbers in seedlings. Also, do not forget to see the favorable days for planting cucumbers in the lunar calendar.

Cucumber seedlings: care

Planting of sprouted seeds of cucumbers is made to a depth of about 1.5 cm. Each glass should be placed only onone seed. All cups should be covered with a film and put in a warm place (the optimum air temperature is within 23-25 ​​° C). In 3-4 days the cucumbers will germinate. At this time, you should remove the film from the cups. But the cups themselves should be kept in a warm place until the cotyledons completely open on the seedlings. Then the temperature should be lowered to 20 ° C, so that the cucumber seedlings are not stretched.

With proper care, cucumber seedlings will grow rapidly. For proper growth,temperature and good lighting. Especially important is the lighting on cloudy days so that your seedlings do not stretch. Also, make sure that there are no drafts in the room where the seedlings are growing. Seedlings of cucumbers do not tolerate the drying out of the soil, but also do not allow waterlogging.

During the cultivation of cucumber seedlings, you can feed her a couple of times special organic or mineral fertilizers, which you can buy in the store.

In the open ground planted seedlings of cucumbers, whose age is 25-30 days. At this time, it appears on 3-6 of thesewell developed leaves, and the roots of plants occupy almost the entire pot. Also do not forget that a week before planting cucumber seedlings in the open ground it should be hardened. You can begin hardening a week before planting the seedlings in a permanent place.