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Experienced gardeners know that a cucumber bed is a more difficult way to grow a vegetable crop than a greenhouse environment. But in comparison with the closed ground, the cucumber garden provides ample opportunities for gardeners.
Cucumber planting rules
To plant cucumbers correctly, you should adhere to the following rules:
- The site should be located away from flowing water bodies and streams.
- The planting site should be prepared, make sure that drafts do not fall on the area where the culture grows.
- Loosening of the soil and watering should be done regularly. This preparation will prevent the formation of a hard crust and exclude drying out.
- You need to prepare top dressing in advance. They should be carried out more often than indoors.
- When picking cucumbers, it is advisable not to turn the lashes of the plant.
- Weeding is more often carried out in the open field than in a greenhouse. But it is best to cover the beds with black film.
Any gardener knows that cucumbers respond well to the organic composition of the soil where they grow. That is why manure, chicken droppings, fresh grass, polycarbonate and branches are added to the soil in the fall at regular intervals.
To achieve high yields, it is necessary to prepare the planting material in advance. So that during the "sunburn" the roots do not suffer, it is necessary to water the plant abundantly after planting.
Varieties of beds
A warm do-it-yourself garden bed in spring for cucumbers is a great way to preserve culture. There are several options for creating a do-it-yourself cucumber garden. This list includes:
- deep;
- high;
- warm;
- ordinary.
Warm bed
Hobby gardeners should know how to make warm cucumber beds in spring. They are made in two unusual ways: in a trench or on the surface.
Required materials and tools:
- shovels of two types and a pitchfork;
- manure;
- fallen leaves and tops;
- branches of various thicknesses;
- sawdust;
- roots;
- bread;
- liquid slops;
- boards for the construction of trellises (mesh);
- nails;
- hammer.
To create a garden bed for a cucumber culture, in the fall, they dig a trench 2 bayonet deep with a shovel. The pit is three meters long and 1.5 meters wide. Wood materials - branches and logs are laid out on the bottom. Next, make a grid of boards, resembling a box. Then spread out the grass, manure heap and tops. At the top, 15 cm thick earth remains.
From above the prepared bed is covered with foil and left until spring. Throughout the winter period, a certain process will take place inside, after which by spring the land will be ready for planting a vegetable crop. A warm bed will last a long time, usually 7 years for sure.
A warm bed can be used for several years in a row.
- In the first year, the structure is saturated with nutrients, and the decomposition of organic matter generates heat. In such conditions, not only cucumbers, but also pumpkins, zucchini can grow.
- By the second year, more food is placed in the soil, you can plant cucumbers and zucchini again in the same place. You can plant tomatoes and cabbage as a variety.
- By the third year, there are enough nutritional reserves for cabbage, tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, beets, carrots.
- Fourth year: planting peas and herbs. There is no more nutritional reserve for anything if you do not additionally fertilize.
In the vacant space, you can re-lay a warm bed.
Vertical cucumber beds
For economical gardeners, there is an excellent option for creating a vertical bed. This method allows you to save space and get a plant without fear that pests can spoil the tops.
For work, you will need plastic or metal containers, or horse manure. Round barrels or buckets are installed in a permanent place. Then they should be filled with nutrients. In the second case, high round beds are made from manure (up to 1 meter in diameter).
Branches are strewn on the bottom. A dung heap pours out from above. The topmost layer is soil (layer up to 20 cm). A peg up to 1.5 meters long is installed in the center. A string is attached to the top, and the lower ends are fixed at the edge of the bed with hooks. Cucumber bushes will grow skyward and twine twines.
Mobile beds
If the soil is poor, it doesn't matter. For the growth of cucumbers, mobile beds will help. Small costs are spent on their construction. You don't even need to dig up the ground or make complex structures.
First of all, a place is selected. It can be on absolutely any piece of land. The branches are taken as a basis, which are laid out in a layer of 15 cm. Sprinkle with manure on top. If there is no manure heap, leaves and tops can be used. Sprinkle the top with soil with a layer of 15 cm.Then it is necessary to water everything abundantly with manure infusion and cover with black film. And through small holes, seedlings are planted into the films.
Cucumbers growing in barrels are constantly in need of watering and feeding. But there are also advantages of this method - the stability of the temperature regime and the absence of pests.
How to properly care for your culture
Proper care of the plant will allow you to get a rich harvest at the end. Care is not complicated, the main actions are as follows:
- regular watering;
- frequent feeding;
- weed removal;
- loosening the soil;
- tying to supports.
Since the cucumber plant is more capable of drying out than others, it must be watered abundantly. Plus, during a drought, the process of decomposition of organic matter will stop in the lower layers of the soil.
Watering can be done in any way:
- from a watering can;
- from a hose;
- use drip irrigation.
When watering, you should avoid getting water on the leaves of the plant, otherwise they will turn yellow and wither. Along with watering once a week, plant feeding is carried out. Organic and ash are excellent for these purposes. In warm beds, the plant does not need constant feeding.
In cloudy weather, cucumbers are fed by spraying. This will require a urea solution. For 1 season, two such dressings are enough. When the loops begin to grow actively, they should be tied to supports. Some varieties are capable of forming tendrils, which allows the crop to climb independently. But they should be tied with ribbons so that they do not accidentally break off.
Cucumber herb garden
- The first step is to dig a trench. It is necessary to monitor the width of the pit, it should be 1 m, and the length is chosen by eye.
- Next, you need grass. Any grass is suitable, it is advisable to collect it near the river. The collected grass should be placed in a prepared hole and tamped (preferably with your feet). This will keep the cucumbers from sinking.This is very important, because if it rains often in the summer, the cucumbers will fall into the hole and rot.
- Then you need to cook a composition of moldy bread and potato peels. The finished mixture is poured into the garden bed and spread over the surface directly while hot. In contact with the grass, fermentation begins. The whole process leads to the emergence of microorganisms, which are very beneficial for the growth of cucumbers.
- The bed is covered with dug earth and filled with a bucket of boiling water.
- After 2 days, cucumbers can be planted in the prepared soil. At the end, the bed is covered with polyethylene.
Helpful advice from experienced gardeners
- For a cucumber bed, it is advisable to choose a place where the wind will not blow.
- There should be no running water at the landing site.
- It is advisable to choose a site for planting warm.
- It is worth paying attention to what grew up to cucumbers in that place. Is it possible to plant cucumbers after those crops.
- You can water cucumber seedlings with warm water, because cold water will destroy the plant. It should be remembered that cucumbers are a thermophilic culture.
- It is better to plant planting material in the soil at the end of April. This will maximize the yield. In hotbeds and greenhouses, cucumbers are planted even until late autumn.
- Weeds are regularly removed from the cucumber beds. Weeds should be controlled throughout the growth of the vegetable crop. You can treat the place where cucumbers grow with chemicals.
Building beds and caring for cucumber bushes does not take much time. And with the right approach, the beds will delight the owners with a bountiful harvest.