How to properly plant cucumbers in seedlings - important rules that will ensure a good harvest

It is important to know how to properly plant cucumbers into seedlings, because the plant should be prepared for planting in open ground. There are certain features regarding the timing of planting, the features of the procedure itself and further care.

Cucumber seedlings - growing at home

There are rules concerning the creation of suitable conditions for planting cucumber seeds:

  1. For proper development, light is important, so it is worth determining where the boxes with the seedlings will be placed. They should not be touched by the direct rays of the sun. The light should come to the seedlings for 12 hours. If this does not work, use a refresher.
  2. Growing cucumber seedlings involves taking into account temperature and humidity. Before the appearance of cotyledonous leaves, the indices should be at the level of 30 ° C, and after the value decreases to 19-22 ° C. To properly plant cucumbers, note that the air should be moist - at a level of 70-80%.

When to plant cucumbers in seedlings?

For planting on the site you need to get stronger and formed seedlings. The timing of planting cucumbers for seedlings depends on where the plants will later be transplanted.

  1. To the greenhouse. If the transplanting of seedlings will be carried out in a warm greenhouse, it is correct to sow the seeds in the middle of winter, but for an unheated greenhouse the appropriate time is February.
  2. In the open ground. The instructions on how to properly plant cucumbers into seedlings indicate that counts are used to select the seeding date. Landing on the site is carried out when the ground is heated to 15 ° C, and air - to 20 ° C. For most territories, the period from the end of spring to the beginning of summer is suitable. Seedlings will grow in 35-, 5-4.5 weeks, which will help to calculate the appropriate time for sowing.

Preparation of seeds of cucumbers for sowing on seedlings

If you use your own seeds, then first they must be decontaminated, putting in a weak solution of potassium permanganate . After that, the preparation of seeds of cucumbers for seedlings is the same for store and own planting material:

  1. First, separate the empty seeds, for which in 1 tbsp. water, dissolve 1 tsp salt, mix and dip the seeds. Empty floats, and they should be removed.
  2. When the seeds are slightly swollen, remove them and move them for 10 hours in the refrigerator, and then for 6-8 hours warm up near the battery.
  3. The final stage of seed preparation to plant them on seedlings is soaking . To do this properly, place them on a piece of cloth or cotton pads, cover and moisturize. Put in a warm place and always make sure that the fabric does not dry out.

Soil for seedlings of cucumbers

Plant seeds can be in a special land, which is sold in stores. To it it is recommended to add in the same volume wood sawdust, but biohumus should be twice less. You can make a suitable mixture yourself. The soil composition for seedlings of cucumbers includes one part of turf ground, peat and humus, and another 1/3 part of river sand or clayey sawdust. It is recommended to put wood ash in the resulting mixture, considering that 10 liters should account for 1 tbsp, and a little more urea and nitrofosses.

How to plant cucumbers in seedlings?

There are several options for planting seeds, so there is something to choose from. This can be done in one container, maintaining between the seeds a distance of a couple of centimeters, but then you will need to conduct a subsequent dive. Experienced gardeners recommend seeding cucumber seeds for seedlings to carry out two pieces in cups, with the subsequent removal of a weaker seedling.

Cultivation of cucumber seedlings in peat pots

In the shops for truck farmers you can buy special peat cups, which should be filled with prepared soil, not getting enough to top 1 cm. Planting of cucumbers in peat pots for seedlings can be carried out both with dry and soaked seeds.

  1. Dry seeds should be deepened by 1.5-2 cm, sprinkled with soil and slightly crushed. The pots are exposed in a pallet and poured from the spray gun.
  2. To properly plant the germinated seeds, pits 2 cm deep are made. Dip seeds there, sprinkle them with earth and apply it a little. Then spray irrigation from the spray gun.
  3. In both cases, cover the pots with a film, to create a microclimate. Put the pallets in the heat, and when there are shoots, then transfer to a bright place and remove the film.
  4. The seedlings are transferred to the site directly in peat pots, which will serve as an additional fertilizer. Deepen them so that the containers protrude slightly above the ground.

Growing cucumber seedlings in cups

One of the common and available methods of planting seeds, which has its own characteristics. Plant the cucumbers right:

  1. Take the plastic cups and cut the bottom of them. Put them in pallets, and then fill the tanks with a nutrient primer.
  2. Planting cucumbers in the cups for seedling means a groove in each container of two seeds per 1.5-2 cm. Top with a thin layer of earth.
  3. After irrigation, use a spray gun. Capacities close the film and send them to a warm place, but away from the direct rays of the sun.
  4. When the shoots appear, remove the cover. One of the grown up seedlings from each glass should be removed, leaving the stronger one. Planting grown sprouts on the site is carried out by transshipment.

Care of seedlings of cucumbers at home

For an effective transplant, you need to take care of the seedlings properly. The main care for seedlings of cucumbers after sprouting is watering , which must be carried out with warm water. It is important not to pour a lot of water, otherwise the roots will rot and they will die. The frequency of watering is determined by the state of the soil, so it is recommended to take a small piece of soil and try to jump from it a ball. If this happens, then irrigation is not necessary, and if the earth is crumbling, then water it.

How to feed seedlings of cucumbers?

If good soil was used for planting and there are necessary fertilizers in it, then fertilizing can be avoided. Additives are recommended when the leaves are yellowed, drooping or seedlings are no longer growing. Extra fertilization of seedlings of cucumbers can be carried out with a solution of ash, a mixture of microelements, and even infusion of mullein or bird droppings. It is important after adding additives to pour the soil into the container.

  1. For the first time additives are made after the appearance of a pair of leaves. To do this, use urea, nitrate and superphosphate.
  2. Next time, fertilizers are added before planting the seedlings in the soil. To do this, choose potassium sulfate and superphosphate or organic.

Picking cucumber seedlings

When landing in separate tanks, picking is not carried out, and in another case it is needed when a pair of real leaves appear. Describing whether you need to pick up cucumber seedlings and how to do it correctly, consider these recommendations:

  1. Picks can be made in peat pots or cups. Prepare the soil mixture, which was mentioned earlier.
  2. Finding out how to properly plant cucumbers in seedlings, it should be pointed out that before the picking, the seedlings are watered, and then they are extracted with a spatula or spoon with a small clod of earth. Transfer it to a prepared pit, pour a little, sprinkle with soil and lightly press down at the base.

When to plant cucumber seedlings in the open ground?

This vegetable culture is fast-growing and already 25-27 days after sowing it is possible to land on a permanent place. It has already been mentioned that the planting of cucumber seedlings into the open ground occurs when the earth warms to a minimum of 15 ° C, and this is the beginning of June. For the greenhouse, the appropriate time comes in the 10-20 days of May. It is important to take into account that these limits depend on the climatic zone. It is recommended to conduct the hardening of seeds before planting: first, every day, air the seedlings, and then transfer it for several hours to open air.

Diseases of cucumber seedlings and their treatment

If the seeds were planted incorrectly or care is taken with errors, then there may be different problems. The instructions on how to properly plant cucumbers on seedlings indicate that if the seeds do not peck, the leaves turn yellow, or the seedlings wither, these are signs of disease or pest attack. If the humidity is increased, then the development of white rot, powdery mildew, and on the roots appears root rot. In addition, the spider mite can spread.

  1. If the bushes have a touch of black, then the seedlings must be destroyed. From this disease of cucumber seedlings it is possible to protect uninjured bushes by treatment with antifungal fungicides.
  2. The presence of gray rot is evidenced by large patches of brown and gray. For treatment, problem spots are sprinkled with ashes and temporarily stop watering.
  3. If there are whitish or reddish spots on the seedlings, then it is powdery mildew, with which they struggle by dusting the affected areas with ashes. In addition, planting should be sprayed with a solution of colloidal sulfur.
  4. On all parts of the plant, in most cases, white rot appears, which is recognized on a white scurf. For the fight, the damaged parts are sprinkled with lime-lint. In addition, the plants move away from each other and stop watering.
  5. If you see white and light yellow points, the number of which is constantly growing, then it is a spider mite. After a while, a spider web appears, braiding the leaves from the bottom. To cope with pests, it is necessary to carry out correct treatment with insecticides, for example, "Phytoferm", "Agravertin" or "Carbophos".
  6. To attack cucumbers, even if they have been properly planted, can melon aphid, which can be seen on the lower part of the leaves and shoots. After a while, the plant begins to dry out. If the larvae were seen, they should be washed off using a cotton disc that was soaked in soapy water. When the lesion is large, treatment with insecticides is carried out. Spraying is done two times at intervals of three days.