Any gardener strives to get a bountiful harvest on his plot of land. You can achieve high-quality germination of vegetables by the method of correct sowing of seeds. Very often, experienced gardeners independently grow seedlings from seeds in order to pamper themselves with early fruits as early as possible.
Cucumbers are among the earliest for growing vegetables at their summer cottage. If you know the features of seed preparation, then you can significantly accelerate the growth of cucumbers in your garden and at the beginning of June you have your own product. How is the sowing of cucumber seeds for seedlings correctly carried out and what is needed for a good harvest of a popular vegetable?
What does sowing cucumber seeds for seedlings give?
Most of the owners of summer cottages sow cucumber seeds in open groundwhen it's already warm. This proven method gives good results, but cucumber fruits do not appear as soon as we would like. The seedling method makes it possible to harvest your cucumbers much earlier, as well as increase their yield.
Applying this method, it is necessary to take into account the climatic and weather conditions, as well as know at what time it is planned to plant seedlings in open ground. Most often, cucumbers are planted in early May. Having your own greenhouse, you can plant cucumber seedlings in late March or early April. Cucumbers are very fond of warmth and when the nights are cold in spring, they can often die or get sick with frost. This is manifested first by the yellowness of the leaves, they soon dry out, the plant develops very poorly. Before you start growing seedlings, you need to prepare the seeds for sowing and then proceed with further steps.
Seed preparation and soaking
When purchasing seeds, you need to carefully read the information on the package. Often seed growers pre-treat the seeds by filling them in bags. For this use special drugs, after which the seeds are ready for use.
If there is no such information on the selected seeds, or if they have lain for several years, then the seeds must be disinfected. The best way to do this is to use a plastic container, such as a glass of potassium permanganate solution. You need to hold the seeds in it for about 30 minutes, then remove and rinse with warm running water. After that, the inoculum must be placed in a nutrient solution for 12 hours and then transferred to a damp gauze or paper towel.
Seeds need to be evenly distributed, there should not be too much moisture. It is best to moisten the napkin with a spray bottle with warm water so that the seeds are constantly moist on both sides. It is better to place dishes with seeds in a warm place, then they hatch faster. If the seeds of the cucumbers are cool, they will die. At a comfortable temperature of about +30aboutThe seeds will hatch in a couple of days.
Growing seedlings
The best soil mixture for growing cucumber seedlings is considered to be a composition in equal parts of a mixture of peat, humus, sawdust and sod land. You can also buy a ready-made mixture at the store. Any seedlings grown in two ways:
- by placing the seeds in separate plastic cups;
- having planted in a large container and after a while dive the sprouts.
According to experienced gardeners, cucumbers do not develop well after picking. The best option for growing seedlings is to plant seeds in separate cups with a capacity of 300-500 ml. Pour soil mixture into each glass, moisten with water from a spray bottle. Then put the seeds flat in a groove 1.5-2 cm deep, sprinkle them lightly with soil. The containers are best placed on a windowsill near a warm radiator. The optimum temperature for good development of seedlings should be + 25-28aboutFROM.
To make the seeds germinate faster, the containers can be hermetically covered transparent cling film or a plastic lid. When all the shoots appear, the shelter can be removed. At normal temperature not lower than +20aboutAfter a few days, the first leaves should appear on the shoots. Watering the seedlings should be moderate so that the roots do not rot. It is advisable to water as the soil dries up.
The place for placing seedlings should be comfortable and free of drafts. Cucumbers love warmth, so they need to create all the conditions for normal development. Often, gardeners use fluorescent lamps to help plants get the light they need when the day is still short. It is best to choose a place on the south side of the room and water regularly, turn the containers so that the plants do not grow in one direction. When the cucumber seedlings do not have enough light, they stretch into the stem.
If separate cups are used for growing cucumber seedlings, then each container needs put 2-3 seeds... Then leave the strongest sprout, and remove the rest.
Seedling picking
If the seeds were sown in one large container, then as the seedlings grow, they must be dived. This is best done when the sprouts have 2-3 leaves. It is necessary to prepare separate cups of potting soil and use a spoon to pick up the seedling with the soil on the root and immediately place it in the cup. The soil in the new container should be moistened after transplanting the seedling need to fill up the soil.
Cucumbers are much more difficult to dive than other vegetables, they are very fragile. Their long roots are often intertwined with neighboring seedlings during development. When transplanting them into another container, the root system can easily suffer and this will lead to the death of the sprout.
Top dressing and watering seedlings
The necessary nutrition for seedlings can be provided if a certain composition of nutrients is added to the soil mixture. To do this, you need to take a teaspoon of urea and nitrophosphate, and also add 1 glass of wood ash. Combine the resulting composition with 10 kg of prepared soil for seed germination. When the first leaf appears in the seedlings of cucumbers, it is necessary to do regular feeding of the plants. Best of all is this do once every 7-10 days.
Seedlings are always watered with warm water, in which there is no bleach. It is good to use standing water for a few hours at room temperature. When the seedlings are on the windowsill where the battery is located, it is advisable to create the desired humidity. To do this, a small container with water is placed on the windowsill and optimal humidity is ensured.
Planting cucumber seedlings
About a week before planting, the seedlings of cucumbers must be hardened, accustomed to direct sunlight. If there is no frost, then you can take out the seedlings to the balcony and leave for a certain time, gradually increasing the adaptation time. You only need to choose the sunny side of the room. If you plan to plant cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse, then take them there for 1 week, trying to maintain a constant temperature.
When the seedlings have their first true leaf, they can be planted in a permanent place in the greenhouse or in the open field. It is advisable to do this until the moment leaves less than 4-5 pieces, otherwise the plant will suffer a transplant worse and develop poorly.
The optimum temperature for disembarkation in the daytime should be + 22-25aboutC, at night it should not fall below +13aboutFROM.- The popular vegetable is very picky about moisture, light and heat.
- Experienced gardeners always transplant cucumber seedlings in the evening, after moistening the soil well.
- It is advisable to fertilize the prepared bed for cucumbers with manure or compost.
- They make holes in the soil about 15 cm deep, wate them abundantly with water and plant seedlings, after absorbing moisture.
- A garden for cucumbers should be chosen in the place where they did not grow last year.
- The vegetable loves well-lit areas of land and protected from the north wind.
- The first days after planting cucumber seedlings, they must be watered abundantly.
Subject to all the rules of the technology of sowing cucumbers for seedlings, you can grow excellent seedlings for your site. A proven method will help you get guaranteed harvest vegetables at the beginning of summer. Proper care of cucumbers will ensure a rich harvest even in a small summer cottage.
