Everyone loves fresh crispy green cucumbers in the summer, but not many manage to get their crop. Most novice gardeners consider this culture rather capricious and do not know how to increase the yield of cucumbers at home. That is why all useful tips on improving the productivity indicators of this crop, accessible to absolutely everyone, will be described below.
Selection of planting material
This issue should be dealt with first of all, since the modern variety of varieties can further confuse an unaware gardener. You need to choose seeds based on future growing conditions and climate features. Today, there are separate breeding varieties for active growth in greenhouses and open ground, as well as taking into account the climate of the growing region. In addition, attention should be paid only to trusted manufacturers and points of sale. Experienced implementers can give excellent advice on choosing the ideal cucumber seeds, but you should not rely on high fruiting rates only with the right choice of planting material. Cucumbers need regular and comprehensive care.
Ways to increase productivity
In order to answer the question of how to increase the yield of cucumbers, almost everyone is looking for a super way, but only comprehensive implementation of all care measures gives a high result.
This includes the following actions:
- moderate and regular watering;
- strengthening the root system of the plant;
- proper nutrition;
- artificial pollination if necessary.
Of course, even with all of the above measures, yielding yields more than the declared seed producers is rarely obtained, therefore, in order to know what to count on, you should familiarize yourself with this information in advance when purchasing planting material. These data are indicated as the number of cucumbers that can be collected from 1 square meter of planting.
Watering Recommendations
Before you increase the yield of cucumbers, you must familiarize yourself with all the preferences of this plant. Cucumbers are very fond of moisture and it is recommended to water them at least once a day, and in a dry summer you can increase the number of procedures to two, but it is strictly forbidden to allow overmoistening. High humidity and constant stagnation of water lead to decay of the roots of the plant and the development of various fungal infections in the ground.
To avoid this, but with all the exact know how to increase the yield of cucumbers in the open ground and other growing conditions, you must follow the basic rule: the irrigation fluid must be warm and settled. You can use rain, the main thing is that its temperature be equal to the temperature of the air. Indicators should not fall below 20 0 C. Water colder is able to provoke the removal of useful substances from the soil, which will lead to a lack of nutrition, and as a consequence, a decrease in productivity.
To bring the temperature to the required level, you do not need to perform complex heating manipulations. It is enough to have a tank with a supply of water, standing in the sun. The liquid poured into it in the morning will perfectly warm itself for the whole day, and it will be possible to water the cucumbers in the evening.
Proper hydration
Before watering the cucumbers, in order to increase the yield, experienced gardeners advise digging a parallel groove near the bed, with a depth of not more than 5 cm. This is necessary to protect the plant from getting water directly on the leaves, because the culture does not like this. Also, this approach reduces the likelihood of various fungal diseases in the soil, directly near the bushes.
For this, a groove is made far from the stems at a distance of about 20 cm, after which they pour water directly into it, but very slowly so as not to wash out the groove itself or the root system of cucumbers adjacent to the soil surface. The depth of high-quality watering should be 15 cm, only then the culture will be able to receive a sufficient amount of liquid.
It is very important that during prolonged rains or prolonged cloudy weather, it is more stringent to control soil moisture, since moisture evaporates at this time for a long time. An excess of watering should be avoided and water should not be poured in vain.
Helpful advice
Many people know that cucumbers are thermophilic and react very sharply to sudden changes in temperature. In order to answer the question of how to increase the yield of cucumbers in the open field, it is necessary to ensure a stable climate for the culture. Already in July, the temperature at night often becomes noticeably lower than during the day, so capricious cucumbers should be covered with a film for the night. To do this, you need to fix arches over the lashes and cover the plants every cold night. Then not only productivity will increase, but also the quality of fruits.
Before you increase the yield of cucumbers in the greenhouse, you can also slightly cover the bushes at night, but it is best to use slightly different methods. By the way, they are suitable for any type of landing. At the same time, cucumbers need to be loosened as often as possible, to renew the whips by removing yellowed leaves and regularly fed. It is also recommended to pinch the plant to the fourth leaf.
Strengthening the foundation
Before you increase the yield of cucumbers in any growth conditions, you need to pay attention to the health of the plant itself. The basis of any garden culture is its root system, which provides nutrition to the rest of the mass. The possibility of obtaining nutrients from the soil depends on how extensively it is spread below the surface of the earth, which subsequently affects the amount of ripened vegetables.
So how to increase the yield of tomatoes and cucumbers? Both of these crops are very fond of their roots "breathing" and always have access to fresh air, which is ensured by regular loosening of the beds. It is especially good to do this after watering, since moisture always compacts the soil when it penetrates.
A great way to help the development of the root system is regular hilling of the plant. It is important not to damage the roots located close to the surface of the earth, so many gardeners simply sprinkle the stems after loosening a small amount of earth from another place. Hilling allows moisture to linger longer in the ground, which means it will be less necessary to water the bushes.
Additional root formation
How to increase the yield of cucumbers in the garden, if there is suspicion of a disease of the root system with putrefactive infections? In this case, it is simply necessary to provoke the plant to form new healthy roots.
This is done in the following way:
- First of all, half the ovaries are removed to relieve the load on the plant.
- After this, several lashes descend in the middle to the ground and sprinkle with fertile soil.
- The places of powder should be regularly watered and in a short time new healthy roots are formed in them, which can provide nutrition to the whole plant.
Food supply
In order to figure out how to increase the yield of cucumbers on the balcony, many of the above methods will not work, so you should pay attention to ensuring the plant a stable nutrition. A culture such as cucumber grows only on cultivated and fertile soil. If the soil is picked up not structured or not drained, then getting a quality crop will not work under any growing conditions.
Before you increase the yield of cucumbers, you need to provide them with optimal conditions for growth and development. This is impossible without additional fertilizing with mineral complexes, vitamins and organic fertilizers. All these substances are needed by the culture for active development and fruiting. They can be applied under the root during watering, by dry methods or by foliar spraying, the main thing is to observe the time delay between top dressing, since an excess of fertilizers also adversely affects plant health.
The first procedure for the additional introduction of nutrients to cucumbers can be carried out already after the appearance of a pair of real leaves on them, and the last is already at the decline of fruiting.
Artificial pollination
And so, how to increase the yield of cucumbers in the greenhouse? They are less whimsical to care than soil, because their climate is almost always stable, and the level of humidity is also. An important feature of the crop yield in such conditions is the access to it of insects that pollinate the plant and make it possible to obtain a stable, rich crop in the future. Of course, modern self-pollinated breeding discoveries have long made it possible to grow vegetables absolutely without the participation of bees, but many gardeners of the old school still prefer the natural process. In this case, the greenhouses should be regularly ventilated, giving the insects the opportunity to get to the flowers.
If there is a need to attract insects to plantations in the open ground, then gardeners often plant honey plants, aromatic herbs or spicy crops nearby.
In rainy or cloudy summers, insects rarely fly long distances, so crops with the need for pollination should be handled independently. To do this, you need to take a cosmetic small brush or brush for drawing and take turns to move it from male to female inflorescences, transferring pollen to the villi.
List of Effective Fertilizers
So
how to feed cucumbers to increase the yield? Complex fertilizers, mineral additives and organic top dressing are perfect for this. Each gardener chooses the best option for himself, because someone on the farm has farm animals and the ability to collect organics from them for plants, while someone does not.
In any case, the list of suitable fertilizers consists not only of bird droppings, and any of them - chickens, ducks, turkeys, and so on, and animals, also include:
- wood ash;
- milk;
- compost;
- infusion of weeds;
- yeast.
Cooking recipes
In order to know how to increase the yield of cucumbers, you need to know and how to prepare various fertilizers for them. So bird droppings are an ideal means for feeding, it contains a large number of minerals and trace elements, but it is strictly forbidden to use it in its pure form. Litter should be placed in a small amount in a container and filled with water, then left to ferment in the sun for several days. The resulting mixture is used for irrigation, but in diluted form: 1 liter of composition per bucket of water. A large concentration can lead to burning of the root system and foliage if the composition gets on it. Mixtures from the droppings of farm animals — cows, horses, pigs — are similarly prepared.
Wood ash can be used both in its pure form for sprinkling under the bushes, and in diluted for watering. For the latter, you need to add 100 sifted ash to a bucket of water and stir, then bring it under the cucumbers. You can use the product of wood processing and as an independent fertilizer. Ashes are poured directly into the holes when planting various crops, and then sprayed into the beds.
Fertilizing cucumbers with milk helps to activate the growth and development of the plant. For this, the product is diluted 1: 1 with water and used for irrigation.
Yeast also actively helps develop culture. To do this, they must first be diluted in water and set aside for fermentation. To speed up the process, you can add a little sugar. Watering with this mixture should be strictly under the root, getting on the foliage can provoke a burn.
Compost or humus is more often used as a nutritious mulch for cultivated plants. Gradually overripe, they regularly provide plants with nutrients, while covering the soil from direct sunlight, which helps to retain moisture in it longer, which the culture needs for maximum effective development.
At each site there are certainly weeds that gardeners try to eradicate as quickly as possible. It is interesting that weeds can also be put into action and feed them growing cucumbers on the site, for example. To do this, grind the grass and fill it with water. The resulting mixture is left to ferment in a sunny area for a week, after which it can be used for irrigation. It is important to feed crops with this mixture no more than 1 time in 7 days.
With great success, you can also use mineral fertilizers for feeding cucumbers, which can also be bred in water or used as dry products. It is important to determine exactly which elements the plant needs in a certain period or it is better to use complex mixtures immediately.
As it turned out, caring for cucumbers is easy. To get a good harvest, you should adhere to certain recommendations, and then delicious cucumbers on the table are guaranteed to you.