Top Dressing For Cucumbers In The Open Field: Folk Remedies And Fertilizers. What And How To Feed For The First Time After Disembarkation? What Is Better To Water The Second Time?

2024 Author: Beatrice Philips | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-01-18 12:09

To grow a large crop of delicious cucumbers, the soil must be fertilized throughout the growing season. The main thing is to know what nutrients plants need at each stage of development, and to give them exactly them.

Fertilizer overview

Different types of fertilizers are used to feed open field cucumbers. Their choice depends on the preferences of the owners of the site.

Organic

Many gardeners like to feed young cucumbers on their site with organic matter. These fertilizers are easy to find in any yard. They contain a lot of the nutrients that cucumbers need. In addition, if you feed the bushes with organic matter, no harmful substances will accumulate in them. There are several of the most popular products that are used to increase the yield of plants.

• Manure . Feeding plants with horse or cow manure is very popular among gardeners. This fertilizer is able to improve soil structure and increase crop yields. For feeding cucumbers, it is worth using only well-rotted manure. After all, the fresh product contains weed seeds. Before being introduced into the soil, manure is diluted with water in a 1 to 2 ratio and infused for several days. The product is diluted once more before watering. This fertilizer is used no more than 4 times during the entire season.
• Peat . This product contains virtually no nutrients. But when mixed with other organics, it allows all the nutrients to reach the plant roots faster.
• Ash . Pure ash obtained by burning branches and various vegetation is a very useful plant food. Pure wood ash is used to protect plants from pests. For watering products, you can use an ash infusion or broth. In the process of preparing the infusion, a liter of ash must be diluted in 5 liters of warm water. The composition must be mixed and left in a dark place for 5 days. Before use, it must be diluted with warm water in a ratio of 1 to 2.
• Siderata . Plants such as mustard, lupine, and clover are often used to fertilize the soil. The use of such greenery makes the ground loose, increases the number of worms in the soil and reduces the number of weeds in the garden. You can also use green manure for mulching.

These simple dressings can help make plants more resistant to various diseases and increase yields.

Mineral

In addition to organic matter, store-bought fertilizers are also used for feeding cucumbers. First, you need to pay attention to nitrogen fertilization for cucumbers. To enrich the soil with nitrogen, you can use urea, which is introduced into the soil 10-12 days after the plants have been planted in the beds. During pre-sowing preparation and in the first weeks of seedling growth, ammonium nitrate can also be used . Usually it is brought in by the foliar method.

Also, cucumbers need regular phosphorus feeding . The most popular of these is superphosphate. This product strengthens the root system of a young plant and accelerates its growth. Superphosphate is introduced into the soil during its spring preparation. This can be done at different times. Also, phosphate rock or borofosk is used for feeding.

All plants need potash fertilization. They help to improve the taste characteristics of vegetables. To feed bushes growing in open ground, you can use:

• potassium sulfate;
• potassium monophosphate;
• chelatin potassium.

Potash fertilizers, as a rule, dissolve in water and are used for foliar or root feeding of plants . For growth and development, cucumbers are fertilized with succinic acid. The product is produced in the form of white crystals, which are usually diluted in water. When properly treated, the plants are absorbed into the seeds, soil and roots.

Complex

For their convenience, many gardeners use complex fertilizers. They contain several nutrients at once. The most popular and frequently used remedy is nitroammophoska. It contains equal amounts of phosphorus and nitrogen. This product is great for spring and autumn feeding.

Also, many gardeners feed the plants with Azofoska, which contains potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen . It is also very beneficial for the future harvest. Top dressing with such a complex fertilizer helps to strengthen the roots. Plants, after fertilization with such means, are able to resist most diseases. Therefore, they develop very well and yield a large harvest.

Folk remedies

Many modern gardeners are happy to use various folk remedies for plant nutrition

• Iodine . The pharmaceutical preparation is often used in the garden. Preparing an iodine solution is very simple. First of all, a tablespoon of soap shavings or liquid soap is diluted in 9 liters of warm water. Then everything is thoroughly mixed. A liter of whey or milk is added to the container, and 10 drops of iodine are added. The resulting product can be used immediately to spray the plants.
• Hydrogen peroxide . This product is usually used to feed seedlings. To prepare a solution, 1 tablespoon of the product is diluted in a liter of water. Young seedlings are sprayed with this product. This tool allows you to accelerate the growth process of seedlings, as well as strengthen its immunity.
• Ammonia . This sub-crust helps the plants to grow green mass. It must be used carefully so as not to harm the plants. Half a teaspoon of ammonia must be diluted in 3 liters of water. The resulting liquid must be poured into a sprayer and used to cultivate the soil next to the bush. For spraying on a sheet, 3 tablespoons of ammonia are diluted in 10 liters of water. During the period of growing green mass, fertilizing with ammonia can be applied once every 5-7 days. You cannot fertilize the bushes more often.
• Onion peel . To prepare a simple fertilizer, several handfuls of dry onion husks must be poured with a liter of boiling water. The product must be infused for several days, and then strain and dilute with 5 liters of water. If the infusion is to be used for foliar feeding, the amount of water used must be doubled.
• Yeast . This product is commonly used to stimulate the growth of bushes and increase the yield of cucumbers. Preparing this type of fertilizer is very simple. A teaspoon of yeast must be diluted in 5 liters of water. Such a solution must be infused for several hours. Strain it before adding the product to the soil.
• Bread . This feeding works on the same principle as yeast. To prepare the fertilizer, you need to put 1 loaf of bread in a bucket with settled rainwater. The product must be left to infuse overnight. In the morning it will need to be thoroughly kneaded. Add 10 ml of iodine to the bucket with the resulting slurry. The product can be used immediately for feeding. The main thing is to strain it initially so that a bread crust does not form next to the bushes.
• Boric acid . Top dressing with such a remedy is especially important if the cucumbers are grown on peat or swampy soils. Dry powder (5 g) must be dissolved in 2 glasses of hot water. Then the solution must be diluted in 8-10 liters of warm water. You need to use it for spraying flowering bushes. Such feeding allows you to increase the number of ovaries on the plant.
• Herbs . Many gardeners believe that various herbal infusions and decoctions are best suited for spraying the beds. For their preparation, as a rule, meadow herbs are used. Agave, burdock, nettle, celandine can be added to the container with fertilizer. Fresh plants must be finely chopped, sent to a barrel, filled with water and infused for 10 days. The resulting product is diluted in water in a ratio of 1 to 10. This top dressing is usually applied at the root.
• Soda . This product is used for plants that require sodium. You can use a soda solution for feeding no more than 2 times a month. It is prepared very simply. 3 tablespoons of baking soda are diluted in a bucket of warm water. The product is used for watering plants. About a liter of liquid is poured under one bush.

Such feedings can be combined with purchased ones so that the plants receive the required amount of vitamins and nutrients.

Application scheme

Top dressing for cucumbers growing in the open field should be carried out at a suitable time. Everyone can draw up a schedule for fertilizing bushes on their own.

Site preparation

For the first time, fertilizers are used in the fall, during soil preparation. As a rule, ordinary manure is used at this stage. For each square meter of the site, about 10 kg of the product is applied.

Before applying top dressing, the earth must be well dug up . For a few cold months, top dressing makes the soil more nutritious. Therefore, cucumbers grow large and juicy in such an area.

When landing

If it was not possible to feed the soil in the fall, fertilizers are applied in the spring. Before planting young seedlings or sowing seeds, the soil is also carefully dug up. You can add humus or well-rotted compost to it.

Fertilizers can be added directly to the wells . Compost and 2 tablespoons of wood ash are added to each of them. After planting the plants in the wells of the beds, it is necessary to water well.

After germination

For the very first feeding of young seedlings, organic matter is usually used. Usually, cow or horse manure, as well as bird droppings, are used for this purpose. These natural products are rich in nitrogen, which plants need to build up green mass.

To prepare a concentrated solution in 10 liters of water, a kilogram of manure or half the amount of chicken manure is diluted. 500-700 ml of product is poured under each of the bushes. You can also use ammonium nitrate at this stage.

If grown seedlings are planted in the garden, they need to start feeding after they take root. Fertilizers in this case are applied in 1, 5 - 2 weeks after planting on the beds.

During flowering and fruiting

The second feeding is also necessary for plant development. Bushes are processed before flowering . Plants need phosphorus and lots of potassium at this stage. It is best to use clean ash during this time. You can simply sprinkle it on the aisles. About 100 g of ash is consumed per 1 m 2 of beds. After such feeding of the garden, the bushes must be well watered.

For the third time, the cucumbers are fed after the young fruits have appeared on the bushes . Usually at this time, the soil around the bushes is sprinkled with well-sifted ash.

After such feeding, nitrogen fertilizing cannot be used in the next few days.

Additional feeding

In some cases, plants also need additional feeding. It is worth applying fertilizers, focusing on their appearance and condition.

• Slow growth . To accelerate the growth of cucumbers, boron and nitrogen-containing dressings are introduced into the soil. Ash solution or dry yeast is used as an alternative to such fertilizers.
• Yellow leaves . Faced with such a problem, cucumbers should be poured with a soda solution. A tablespoon of dry powder is usually diluted in 1 bucket of water.
• Pale color of leaves . Most often, this problem appears due to insufficient lighting or nitrogen starvation of plants. Urea is usually used to feed young bushes.

If the plants look good, they will not need additional feeding.

Helpful hints

Growing healthy and tasty cucumbers on your property is easy. If you wish, you can do with simple organic dressings that will not harm the plants in any way. To increase the yield of bushes, in the process of caring for them, it is worth adhering to certain rules.

• Cucumbers need to be watered regularly . Every watering should be abundant. It is best to use water that is well settled and warm. If you don't do this often enough, the cucumbers will be small and not very tasty.
• To retain moisture in the soil, the root space is usually mulched . Such a protective layer also helps to save plants from many diseases and pests.
• Do not add too much ash to the soil . This results in strong alkalization.
• You cannot trim the tendrils of cucumbers . This leads to the development of diseases and a deterioration in the general condition of the bushes.
• In order not to harm the plants , you can not use expired mineral formulations or products that have been stored improperly.