When growing cucumber seedlings, amateur gardeners often make mistakes. As a result, cucumbers grow poorly, get sick, and are not happy with the harvest. What reasons lead to such consequences?
Planting old varieties and collecting seeds from hybrids
Some gardeners, in order to save money, sow seeds of old, proven varieties. But for some reason there are fewer cucumbers every year, and the taste is no longer the same. It is necessary to update varieties for planting more often and plant not one, but several. Hybrid seeds collected from the harvest also do not deliver on the promises made by the manufacturer.
Seeds from hybrids cannot be planted the next year, since they no longer contain the characteristics intended by the breeders: viability, yield, taste.
It is more profitable to plant hybrids, despite the high cost of seeds:
- more productive than varietal cucumbers;
- get sick less.
Varietal plants have more male flowers. Flowers take a lot of nutrients from the soil, but do not produce a harvest. This plant begins to bear fruit later.
The sowing time was incorrectly calculated
Cucumbers develop faster than eggplants, tomatoes, and peppers. 2 weeks or a month after sowing, the cucumber seedlings are taken out to the garden bed or greenhouse. There is no need to languish the seedlings for a long time.
With the appearance of 3-4 true leaves, the seedlings are planted in the ground.
By the time of fruiting and before the onset of diseases, the plant’s immunity will become stronger.The seedlings will become resilient to various unfavorable factors.
Sowing seeds in unsuitable soil
Even gardeners with extensive experience sometimes sow seeds in soil taken from the beds. It is impossible to get strong seedlings and a large harvest from such land. Garden soil contains few nutrients, but contains a lot of fungal spores. In such soil, cucumber seedlings will “catch” the infection and become sick.
It is advisable to purchase special soil for seedlings in the store. But he also needs to be prepared.
- Disinfect the soil - spill it with a pink solution of potassium permanganate or Fitosporin. On the packaging, the manufacturer gives instructions on how to use the drug.
- Add a little baking powder to the soil - vermiculite or river sand, sifted through a sieve.
- Add ash and compost.
Only in such soil, loose and nutritious, should cucumber seeds be sown.
Insufficient lighting and improper watering regime
Cucumber seedlings love a lot of light. Some gardeners do not attach importance to this factor, but in vain.
Even if you sow the seeds in March, the seedlings need additional light. For the first 3 days, the seedlings are kept under lighting for 24 hours.
Later left under a lamp at night. The period of stay under additional lighting devices depends on the place where the seedlings are located.
With sufficient lighting, cucumber seedlings will not stretch and will be strong.
There is an opinion among gardeners that the cucumber “loves” moisture, and does not need too much water. But this reasoning is erroneous. Excess moisture causes fragile roots of cucumber seedlings to rot. The seedlings will become sick or die.
At the bottom of the container in which the cucumber seed is sown, be sure to cut several drainage holes to prevent the collection of excess liquid. Water with non-cold water once every 2-3 days.
Overfeeding with nitrogenous fertilizers
The same applies to fertilizing. Gardeners think that extra fertilizing won't hurt. Add saltpeter, which contains a lot of nitrogen. From an excess of nitrogen fertilizers, cucumber seedlings begin to “fatten”. And during this period, cucumber seedlings need more phosphorus to develop and strengthen the root system.
Nitrogen fertilizer is applied once. Later - potassium-phosphorus. Potassium is the favorite mineral element of cucumber. A lack of potassium leads to the appearance of a yellow border on the leaves.
Growing cucumber seedlings begins with sowing seeds. Mistakes made at this stage can cause disease and crop failure.
If gardeners pay attention to shortcomings in care in a timely manner and carry out simple agricultural techniques, then the cucumber seedlings will grow strong.
Only healthy seedlings will give a rich and high-quality harvest, which will delight you with tasty and crispy cucumbers.
