Growing cucumbers in open ground on a trellis: from sowing seeds to harvesting

In recent years, more and more vegetable growers prefer to grow open ground cucumbers tied to a trellis. This method compared to the method growing Rooting allows you to get the maximum yield in the shortest possible time.

Content

• Benefits of growing on a trellis
• Which varieties to choose
• Landing technology
• Cucumber care
• Harvesting

Benefits of growing on a trellis

The trellis method of growing cucumbers in open ground has a number of advantages compared to the traditional growing method:

• Allows you to significantly save space
• The fruiting period is extended
• Reduces the level of fungal diseases
• The process of harvesting fruits becomes easier
• Increases productivity and product uniformity

The simplest trellis looks like a wooden frame with a stretched mesh or wire to which cucumber lashes cling. But, despite this simplicity, it can significantly improve and facilitate the process of growing cucumbers.

Which varieties to choose

Not all varieties of cucumbers are suitable for growing on a trellis. The best results are shown by long-climbing plants with a bouquet type of flowering, which are capable of forming 3-4 cucumbers in the leaf axils. Most of these cucumbers are hybrid parthenocarpic plants, meaning they are capable of producing fruit without pollination.The most popular of them at the moment are the following:

• courage
• generous
• Hermann
• marinda
• grasshopper
• clean ponds

Also, when grown on a trellis in open ground, early ripening varieties with a predominantly female type of flowering show good results.

Landing technology

You need to start preparing the soil for planting cucumbers in the fall. To do this, manure and mineral fertilizers are added to the digging. When forming ridges, the distance between the rows should be at least 1 m. To create a trellis, it is most convenient to use a plastic mesh with cells of 10x10 or 20x20 cm.

To do this, wooden posts are dug along the entire length of the ridges, the distance between them should be about 4 m. A wire is stretched along the top and bottom of the posts, to which a plastic mesh will then be attached. To get an early harvest of cucumbers, you will need to use the seedling method of growing cucumbers.

Sowing seedlings

When determining deadlines sowing you should focus on the climatic conditions of each specific region. For the middle zone, the optimal time would be the beginning or middle of May. Sowing seeds is best done in individual containers.

For example, you can use peat pots or plastic cassettes for seedlings. The soil for sowing is prepared at the rate of 1 part turf soil, 1 part humus and 1 part peat. You can also use ready-made soil for growing seedlings.

Immediately after sowing, the containers are kept at a temperature not lower than +27°C. After emergence of seedlings, it is reduced to 18-20°C, this will prevent the plants from stretching.At the time of planting, each plant should have 2-3 leaves, and the age should be about 20-25 days. Seedlings should be planted at the end of May or early June. In this case, the distance between plants should be about 20 cm.

Direct sowing in open ground

You can also grow cucumbers on a trellis by direct sowing in open ground. Sowing begins at the end of May, after the soil has warmed up to +15°C. 2-3 seeds are sown in each hole. After the emergence of seedlings, thinning is carried out, leaving no more than 2 plants in each hole.

Cucumber care

An important role in growing cucumbers on the trellis are played by their timely garter and shaping. After the plants have 4 or 5 leaves, they begin to be tied up. To do this, the central shoot is passed through a mesh cell. This needs to be done weekly. In this case, you need to be careful and act as carefully as possible.

The shoots of cucumbers are quite fragile and break easily, so tying is best done in the daytime, since at this moment the turgor of the plants is reduced. To get a high yield of cucumbers, it is very important to form them in a timely and correct manner. To do this, you need to remove the first 2 or 3 stepsons on the main shoot. In the future, they should be removed one at a time; closer to the crown, they can be plucked out through 2 or 3 leaves.

Video on how to grow cucumbers on a trellis:

Watering and fertilizing

Cucumbers are a moisture-loving crop; they need to be watered on time and abundantly. Under no circumstances should the soil be allowed to dry out, as this will greatly affect the yield. On average, cucumber beds need to be watered every 2-3 days. In this case, you need to focus on the weather and soil conditions.

Irrigation water must be warm. You need to water strictly at the root; if moisture gets on the leaves, the risk of fungal diseases increases. To reduce the frequency of watering, you can mulch.

Weeded weeds or straw are suitable for these purposes. In order for cucumbers to bear fruit abundantly throughout the season, they will need to be fed regularly. To do this, you can use an infusion of fermented mullein or mineral fertilizer.

Feeding should be done every 10-15 days. All solutions fertilizers must be applied at the root. It is necessary to completely prevent their contact with plant leaves. Also, the soil should be watered before and after application.

At the initial stages of cucumber development, in order to stimulate their accelerated development, you can also use foliar fertilizing with urea. The solution is prepared according to the attached instructions, and then it is sprayed on the leaves. Spraying with urea should be carried out in dry, windless weather in the evening, preferably after sunset.

Harvesting

The average time for cucumbers to bear fruit is 40 days. For fresh consumption, greens are collected at the age of 8-12 days; for canning, pickles are picked, their age is 2 days, and their size does not exceed -5 cm. Also for canning purposes, gherkins are very often removed, their size is 5-9 cm , age 4-5 days.

Cucumbers should be collected every 2 days. The harvesting process should not be delayed, as this will delay the development of new greenery. Also, during harvesting, you should pick not only high-quality cucumbers, but also sick, damaged and ugly ones.If this is not done, it will cause premature depletion of the plant and the fruiting period will be significantly reduced.

The best time to collect fruits is morning or evening. After the end of the fruiting period, all plant debris is removed from the trellis, which is then destroyed. They should not be used for composting or left in place. They may contain pathogens or pests.