Ways to grow cucumber seedlings at home

Cucumbers can be sown in open ground, but the yield will be higher and the fruits will appear earlier if ready-made seedlings are planted. Therefore, for gardeners, the question of how to grow cucumber seedlings is by no means idle. Meanwhile, at home, this can be done in different ways, even without land. The main thing is right prepare seed, and subsequently take good care of the seedlings.

Seed preparation

Purchased seeds are well processed, so it's not difficult to prepare them at home for sowing. Another thing is when a gardener wants to revive the same variety of cucumbers in the beds that grew in his last year. Here various dangers await him. First, the likelihood of getting the same cucumbers as last year from their seeds is low: most likely, vegetables will be obtained that are similar to the year before last. Secondly, before planting, they must be disinfected by soaking for a while in a 1% solution of potassium permanganate in order to protect future seedlings from various diseases.

Further steps will be the same, regardless of whether your seed material or purchased.

1. Selection. Preparation begins with sifting out hollow seeds that there is no point in planting. The following procedure will help to do this: dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a glass of water, dip seeds in the solution - high-quality seeds that are easy to germinate, will remain at the bottom, and empty ones will float.
2. Hardening. Moistened and swollen seeds, before planting, are first placed in the refrigerator for 10 hours, then they are heated by the battery for 6-8 hours, which increases their endurance.
3. Soak. In order to germinate seeds, they need to be soaked. To do this, they are laid out on fabric and covered with it, after which the fabric is immersed in water. It is important that the fabric remains well hydrated, but the seeds do not float in the water. By germinating seeds, their preparation, in fact, ends.

Advice

The easiest way to germinate seeds at home is 3-4 years old, although they are stored for up to 10 years. Pre-bubbling facilitates germination when the seed bag is placed in the aquarium and the compressor is turned on. Only then should they be soaked.

Planting time, soil composition

When to plant seedlings depends on the region. In the south, seedlings are planted in early April, in the central ones - in the second half of April, in more northern latitudes - in early May. Plant seedlings in open ground need in 3-4 weeks, without overexposing it at home. The earth warms up to the desired temperature (18 degrees) in different places at different times, but you should focus on this parameter.

Seedling soil It is better to buy cucumbers in the store, but it is possible to cook it yourself at home. Ideally, it should consist of 40% turf, 40% low peat, 10% sawdust and 10% manure. Soil is also suitable, consisting of 60% rotted manure, 30% of sod land and 10% of sand. How much soil to prepare depends on the number of seedlings.

The soil for growing cucumber seedlings at home is necessary before planting seedlings, enrich by adding fertilizers to it. For 5 liters of soil, a mixture of 7 g of superphosphate, 4 g potassium sulfate, 3 g of urea and 1 g of magnesium sulfate. It doesn't cost much to do, how much it takes - it depends on the number of seedlings.

Landing

Seeds that have been soaked in a damp cloth germinate rather quickly. Usually three days are enough for the sprout to reach a length equal to half a centimeter. This is enough to start planting seed for seedlings.

It is best to plant sprouted seeds in a container with a diameter of about 7 cm. It should be borne in mind that the seedlings will have to be transplanted into open ground and removed from the pot without damaging the fragile roots. Easy to remove seedlings from plastic cups that are readily available. Therefore, the method of growing seedlings in cups is considered traditional.

Before pouring soil into each cup, you need to make a hole to drain excess water, pour drainage on the bottom, then fill it with prepared soil, leaving a fifth free: as the seedlings grow, the soil will have to be filled up a little. In the soil, you should make indentations about 2 mm deep with your finger and put seeds in them, sprinkling with soil. Sowing cucumber seeds for seedlings is complete.

After planting the seeds, they need to be watered and covered with plastic. This creates a greenhouse effect at home. The cups should be under the film for three days. In this case, the temperature on the windowsill or in the place where the cups with seedlings stand should be about 25 degrees. After the cotyledons open, it is recommended to lower the temperature by 5 degrees and provide proper care.

Care for cucumber seedlings

Correct temperature, lighting and watering are the “three pillars” of proper seedling care at home. Keeping track of cucumber seedlings is, first of all, creating the necessary temperature regime: from 20 to 23 degrees. If the temperature is higher than this indicator, then the seedlings must be sprayed more often, and the room must be ventilated during the day. If the temperature is below normal, phytolamps will save. They will also help provide the desired level of illumination.

With a lack of light at home, the seedlings are strongly stretched. It is necessary to plant it in open ground at an angle. Its survival rate is decreasing. Therefore, there should be a lot of light. A 60-watt lamp will cope with the task in cloudy weather, on a sunny day it is not necessary.

Water the seedlings correctly only with warm water, striving for its temperature to be about 25 degrees. The soil should always remain moistened, but you cannot fill the seedlings, otherwise the roots will rot and it will die.

Advice

Taking a small lump of soil, roll a ball out of it with your fingers. If it works, it is good, if the soil crumbles - there is not enough moisture, if it spreads - there is excess moisture in the soil.

Growing seedlings of cucumbers at home in peat tablets is also considered a traditional method. For cucumber seedlings, tablets with a thickness of 5-8 mm are needed. Watering them and waiting for swelling, you just need to plant seeds in them. The tablets can be placed in a plastic container, the distance between them can be minimal.

Fertilizer

As the seedlings grow, the earth should be poured into the cups. It is recommended to do this twice after the stalk is noticeably extended. In addition, do not forget about feeding. Proper care is unthinkable without her.

Seedlings are fed 2-3 times. The first portion of groundbait is introduced when the first leaf appears. The appearance of a second leaf is a signal that it is time to apply fertilizer again. The third time the seedlings are fed 10-15 days after the second portion of fertilizers has been applied.

Fertilizers are sold in specialized stores, but it is also possible to make them at home. For 5 liters of liquid, you need to take 100 g of poultry droppings, 7 g of superphosphates, 3 g of ammonium nitrate and 4 g of potassium sulfate. This composition is ideal for the first feeding. For the subsequent ones, the concentration of the named substances is doubled.

Unconventional ways of growing cucumber seedlings

It is possible to grow seedlings at home not only in plastic molds or peat tablets.Inventive gardeners have come up with many unusual ways to do this with minimal effort and expense.

• In sawdust.

A container is required, which can serve as a container, a plastic bottle cut along the length, a shallow flower pot. At the bottom, you need to lay polyethylene, pour sawdust previously scalded with boiling water on it with a six-centimeter layer. In the sawdust, grooves are made at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Seeds are laid in them every 2-3 centimeters. After the sawdust is watered periodically to keep them moist. The seedlings should be properly fed with mullein, which is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:10. After a couple of weeks, the seedlings are transplanted into the ground.

• In diapers.

The role of the diaper is performed by cellophane, which is cut into squares. A small amount of the soil prepared before is poured into the upper left part of the "diaper". Seeds are laid on it. Then the bottom of the film is folded up. Then the left edge is folded up and the film is rolled into a roll. The "swaddling" is completed by fixing the film with a thin elastic band. It remains to slightly moisten the substrate in the diapers and place the rolls in a plastic container. There is no need to leave a distance between them. Caring for them is simple.

• Landless method ("in Moscow").

You will need polyethylene and toilet paper. On pieces of polyethylene, cut to the width of toilet paper, it fits in two layers and is well moistened. This can be done with a spray bottle. Seeds are laid out along the top edge at a distance, the distance between them should be 4 cm. From above they are covered with another layer of toilet paper. Then everything is rolled into rolls, which are held together with rubber bands for money. The rolls are placed in a container with water. Its level should be low, maximum 2 cm.

• In the shell.

There is another way to grow seedlings at home - in eggshells. It is not much different from growing seedlings in plastic cups, but it has an advantage: you do not need to remove the seedlings from the shell before planting, it is enough to split them. This should be done carefully so as not to damage the roots.

Growing seedlings on a windowsill

Not everyone is the happy owner of 6 acres, but they can also grow cucumber seedlings on a windowsill or balcony in order to harvest afterwards.

The first stage of growing seedlings on the windowsill is no different from the standard one, but the seedlings are transplanted into large flower pots. You can immediately plant sprouted cucumber seeds in them.

When there are a lot of leaves on the seedlings, the large ones are removed so that they do not block the light, the antennae are tied up by setting pegs in the pots, hanging a net next to them. In order for vegetables to appear quickly, after the appearance of eleven leaves, the top is cut off.

Requirements for lighting, watering and temperature conditions do not change. It is important that the seedlings are light and warm on the windowsill. If the windowsill is cold, put a board on it. You should also take care of the absence of drafts. Proper care is the key to getting a rich harvest.

Growing cucumber seedlings at home, even on a windowsill, is within everyone's power, but the result will be only if the seed is well prepared, and the sowing itself is carried out at the right time. After that, all that remains is to take proper care of her.

You can grow cucumber seedlings in various ways: traditional (in plastic cups, using peat tablets) and extraordinary (for example, in diapers), which save space and money. You can even harvest cucumbers by planting seedlings on a windowsill.