We decide on the timing of planting cucumbers for seedlings: when you can
One of the advantages of the seedling method of planting cucumbers is the ability to get an early harvest of crispy green fruits in early summer. It is not surprising, because already fully formed plants are planted in the open ground, which are preparing to set fruits, at a time when the seeds sown directly to the garden are still at the germination stage. Thus, it is possible to bring the fruiting time closer by two, or even three weeks. There is another aspect of seedling growing: cucumbers are a thermophilic crop, and in late spring and short summer regions, planting through seedlings is perhaps the only way to provide yourself with seasonal homemade vegetables, so it is important to know when to plant cucumbers for seedlings.
Cucumber seedlings grow quickly and after a maximum of 30 days, the seedlings must be transplanted to a permanent place. If the seeds are planted early, there is a risk of "overexposing" the plants indoors, and then they do not tolerate transplanting well and do not always take root.
Time to start planting cucumbers for seedlingsdepends on several factors, namely:
- climatic conditions;
- places for further cultivation of crops;
- varieties of cucumbers, and more specifically - the ripening time of the crop.
Influence of climate on sowing dates
The cultivation of cucumbers in the south and north is significantly different. If in the southern strip, with its early spring and rather long summer, it is possible to sow seeds for seedlings already at the end of February, then in central Russia planting should not start earlier than April, and in Siberia, even later, it is better to wait until May.
Features of sowing seedlings for growing cucumbers in the garden and in the greenhouse
Of no small importance is the fact where the cucumber seedlings will be transplanted in the future. With greenhouse cultivation, especially if the premises are heated, the sowing time does not play a special role. But in the case when the seedlings will be planted on the garden bed, it is necessary to take into account the weather conditions.
It is not difficult to calculate the approximate sowing time: you can transplant cucumber seedlings into open ground no earlier than the ground warms up at least about 15 degrees, and the air - from 20 degrees Celsius. By this time, the seedlings should be no more than 1 month old. In total, if stable heat comes at the end of May, then the seeds should be sown at the end of April.
We take into account the timing of fruiting
Of course, the first vegetables are always the most delicious, but in order to provide yourself with cucumbers until the beginning of autumn, it is better to sow several varieties with different fruiting periods. It should be noted that in addition to the different duration of the growing season, their resistance to low temperatures is different:
- early maturing varieties of cucumbers will ripen within 1.5 months after sowing, while they tolerate the cold better, which allows sowing seeds for seedlings earlier, in addition, they are especially popular in the northern regions;
- varieties with medium and late ripening periods are thermophilic and need a later sowing, but they will begin to bear fruit in 55 or 75 days, respectively.
Considering all of the above nuances, picking up and calculating the sowing time for cucumber seedlings will not cause much trouble for gardeners, regardless of their place of residence.