An excellent harvest will be provided by feeding cucumbers in a greenhouse
Many gardeners grow vegetables indoors, which allows them to produce fruits several weeks earlier than the usual ripening period. Correct feeding of cucumbers in the greenhouse is considered one of the most important measures for the care of this crop. Every gardener must learn how to prepare complex fertilizers and apply them at the recommended time. This helps to prolong fruiting and increase the yield of cucumbers.
The frequency of feeding
To accelerate the development of plants, nutrients are introduced into the soil in several stages:
- The first feeding of cucumbers after planting in the greenhouse is done after 4 days. It uses nitrogen-rich ammonium nitrate or urea. The specified trace element promotes the active development of the vegetative mass.
- The next application of nutrients occurs two weeks after the transplantation of the seedlings into the greenhouse. In this case, a complex mineral fertilizer is used. It contains trace elements such as superphosphate, carbamide and potassium sulfate. Watering the plants with a liquid mullein solution additionally saturates the earth with nitrogen.
- Re-feeding of cucumbers in the greenhouse with complex fertilizer occurs during budding.
- When the first ovary appears on the plants, they are introduced into the soil bird droppings and nitrophosphate.
- 15-20 days after the last event, the crops are fertilized with urea with the addition of potassium sulfate and superphosphate. During the period of intensive growth of fruits in the ground, it is necessary to increase the dose of potassium and nitrogen.
The last feeding takes place after another 15 days.
Chicken droppings and complex mineral fertilizers with a high percentage of phosphorus allow to prolong the fruiting of cucumbers.
Determine the deficiency of nutrients in the soil
In the absence of proper feeding of cucumbers in the greenhouse, plants can suffer from diseases and pests... A change in the color of the leaves of crops indicates a lack of certain trace elements.
What kind of substance is missing can be recognized by the appearance of the plant:
- Nitrogen deficiency is indicated by the pale green color of the leaf surface. The tops of the plates begin to turn yellow, and later brown spots appear on them. With a lack of nitrogen, the process of culture development slows down, the shoots become thin, lignify quickly, the inflorescences and ovary dry out and crumble. The fruits of cucumbers are pale in color, shortened with sharp tips. The leaves of the crop become small and brittle.
- The lack of phosphorus is indicated by the dark green color of young leaves, the old leaf plates located at the bottom of the plant acquire a light green tint. After a while, the green mass becomes wrinkled, yellow-brown spots appear on it.
- An imbalance in the fertilizer for cucumbers in the greenhouse can cause potassium deficiency. This can be recognized by the yellow edges and curving of the tips of the leaves. The fruits become pear-shaped, yellow streaks appear on the leaves.
- Lack of calcium in the soil causes the shortening of internodes, the leaves become small, acquire a dark green color. Light lines appear on the veins of the leaf plates. After a while, the leaves begin to dry out.
- Lack of magnesium causes chlorosis of cucumber leaves.In this case, the edges of the plates turn yellow, and the flowers begin to dry out and fall off. The fruits ripen early, but they are small.
- Iron deficiency leads to a slowdown in plant growth, the culture looks depressed.
When one of the listed symptoms appears, urgent foliar feeding of cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse is necessary. The nutrient solution is quickly absorbed by the plant and helps to restore it.
Organic and Mineral Fertilizer Essentials
During the growing season, you need to timely apply nutrients under the cucumber bushes. Organic or chemical substances can be used as top dressing. To achieve the best effect, you should combine fertilizers. Next, we will find out when and how to feed the cucumbers in the greenhouse.
The most popular natural fertilizers are:
- Mullein. This substance contains a huge amount of nitrogen, trace elements such as potassium, iron and copper. Fresh manure is used to make warm beds in the greenhouse, humus (rotted manure) is introduced for digging the soil.
- Poultry droppings contain phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen. This element improves the structure of the soil, making it fertile and loose.
- Compost is made from rotted organic remains of vegetable tops, fallen leaves. It contains a huge amount of trace elements.
Mineral fertilizers for cucumbers in the greenhouse deserve special attention. Such substances may contain in their composition a separate element, phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, or their mixture in the required proportions. The maximum amount of nitrogen in urea and ammonium nitrate, phosphorus is contained in superphosphate or phosphorus flour. The main source of potassium is potash salt. Complex mineral fertilizers include substances such as nitroammophoska, nitrophoska and ammophos.
Root feeding of cucumbers in the greenhouse
Such dressings are used no more than twice during the growing season of crops. The first time nutrients are introduced into the soil after the appearance of the third true leaf on the plant. Fertilizer granules are applied in grooves, which are made at a depth of 3-5 cm at a distance of 7 cm from the cucumber bush. For each square meter of usable area, you need to take 3 g of potassium chloride and 15 g of superphosphate. A good effect can be achieved by feeding the cucumbers with ash in the greenhouse.
Plants absorb nutrients better in liquid form. For watering crops, you can use a special solution. In 10 liters of water, 10 g of potassium chloride and 15 g of superphosphate are diluted.
Some gardeners use organic substances to fertilize crops, for example, a mullein solution of 1 part of the specified substance to 10 parts of water. A good effect can be achieved after applying poultry manure at the rate of 1 kg per 20 liters of liquid.
Foliar dressing for cucumbers
When temperatures drop in the greenhouse, the development of the root system of plants is disrupted, the roots cannot absorb nutrients from the soil. Foliar dressing for cucumbers in the greenhouse with calcium with the addition of additional trace elements can accelerate the ripening of fruits, increase the yield of plants. Spraying crops with special solutions is started when a specific nutrient is deficient.
For foliar dressing in the greenhouse, zircon and other complex preparations are used. Spraying crops is recommended to be carried out in the evening hours, which will prevent burns on the leaves. If streaks remain on the surface of the sheet plates, they must be washed off with clean water from a watering can. After carrying out such activities, the greenhouse must be ventilated.