Benefits of warm cucumber beds
Cucumbers love warmth, so warm cucumber beds are best for growing them. Before starting their device, it is best to draw a plan of the garden and determine on it where the cucumbers will be located. On a flat area, the beds should be oriented from south to north. If there is a slope, you have to build horizontal terraces and arrange beds in boxes.
Varieties of warm beds
Warm cucumber beds can be of three types:
- with a deep bookmark;
- on the soil surface;
- above the surface of the earth.
Such a bed for cucumbers can last up to 5 years or more. In the second year, there is no need to supplement the top layer with compost - it is produced by the bed itself.
Benefits of a bookmarked cucumber bed:
- conveniently to water;
- water does not stagnate;
- digging is not required in spring (only loosening);
- cucumbers can be planted much earlier than in a simple garden bed.
How to make warm cucumber beds on the ground?
Even easier than bookmarking. You need to dig up the bed, while removing the weeds, lay the mixture manure, compost and garden soil, pour warm water and cover with foil (preferably black). The film can be fixed with stones or bricks. A similar design is suitable for disembarkation cucumber seedlings.
What is the best way to make warm cucumber beds above the ground (vegetable containers)?
These structures are more complex, as they require the construction of a box made of boards, slate and bricks. Sand is poured onto the bottom of such a container, then wood waste, which is covered with a layer of organic waste (leaves, skins of fruits and vegetables, eggshells). The next layer is straw. Each of the layers must be carefully tamped and watered with liquid manure. All this is covered with a mixture of garden soil and compost.
Pros and cons of warm cucumber beds above the soil surface:
- you can make several beds of the same size;
- this design is convenient for watering and weeding;
- takes up little space;
- there is no mess or dirt;
- the yield is almost doubled.
The cucumbers should be planted along the edges of the box in two rows to increase the illumination of the plants.
If you plant cucumbers in warm beds in early spring, you can cover them greenhousemade of plastic arches and polyethylene. This increases the effect of a warm cucumber patch and allows for an early harvest of this crop, regardless of the weather.
What is the best way to make warm cucumber beds in a very small area?
If there is very little land, there is an opportunity to do vertical beds... The easiest option is an old tire. First you need to dig a hole of the appropriate size, lay branches, straw, organic waste, install a tire and fill it with a mixture of soil and humus. The trellis allows you to save space, which does not allow the cucumbers to grow in breadth.
The tire may well be replaced by a circle made of any other material - the growing technology does not change from this.
Another option is metal or plastic barrel volume of 150-200 liters.In the fall or early spring, it is half filled with tree branches, sawdust, and cut grass.
Before planting, a mixture of garden soil with rotted manure or compost is poured, poured with hot water and covered with a black film (to warm the soil). In order for the cucumbers to grow up, half-arcs about one meter high are placed in the ground along the edges of the barrel. In the middle of the container, it is necessary to stick a wooden peg to which the stems will be tied. Seedlings of cucumbers are planted in holes cut in the film.
If there is no barrel, it can be made from several tires by placing them one on top of the other.
Pros and cons of warm cucumber beds in a barrel:
- space is saved;
- organic matter during decomposition warms the root system, which allows you to get a harvest earlier;
- due to the location above the soil, plants are not afraid of frost;
- the garden does not need to be dug;
- no feeding is required;
- easy to care for and pick cucumbers;
- the cucumbers are clean.
The disadvantages include the need to purchase barrels (look for tires) and have a large amount of organic waste.
The same principle of a vertical, warm cucumber bed is applied when growing this crop in bags or polyethylene bags (volume approximately 100-120 liters). In addition to the bag (package), you will need a stick made of wood (about 2 m long), three tubes with a cross section of 30 mm, a cord (30 m), 20 pegs.
Several nails need to be hammered into one end of the stick - a cord will be attached to them. Drill the pipes along the entire length of the hole. Then you can fill the bag (bag) in the same way as the barrel. A wooden stick is driven in the middle, pipes are placed around it, creating an irrigation system. Seeds (seedlings) are planted only at the top (just like in a barrel). To plant more vegetables, holes are also made on the sides. The advantages of this method are the same as using a barrel.
More complex vertical beds can be seen in the image below:
They require certain skills to set up, but they also save space. You can get a harvest early if you cover each box with thick plastic wrap and make a warm bed in miniature.
Hanging beds can also be classified as vertical, since they also consist of boxes, but practically do not require space - they are mounted on the wall. Unlike a large warm bed for cucumbers in boxes, the soil must be changed every year.
How to make warm cucumber beds in a greenhouse
The principle is almost the same as when setting up a bed with a deep backfill: digging a trench 40-50 cm deep, laying out wood waste, straw, grass at the bottom. Each layer is sprinkled with a mixture of sand and peat and poured with warm water. The topmost layer is soil with manure or humus. Such a bed is covered with polyethylene or lutrapsil. You can plant cucumbers in a few days. The bottom layer of a warm bed for cucumbers serves for several years, every spring only the mixture of soil with humus or manure changes.
Some gardeners do not use leftover wood, and the entire bottom layer is made from straw, grass and leaves. To speed up the decay process, you can use decay drugs.
In a greenhouse, you can also make beds on the soil surface (do not dig trenches), but you will need a frame made of boards. In this case, the entire content of the framework changes every year.
To enhance the effect of warm beds, in large greenhouses arrange a heating system that allows you to plant cucumbers at the end of winter. The heating system consists of polypropylene pipes buried between the lower and upper layers. Hot water is passed through them, which does not allow the soil to freeze. In equipping warm beds in greenhouses, novelties that run on electricity have also been used recently.