Everyone loves fresh, pickled cucumbers. But not every gardener can get a good harvest, especially if they do it in a city apartment. Today I’ll talk about six basic rules for planting cucumbers that I learned from experience. With their help I always get a bountiful, tasty and healthy harvest. Each plant, for example a tomato, has rules and recommendations that you need to know and follow.
1 – Choose the right spot
Cucumbers are a heat-loving plant. To grow it in a city apartment, make sure you choose the sunny side. In addition, there should be plenty of light, at least 15-17 hours a day. Therefore, if we try to grow cucumbers in winter, we cannot do without additional lighting.
It’s also worth knowing that cucumbers love moist air. In this they differ from tomatoes. I never plant these two plants next to each other. It will be impossible to create comfortable conditions for them in a small area.
It is necessary to prepare the chosen place. Cucumbers don’t like drafts. Therefore, it is necessary to seal all cracks in the window frame. You can also place reflective film in front of the windowsill. In this way, the plant will develop more comfortably.
2 – Choose the right floor
Which floor should you choose? As I said in some of my previous articles on the windowsill garden channel, there are several options:
· buy ready-made soil mix in the store;
· digging in the nearest woods or at a friend’s cottage;
· Mix it yourself.
Most of the time I resort to the latter option. I grow cucumbers using seedlings, so I prepare rich soil first. I take one part rotten sawdust and two parts peat moss and humus.
3 – Properly disinfect the floor
Even if I bought the soil from a store, I still sanitize it before planting. And if the soil is taken from nature, this operation cannot be avoided. You can use several preparations for this, but the simplest way is to take copper sulfate. I dissolve a teaspoon of the product in ten liters of warm water. I spill the soil prepared with this solution.
4 – Prepare seeds for planting
I also talked about this procedure in one of my articles. But it bears repeating. The seeds should be poured into a glass of lightly salted water. After about 10 minutes, remove all the ones that have emerged. It is those seeds that remain at the bottom that are suitable for sowing.
Also, before planting, I always disinfect the seeds. This can be done using a weak solution of potassium permanganate or by other means.
5 – Sow the seeds correctly
No special effort is needed here. I plant the seeds in holes up to 4 centimeters deep. I grow it using seedlings. So I sow in small cups, maybe normal plastic or special peat moss. As a rule, I plant two seeds in each container.
6 – Get good buds
In order for seedlings to appear earlier, the soil should not be allowed to dry out. Cucumbers love moisture. Therefore, immediately after sowing the seeds, I close the boxes tightly with plastic wrap. As the soil surface dries out, I water it. Plants will develop faster in a plastic film. They will need both moisture and warmth.
We can also say about the seventh important point, which helps to get a good harvest of cucumbers. It’s important to choose the right variety from the start. The first thing you should pay attention to is the pollination method. It is better for the cucumbers themselves to cope with this task, unless, of course, there is a desire to take a brush and work in place of the bees, pollinating each flower.
If you follow these simple rules when planting cucumber seeds, the seedlings will sprout without any problems. And the harvest itself will definitely make you happy. If you liked it, like it and subscribe to the channel, there will be many more interesting things.
