For a good harvest of cucumbers, it is necessary to fertilize at the seedling stage. I’ve tried it in a number of ways. Now I can share my experience on when and which fertilizers are best applied.
Fertilization methods.
For some time I tried to do without fertilizing the seedlings. But later the cucumbers grew poorly. The shoots were fragile and small. The edges of the leaves were bent and several spots appeared, sometimes yellow, sometimes bluish. At the same time, I provided all the other growing conditions. I always controlled the lighting and the temperature. However, the seedlings were not encouraging. You can’t expect a good crop of cucumbers from these plants.
After that, I decided that the cucumber seedlings definitely needed to be fed. You can do this in two ways:
- Foliar, i.e. pulverizing leaves. The fertilizer solution can be sprayed with a spray bottle. It is necessary to spray in the morning or evening, when the sun’s rays do not reach the leaves, otherwise burns will occur. It can be fertilized in this way in cloudy and cool weather, the main thing is that it does not rain. On non-sunny days, fumigation is even useful, because in that climate the roots absorb less nutrients from the soil. Therefore, it is better to apply fertilizer through the leaves.
- Root, when fertilization is done during or after irrigation at the root. It should also be fertilized in the morning or evening, making sure that no drops of the solution fall on the leaves.
On average, fertilizers should be applied every 2 weeks. That is, for example, wait for a leaf to appear, fertilize and wait the next time. But if the shoots are weakened, then fertilizing more often can be done. In this case, you should follow the recommended doses. Cucumber sprouts are very sensitive, especially the root system. Then you won’t be able to restore them.
Now I will talk to you about feeding by periods. Substances must be added within certain periods. It is advisable not to omit them, otherwise you will miss the opportunity to influence growth from the beginning. Then it will be much more difficult to strengthen the plants.
First feeding of cucumbers.
Initial fertilization should be done immediately after the appearance of the first true leaf. You will need a complex fertilizer, always with nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The doses should be reduced to half of those recommended, taking into account that we are feeding the sprouts. Fertilization activates the growth of roots and stems.
The choice of fertilizers that can be used is wide. You can dilute ready-made complex fertilizers in a ratio of 1 tablespoon to 3 liters of water. For 1 m2 you will need up to 2 liters of diluted mixture.
I also used fertilizers such as:
- Urea – 1 teaspoon per 3 liters of water. About 100 ml of fertilizer should be poured under each plant root. If spraying is necessary, the proportions of the solution should be taken differently: 5 tablespoons for every 10 liters of water. During flowering, it cannot be sprayed with urea.
- A mixture of mullein and superphosphate. I first bred mullein, the ratio is 1:10. Superphosphate was then added: 30 g per 10 liters of the resulting solution. This fertilizer should be made after a thorough watering, adding up to 100 ml for each shoot.
- Complex diet. 15 g of superphosphate, 7 g of ammonium nitrate and 7 g of potassium sulphate per 10 litres of water. You can also add mullein or chicken droppings to this fertilizer, but in small amounts.
Growing cucumber seedlings in separate containers. Therefore, I found it more convenient to fertilize using the root method.
Second feeding
The next fertilizer is applied when the second true leaf appears. If the sprout develops well, this feeding can be skipped. It is an additional strengthening.
I used the same fertilizers as during the first feeding, only in regular doses, without cutting them in half.
I also tried adding other nutrient blends. I used the following fertilizer more often. In 3 liters of water I diluted 1 tablespoon of wood ash and 1 teaspoon of nitrofoska. The mixture should be stirred well and then let it rest for a while. After this, you can fertilize: add 100 ml to each plant.
Nitrophoska contains the three necessary substances: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. And wood ash satisfies the need for other additional substances and minerals.
Third feeding of cucumbers.
The third time it is necessary to apply fertilizer before planting cucumbers in the open field. Fertilization should be done regardless of whether fertilizers were applied a second time.
Fertilizers are applied 1-2 days before planned planting. You can use any of the ones already described.
But the third time I did a different diet. In 10 liters of water I sequentially diluted 15 g of urea, 40 g of superphosphate and 10 g of potassium sulfate. I consumed about 5 liters of dissolved mixture per 1 m2. This fertilizer is introduced under the root after watering.
You can feed foliar when planting. To spray, it is necessary to dilute 12 g of urea in 10 liters of water.
Many cucumber lovers feed seedlings solutions of onion peels, ash, wood ash, and some other home remedies. What methods do you use? Have you tried the compositions I describe? I advise you to use them. After them, not a single season goes by without a big crop of flavorful, crunchy cucumbers.
