How to tie cucumbers in the open field?

Summer time is a hot time, and now it's not just about the weather. It is the summer for all gardeners that the time of agricultural work begins. Each of them strives to obtain a rich harvest and uses all his experience and knowledge for this. Competent care of plants is 70% of success. Therefore, it is necessary to become familiar with the peculiarities of growing all the crops growing on the site.

Cucumbers take pride of place in the beds. After all, they can not only be eaten fresh, but also saline for future use. Cucumber, despite its popularity, is a rather fastidious vegetable, which, with improper care, can simply become unsuitable for eating and salting. In this article we will talk about the cucumber garter when grown outdoors, the need for this action and the ways in which this can be done.

Currently, many gardeners treat the cucumber garter with disdain, thinking that they will grow and so. Cucumber lianas creep along the ground, and fruits lie on the ground. This adversely affects the yield. Here are the problems that may arise with this approach:

• Liana is a climbing plant, and it will always look for a "clue" for itself - any vertical structure around which you can twist. In this case, the stems may suffer.
• When it comes time to harvest, cucumbers have to look under the leaves on the ground. As a result, some of them will go unnoticed and just rot.

More arguments in favor of tying cucumbers:

• vertical growth of the plant frees up the land nearby, respectively, there is more room for the formation of beds and planting of other crops;
• all grown cucumbers will be clearly visible and will not need to look for them under the leaves;
• since the vine will not lie on the ground, it will not deteriorate due to high humidity, like fruits;
• Freedom of growth upwards will contribute to the emergence of a larger number of shoots and inflorescences, which will lead to an increase in yield;
• the plant will not lie a shapeless pile on the ground, making it difficult to approach and care for it;
• and, finally, it will get more sun from all sides, fruits will form faster on it.

Now let's talk about the specifics of growing this crop. Probably, it would be superfluous to say that cucumbers love the sun, humidity and warm weather and do not like wind and cold. Therefore, if you are going to grow cucumbers outdoors, you should be prepared for some difficulties. Consider the advantages and disadvantages of this method.

Benefits:

• will not require large cash costs;
• before sowing the beds with cucumber seeds, you can produce weeding, as cucumbers are planted rather late;
• large market.

Disadvantages:

• dependence on the vagaries of the weather;
• they need to be watered regularly;
• collect fruit will have to manually.

Before you start the garter of cucumber vines on open beds, you need to know what tools you can use for this purpose. The main thing that needs to be achieved in the end is reliable fixation of the stems on the mounts. So, you need:

• wooden or metal rods;
• mesh with large cells of metal or plastic;
• suspenders for fixing vines.

It is very important to choose the right materials for tying. So, you should not use thread, fishing line or wire, as they can cut the stems or squeeze them so that the plant dries. Cotton ribbons that can be made by hand, for example, from old bed linen, are best suited for this purpose. They are strong enough to hold the vine on the mount, but softer than the above materials and will not harm the plant. Also suitable kapron stockings or tights.

Consider other options for mounting cucumber vines:

• At the site, several arrays of metal or plastic are installed with arcs, and the ropes are attached to them, onto which the stems are attached. Plastic plumbing pipes are well suited for this purpose.
• If the beds are located along the fence, you can make your life easier and not build additional mounts. It will be enough to connect the fence with a bush with the help of a rope cable and hang a vine on it.
• An interesting way - cask. It is usually used in conditions of limited landing area. A tall barrel is taken, the earth is poured into it and the cucumbers are planted. With the growth of the stems begin to hang over the edge. This design does not take up much space, is easy to manufacture, it is very easy to collect fruits from it.

Regardless of which method was chosen, it is important to learn how to properly tie up the plants. There are a few rules to follow:

• Creepers should grow to 20-30 cm, only after that they can be tied up.
• First you need to choose the way in which the tying will be done, and mount the vertical supports, so as not to spoil the landing, trying to attach the stretched liana to at least something.
• You do not need to "choke" the plant, primatyvaya too much to the post. This can cause a disruption in its development, blocking access to microelements and water.
• If the liana tends to grow above the support, it can be cut, leaving a few centimeters to the garter. This will give the building an aesthetic appearance, and the plant will receive a maximum of light and oxygen.
• With a strong growth of shoots need to remove the weakest, leaving the main stem and the most viable of them.
• Installing support, make sure its strength and stability. The optimal frequency of installation of the supports - every 1-1.5 m.

There is a mass of techniques with which you can pick up cucumber lash from the ground, fix them on a support and direct their growth upwards. You need to choose the one that will be optimal for your site with its soil moisture and light levels, as well as save space and will further facilitate the harvesting and harvesting of dead wood.

Consider the most popular ways of garter cucumbers in the open field.

This method is great for inexperienced amateur gardeners. You can build a device for such a garter as follows: take 2 pipes or sticks of medium thickness, drive them deeper into the ground for stability, stretch the ropes between them, moving from the top to the bottom of the structure, and start growing vines over them. If you stretch the ropes not only horizontally but also vertically, the stems will receive additional support.

This method of tying has one drawback: the vine, reaching for the next row of mounts, hardly stretches to the next. This deficiency can be corrected by observing the growth of a plant and varying its height.

In the same way as in the previous method, you must first install a couple of supporting elements. Next, they are connected on top of a strong twine or wire. On it impose a long strip of fabric; their number should be equal to the estimated number of cucumber bushes. The lower end of each strip should be tied to the base of the stem of the plant. As the vine grows, it will strive upwards, climbing its ribbon.

This is a special case of the vertical method. Its difference is that each bush has not one, but two ribbons.On one of them is attached the central stem, and the next - side. This method is good if you intend to leave large shoots on the bushes on the sides.

Cucumber vine, like all lianovidnye plants, tends to grow and "creep" on the ground, climbing the beds to other crops and interfering with their growth. To facilitate the care of this plant and to avoid trampling down, you can install a mesh construction on a cucumber bed and let the growth of vines along it.

This method has a lot of advantages. First, the cucumber vines will free the paths between the beds and will not climb to the "neighbors"; secondly, the fruits will not lie on the ground, respectively, will be clean, will get rid of the risk of rotting due to high soil moisture. Finally, there will be less risk of damage to the plant by slugs. Yes, and other pests will be much less occupy your cucumber plot. The net also facilitates harvesting.

If you want to optimize cucumber plantings, use a special film for mulching - covering the surface of the soil in order to improve its protective qualities and increase its usefulness by saturating it with additional minerals and microelements. As a mulch, in addition to the film, you can use roofing material, freshly cut grass (without seeds). All these materials perfectly retain the soil moisture, inhibit the growth of weeds. Mulching facilitates watering. Your task will be simply to monitor the health of the plant and the absence of pests, to fertilize it in time and to produce timely collection of fruits in order to avoid over-ripening and to stimulate new ovaries.

Seasoned gardeners, as a rule, are people who are not deprived of their imagination and have a good concept of the rational use of the available land. Therefore, they do not stop at the above methods of tying cucumbers on the beds, but offer their ideas. Consider several original and at the same time very rational methods:

The essence of this method lies in the construction of a roll of metal mesh. A piece of 2 m in length is cut off, a cage with sides of 0.5 m is formed. Then the construction is set over the cucumber crops, the vines are threaded into the cells, pulled out and tied to them along the entire perimeter of the cage. This structure looks unusual and beautiful, but here the procedures are difficult because the net does not allow weeding or fertilizing seedlings.

A very interesting way to garter cucumbers. Its essence: take a plastic pipe or a metal rod, firmly fixed in the ground next to the cucumber bush. Next, you need to select the most durable and reliable escape, lift it and vertically tie it to this support from above. Shoots on the sides need to take to the sides and attach them to the bottom. When female ovaries appear on them, the lateral stems lift up and bind closer to the main trunk. New young shoots are pruned. And the antennae of the central stem are fixed around the lateral stems.

Earlier it was already mentioned about barrel-growing cucumbers. This is really a very profitable method, which saves space and gives good yields from each cucumber bush. The barrel is filled with earth, installed on the plot, cucumbers are planted in it, and as they grow, the vines are lowered on the sides. This design looks original, care for the plant is easy, harvesting is simple.

If your garden is located in such a way that it’s sunny and warm there most of the day, you can apply this cucumber garter method.It consists in the following: sunflower or maize are planted in the center of the garden. When they grow up a little, they are surrounded by cucumber seedlings. Sunflowers have strong thick stems that serve as a support for vines, and they are also an excellent natural barrier to the wind.

Take a plastic pipe and bend it, giving the shape of a horseshoe. Lock it in the ground above the bed. Tie ribbons to it for tying cucumber bushes. This design can be slightly improved by covering it on top with material for shelter - you get a real mini-greenhouse.

For the garment of vines to the supports, not only fabric ribbons and a rope are used. Present-day life hacking - fixing with plastic plates that can be made from ordinary mineral water bottles or lemonade. It is necessary to take a bottle, cut a plate about 3-4 cm wide from it, “surround” the support and the stem with this plate and attach its ends to each other with an ordinary stationery stapler. This method is reliable and practical, and plastic strips-clamps can be used for several seasons in a row.

Growing cucumbers, and indeed any plants in general, is not as simple as it may seem at first glance. All crops love care and need constant monitoring of their growth and development. A beginner gardener must be prepared for the fact that he will not immediately get everything that he will undertake. For lack of experience, he will make mistakes. We present a list of the problems that are associated with the garter of cucumbers when growing them in open ground:

• Too late tying up. Cucumber, like most lianovidnyh plants, has fragile stems that can not withstand the weight of the fruit. If you are late with their garter and the ovaries have already formed on the lashes, do not touch them, leave to ripen in the supine position, otherwise you may lose the harvest.
• Very tight fixation of the stem to the support. You do not need to bind the plant too tightly, you should not knit the slipping knots, which can drag on the trunk more when the weight of the shoots increases. In this way, you can simply pass the stem in half, depriving it of the opportunity to receive food from the soil. Always leave some free space. The plant should not "hang out" in the garter, but it should not die in it.
• When fixing cucumber vine, do not use rigid fasteners such as wire, plastic clips, fishing line, thread. They can easily cut through the delicate skin on the cucumber stalk, which will subsequently lead to the death of the plant.
• Cucumber bush grows and tends upwards. But unlike many other climbing plants, he is unable to cling to the support otherwise than by the antennae, which means that he will not be able to twist himself around her. As the shoot grows, its top becomes heavy and can break off. Therefore, it is necessary to help the cucumber and with their own hands cling the tip higher and higher to the support over and over again. If you do not, the bush will just fall.

Any plant for growth and development needs four things: the sun, water, plus air temperature and minerals in the soil. Of course, there are unpretentious cultures that easily tolerate the lack of one or another component. But not a cucumber. The lack of any of them fully affects its yield and taste of the fruit.

In the first place in the "cucumber" hierarchy of importance is, of course, warm. The minimum required for the germination of cucumber seeds and their further development is +12 degrees. Therefore, before planting this culture, be sure to measure the temperature of the soil.There is also such an observation: if lilac bushes and caraganas (acacia) bloom, then you can start planting cucumbers.

The second place is the sun. If the seedlings grow in a well-lit place, then you have many chances to get a good harvest; if they lack light, they will be thin and frail, with pale leaves and late ovary. Fruits will appear, but their size and taste will leave much to be desired.

In third place in terms of importance for cucumber is water. But here you need to be very attentive. The fact is that there are 3 stages in the development of a cucumber bush, two of which require watering the plant abundantly, and one should refrain from watering. When a seedling begins to grow, it needs plenty of water. Of course, you need to water it without fanaticism, avoiding stagnant moisture and rotting of the roots.

When the first flowers appear, the amount of water decreases. This helps to stimulate the growth of "female" buds. As soon as the flowers bloom, watering should be increased, bringing to a maximum during the appearance of the ovaries, "green".

Now let's talk about feeding, which prefers cucumber. Organic substances are most attractive to him: humus, compost, manure. When making a choice in favor of one or another fertilizer, please note that fresh manure can damage the root system of the cucumber, in addition, it may contain weed seeds and pathogens. Manure should slightly perepret. Compost fertilizers are safer and have a more organic combination of minerals.

So, the cucumber is not the easiest culture to grow. There are many nuances that should be considered when choosing the place of their disembarkation, the way of the garter and methods of further care of the seedlings. It is also very important to correctly select a variety of cucumbers, of which there are a great many. Communicate with your neighbors in the backyard plot, let them share their experiences with you: what varieties of cucumbers did they take root for and gave a good harvest, and which ones did not; where they planted seedlings - in a greenhouse or in open beds; how to tie up and what to feed. External factors - the temperature of the air, the soil, the degree of humidity and illumination you will have are similar, so you should ask about the nuances of care.

Also, decide for what purposes you will grow this crop - for sale on the agricultural market, for pickling, for obtaining seeds. The choice of a grade also depends on it. Try to preliminarily find out everything about the peculiarities of the development of agriculture in your area, so as not to experience disappointment when it turns out that the chosen culture does not take root.

How to tie cucumbers in the open field, see the following video.