What fertilizers do cucumbers need?
Content:
A large harvest of large, juicy, crispy, tasty cucumbers is the dream of any gardener. To achieve this, you need to regularly and correctly manage the plants: water, loosen the ground, get rid of weeds and feed. Fertilization of cucumbers is very important, without it, perhaps, it is difficult to get a really high-quality crop.
Why fertilize cucumbers?
Cucumber, like other cultivated plants, needs feeding. Throughout the entire growth and development of the plant, it is necessary to provide it with the necessary vitamins and microelements. This is especially true for impoverished soils, which contain few nutrients.
Fertilizing cucumbers: what fertilizers are there?
1. Organic fertilizers.
These fertilizers are suitable for those gardeners who do not like to use "chemistry" in their area. Organic matter is used throughout the entire growth of cucumbers, because it promotes the active development and growth of plants, protects cucumbers from diseases and pests, and increases the number of ovaries. Such fertilizers are good because the basis for them can always be found at hand. For example, organic groundbaits are made from chicken droppings, yeast, wood ash, bread infusion, hay, weeds and onion husks.
2. Mineral fertilizers.
Gardeners often do not pay attention to such fertilizers, and in vain. At the moment, agrochemists have developed many different dressings that can not only protect cucumbers from pests and diseases, but also accelerate the growth and development of the plant's root system several times, improve the taste of fruits and increase yields. Most often, urea, superphosphate and others are used.
Fertilizer recipes for cucumbers.
Organic.
1. Ash. This excellent fertilizer contains a lot of calcium, which is so necessary for cucumbers. To prepare an ash solution, you need to take 5 liters of water and 10 tablespoons of ash and mix everything. Next, you need to let the solution brew for 7-10 days. All this time, it must be stirred so that the ash dissolves better, and then we filter the solution to get rid of the sediment. This top dressing is applied about 5 times per season.
2. Mullein. Another very popular fertilizer among gardeners. It is best to use not fresh cow dung, but the one that has already lain down. It will be great if you cook it back in the fall. Mullein contains a huge amount of various vitamins and minerals that have a beneficial effect on the development and growth of cucumbers. To prepare fertilizer, you need to take 1 liter of liquid manure and mix it with 10 liters of water.
3. Bird droppings. This remedy, like the previous ones, is great for cucumbers. Most often, gardeners use chicken manure, because it is very easy to get it: you can ask your neighbors or buy it if you do not keep chickens yourself. The fertilizer contains many different vitamins and microelements that have a beneficial effect on the growth and development of young plants. To prepare the subrust, you need to mix a pound of chicken droppings and 10 liters of water.
Fertilizing cucumbers: how to fertilize?
1. Root dressing.
To feed the plant in this way, it is necessary to make a liquid top dressing and water the plant with it strictly at the root. Try not to get on the leaves and stems of cucumbers, and if you do, then immediately wash off the fertilizer with water. The fact is that root dressings are quite concentrated, so they can burn the plant. It is better to use this method in the evening, after rain or watering.
2. Foliar dressing.
This type of dressing is used if the weather is cloudy outside. The fact is that under such conditions, the roots of cucumbers poorly absorb nutrients from the soil. To fertilize plants in this way, you need to spray their leaves with top dressing from a spray bottle.