Cucumbers are a very warm and moisture-loving vegetable crop that does not grow in poor, unfertilized soil. We will talk about the importance of nitrogen fertilizers for cucumbers.
- Why do plants need nitrogen?
- What are the consequences of low nitrogen content in the soil?
- Classification of fertilizers for cucumbers
- Characteristics of nitrogen fertilizers
- Fertilizers for cucumbers in a greenhouse
- Lack and excess of nitrogen in the soil
- How to grow a great harvest using only organic matter
Why do plants need nitrogen?
Since nitrogen is the main element involved in the metabolism of animal and plant cells. It is a component of almost all parts of the cytoplasm of a plant cell, its proteins, chlorophyll, most vitamins, nucleic acids, and enzymes.
What are the consequences of low nitrogen content in the soil?
It is known that plants take everything they need for their nutrition, growth and development from the soil. If there is a nitrogen deficiency in the soil, then the plants develop poorly: the stems and leaves are thin, flaccid, quickly turn yellow, a small number of ovaries are formed, which do not bear fruit or bear fruit poorly. As a result, the plants quickly die.
Classification of fertilizers for cucumbers
A lack of minerals in the soil provokes diseases and poor plant development. Cucumbers need nutrients at all stages of their development, from sowing in the soil to fruiting.
Fertilizers come in the following types:
- By origin:
- Mineral;
- Organic.
- By method of application to the soil:
- Subsoil;
- Superficial.
- By structure and physical condition:
- Liquid;
- Semi-liquid;
- Solid.
- According to the method of feeding plants:
- Root method;
- Foliar method.
- By the number of substances in the composition:
- Simple;
- Complex.
Characteristics of nitrogen fertilizers
Mineral fertilizers. Mineral nitrogen fertilizers are produced in three types:
- Ammoniacal, which includes ammonium sulfate. They are applied to the soil in the spring before sowing cucumbers, as well as in the autumn after harvesting.
- Nitrate, which includes ammonium nitrate. Such fertilizers are most often used as top dressing: they are applied in dissolved form in early spring and summer.
- Amide, which includes urea. They greatly increase the acidity of the soil, act quickly and are just as quickly destroyed and removed with water.
Organic fertilizers are manure, bird droppings, peat, silt, plant and leaf remains, and green manure. All organic fertilizers must first be prepared before being applied to the soil, and the gardener himself decides what to feed specifically.
| Kinds | Description of organic fertilizers |
| Manure | Manure (mullein or pork) cannot be applied fresh. Due to the high urea content, this can lead to complete “burning” of plants. It is best if rotted or semi-rotted manure is diluted with water and watered at the root of each cucumber bush. Also, completely rotted manure (at least a year in a compost pit) can be added to plants for better nutrition and rooting of the stem.
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| Bird droppings | Bird droppings, most often chicken or quail droppings, also cannot be dug into the soil fresh. Fresh litter must be diluted in water in a ratio of 1:5. It’s good if there is a barrel on the property or in the greenhouse in which you can dilute the droppings with water and leave it to infuse for several days. The result is a so-called mother solution. It is diluted in a bucket of water in a ratio of 1:9. Cucumbers really like this fertilizer, it is optimal for watering and gives excellent results.
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| Peat | If the soil on the site does not have enough nitrogen, then peat is dug into it. It can be bought at any specialized store and in any quantity. It is better to add peat immediately when preparing the site for planting cucumbers, but you can simply pour a little into the holes when planting seedlings.
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| IL | Silt from the bottom of rivers and lakes is very rich in minerals and nitrogen. This organic fertilizer is used as a component to improve the quality of sandy soil. Before applying this fertilizer for cucumbers, you need to spread it in a thin layer and dry it in the sun for 2-3 days, and then powder the soil around the stems with it. The layer should not exceed 1.5 cm. |
| Remains of plants and foliage | The remains of plants and leaves that rot on a compost heap form good humus. Such humus You can pour it into the holes, mix it with the soil and add it to the beds around the stem of the plant. Also, if you dig up leaves and the remains of grass stems into the soil in the fall, then in the spring such an area will be rich in nitrogen and ready for planting vegetables. |
| Green manure | Green manures are plants (legumes and cereals), which, having grown until the seeds begin to swell, are dug into the soil. This has a very beneficial effect on the condition of the soil, improves its mineral composition, enriches it with nitrogen compounds of natural origin, and increases the hygroscopicity of the soil, which is very useful for cucumbers. |
Fertilizers for cucumbers in a greenhouse
Growing cucumbers in greenhouse conditions is most effective, as it guarantees earlier and more abundant harvests. The fruiting period of bushes is extended due to the fact that in shelters it is easier to control and maintain optimal temperature and humidity for this crop.
Fertilizers for cucumbers in a greenhouse must be balanced, applied in a timely manner and not exceed acceptable standards. Scheme of conventional feeding cucumbers includes at the beginning a nitrogen formula for better vegetation, then potassium and phosphorus for the yield and health of the bushes.
Adviсe:
Cucumbers at different stages of growth and development need to change the types of nitrogen-containing fertilizers. So, before planting seedlings, it is better to dig up peat or well-rotted manure into the soil.
If a cold snap is expected, or immediately after it, it is better to water the young cucumber seedlings with ammonium nitrate.
Feeding cucumbers at the flowering and fruit formation stage is carried out with each watering. At the same time, along with nitrogen, the plant also needs other substances, especially potassium, magnesium, calcium and phosphorus.
Triple fertilizer nitroammofosk and other similar complex fertilizers work well during this period. Also, excellent results during the period of flowering and formation of cucumbers are obtained by watering with mullein and bird droppings with water in the proportions of 1 liter of mother solution per 10 liters of water.
It should be remembered that nitrate nitrogen accumulates in plant fruits and therefore, at the stage of flowering and fruiting, it should be excluded from fertilizing.
With normal levels of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and nitrogen in the soil, cucumbers develop stable immunity to diseases, as well as stressful temperature fluctuations.
Lack and excess of nitrogen in the soil
Manifestations of deficiency and excess nitrogen content in the soil. Detailed characteristics are given in the table:
| Nitrogen deficiency | Excess nitrogen |
| Insufficient N content in soils (this is especially often observed in podzolic, sandy soils, as well as sandy loams and gray soils) is characterized by a general inhibition of plant growth and development. They do not develop enough, have a pale color and weak bushiness and foliage. The flowering part of the plants is weak. Leaves with such deficiency grow at an acute angle. The vegetation slows down, the shoots become thinner. The leaves begin to turn yellow early. Moreover, yellowing begins with the veins and moves to the tissue part of the leaf, first at the lower leaves of the plant. If you do not take action immediately after detecting the first signs, the plant will die. | Excessive N content in soils is characterized by very strong plant growth. The stem and leaves thicken and become a rich green color, but few flowers are formed and mostly male. Fruiting with high N content is poor, and plant immunity is reduced.An excess of nitrogen and a lack of phosphorus, potassium and magnesium leads to the undermining of metabolic processes in the plant, its morbidity and death. |
For normal growth and development, cucumbers require a balanced complex of minerals from the soil, which, through chemical transformations, ensures normal metabolism in plant tissues, and therefore a generous harvest.
How to grow a great harvest using only organic matter
When growing, cucumbers need warmth, watering and fertile soil. To provide warmth and nutrition, they are provided with warm beds, which can be easily made with your own hands and placed both in greenhouses and in open ground.
The side and end parts of the box for the bed are made of boards or slate. These beds consist of several layers:
- The first layer is cardboard or sand. Sand is poured at least 10 cm deep. One or two layers of ordinary packaging cardboard from unnecessary boxes also does an excellent job of isolating a warm bed from weeds.
- The second layer is laid with any grass: freshly cut, hay, straw or mulch. It is evenly distributed and trampled into the box. The thickness of this layer is at least 30-40 centimeters.
- The third layer consists of humus, peat, bird droppings or any manure, but not fresh. It is best if the manure and droppings are from last year. This layer should be approximately 10-15 centimeters.
- The last layer is any soil you have. Of course, chernozem lightened with sand is optimal. For a bucket of black soil you can take one kilogram of peat and two kilograms of sifted sand, as well as two glasses of ash. The thickness of this layer should be 40-50 centimeters.
Such beds are provided with nitrogen fertilizers and will last two or three years.They are warm due to insulation from the soil by cardboard or sand, and also due to the release of heat when bacteria process manure and grass. They are only watered with warm water and harvested.
In the third year, you can slightly feed the vegetables in the garden during fruiting with mullein or bird droppings, watering the plants at the roots. After three years, the contents of the bed are raked out and it is re-arranged according to the same pattern.
