How to properly pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse step by step

Caring for cucumbers in a greenhouse and open ground should take into account agrotechnical rules. If you want to get optimal vegetable yields, then you need to have an idea of ​​how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse. The procedure is especially important for cucumber formation creepers.

Benefits of cucumbers for humans

Among the vegetables in the garden beds, cucumbers are the first to ripen. Although the concept of ripening is quite relative for them.As soon as small greens appear, a person immediately picks them for consumption. And this is correct, because the fruits of the plant contain many useful substances that help:

• quench thirst;
• remove toxins from the body;
• strengthen the immune system;
• digest animal proteins.

But we don’t only think about health when fresh cucumber salads appear on the table, but also about how tasty this product is. It’s impossible to imagine a summer menu without cucumbers. They are good in marinade and brine for the winter. Only a rich vegetable harvest will allow you to stock it for the winter. To do this, you need to properly pinch cucumbers and care for them in the greenhouse.

Features of the structure and development of the plant

Since the homeland of the cucumber is the tropics, much of the structure of the vegetable comes from liana-like plants:

1. The root system of the vegetable is characterized by branching. At the same time, the depth of the roots is small, about thirty centimeters. When the soil is sufficiently moist, the vegetative growth of cucumbers is reflected in the development of additional root shoots.
2. The stem of the vegetable is creeping, branching with many tendrils, with which it hooks onto supports and grows upward.
3. Both male and female flowers are formed on the stem, collected in inflorescences of five to six pieces. They are formed in the axils of the upper rudimentary leaves. Most of the female flowers are formed not on the central shoots, but on the side shoots of the first and second order
4. If cross-pollination is necessary for this type of plant, there are parthenocarpic varieties that develop without pollination. They have more female flowers than male ones.
5. The fruits of the plant can ripen soon, two to three weeks, after setting. They are oval in shape and green in color.Inside the cucumbers there are seeds that are not ripe at first, but as the growing season progresses, the plants are ready for reproduction.

To obtain healthy, tasty cucumbers, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for their development. The vegetable will bear fruit at a constant temperature of 25-30 degrees above zero during the day, and at night - 15-18 degrees.

Frosts are destructive for cucumbers. Therefore, it is better to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse. The air temperature will not fluctuate sharply there; there will be enough light and air. Indoors, the vegetable develops successfully if it is grown in accordance with the requirements of agricultural technology. In regions with cold climates, planting vegetables in greenhouse soil is the only opportunity to grow a heat-loving garden crop.

Caring for cucumbers consists of:

• watering with warm water;
• fertilizing with nitrogen and phosphorus-potassium fertilizers;
• loosening the soil;
• pinching the tops of the shoots.

Pinching cucumbers in a greenhouse is an important procedure that has a positive effect on the yield of the vegetable crop and the taste of the greens.

Benefits of pinching cucumbers

From the structural features and development of the cucumber crop, it is clear that the shoots need pinching before the plant blooms in the greenhouse. Otherwise, the growth of the vines will be chaotic, and the plant will not be pleased with the fruits. The advantages of the procedure include:

• stimulating the formation of fruit ovaries;
• increasing the level and quality of cucumber harvests;
• acquisition of a delicate taste by cucumbers, without bitterness;
• creating conditions for improving vegetable growth in a greenhouse.

But you need to know that pinching cucumbers must be done according to the rules, because an incorrectly performed procedure will lead to loss of the harvest.

How to properly pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse

In order to properly care for a plant in a greenhouse and contribute to obtaining a high-quality harvest, it is necessary:

• partially remove male flowers;
• remove the tendrils by tying the lashes to the trellises;
• pinch off shoots and leaves, creating conditions for branching of stems.

When growing cucumbers in a greenhouse, you need to understand how pinching will affect the condition of the plant and its growing season. The pinching scheme is built in accordance with the variety of vegetable plant. If cucumbers are parthenocarpic species, then it is not necessary to leave male flowers on the vine. For those cucumber plants that are pollinated by insects or independently, the same ratio of male and female flowers is necessary.

Here's how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse:

1. As soon as the fifth true leaf appears, flowers, tendrils, and side shoots are removed from the lower axils.
2. In the future, they begin pinching cucumbers in the greenhouse as soon as the seventh or eighth leaf grows. Then two shoots are removed from the side of the main stem.
3. After the eleventh leaf, it is important to remove the top of the main shoots so that the side shoots begin to grow actively and new fruits are formed.
4. For parthenocarpic types of vegetables, after planting, form a bush with one stem. As soon as it reaches half a meter in length, all other branches, flowers, and tendrils in the lower part of the central shoot are cut off. And then the lateral shoots must be pinched to the first leaf.

Cucumbers in a greenhouse usually grow quickly, and the first harvest does not have to wait long. An important factor for their cultivation will be the density of planting and the degree of illumination of the plantings. To ensure favorable conditions for vegetative growth, knowledge of how to pinch cucumbers in the greenhouse step by step. It is best to use special cutting tools to carry out the procedure.

Features of the procedure for self-pollinating varieties

Plants, pollinated by bees or independently, begin to branch late, so it will take a long time to wait for cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse. If you pinch the top of the main shoot, the plant will begin to actively grow, forming ovaries. Therefore, the first pinching of cucumbers is carried out over the second true leaf, leaving a stump of half a centimeter. After this, shoots with female flowers appear on the sides.

Pinching them activates the appearance of second-order branches. They are the ones who will produce forty percent of female ovaries.

It is necessary to blind the cucumbers, pinch them, removing all the flowers and leaves located in the axils below the sixth leaf. Then they will not take the nutrients necessary for fruit set.. When carrying out the procedure in greenhouse conditions, it is important to remember that one or two green leaves are needed for one cucumber ovary.

Parthenocarpic species: is it necessary to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse?

For hybrids grown indoors with a predominance of female flowers, pinching is also necessary. It is carried out according to a slightly different scheme:

1. When the vine stem attached to the trellis reaches a height of fifty centimeters, they begin to remove all shoots, ovaries, and flowers in the lower part. This creates a blinding zone.
2. Higher up the stem, pinch out the side shoots, keeping one ovary and a pair of leaves.
3. At a height of one to one and a half meters, in two to four nodes you can leave two ovaries with two to three leaves.
4. If the growth of the cucumber stem continues, already at a height above one and a half meters, you can pinch off the vines above the third leaf, preserving up to three ovaries.
5. All elongating shoots of cucumbers are then thrown over the trellis, allowing them to move down. As soon as the distance to the soil reaches twenty centimeters, the growing point on the central stem must be removed.

With proper pinching, greenhouse vegetables will produce more cucumbers than in open ground.

How to care for vegetables in a greenhouse

If you plant cucumbers in closed ground, they will ripen fifteen to twenty days after fertilization of the ovary.

To do this they need to organize:

1. Watering. It is better to water the vegetable in the evening every day. As soon as flowers appear, reduce the frequency of watering. During the procedure, try to wet the soil layer as deeply as possible.
2. Shower. On hot days, the plants are sprayed, keeping the air humidity in the greenhouse at about ninety percent.
3. Feeding. First, be sure to water the cucumbers with mullein solution in a ratio of 1:8, then bringing the concentration to 1:4. Among mineral fertilizers, the use of ammonium nitrate (fifteen grams), superphosphate (forty grams) and potassium chloride (ten grams) helps. The concentration of substances increases during the fruiting period of the vegetable. Fertilize once every two weeks.
4. Rejuvenation. The cucumber stems, bare below, are lowered to the ground and rolled into a ring. A week later they are covered with earth.

To increase the carbon dioxide level in the greenhouse, piles of fresh mullein are laid out between the rows or barrels filled with an organic solution are placed. If you follow the rules of agricultural technology, then you can’t do it without pinching. grow cucumbers in a greenhouse. And there should be no doubt whether this should be done or not. You can see how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse in the step-by-step photo. Gardeners believe that the procedure must be carried out, but not chaotically, but in compliance with the rules.