Blinding of cucumbers must be done when growing them in a greenhouse or on a windowsill. It can be carried out in open ground, in greenhouses, if a trellis is built for the crop. When the lashes lie on the ground, it is quite difficult to do it.
What it is
The question of what this is may arise for a novice gardener planting cucumbers for the first time. The term refers to the removal of leaves from the axils in the area from the beginning of the stem to a height of 50 cm in total.The concept of everything includes: flowers, ovaries, stepsons, mustaches.
The need for blinding cucumbers in greenhouses is dictated by the following points:
- characteristics of the hybrid (variety);
- reducing the time required to obtain an early harvest;
- obtaining maximum yield in the greenhouse;
- reducing the incidence of greenhouse cucumbers;
- extension of the fruiting period.
Which varieties need blinding?
Let's figure out which varieties need the blinding procedure and which do not. The summer resident, in addition to being blinded, must understand how to carry out the formation of the bush. A gardener can figure this out at the stage of purchasing new seeds by carefully reading the description of the variety (hybrid).
Types of cucumbers and options for forming bushes
All varieties and hybrids are divided into two large groups according to the method of pollination:
- bee-pollinated;
- parthenocarpic.
Everything is clear with bee-pollinated varieties and hybrids. The bushes have male and female flowers; insects are needed to pollinate them.
These varieties are purchased for growing cucumbers in open ground. Planting such species in a greenhouse is not justified. The yield will be low due to poor pollination. You will have to attract bees to the greenhouse, which means additional time.
Parthenocarpic hybrids do not need insects for pollination; in principle, they do not need pollination. It is cucumbers of this type that need blinding and formative pinching of the bush. The exception is plants that practically do not form side shoots; in this case, plants do not need to be formed; cucumbers themselves grow into one stem.
A well-known hybrid that grows in one stem is Sarovsky F1, and the Petrovsky F1 cucumber is no less relevant. Greenhouse cucumbers with a small number of side shoots are F1 hybrids:
- Valdai;
- Izhorets;
- Snowstorm;
- Northerner;
- Blizzard.
About the correct formation of cucumber bushes
The rules for the formation of bushes are different for bee-pollinated varieties and parthenocarpic hybrids, this is due to the peculiarities of fruit formation.
In varieties for open ground, female flowers, and therefore the fruits, are located on the side vines. In greenhouses, cucumbers form the bulk of the crop on the central conductor.
Forming bushes in open ground
You can give an example of bee-pollinated cucumbers, which have been planted by summer residents for pickling for many years:
- Vyaznikovsky;
- Topolek F1;
- Far Eastern;
- Fontana F1;
- Monastic.
In the hybrids and varieties given as examples, fruiting is concentrated on the lateral vines. Male flowers bloom on the central shoot. You can often hear a complaint from summer residents that their cucumber harvest was bad today because of barren flowers.
Unlucky gardeners blame the seeds, the weather, but in fact they themselves are to blame. It was necessary to forcibly stimulate the growth of side shoots, then there would be more female flowers, and therefore a higher yield.
It is easy to distinguish between male and female flowers: male flowers are larger and are attached to pedicels, their purpose is to pollinate. Female flowers are located at the ends of the ovaries, from which fruits begin to form after pollination.
To stimulate accelerated growth of side shoots, the central stem should be pinched as early as possible. Experienced gardeners wait until the 6th leaf appears on young bushes, and then pinch the crown.
From the shoots that appear in the axils of 2, 3, 4 leaves, a bush is formed. The axils of the 1st and 2nd leaves need to be blinded - everything that appears there should be removed: stepsons, mustaches, flowers. It is also necessary to remove the ovaries from the first two axils; they will not produce a large harvest, but they can delay the strength of the bush for its formation.Therefore, they should always be plucked without any regret.
The benefits of forming bushes
By forming a cucumber bush, pinching the tops, blinding the lower nodes, the gardener receives significant advantages over those summer residents who ignore these operations. The following positive points can be noted:
- The growth of side shoots accelerates, which means the number of female flowers increases.
- The blinded bush directs all its forces to the growth of green mass.
- Fruiting occurs noticeably earlier, the cucumbers ripen together.
- The taste of the fruit is higher and bitterness is less common.
Pollinator varieties
Pollinator varieties, planted 1 - 2 pieces per 10 square meters. m, can significantly increase the yield of bee-pollinated varieties in open ground. In a bed with varieties you need to plant a pollinator variety, in beds with bee-pollinated hybrids - a pollinator hybrid.
Runner F1 and Vigorous F1 deserve attention. Both hybrids are good pollinators. A large number of long-flowering male flowers are formed on their bushes. In Runner, up to 25 male flowers can form at the nodes.
Formation of bushes in a greenhouse
Parthenocarpic varieties (hybrids) are suitable for greenhouses. Plants of this type are dominated by female flowers, which do not require pollination. If in the summer there is no time to work on the formation of bushes, choose weakly branching hybrids (varieties). The fewer stepsons, the easier the care.
It is preferable to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse in one stem. Such bushes are easier to care for. They are easier to fix to the trellis. The harvest on the bushes ripens faster due to good lighting of all parts of the plant.
The bushes get sick less, since the air circulates freely between the bushes and does not stagnate.Good ventilation in the root zone reduces the risk of fungal diseases significantly.
How to pinch greenhouse cucumbers
In a greenhouse, the scheme for forming a cucumber bush is different. The main harvest will be concentrated on the central stem, so there is no need to pinch it. When the bushes have 5 leaves, attach the stem to the trellis using twine. When the crown reaches a height of 50 cm, the bushes are blinded - everything is removed from the leaf axils.
When the next section of the stem grows (from 50 cm to 100 cm), leave the ovaries in the axils and pinch the side shoots above the first leaf. Along the entire length of the stem from 100 cm to 150 cm, pinch off above the third or fourth leaf.
When the top of the stem reaches the top of the trellis, throw it over the top wire and point it down. At a distance of 150 cm from the stem, leave 4 leaves on the side shoots. It is important to leave at least one leaf above each ovary, which is needed to nourish the fetus. The cucumber vine should not grow indefinitely. When 50 cm remains from the top of its head to the ground, the growth point should be pinched.
The suggested recommendations should be used throughout the summer. There is no point in pinching side shoots if the formation of bushes is late and the vines are already long. Large wounds from adult circumcision can cause harm: weaken the immune system and become a gateway to infection.
You can make your life much easier if you choose varieties wisely. It is easier to monitor bushes of weakly branching hybrids; it will take little time to care for them. It is easy to master the technique of forming cucumber bushes according to diagrams.