A huge number of vegetable growers are engaged in growing cucumbers. Many of them are faced with the fact that seeds do not germinate well in the soil or do not germinate at all. To understand the reasons for this problem, you need to find out how many days it takes for cucumber seeds to germinate and why they may not germinate.
How many days do cucumbers sprout after sowing?
Before you start planting cucumbers, you should figure out how long it takes for cucumbers to sprout after being planted in the ground. This vegetable is classified as a plant with a short growing season. From sowing seeds to receiving large seedlings, no more than 35 days pass. In warm regions of the country, seeds are planted directly in the beds. In the northern regions, it is not recommended to immediately plant them in open ground, as they may not sprout due to too low temperatures.
Many people are interested in what day cucumbers sprout after sowing. The first shoots should appear 5-7 days after planting. However, everything depends on temperature conditions and soil moisture. That's why sometimes they appear later. For example, if the air temperature is too low, the seeds will begin to germinate only after 10-15 days.
Why do cucumbers not grow in open ground?
It is recommended to figure out in advance why the seeds do not germinate. This will help create ideal growing conditions for cucumbers in the future.
Temperature
Before planting cucumbers, you should find out at what soil temperature they will not germinate well. The seeds do not germinate and gradually begin to mold in soil heated to only 12 degrees Celsius. In order for them to begin to germinate at least somehow, it is necessary to warm the soil to 15 degrees. However, the most suitable temperature is 25-27 degrees. In such soil, the seeds will germinate within two days.
Heavy ground
Seeds do not germinate well if they are planted in too dense, heavy soil. If the soil is not only very dense, but also cold, then the cucumbers will not sprout at all.
In order for vegetables to grow in heavy soil, they must be planted correctly. When planting seeds, small holes are made in the area, about 2 cm deep.When all the seeds have been planted, each hole is filled with sifted peat or a small layer of light soil. It is impossible to cover the planted seeds with heavy soil, as this will cause an earthen crust to form, which will prevent the first shoots from appearing.
Dry soil
There are times when cucumber seeds for seedlings do not germinate well due to insufficient soil moisture. Due to dry soil, the germination process slows down several times. Sometimes seeds simply die due to lack of moisture in the soil.
To solve this problem, before planting cucumbers in open ground or as seedlings, you need to water the soil. If the water is very cold, then you should not plant the planting material right away. You need to give the soil a little time so that it has time to warm up to normal temperature.
Improper seed preparation
Another reason for poor germination of cucumbers is improper preparation of seeds. Preliminary preparation of seed does not always have a beneficial effect on its germination. Often, the simultaneous use of different methods of pre-sowing preparation leads to the fact that the seeds take a very long time to germinate. For example, after soaking cucumbers in a manganese solution, their germination rate deteriorated several times. A too concentrated manganese solution can completely ruin cucumber seeds.
Some vegetable growers, after soaking the seeds in a liquid of biologically active elements or plain water, immediately begin to dry them. Drying is not recommended, as this will slow down germination in the future. Cucumbers should be planted in the ground immediately after soaking.
Improper storage of planting material
There are cases when cucumbers do not germinate because their seeds were not stored correctly.They should be stored in a cool and not very humid place. If the air humidity is too high, the seeds will quickly deteriorate and cannot be planted in a greenhouse or garden.
What to do to make the seeds grow well
To avoid problems with germination after planting in the ground, it is necessary to plant the seed correctly. To do this, it is recommended that you familiarize yourself with the recommendations that will help you plant cucumbers in open ground or a greenhouse.
Preparing seeds
Before planting cucumbers in a greenhouse or garden, you must prepare the seeds. First, you need to start calibrating them in order to weed out low-quality seed, which will take longer to germinate. This is done using a weak saline solution diluted in cups. During calibration, all the seeds that will need to be germinated are placed in a container with liquid. They are soaked in it for about 5-10 minutes.
During this time, all rejected seeds should rise to the surface. You can get rid of these cucumbers, as they have poor germination.
Selected seeds must be heated to improve germination and disinfection. To do this, all planting material is heated for three days at a temperature of about 40 degrees. Most often, the procedure is carried out using a conventional oven. If you don't have an oven, you can use an incandescent lamp instead.
Site selection
Before planting, you need to decide which place is best suited for planting cucumbers. In order for the first seedlings of the vegetable to begin to appear faster, it is recommended to plant it in well-lit areas. The planting site must be protected from strong gusts of wind, which can break the plant.
Sprouted cucumber seeds grow best in areas where permeable and loamy soils with a lot of humus predominate. You can also get a good harvest if you grow vegetables on drained peat bogs or in chernozem soils. It is not worth planting cucumbers in sandy or clay soils, as they grow very poorly in such areas.
Soil preparation
In order for cucumbers to appear in a greenhouse or outdoor garden faster, you need to prepare the soil for planting in advance. Cucumbers need soil that contains large amounts of organic and mineral fertilizers.
Land preparation should be done during the day in the spring.
For the rapid appearance of the first shoots, the top layer is completely removed from the ground. After this, a thick layer of manure is added to the area, the thickness of which should be about 25-35 cm. Then the entire area is watered with heated water. This is done so that the germinating seeds do not freeze. When all this is done, the area is fed with humus, sand, sawdust and a small amount of potassium permanganate. Manganese solution is used to disinfect the soil.
Planting
It is recommended to plant seeds in the soil in early July, when the ground is already well warmed up and the temperature at night has stabilized. It is not worth planting seeds earlier, since the first shoots that appear on the site will suffer from night frosts.
We plant the seeds in pre-prepared holes. They should be about 25 cm apart. The distance between the rows should be at least 40 cm. The holes are not made too deep - 3-5 cm deep. About 5-7 seeds are planted in each hole, which should produce 2-4 plants in the future.Before planting, all holes must be watered with warm water. Thanks to this, each planted bush appears much faster.
You can admire the first sprouted seeds within a week after planting. After the emergence of seedlings, the area will have to be weeded and thinned out a little. The beds are thinned out so that the plants do not shade each other during cultivation.
Conclusion
Growing cucumbers interests many gardeners. Some of them are faced with the fact that the planted seeds do not begin to germinate. To prevent this problem from arising in the future, you should familiarize yourself with the germination time of cucumber seeds and understand why cucumbers do not germinate well.
