Seedlings of any vegetables are very tender and practically do not tolerate frost. Cucumbers are also no exception. But exposure to low temperatures does not always mean complete death of seedlings.
Preventive measures against freezing of seedlings
A question that concerns almost all beginning gardeners: how to preserve seedlings when the temperature drops sharply during late frosts?
Tip 1.
Of course, it is always better to prevent frostbite on your sprouts than to treat them for frost later. Therefore, seedlings are not planted on the ground until the expected frost has passed. After the seedlings are planted on the ground, they are covered overnight with agrofibre or black film, as well as any other covering material from which mini-greenhouses are made.
Tip 2.
The minimum temperature that cucumber seedlings can withstand is +8 degrees. It is also a good preventative measure to sprinkle hay, straw or fresh grass mulch on top of the planted seedlings and cover them with cardboard caps. Such a shelter will keep the temperature around the plant 5-6 degrees higher than the air temperature.
Tip 3.
To counteract sudden drops in temperature and freezing, you can light smoke bombs on your property or in a greenhouse. They envelop the sprouts in a dense layer of smoke and prevent frost from falling on the soil. On the street, checkers are used first by making a mini-greenhouse out of film over the seedlings. After installing the frame (it can be low) and the film, the checkers are placed at both ends and set on fire.
Degree of freezing of cucumber seedlings
If it was still not possible to prevent frost and the seedlings froze, then how do you understand what measures are needed to save the cucumbers?
Freezing degrees:
- A characteristic change in the color of the leaves of cucumber seedlings; they become softer at the edges and droop down.
- In addition to the leaves, plant stems also change. At this stage, the stem may become covered with a thin layer of ice.
- Full frozen stage. It is characterized by complete freezing of the stem and leaves, as well as frozen roots in the ground.
First aid measures for freezing cucumber seedlings
What to do if cucumber seedlings are frozen? Based on the degree to which the cucumbers have frozen, measures can and should be taken to resuscitate the seedlings.
How to save seedlings:
- At the first degree of freezing, cucumber seedlings can be saved. It is treated with a solution of the drug "Epin-Extra", which, being a biological growth stimulant, restores sprouts, stimulating the growth and immune forces of plants. After carefully reading the instructions for the drug, you need to spray the cucumbers with it.
- If the cucumber seedlings are frozen to the second stage, then in addition to spraying with a biostimulant, other measures must be taken in the following sequence:
- First, you definitely need to cover the sprouts with cardboard boxes and lay film on top. Such shelter is necessary in order to provide protection from sunlight. When the sun comes out, it quickly heats the cucumber sprouts and dries out their surface, which increases frost stress and causes the plant to die.
- After the seedlings have stood under the boxes all day, in the evening you can remove the boxes and treat them with a biostimulant, for example HB-101. The next day, the surviving cucumbers will look better, and the dead plants can be removed.
- If cucumber seedlings are frozen before the third stage, then the chances of resuscitating them are almost zero.
How to care for cucumber seedlings after defrosting
After you have not allowed the seedlings to freeze and have properly resuscitated them, the cucumbers will gain strength for some time and the intensity of their growth and development may decrease. It is believed that a frozen seedling often loses its fertility. Don’t be afraid of this and pour all known and unknown chemicals on them indiscriminately.You need to give the bushes time to recover.
For a week after they have frozen, do not add any new fertilizers other than the biostimulants that you used to defrost.
After 7-10 days, you can give the seedlings natural fertilizing, and then fertilize according to the standard scheme.
Yeast nutrition for cucumber seedlings
It is not enough to save frozen cucumber seedlings. They still need to be restored without losing fruiting. Natural yeast supplements can help with this. To prepare it, you need to take 50 grams of yeast per 5 liters of warm, unboiled water and mix them well until a homogeneous solution is formed.
This mixture should be placed in a warm, dark place, kept there for a day, and when it ferments, water each bush with it at the root. After such feeding, cucumbers sprout new leaves faster, take root better, and turn green. And those roots that are frozen are rejuvenated and the bush develops again without loss of productivity.
What to do if cucumber seedlings cannot be saved after freezing
If cucumber seedlings cannot be revived after freezing, then replant them. Let's give some tips for quick germination of cucumber seedlings:
- Sow cucumbers in boiling water. This method is very good because the sprouts emerge and grow very quickly. The method of such sowing is very simple. You need cups for sowing seeds, water boiled and cooled to 70-80 degrees, and the seeds themselves. We plant 1-2 seeds in cups and pour boiling water over them. Then, covering the cups with film, we leave them in a dark place. In two days you will already have cucumber sprouts.
- Soak the seeds in boiling water. For this method, boiling water is needed as an accelerator. You need to put the seeds in a gauze bag, tie it and pour boiling water over it.The next day all the seeds will be hatched. They can be planted directly into the ground. However, if you are afraid of a recurrence of frost, it is better to plant them in cups and place them in a warm, sunny place for further germination.
- This method has proven itself to be one of the best. I soak the seeds for a day in aloe juice. I squeeze juice from aloe leaves no less than three years old. I plant these seeds directly into the soil and cover them generously with mulch on top. I water only with warm water and add mulch on top as needed. In the open ground, you can also make a small frame greenhouse, which will be additional protection for the seedlings.
