One of the favorite vegetables of summer residents is the cucumber, which begins to bear fruit early in closed ground. But it happens that all the conditions have been created, but it is not clear why the cucumbers in the greenhouse do not set. The problem can be eliminated if you know the reason for the absence of ovaries and fruits.
Why don't cucumbers bloom?
Their fruiting depends on the appearance of flowers on the vegetable bushes. Both the appearance of fruits and the harvest of vegetables depend on the number of female inflorescences. But sometimes, a situation arises when cucumbers do not bloom, and this happens for various reasons:
- The lack of flowering is due to the quality of the seeds. If seeds are stored for more than two to three years, they rarely produce viable seedlings. But seeds freshly collected from fruits are not always good material for the growth and flowering of cucumbers.
- Vegetables that have an imbalanced nutritional balance during the growing season are infertile. By overdoing it with nitrogenous fertilizers, you end up with long vines and a lot of lush greenery. But the plant is not going to bloom.
- Watering with cold water leads to the fact that flowers do not appear in the axils of the leaves for a long time. It is clear why there is no cucumber harvest.
- Excess moisture in the soil has a negative effect on the plant when the stems begin to rot and the emerging flowers dry out.
- If during flowering the air temperature in the greenhouse rises, reaching 30 degrees, then the flower buds fall off.
- Stuffiness, lack of air, crowded conditions in the greenhouse will not allow the plants to develop properly, and then there will be no ovary on the cucumbers. Stopping the growth of side shoots on which fruits develop from female flowers will lead to loss of yield.
Competent preparation for planting vegetables, organizing care for them greenhouse, will help cucumbers be with flowers.
Why don't cucumber ovaries grow in a greenhouse?
In hot weather, the ovaries on cucumbers appear on time, but grow poorly and dry out.
The ovaries do not develop because:
- the greenhouse is not ventilated;
- greenhouse vegetables are kept at an air temperature above 32 degrees and a humidity of 90 percent;
- plants are not pollinated due to the lack of male flowers on the plant and insects in the greenhouse;
- insufficient nutrition in the soil.
Diseased plants will also not produce full-fledged ovaries:
- The appearance of rot is associated with infection by pathogenic fungi. As the infection develops, all parts of the plant become covered with white mycelium.The plant stops developing. To save cucumbers, the affected leaves, stems, and ovaries are torn off, sprinkled with lime or crushed coal on top. Thickened plantings are thinned out, removing diseased bushes. Then the ovaries will begin to develop more actively, having received enough air.
- Powdery mildew suppresses the growth of cucumbers and their ovaries. As soon as a white coating appears on the leaves, it is necessary pollinate cucumbers sulfur powder.
- Brown spot occurs when the greenhouse is cool and humid. Treatment with Bordeaux mixture will stop the development of the disease.
Having established the reason that the cucumbers do not set, competent agrotechnical procedures are carried out.
Why cucumbers bloom but there are no fruits: proper planting organization
If cucumbers do not set in a greenhouse, then the reason lies in the planting and preparation for it.
The composition of the soil for cucumbers should be nutritious. To set fruit, prepare a mixture of equal parts of turf soil, peat, sand and vermiculite. Instead of vermiculite, use sawdust and a little coconut fiber.
Healthy seedlings will appear faster and cucumbers will develop better if you put rotted manure as the base of the soil substrate, adding half as much turf soil and a little sand to it. Seedlings do not like acidic soils, so it is better to neutralize the pH level.
There should be enough potassium, phosphorus, and magnesium in the garden bed in the greenhouse during flowering. The elements are applied in the form of fertilizers to the soil in advance. Treat the soil against pathogenic fungi by pouring boiling water or a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
Cucumber seeds undergo pre-sowing treatment. Their:
- sorted by immersing in saline solution;
- disinfected in a one percent solution of sodium permanganate;
- sprouted in damp layers of gauze or toilet paper.
It is better to sow cucumbers directly into the greenhouse, as the seedlings do not tolerate picking well. To do this, compost beds are prepared indoors, a nutrient soil mixture is placed on top of them, a layer of twenty-five centimeters. After abundant watering, two seeds are placed in the holes. Cucumbers will set better if no more than four plants are placed on one square meter.
The top of the sown bed is covered with a polyethylene film. When shoots appear, the shelter is removed.
Why the ovaries do not develop: what to do
If there are few female flowers, then you should not expect large quantities of fruits. And from fallen ovaries you won’t be able to get them any more. Flowers can dry out due to temperature changes. Vegetable plantings can be saved by mulching. Cover the soil around the bushes with a layer of sawdust, straw, hay, and fallen leaves. Mulch will help retain moisture in the soil and prevent weed growth.
Hypothermia is not allowed, otherwise there will be no ovaries on the cucumbers in the greenhouse. Therefore, during flowering, the air temperature in the greenhouse is controlled.
Cucumbers do not set fruit when they lack potassium, magnesium and phosphorus. If the soil in the greenhouses is poor, then the cucumbers are fed with fertilizers every week. In order for vegetables to grow, alternate fertilizing with organic matter and minerals. You can spray the leaves of the plant on top with nutrient solutions. This will allow you to avoid the problem of cucumbers blooming but no ovaries. And they will not turn yellow.
You can increase the growth and number of ovaries by regular harvesting. Cucumbers are picked every morning, and then the duration of fruiting increases until late autumn. In a fruiting cucumber, ovaries are constantly formed.
Cucumber varieties can be either self-pollinating or not.A self-pollinating vegetable grows better in greenhouses. It is chosen because you don’t have to bother with pollination to grow fruits. Seedlings quickly sprout, and there are much more fruits on such plants. Self-pollinating cucumbers will not turn yellow. 96 percent of the ovaries turn into greens with tender flesh and a crunchy taste.
When a situation arises that cucumbers bloom but do not bear fruit, the reason lies in the lack of phosphorus in the soil. You can take the nutrient from wood ash; it is better absorbed by the roots of the plant. To prepare a nutrient solution, two tablespoons of ash are diluted in ten liters of water. Processing of cucumber beds takes place in cloudy weather after loosening the soil. After feeding, the fruits do not dry out and fill faster.
Fruiting can be improved by pinching the central stem and side shoots of the first and second levels. The procedure will lead to an increase in the number of female flowers, and, therefore, there will be a lot of cucumbers.
Why do flowers fall but there are no cucumbers?
If you don’t know what to do when cucumbers bloom but there is no ovary, then you need to reconsider the conditions for growing the plant and the rules for caring for it.
The vegetable begins to shed flowers when:
- the irrigation regime is disrupted - the soil is either dry or waterlogged;
- groundwater is located nearby;
- there is not enough phosphorus and potassium in the beds;
- there is not enough light and air in the greenhouse.
The formation of a bush into one or two stems must be carried out. If the central shoot has grown, but the side stems do not lengthen, then the harvest will be small. After all, the main fruits are tied on lashes of the second and third order.
But picking off male flowers or barren flowers is completely unacceptable. They are needed for pollination.If there are too many of them, then it is necessary to reduce the frequency of watering and spray the cucumbers from above.
When cucumbers do not bear fruit, it is necessary to water the ridges abundantly and feed them with rotted manure. It is better to treat plants with special fertilizers such as Azofoska, Kemira.
Constantly moist soil in the greenhouse will prevent the fruits from filling. The soil must be dried without watering for three days. The leaves will wither, and the female flowers will be pleased with the setting of fruits.
During periods when the cucumbers do not fill up and remain small, you need to:
- attract insects for pollination;
- apply foliar fertilizing by taking a tablespoon of urea and three tablespoons of baking soda per bucket of water;
- spray the bushes with warm water.
You can prevent the appearance of fallen flowers by treating cucumbers with a suspension of copper oxychloride at a concentration of 0.4 percent or Bordeaux mixture.
