Prefer cucumbers: when to sow them

Cucumbers are an easy crop in the garden. Whether as direct sowing or preculture: under ideal conditions, cucumber seeds have a germination time of a few days. This is how you can pull out cucumbers.

Prefer cucumbers

You start with the preculture of the cucumber plants no earlier than mid to late April. When planting out the cucumbers should have a maximum of one or two leaves after the cotyledons. Compared to other plants, cucumbers do not appreciate them pricked will. So only sow a few seeds directly into a small pot.

Instructions for preculture

• Fill pots with potting soil
• Mixture of seed and vegetable soil suitable
• Press 2 seeds 2 cm into the soil
• cover lightly with substrate
• pour on
• Cover with foil or put in a greenhouse
• Keep pots warm (min. 20 ° C)

As soon as the cotyledons show - the germination time is usually about 10 days - place the plants in a bright place. Plants should get full light for at least eight hours a day. When the temperatures are around 15 ° C, you can also put the plants outdoors during the day.

After about a week, select the plants in the pots in which two seeds have sprouted. Remove the weaker plant each time so that the stronger seedling can develop better.

Short preculture

If your preference is for cucumbers, plan the timing of sowing them well. Not only do the seeds germinate very quickly, the seedlings also grow quickly. If you sow cucumbers in pots, there is a great risk that, due to too little light and too high temperatures, the plants will shoot up indoors.

In order to prevent the plants from rotting, place the plants in a light and cool place. Temperatures around 12 ° C and a south-facing window are ideal. If you cannot offer the plants this climate, the following rule of thumb applies: the higher the temperature, the more light the plants need. This also allows you to counteract shooting. However, the use of suitable plant lamps is then essential.

Tip: If you prefer cucumber plants, use plant lamps that have a light spectrum with a high proportion of red and blue.

Plant out young plants

Cucumber plants are sensitive to frost and they are allowed to in the middle of May at the earliest, when there is no longer any danger from late frost, go outdoors. If you prefer cucumbers, you should accustom the seedlings to the open field. At least one week before the time to plant out, you should get the plants used to the field, provided that the temperatures have not allowed it beforehand.

Place the young plants in a sheltered place during the day. If the cucumber plants come into the greenhouse, you can use the young plants directly because they are protected from UV radiation there.

Tip: In the greenhouse you can usually plant the plants one to two weeks earlier due to the higher temperatures. This means that you can start the preculture a week earlier.

No-till

You can put the cucumber seeds directly in the soil. The best time to do this is around from the second week of May. This also applies to cultivation in the greenhouse.

Cucumber plants appreciate nutrient-rich soil, which is why the soil is given a basic organic fertilization before sowing. A combination of deposited manure or compost and a long-term fertilizer such as Horn shavings.

Instructions for direct sowing

• Loosen the soil
• Place seeds 2-3 cm deep
• cover with earth
• pour on

If you put a fleece over the earth, you can inhibit evaporation somewhat. In addition, you create a microclimate under the fleece that promotes germination. Alternatively, you can put glasses or transparent cut-off bottles over them and create a kind of mini greenhouse. As soon as the cotyledons appear, you should remove the "roof" so that it does not overheat and the plants die again.

Pile up

When planting cucumbers, always set the plants a little deeper. Cucumbers form side roots on the trunk, which means that the plants can be better supplied.

If you plant the seeds directly in the soil, there is no longer any way to set the plants deeper. Instead, pile up the plants. Since cucumber plants don't value damage to the roots, you shouldn't rake the soil sideways to the plant. Instead, use soil from another location in the garden or use compost soil straight away. Pile the cucumbers up to the first leaf.

If you have forgotten to lower the cucumber plants you have planted, you can pile them up as well.

Note: Grafted cucumber plants are not set deeper. If the grafting point is underground, it can happen that the rootstock grows through, which means that the grafted variety delivers less yield.

Cucumber plants in the pot

If you generally want to cultivate cucumbers in pots, you can prefer them and transplant them or prefer them directly in a large container.

Instructions for sowing in the bucket

• Fill in drainage made of expanded clay
• Pour in vegetable soil
• Place seeds 2 cm deep
• Pour the seeds

The ideal time to plant the kernels directly in a tub is around the beginning of May. The bucket remains protected in a bright location indoors until around mid-May. As soon as it stops freezing, put the plant outdoors.

Note: Do not forget to provide the cucumber plants in the pot with a climbing aid.

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