Kira Stoletova
Growing various horticultural crops is not an easy and painstaking task, so gardeners are looking for many ways to achieve maximum results. Soaking cucumber seeds before planting to improve yield is one of the well-proven procedures that is often used. It has its own nuances, but with proper preparation and carrying out is able to bring a rich harvest to its hardworking agrarian.
What is soaking
Seed soaking is the immersion of future seedlings in a special solution in order to improve their sowing properties. Usually, this procedure is suitable for seeds before sowing, which have a lack of moisture and need extra attention. Thanks to soaking, it is possible to unleash the full potential of plants, make them work at full strength and, in some way, strengthen immunity against various diseases.
The procedure is carried out in a container made of glass or plastic. Best options will become a jar or container where seeds are stored. It should be noted that not every seed is suitable for soaking. For example, grains that have already been warmed up and, moreover, processed, it is better not to soak, as this will have a very detrimental effect on their quality. The hatched seeds are most often also discarded, since they do not always germinate perfectly after treatment. It is believed that it is better not to take risks when seeing germinating grains, especially if you are a professional gardener who can choose the most promising from a variety of seeds.
Means for soaking seeds
There are several proven preparations that are involved in the soaking of grains and perform excellently before sowing. They differ:
- harmlessness and safety;
- ease of use;
- the presence of nutrients and substances useful for seedlings;
- natural growth stimulants in the composition.
Despite the unifying features, no better system processing, because each drug has its own individual characteristics.
Epin
One of the leading products is Epin, which is based on herbal ingredients. If the seeds are soaked in it, they will become much stronger and will not be afraid of temperature changes. With Epin, future seedlings are not threatened to die either from frost¸ or as a result of a lack of sunlight.
Zircon
A proven remedy is Zircon, the main component of which is chicoric acid. It is designed to stimulate growth and accelerate the rooting process.
Humin
Soaking cucumber seeds in Humin, a sodium humate-based product is also very beneficial. This solution not only improves seed germination before planting, but also contains many nutrients that are important for full development, which cucumbers need so much.
Some gardeners soak seeds in a product containing a number of trace elements. This is necessary if the open ground in which the seedlings are planted has a meager content of substances useful for the grains.
Folk remedies for soaking
Those who seek to use everything natural, before sowing, may well be able to use proven methods that have long been used by the people.
With aloe
Aloe juice is a great option, where you can soak the seeds by wrapping them in a cloth. The plant has powerful antibacterial properties and also stimulates the growth of plants that sprout faster.
With ash
The ash solution has proven itself well, thanks to which the treated plants can be saturated with minerals and receive everything they need for full development. Just 2 tbsp is enough. tablespoons of ash mixed with 1 spoon of boiled water to nourish the seeds.
With honey
A honey-based solution is another option for saturating future seedlings. It is prepared according to the proportion: 1 tsp. honey in a glass of water. It is enough to put a bag of cloth in it, in which there will be grains of both pure cucumbers and hybrids.
With potato juice
Another option from the people is potato juice. You need to take a few potatoes, peel them and be sure to leave them in the refrigerator for several hours. After that, the fruits must be squeezed out, and cucumber seeds must be put in the resulting juice.
with onion skins
For the time-tested method with onion peel you will need a liter of boiling water containing the ash solution. Manganese (1 g), 0.2 g of boric acid and soda (5 g) are added there. The components are mixed well, and then future cucumbers are added to them.
With peroxide
Very often, hydrogen peroxide is added to an existing composition. This product helps to stimulate seed growth as well as prepare for sowing. 3% of the composition is enough to carry out the soaking procedure as efficiently as possible.
Amount of time to soak
To carry out the procedure efficiently, you need, no doubt, to know many of the nuances.
It is important to take into account such a moment as preliminary disinfection. If you intend to carry out this procedure, then you will need a solution of potassium permanganate. Just 20-60 minutes is enough for the seeds to receive their portion of disinfection.
How long should the seeds soak? As a rule, the time it takes for the seeds to settle in the liquid can be different - there is no single rule. If you take ready-made funds, then average term aging of seeds in them will be 2-3 days.
If we talk about solutions prepared at home, then the amount of time that future seedlings will spend in liquid can vary:
- So, in aloe juice, it is enough to hold the seeds for only 24 hours. This time is enough to achieve the desired effect, and then germination.
- To soak cucumber seeds before planting in an ash solution, it will take at least 2 days for the agent to infuse. Only in this case will it be possible to achieve the desired result. After 3-6 hours, the processed future cucumber seedlings are ready for further action on the part of the farmer.
- When using a solution of honey, it will take only 6 hours for the agent to have a beneficial effect on the plants, and the treatment is of high quality. Skinless potatoes take a little longer to cook, and so does the seed. It will take him at least 8 hours to be completely ready for further use.
- When using a solution based on onion peels, it will take only 5-6 hours, and the seeds will receive everything they need to be stronger and more active in growth.
Soaking secrets
Having found out in what conditions and for how long the seeds need to be soaked, you can safely start the procedure. To do this, you need a container of solution and gauze or a cloth. You need to carefully put the seeds in it, and then wrap it tightly. You can use plastic bag where to put the seed. Some women use an old bra with foam cups as rags, which creates a certain percentage of heat, which is important for seedlings before the planting and germination stage.
Similar articles
Flower seeds were stimulated with epin, and vegetables (peppers, tomatoes) in potassium permanganate or just in water, tomatoes for 8 hours, then in a napkin, peppers immediately in a napkin
Calibration
Germination is the sowing quality of seeds. And soaking does not affect it, well, maybe a couple of percent. Soaking accelerates germination and germination. If, according to the seed passport, the germination rate is 30%, then soak, do not soak, and the divers will not help. Good luck.
A question from our subscriber Roman:
Soak
Watering cucumbers should warm water... To do this, it is recommended to keep a barrel near the cucumber garden and pour water into it in the evening or early in the morning so that it warms up during the day. Too much watering is harmful, since the whips begin to grow vigorously to the detriment of fruiting.
Disinfection
It is necessary to sow cucumber seeds in the ground in such a way that the seedlings do not fall under frost. Only dry cucumber seeds are sown early, since sprouted seeds can rot in insufficiently heated soil.
Stratification
Therefore, the most optimal capacity for seedlings are peat (peat-melting) pots. The porosity of their walls provides a comfortable water-air regime of the soil layer in which the roots are located. You can plant seedlings in the ground directly in such pots, avoiding the complicated transplantation process. When planted in the ground, the roots of the cucumbers will grow freely through the bottom and walls of the pot. The pots do not contain toxic substances and pathogens, have sufficient mechanical strength both wet and dry.
Processing with mixtures
Optimal depth sowing cucumber seeds in the ground is a depth of 2 cm. It is necessary to take into account when sowing that cucumbers can grow very much during the growth process, so you should not sow them too often. It is recommended to sow two seeds per hole (you can lay a little more seeds if you are in doubt about the quality, since not everyone can sprout) at a distance of 8 to 10 cm. When sowing cucumbers, the recommended distance in a row is 8-10 cm, between rows - 60 cm.
Planting cucumbers can be done in two ways: sowing cucumber seeds directly on the garden bed or planting pre-grown seedlings. With any method of growing cucumbers in open ground, they are planted when the soil is already warmed up enough and can provide the plants with the necessary nutrients. For example, in middle lane Russian cucumbers are planted in late May and early June.
The most effective way to disinfect them is to warm them up in water up to 50 ° C. Place the planting material in a cloth bag and lower it in boiling water for twenty minutes. In this case, care must be taken that the temperature does not drop. Then the seeds are soaked in cold water for three minutes. Similar tests are suitable for carrots, cabbage and beets. Do the same with zucchini, eggplant, watermelon and melons. True, they require a longer " hot tub"- within two hours.
Spring is the beginning of the season when gardeners and gardeners think about the future harvest. Planting plans are created, seeds and fertilizers are purchased in stores. Some crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, begin to be cultivated by growing seedlings. Other plants do not require a similar preparation period. They are planted immediately into the ground when the ground warms up enough. But in both cases, gardeners may be concerned with the question of whether to soak the seeds and, if so, how.
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Planting seeds and seedlings of cucumbers
Planting methods for cucumbers
Depends on the seeds (small spraying on sowing, medium-3 hours -4 hours, large-from 8 hours -24 hours) with the drug "Zircon", "Epin" or "Humate +".
Roman, there is logic in this approach. If you do not intend to dive the seedlings, but want to sow directly into separate containers, then pre-germination can really save space. I do this when it comes about expired seeds, and you won't understand whether they can be thrown away immediately, or you can still sow))
A question about vegetable seedlings (cucumber, tomato, etc.) is it worth soaking the seeds before planting them?
Seed preparation
The main care for cucumbers is timely watering, loosening the soil, weeding and feeding.
Ideally, you need to choose a place where they did not grow even in the previous year pumpkin crops(cucumbers, squash, squash, pumpkin). These measures are necessary to avoid the accumulation of diseases and pests. But a change of place is also allowed every 5 years. When grown, cucumbers require an even and constant supply nutrients... These plants respond well to the application of organic fertilizers that improve the soil structure.
Growing seedlings
The options for how to soak seeds before planting are very similar, but at the same time, they are not the most basic. Before soaking planting material can be frozen in the refrigerator. The seeds are wrapped in a damp cloth and placed in freezer... They are stored at low temperatures - from -1 to -3 °. This is how pumpkin, tomatoes, eggplants, and peppers are tempered for three days. Having withstood such conditions, they will be ready for planting in open ground much earlier than those not hardened.
To prepare the material for germination, it must be placed in warm place... For example, put next to the battery. The first you need crops such as pumpkin, cucumbers, squash, zucchini. The room should be at a temperature of plus twenty degrees. If the seeds warm up for a month or a month and a half, then later they will sprout earlier and provide more early harvest.
Depending on which seeds. if it says on the package. that the seeds are processed. then no soaking is needed !! ! only make it worse. if not, these are mainly flower seeds, any growth stimulator, rooting will do. there is "humate" - they come in different directions - it is also very useful.
But there is a nuance. Guaranteed seedlings are not yet guaranteed successful seedlings. At the stage of seed germination, it is not always possible to assess the quality of the future sprout 100%. In this sense, picking is a blessing: we sow (even if dry, even if nailed - here it is no longer so important) seeds in a common container, and then we choose the strongest and most promising sprouts. And now they are already - in separate containers in order to further groom and cherish)
I am interested in this question for the following reason, I want to plant seedlings of many varieties, while I need to know that the seedlings will be guaranteed, tk. I plan on 1-2 peat pots per grade.
Sometimes on very hot days, watering alone is not enough, then the leaves begin to wither. In this case, it is recommended to do a refreshing shower with cool water over the leaves from a hose during the day. Such spraying should be done quickly, preferably at 17-18 hours, when there are fewer bees. A shower removes dust from leaves, increases air and soil moisture, reduces high daytime temperatures, and improves photosynthesis.
Feeding of cucumbers is carried out every 10 days. For 10 liters of water, 1 liter of thick mullein and 20-30 g of urea or ammonium nitrate are taken. After the cucumbers bloom, they need to be fed with the same solution, adding superphosphate and potassium salt to it: 40-50 g each (at the beginning of fruiting, 50-60 g each). One liter of solution will be enough to water 4 plants.
Planting cucumbers requires preparing the beds in advance. It is recommended to prepare the soil for growing cucumbers in the fall in a lighted and warm place. The site should be dug to a depth of 22-27 cm, then manure and humus should be added for digging at the rate of a bucket per 1 sq. M. In the next 2-3 years, organic fertilizers should not be applied, then only mineral fertilizers are used.
Soil preparation
Planting cucumber seedlings in the ground together with a pot provides almost one hundred percent survival rate of seedlings. The pot serves as a fertilizer by decomposing in the ground. The seedlings take root well, which allows you to get a good early harvest. Before sowing seeds, the pots are filled with moistened nutrient soil, which must be moderately compacted. After sowing, the pots are placed on pallets, sand, plastic wrap, a layer of soil or gravel. Seedlings need to be watered while keeping the soil moist. Do not allow peat pots to dry out. When dry, the salts in the earth crystallize and in concentrated form can be dangerous for delicate cucumber sprouts. As the seedlings grow, the pots should be placed more freely to provide sufficient light and prevent root entanglement.
Cucumber cultivation can also be done by planting cucumber seedlings. This method is good in that the crop can be harvested earlier, since the seedlings are grown at home even before the soil is ready. But there are difficulties in this method. Cucumbers have a very fragile root system and it is rather difficult to transplant them without damaging the roots. Therefore, it is difficult to grow cucumbers from seedlings, there is a risk of getting a poor-quality crop. But if you have chosen this method, then it should be borne in mind that it is better to grow seedlings in peat pots.
Planting and caring for cucumbers requires some knowledge. Below will be considered the basic rules for growing cucumbers and caring for them.
When preparing planting material, you can safely experiment. For example, here's how to soak seeds before planting with nutrient formulas. A solution of potassium permanganate is required. He prepares as follows. One gram of potassium permanganate is dissolved in five liters of water. But it should be borne in mind that such processing inhibits the development of plants. Therefore, experts recommend resorting to specially produced mixtures.
Not all planting material is suitable for growing strong and healthy plants. Perhaps the seeds bought a long time ago are already expired if their expiration date has expired. Therefore, before processing, it is necessary to sort through all of them, remove damaged, small ones.
You can also water + honey, water + aloe juice, a weak solution of potassium permanganate, 2 hours
In epine or potassium permanganate ... from 30 minutes
As I suppose, if you soak the seeds, and they "hatch", then the seedlings from such seeds will already be exactly, and I will not have "blank" pots, which may be the case in the case of "blind" sowing of seeds (without soaking).
Growing and caring
Withering of cucumber leaves in hot weather indicates that there is not enough soil moisture. If water does not seep well into the soil during irrigation, carefully puncture with a pitchfork. With a strong drying out of the soil, it must be watered in 2-3 doses: first, water a little (1-2 watering cans per 1 square meter), and after a while increase watering, bringing its total volume to 8-10 liters per 1 square m. Reduce watering at the end of summer, as waterlogging of cold soil contributes to rotting of the lower part of the stem and roots. During massive fruit growth, especially high humidity soil, watering cucumbers every 3-4 days or even every other day. To avoid stunting, diseases and plant death, it is recommended to water it with warm water.http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBLNKEgM-Ec
The garden bed should be sprayed with a solution copper sulfate(for 10 liters of water, take 1 tablespoon of copper sulfate), spending 1 liter of solution for 1 square meter of the garden. Then, all plant residues, including roots, must be removed from the garden and burned. Before digging in the garden, add 2 tablespoons of superphosphate and 1 glass dolomite flour or ash per 1 sq.m. Dig the garden bed to a depth of 15 cm and leave it until spring. In the spring, 10 days before planting, add 1 bucket of manure humus, old wood sawdust, peat and 1 glass of ash to 1 square meter of the garden, then dig to the depth of a bayonet shovel.
Seedlings of cucumbers before planting in open ground should have the following characteristics: Plants must be at least 25 cm in height and have 5 or more leaves. It is very important that the seedlings are kept upright. For these purposes, the plants must be tied up.
Cucumber seedlings are often used in cups, dairy bags or boxes.
The first method is to sow cucumbers directly into open ground. Growing cucumber seeds is a painstaking job. The seeds should be large, full-bodied. First of all, you need to choose the highest quality seeds. To do this, treat them with a 1% solution of potassium permanganate, then keep them warm for 20 minutes. clean water... In this case, low-quality seeds should float, after which they can be easily removed. The remaining good seeds can be sown directly into open ground without germination, or germinated for about two days in wet sawdust or peat. If the seeds are pre-germinated, an additional selection of low-quality sowing material occurs.
For example, you can use the growth regulators "Zircon", "Albit", "Energen". It is necessary to prepare solutions with these drugs according to the instructions that come with them. As a substitute for potassium permanganate solution, you can use five grams of baking soda per liter of water. The processed seeds will also undergo disinfection. Any of these solutions are suitable for preparing pumpkin seeds, cucumbers, zucchini. They must be kept for twelve hours.
To make the process take less time, it is enough to resort to folk way selection. You will need to dilute from thirty to fifty grams of table salt in a liter of water. Drain the water to remove the sediment, and pour the material clean already. Thus, you learned how to properly soak seeds to identify defective specimens. As a result, you will receive the following picture within an hour. Those of the seeds that are suitable for sowing will sink to the bottom of the jar, and the empty ones will rise to the surface. They will have to be thrown away. The rest are washed in running water. So you can sort out the seeds of almost all crops.
I chose "Zircon" for myself, good root system obtained after soaking in it.
Last year I experimented, some soaked, some not ... There is no difference ...
I bought seeds in the online store "Russian Garden" (http://www.ncsemena.ru/), but the seeds purchased even in the store are guaranteed not to give 100% germination.
VseoTeplicah.ru
Should you soak your seeds before planting seedlings?
At the beginning of flowering, cucumbers should be watered with liquid top dressing, to which micronutrient fertilizers are added: 0.1 g of zinc sulfate, 0.3-0.4 g of manganese sulfate and 0.5 g of boric acid per 10 liters of water.
Planting ready-made cucumber seedlings should be done only when the soil warms up well enough in the sun.
Planting cucumber seedlings in boxes will save space, but when transplanted into open ground, the fragile root system will be damaged and the survival rate of plants will deteriorate.
Natasha, Russia
There is another option. The following composition is prepared. One Matchbox wood ash dissolved in five liters of water. Insist for two days. In this solution, the seeds must be kept for four to six hours. They wake up after soaking, they swell. If this did not happen, then the whole procedure should be repeated from the beginning. It is necessary to hold them in warm water for one to two hours. Also suitable for processing planting material are aloe juice, infusions of valerian, chamomile, oak bark.
Irina, Bender
Let's take a direct look at the process describing how to soak the seeds before planting, what needs to be done for this. The planting material is placed in water at room temperature. Such processing helps to awaken the dormant forces in the small seed. Seedlings will be early. Gardeners are concerned about the following problem: how many days to soak the seeds so that they are ready for planting. It is enough to soak parsley, beets, peppers, celery, carrots, eggplants, parsnips, onions in water for forty-eight hours. For cucumbers, radish, cabbage, melon, radish, lettuce, zucchini, pumpkin, squash, eight to twelve hours are enough.
Vasily, Kostroma
Marina, Nekrasovskoe
Try * epin *
Personally, I never soak or germinate seeds of neither pepper nor cucumbers ... I plant dry. Once a neighbor gave sprouted cucumber seeds and I planted them. did not notice that they ascended much faster than dry ones. Well, I personally have it
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What are the seeds soaked in before planting? And for how long?
Brunette
Cucumbers are harvested when the fruit is ripe. The interval between the first harvests is 3-5 days, and during the period of mass fruiting - no more than 2 days. Try to remove the fruits so that the stalk remains on the lashes. Remove yellow and diseased fruits at the same time so that they do not weaken the plants and do not delay the formation of new ovaries.
Feeding cucumbers is best done in the evening. It is necessary to avoid getting the solution on the leaves, since when sunny weather this can cause burns. The solution should be washed off the leaves with water from a watering can with a strainer. After each watering and feeding of cucumbers, it is recommended to add fertile soil under them, thereby replacing loosening. The roots of cucumbers are located in the upper layer of the soil, so they can be easily damaged with normal loosening. It is necessary to loosen the soil only in the aisles.
cat matroskin
After that, level and pour hot (60 ° C) water (5-6 liters per 1 sq. M.). You can pour a solution (1 g per 10 liters of water) of potassium permanganate at the rate of 3-4 liters per 1 square meter or sodium humate (for 10 liters of water 1 tablespoon of liquid sodium humate), 3-4 liters per 1 square meter. Then cover the bed with a clean film before sowing or planting cucumbers.
Today we will consider such questions - soil for cucumbers: composition, how to prepare the earth with your own hands? How to prepare cucumber seeds for planting, do they need to be soaked and how to germinate cucumber seeds for seedlings?
Soil preparation
Cucumbers love light, nutritious soil... Purchased mixes will not work. They have a lot of peat that is too acidic.
Ready-made substrates are not nutritious enough, they do not ensure the normal development of the root system of cucumbers.
It is better to create the soil for the cucumber seedlings yourself. It is worth trying one of the following options:
- a mixture of garden or sod land with humus, peat and rotted sawdust in equal proportions;
- sod land mixed with rotted compost;
- garden or sod land mixed with humus, vermicult or perlite;
- peat combined with old sawdust, humus, mullein and washed river sand.
For the mixture, it is better to use the ground into which the grown cucumbers will be transplanted. Light sandy soil preferred, heavy earth with an admixture of clay will not work. The substrate should be neutral or slightly alkaline.
Before mixing, the soil must be sieved and then calcined in the oven or microwave oven... Such treatment, lasting at least half an hour at a temperature of 90 degrees, kills harmful microorganisms and insect larvae that weaken the seedlings.
Another processing option is steaming... The earth is laid out on a fine mesh and placed over a container of boiling water. Processing is carried out for 30-45 minutes, then the soil is cooled. If there is no possibility of heat treatment, the ground can be frozen, this procedure guarantees a good effect.
The sifted soil is laid out in plastic bags or cloth bags, after which it is placed in the freezer or on the balcony (in winter period). The substrate is kept in the cold for several days, then brought into the room and left to thaw.
ADVICE! Mineral supplements will help to enhance the nutritional value of the soil. containing nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus necessary for seedlings.
Wood ash, superphosphate, urea are introduced into the substrate, potassium sulfate or potassium sulfate. All components are thoroughly mixed. The soil mixture can be prepared in advance. Some should be left for later pouring into cups with seedlings.
Seed preparation
For one hundred percent germination and obtaining strong seedlings before sowing, the seeds undergo a number of activities.
The preparation process consists of:
- calibration;
- disinfection;
- germination;
- hardening.
Seeds collected within the last 10 years are suitable for planting. It should be borne in mind that germination decreases every year, in specimens of nine years ago, it can be less than 50%.
The best qualities are demonstrated by the material collected 2-3 years before sowing. To control the process, seeds harvested by themselves are laid out in bags with the date of harvest.
First, the seeds are sorted by hand, hollow and deformed seeds are rejected. During the calibration process, the seed can be sorted by size (it depends not only on the quality, but also on the variety). It is believed that larger specimens have better germination and viable promising shoots.
After manual calibration the seed is filled with salted water and mix thoroughly. Good-quality seeds will sink to the bottom, unsuitable for planting will float. Quality material taken out of the saline solution, washed clean water and dried by spreading out on a napkin or paper towel.
The next stage of preparation is disinfection.
REFERENCE! Sometimes the seed goes through the necessary processing before being sold (there should be a corresponding mark on the bag).
If disinfection was not carried out, you will have to do it yourself. You should not risk the health of the seedlings and the future harvest.
The seeds are heated at a temperature of 60 degrees for about 3 hours. You cannot overheat them. Then they dipped in an aqueous solution of potassium permanganate for 30 minutes, after which they are thoroughly rinsed with clean water.
There are also alternative disinfection methods... The seed can be treat with an ultraviolet lamp within 5 minutes. The procedure is performed immediately before sowing. If it is impossible to plant seeds immediately, after irradiation they are packed in a light-proof bag.
Disinfecting seeds and at the same time nourishing them with valuable trace elements will help soaking in ash infusion(2 tablespoons of ash are infused in 1 liter of warm water for 3 days). Processing lasts 30 minutes, then they are dried.
Last but very important stage – hardening that increases the immunity of plants. First, the seeds are germinated in a damp cloth. Then they are moved to the refrigerator for several days.
First, the seeds are placed in a colder area, then transferred to the lower shelves. The seed should not dry out during hardening; the cloth in which it is wrapped is often moistened with a spray bottle.
How to germinate cucumber seeds for seedlings?
IMPORTANT! Some gardeners prefer to plant dry seeds. The main motivation is germinated material is very vulnerable, tender young shoots are easily injured, which slows down the growth of seedlings.
However, most hobbyists still soak the seeds in an attempt to speed up the development of seedlings and ensure the germination of the seed. If the shoots do not hatch, they can not, do not occupy the pots with the substrate and the scarce space on the windowsill.
How to soak cucumber seeds for seedlings? Soft water is used for soaking: rain, melted or boiled. Do not use harsh chlorinated tap water... It is not worth pouring in the seeds, a damp cotton cloth works much better.
Some gardeners use cotton wool, but this method is not safe. Delicate sprouts can become entangled in long fibers, and it will be very difficult to remove them without breaking.
The seeds are wrapped in a cotton cloth or matting, abundantly moistened with warm water, and then placed in plastic bag... It will keep moisture from evaporating and provide the necessary warmth. They will germinate in 3 days.
To improve germination before germination, cucumber seeds can be soaked in an aqueous solution of a growth stimulant... Processing takes 10-12 hours. The procedure is especially important for expensive and rare varietal seeds, it guarantees almost one hundred percent germination of the seed.
Sowing preparation can take a lot of time, so you need to start it in advance. The disinfected soil, enriched with nutrients, can be stored for a long time, and the seeds must pass necessary procedures just before sowing. Important preparatory measures cannot be neglected, because the future harvest depends on them.
For seeds that are very dry, the pecking time can be very delayed: they will absorb water more slowly, the seedlings will grow unevenly. Therefore, before planting such seeds can, even need to "wake up" by soaking.
Presowing treatment of planting material often includes a procedure such as soaking. This method of seed treatment helps to awaken the full potential of a small grain, contributes to the early germination of many vegetable crops, including cucumbers.
Sometimes the soaking procedure is neglected: if, then they will germinate quite quickly without preliminary water treatments in a couple of days (at a temperature of + 24-27C).
What exactly needs to be soaked are those that have been exposed to the action for some time before sowing. high temperatures or they themselves contain little moisture, because their storage conditions have been violated.In some cases, soaking can even harm the seeds: if they have already been warmed up and treated with a dressing agent, the water will simply wash away protective layer with seeds.
It's good to have supplies
By the way, you don't have to buy cucumber seeds every year.
Oddly enough, a high percentage of germination is observed just in the grains, which are 2-3 years old. Just store them in a warm, dry place, wrapped in newspaper or cloth, until their cherished hour.
Which long time waiting for their release "into the light" (more precisely, into the soil), give plants with abundant ovary.
If, for a number of reasons, it was not possible to let the seeds "stand - mature" for a year or two, then one-year-old cucumber seeds will have to be warmed up to fifty-degree temperature for 2 hours, trying not to overheat them and not to brew them.
It is best to take well-settled water for soaking. Ideal option is rain or melt water. They also use frozen tap water, clean, non-carbonated, from a store.
Before you start directly soaking the planting material, you need to sort it out, warm it up, and disinfect it.
How many extra ones do we have here?
First you need to separate the wheat from the chaff, i.e. select the most promising, dense, large cucumber seeds.
To properly calibrate them, fill our seeds with water, wait a few minutes and drain the seeds that have floated to the surface.
These hollow "floaters" boldly go to the trash bin, because they will not be used for sowing. Seeds remaining at the bottom of the container are sent for drying.
It makes sense to warm up cucumber seeds if they are fresh, and it is still better to take care of this in advance.
To warm up, it is enough to pour the seeds on a tray or in bags and put or hang them over the battery. central heating... At a temperature of +40 degrees, the seeds warm up for a week, if the temperature is +25 degrees, it will take a month.
Heated seeds are more likely to produce viable seedlings that begin to bear fruit in early dates, will give less wasteland.Warming up helps kill some viral infections.
You can't get sick!
Before soaking, it is imperative to disinfect the cucumber seeds.
In the first case, special powdered preparations (NIUIF-2, TMTD, granosan) are used, which are placed together with the seeds inside a closing container and are continuously shaken for about five minutes.There are two methods: dry etching and wet disinfection.
The method of wet disinfection has become more widespread, it is carried out using a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
How much potassium permanganate is needed for our purposes? Approximately 1 g with 1000 ml of water. The seeds are wrapped in a piece of cloth, dipped into a container with a potassium permanganate solution and stand in it for about half an hour, then they are necessarily washed under running water.
We are starting water procedures!
For the soaking procedure, you will need a container in the form of a wide plate or saucer, water, gauze and planting material.
A layer of wet cloth is placed on the dish, then the seeds and again a layer of wet cloth (ordinary gauze will do).
The seedlings are filled with water, the temperature of which is + 30–35 ° C. So much water is needed so that the fabric is barely covered with water. The container with soaked seeds is placed in a dark place.
At this stage, it is important to constantly monitor the moisture level and not allow it to dry out, otherwise the seeds may simply die.
To maintain a constant level of moisture, it will be safer if the fabric with seeds is placed on top of a material that retains water perfectly (cotton wool, foam rubber, sponge).
To prevent moisture from evaporating too quickly, you can also resort to this method: put the container with seeds in a large bag (plastic), just do not cover it tightly, but leave it slightly open.
In time, the soaking procedure takes about 24 hours: a lot depends on how quickly the seeds are saturated with moisture. It is for cucumber seeds that 8-15 hours are enough.
And the water is not easy ...
Information often comes across that it is supposedly useful to soak seeds in a liquid to which either wood ash or salt is added.
Ordinary ash will not do harm - this is a proven old-fashioned method.
But it is better to refrain from saline solutions, because they still slightly inhibit germination.
The use of biostimulants ("Epin", "Humat", "", infusion of valerian, aloe juice) has gained great popularity when soaking: they give a high percentage of germination, help reduce the susceptibility of seedlings to poor growing conditions, and help increase the resistance of vegetable crops to diseases.
The fact is that when the temperature drops below 20 ° C, the effect of the biological products used is significantly reduced.The main condition is that the soaking solution with added biological products must have a stable room temperature.
Temper yourself if you want to be healthy!
In order for the cucumbers to endure the cold snap without any problems, to give an early harvest, a hardening procedure can be carried out. This step is not so much obligatory as it is useful.
It's great to spend it before sending the cucumber seeds for germination.
For hardening, you need to put a container with swollen grains in a refrigerator or cellar for 1-2 days.
The container is additionally immersed in a plastic bag, which we leave ajar, and periodically observe the moisture level of our seeds.
Such hardening of the planting material will make the future plant strong, hardy, resistant to temperature fluctuations and diseases.
Now the seeds of the cucumbers can either be sown directly into the ground, after having dried them, or they can be sent for germination.
Germination is carried out before the appearance of more root seeds at least 0.5 cm long.It is recommended to germinate cucumber seeds before planting: the time to germination is the most difficult and dangerous for the future plant, therefore, all processes of obtaining healthy, quality seedlings must be accelerated by all available means.
All of the above procedures will help you choose the best seed, exclude re-sowing, and achieve one-time and friendly shoots.
If you are not too lazy and pay due attention to the preparation of planting material before planting, then a rich harvest delicious cucumbers guaranteed in the future!
Cucumbers are one of the most demanded vegetable crops in garden plot... For getting good fruiting it takes a lot of effort. Correct preparation of cucumber seeds for sowing is key moment on which germination and further fruiting directly depends.
The cultivation of cucumbers can take place in open ground or a greenhouse, so this must be taken into account when preparing the seed for cucumbers.
Efficient processing methods
One of the most simple methods seed treatment can be distinguished by soaking. Unfortunately, not all gardeners know how, so they make many mistakes when implementing this procedure.
In order for the soaking of cucumber seeds before planting to occur correctly, for this they take warm water and immerse the seeds in it. The duration of the procedure is several hours. This will allow us to reject and find out which raw materials will not do us any good.
Defective seeds (dummies) will float to the surface of the liquid. They are not capable of sprouting, so they will need to be removed from the total mass.
Also, to soak the seeds of the cucumber, instead of water, take a saline solution. For its preparation, 50 grams of table salt is dissolved in 1000 ml of water. The seeds that we have selected for planting must be dried.
If such seed is not available, then you will have to provide optimal conditions content of fresh seed. It is necessary to pick up optimal place for storage, warm and dry, not cooler than 25 degrees Celsius.
If this condition has also not been met, then you will have to heat the seeds for about 2 hours in the oven at 60 degrees. The main thing is to do everything right so as not to overheat or steaming. After this procedure, the treated seed can germinate without problems.
The preparation of seed raw materials is not complete without disinfection. Few gardeners know how to process cucumber seeds to strengthen their immunity. This is done in several ways:
- dry pickling;
- wet disinfection.
For dry processing, NIUIF-2 (granosan) is used. It will need 3 grams per 1 kilogram of seed. They also use TMTD, which will require 4 grams per 1 kilogram of seed. These powdered products must be stirred in closed containers, shaking every 5 minutes.
Treatment of cucumber seeds before planting with the wet method consists in diluting 10 grams of potassium permanganate per 1 liter of water. In such a solution, you need to soak the raw materials for about 30 minutes, then rinse them well with clean water.
Application of germinated seeds
After we figured out whether it is necessary to soak cucumber seeds, we need to start germinating them. Germinating cucumber seeds before planting has never been a priority for gardeners and few knew how to do this correctly.
Sprouted specimens were simply thrown aside. But in Lately, experienced summer residents increasingly began to use sprouted seeds for planting. According to reviews, thanks to this method, the level of fruiting increased significantly.
- We make a solution of boric acid - we dilute 20 mg of the substance per 1000 ml of water.
- We provide warm temperature regime in room.
To prepare the solution boric acid it is quite possible to replace it with other means in the following proportions:
- 7 milligrams succinic acid for 1000 ml of water;
- 5 grams of baking soda per 1000 ml of water;
- 300 milligrams of methylene blue per 1000 ml of water;
- 2 grams of zinc sulfate per 1000 ml of water.
For those who do not intend to apply chemical agents To process cucumber seeds before planting, we have prepared one powerful recipe with the addition of aloe juice. It needs to be diluted in half with water. Of course, this method is not as effective. The duration of soaking must be reduced to 6 hours, and the temperature must be constantly maintained at about 22 degrees.
Next, the material must be laid out on a piece of cloth in a thin layer, and sawdust or sand sprinkled around them. The temperature should vary between 20 and 25 degrees. If sawdust has been selected, it must be treated with boiling water before use to remove tar and other unwanted substances.
How to prepare cucumber seeds for planting? In the event that the cultivation will take place in the open field, then you need to worry about resistance to cold temperature conditions... In this case, seed germination can increase up to 36 hours.
It will not be superfluous to carry out hardening. To do this, you need to slightly wet the cucumber planting material and keep it at a temperature less than -5 for 3 days.
Soil and bed preparation
To plant seeds, you need to prepare loose soil, fertilized organic fertilizers... Never use acidic soil. To feed the beds, you need to add from 80 to 100 kilograms of manure for every 10 square meters... If such fertilizer is not available, then you need to prepare 400 grams of superphosphate or 250 grams of potassium salt.
Also, it will not be superfluous to choose appropriate place for planting. The best precursors for cucumbers are potatoes, peas, or corn.
Soil preparation in spring consists in its regular loosening, as well as the introduction of wood ash or ammonium nitrate, in a proportion of 150-200 grams for every 10 square meters. You can start planting in the prepared soil.
Rows of cucumbers should be 70 centimeters apart. Seeds should be spaced up to 10 centimeters apart. Make sure that the temperature regime is within the normal range and does not fall below zero. Land plot may be a little shaded.
Seeds need to be planted in 2 or even 3 doses. You do not need to plant all the seed at once. The optimal planting depth is considered to be no more than 4 centimeters. But several experienced gardeners we are sure that when planted to a depth of 7 centimeters, moisture is better retained and good germination is obtained. Therefore, you can experiment a little and plant the seeds at different depths in the same hole.