Planting cucumbers in bags. How to plant and grow cucumbers in bags correctly to get a good harvest? Cucumbers in bags: growing step by step

I decided to try growing cucumbers in bags the year before last. There was a place along concrete fence, the soil there is bad, that's why I used bags. The result was excellent, and the agricultural technology itself was simple.

Know all the features of the method

This method has the following advantages:

1. The ground temperature is higher than at conventional cultivation . Since cucumbers are a heat-loving crop, they react very well to this. Plants develop much faster and usually produce a harvest 2-3 weeks earlier, the difference is especially noticeable in open ground.
2. Finding the right container is easy. Any plastic bags will do large size, you can cultivate plants even in garbage bags; here it is important to choose durable options that will not burst from the weight of the soil. You can use options of different sizes, the main thing is to position correct amount plants so that they have enough nutrition.
3. The method saves space. It is easy to place one or several bags on a small plot of land, in a country house or on a balcony. Each can be put to good use square meter, but it is worth remembering that plants do not like direct sunlight and it is advisable to shade them at least for the period of midday heat.

1. Caring for the plant is easy. Due to the location of the lashes on a hill, the formation of the bush is simplified. Weeds practically do not grow in bags, and if you mulch the surface, you can completely forget about this problem. Care is no different from ordinary plantings; no additional difficulties will arise.
2. Convenient to water and feed cucumbers. Moisture does not spread over the surface, but is absorbed into the soil under the plants and absorbed to the maximum extent. This also applies to fertilizers, they are not washed away groundwater and do not go to other plants, everything remains inside the bag and is absorbed by the root system.
3. If necessary, you can move the plants to another location. Of course, for this, the bags must be durable, and the trellis under the whips must be installed in the bag. If the plants are walking on supports located nearby, then it is unlikely to be possible to rearrange them without damaging the vines.

The disadvantages are:

1. It is necessary to monitor soil moisture and provide plants with water constantly. They have nowhere to get moisture, so if there is a lack of it, cucumbers die.
2. It is important to protect the soil from overheating. If the soil gets very hot, this is also bad for plants. Therefore, it is better to wrap dark bags with light material during hot periods.
3. Packages sometimes break. If you choose unreliable options, they may simply burst and the plants will die.

Prepare bags for planting

Let's look at the preparation process step by step:

	Buy packages Durable container required. The weight of the earth in a bag is often 50 kg, so the loads are quite large. You should select sizes that will fit in the space allocated for cucumbers. Bags need to be prepared. To do this, several holes are made at the bottom for drainage and air exchange. They should not be large, otherwise the material will simply tear under load.
	Prepare ingredients for nutritional mixture Buy ready-made peat soil or collect peat, if possible. You need a lot of this component - about half of the total volume. Soil from the garden is also needed. It is picked up from a place where cucumbers have not grown for a long time; ideally, green manure should be planted on it in the fall and dug up before winter. Humus or rotted compost. Can be added separately, or can be added directly to the composition garden soil, Humus needs about a third of the volume of garden soil
	Select materials for drainage and soil enrichment It is best to place straw or sawdust at the bottom. The sawdust should not be fresh, since fresh options take nitrogen from the soil, which is extremely undesirable. Wood ash. You need about a liter per bag. Perfectly saturates the soil with essential microelements
	Buy complex fertilizer You can collect several options: potash fertilizers, superphosphate, etc. But it’s difficult to dose, interfere, you can make a mistake and cause harm instead of benefit. It is much more convenient to use a complex drug. I use Zdraven, it contains all the microelements needed for cucumbers and is easy to use
	Fill out the package Place a layer of sawdust or straw 20 cm thick on the bottom. You can also use dried grass clippings.

Disinfect seeds

How to plant cucumbers in bags:

	Prepare and sow seeds Be sure to disinfect planting material. The effect of potassium permanganate ensures the destruction of viruses and makes the seeds much more resistant to adverse conditions. Seeds are sown in separate cups. Before planting, fill them with a fertile mixture and water with warm water.
	Grow seedlings correctly After germination, place the plants on the window. Provide lighting for at least 10 hours a day. Provide timely watering and fertilizing. It is advisable to spray the ground part with water in the mornings and evenings.
	Transplantation into bags is carried out when the soil warms up. The soil should have a temperature of about 20 degrees. 2 plants are usually planted in one standard 50 kg bag. The seedlings are carefully removed from the containers. Holes are made and cucumbers are planted
	Water the plants. After planting, water the seedlings generously. Moisture should saturate the root part. Mulch the surface with peat

Proper care

Agricultural technology does not differ from the standard one, let’s look at how to grow in a nutshell:

1. Water as the soil dries out. Plants love humidity.
2. Cover from scorching sun . The easiest way is to shade it with agricultural canvas.
3. Pick fruits on time. Regular harvesting allows the plant to form new fruits faster.
4. Put up a trellis. Plants should move along the support, then it is easier to care for them and the fruits can be removed easily.
5. Feed with nettle infusion. This is an excellent fertilizer for cucumbers.

A popular practice among gardeners is to plant cucumbers in bulk bags filled with soil. The method allows you to collect large harvests without the presence of large areas and even grow vegetables in an inappropriate place - on a balcony or terrace.

Features of the landing method

Regardless of the variety, cucumbers are demanding on the soil. They need fertile, warm, loose, moist soil. And this result can be achieved by planting vegetables in bags: woven, plastic, bags of sugar and other bulk products. They contain soil mixed with fertilizers, and a drainage and irrigation system is provided.

In bulk containers root system It goes deeper faster, where it receives maximum nutrients. The fruits are actively growing and developing. In addition, in bags (if installed in the right place) the soil does not overheat, and the roots breathe and do not suffer from excess moisture - it leaves without additional drainage.

According to the technique, there are more than 10 plants in bags per square meter, while in open ground it is possible to grow no more than 4 healthy roots.

The method of planting vegetables in bags - a “vertical bed” - is simple and suitable for any plot, even a small one, saves space in the garden and allows you to grow cucumbers on a large loggia, balcony, or porch. The bags last for several seasons. After harvesting, the soil is poured out and the cloth is dried so that next year reuse the beds.

Pros and cons of the method

By choosing the technology of planting cucumbers in bags, gardeners get rid of many of the problems associated with growing this crop in open ground or a greenhouse. Advantages of the method:

The presented agricultural technology has few disadvantages, but they do exist. Those who have tried to grow cucumbers in bags call the method painstaking; it requires thoughtful, thorough preparation. The disadvantages also include:

• need for additional materials;
• the importance of correctly timing landing;
• Difficulties with watering and setting drainage system(you cannot overwater the bushes, and if there is not enough water, the cucumbers will taste bitter);
• The moisture level in the bags needs strict control.

Selection of bags

Preparing to organize a vertical bed begins with choosing materials. For planting you will need:

• bags;
• soil and fertilizers;
• sticks and ropes for gartering plants;
• irrigation pipes (plus hoses).

The choice of bags must be approached especially carefully: choose products of the required volume and material so that the root system develops inside without being subject to drought or rotting. Subsequently, caring for such a bed will not bring much trouble. How to choose bags?

1. The optimal volume is at least 50 liters (optimally: 70-120). One plant is planted in small containers, and two roots are planted in larger bags.
2. Best materials: polypropylene fiber. It is used to make bags for sugar and other bulk products. Fabric and polyethylene are allowed, but these materials do not allow water to pass through well and do not heat up.
3. Light-colored material will not overheat in the sun, so it is good if the bag is white.

For cucumber seedlings, used bags of flour, sugar, construction waste, even thick plastic bags for waste are suitable. The fabric should easily allow air and moisture to pass through and have a weave. New products do not require additional processing, and if they have already been used before, the bags are washed, dried, and treated with fungicides.

Filling bags

Choosing fertile soil for cucumbers is a primary task. Vegetables prefer organic matter, compost, rotted manure. Experienced agronomists add a little bit of everything to the soil, and also complex fertilizers. But it is unprofitable to fill the entire volume with fertile soil, especially large containers, so half of them are filled with plant waste. The practice is like this:

1. The bottom layer is drainage and makes up half of the total volume. The bottom is filled with grass, hay, fallen leaves and unrotted compost. You can add fresh manure if it is expected that the roots will not reach the humus. Do not place sharp branches or wood chips - they can tear the bottom.
2. The middle layer is a quarter of the volume and consists of rotted compost or manure. This nutrient medium for cucumbers.
3. Loose garden soil - top layer.
4. If necessary, add nutrients into the ground: ash, potassium, phosphorus, complex fertilizers.

Soil preparation

If a bag of standard volume (50-70 l) is selected for planting vegetables, the composition of the soil for one bed looks something like this:

• 2 buckets (20-24 l) of earth;
• bucket (10-12 l) of humus;
• hay, sawdust and other organic waste – 10 l;
• potassium – 10 g;
• superphosphate – 10 g.

The bags are filled with soil in the place where you plan to leave them, so as not to drag the heavy bed later.

When the “beds” are filled with soil and humus, water the soil moderately. The bags are tied and placed on sunny place for 5-8 days so that the earth warms up, then put it in the shade. Cucumbers prefer cool weather and feel good under trees, near a gazebo or greenhouse, or near a fence. The bags are untied, deepened a little, dug into the ground so that the bed stands firmly. You can plant cucumbers.

Step-by-step planting steps

Before planting seeds in bags, gardeners take care of the drainage and support system. For the latter, a long (1.5-2 m) stick is installed in the ground, at the end of which a nail is hammered and a tight rope or fishing line is tied. The support reaches to the very bottom and is located in the center of the bed.

The stick is installed before planting so as not to damage the roots of the plants. Near the support - if planned drip irrigation– insert hollow tubes with holes (more on them later). 24 hours before planting seedlings or seeds, water the soil in bags generously.

There are several ways to grow cucumbers: seedling method and sowing seeds in open ground- V in this case this is a bag. It is preferable to choose the option with seedlings, since growing seeds is not very convenient if there is a stick of support sticking out. But some gardeners choose this technique, as it saves time and does not require transporting the sprouts.

Planting seeds

This method is suitable for warm regions, where comfortable weather sets in already in the first ten days of May. It is advisable to choose two-year or three-year seed material.

Before planting the seeds, they are prepared:

• dried;
• soak in water in a transparent container for 24 hours;
• placed in the cold for hardening for 3 days;
• are rejected.

Only seeds that have sunk to the bottom of the container are suitable for cultivation. Those that rise to the surface are empty, they are thrown away. Seed planting scheme:

The seedling method is chosen in colder areas. Seeds are sown at home in late April-early May. A separate cup is provided for each sprout, into which nutrient soil is added as the plant grows. At the end of May, 3-4 leaves are formed on each seedling. When a stable plus has been established outside, the sprouts can be planted. Planting plan:

1. The day before planting, cucumbers in peat cups are watered abundantly to easily remove the root system along with the soil.
2. In the soil in bags, depressions are made to the size of a cup. The bottom of each hole is moistened with warm water.
3. The seedlings are placed one by one in the holes and sprinkled with earth so that all the roots are covered.
4. The seedlings are shaded for 3 days so that the seedlings get used to the soil.

An experienced gardener will tell you how to plant cucumber seedlings in bags in the video below:

Caring for cucumbers in bags

When the seedlings are planted, the bags should take proper place. Their edges are folded, forming low sides. This way the soil will not spill out. Vertical beds must be provided with moisture and slightly shaded, for example, by placing them under trees.

If everything is done correctly, caring for the garden bed will not take much time. Much less labor costs are required for several reasons:

• almost no weeds grow, so weeding is minimal;
• due to the fact that the soil in the bags is ventilated, there is no need for loosening and digging;
• if the soil is supplied with nutrients, fertilizing is not done;
• Such cucumbers are watered less often than those growing in ordinary beds.

Watering cucumbers

For vertical beds, watering cucumbers can be organized in the usual way, but experienced gardeners who use this technique recommend doing it by drip. You'll have to tinker, but the system has undoubted advantages:

• reducing the risk of root rotting and fungal diseases;
• harvest ripening several times earlier;
• slowing down the growth of weeds.

It is necessary to organize an irrigation system before planting, so care is taken to ensure its readiness in advance. They take plastic pipe with a diameter of 2-4 cm and cut it so that it is 15-20 cm longer than the bag. You will need two such pieces per bag. The lower part, deepened into the soil, is equipped with holes made at a distance of 15 cm from each other. Irrigation pipes are installed at a distance from the support.

IN top part pipes, adapters are inserted connected to a hose through which the water that has settled in the barrel is supplied. Excess moisture flows into pallets if the bags are standing indoors, and into the ground if outdoors. The frequency of watering is depending on the weather, 2-3 times a week in the evening.

Fertilizer

It is more convenient to supply nutrients to the roots through a tube used for watering. Fertilizers are poured through a funnel or cut-off plastic bottle.

What kind of feeding do cucumbers need:

1. Three times throughout the entire season, starting from the moment the sprouts appear with 2-3 pairs of true leaves, mineral fertilizers are applied to the soil. These include potassium salt and superphosphates.
2. Organic mineral fertilizers are added a month after watering: honey solution, nettle infusion, chicken droppings.
3. Several times during the summer, the leaves are sprayed with a solution containing beneficial microelements.

Formation of bushes

Sprouts that have grown 20-30 cm with 5 true leaves are ready for gartering. It is carried out in two ways: vertical and horizontal, but only the first option is suitable for a vertical bed.

How to garter:

1. A nail is nailed to the top of the support, ropes (threads, fishing line) are tied to it - one end for each shoot.
2. The knot is tied between the second and third leaves. It should not be too tight, because the sprout will increase in size.
3. The threads are pulled and attached to the support.

Traditional varieties of cucumbers form on their side stems female flowers, they are fertile, and on the main shoots there are male barren flowers. For shaping more The side stems and female flowers are pinched. The top of the central stem breaks off after the sixth leaf. The side shoots are tied to the central stem on a stick so that they do not interfere with the formation of cucumbers. A few side stems are left.

The formation of a bush is necessary in order to limit growth large quantity side lashes, to which the plant will give all its nutritional forces.

Difficulties when growing in bags

In terms of maintenance, vertical beds are better than traditional ones. But even for experienced gardeners, the process of growing cucumbers in bags causes difficulties. And the main thing, according to amateur agronomists, is soil moisture. The soil may be dry on top, but moisture will stagnate inside the bags, leading to rotting of the root system. The best solution to the moisture problem is a drip irrigation system.

Other difficulties in growing vertical beds include:

• Overheating of roots. Bags get hot in the sun, especially if they are in direct sunlight.
• Planting density. Gardeners plant 4 or more seedlings in one bag, which reduces their fruiting.

How to increase productivity?

In order for cucumbers to develop well, a certain number of seeds - no more than 20 - and 3-4 bushes, if they are seedlings, are planted in one 50-liter bag. The quality, not the quantity, of shoots is the key to a good harvest. Experienced gardeners share their secrets of growing cucumbers. Pollination plays an important role:

1. You can increase the yield of bee-pollinated varieties by spraying the plants with sweetened water in cloudy weather, which will attract insects.
2. The quality of pollination of varietal cucumbers will increase the content of female inflorescences and a specimen with male flowers together.
3. Trimming lower leaves allows pollinators to reach the lower ovaries.

Harvest

Extend fruiting and harvest maximum quantity The harvest will be helped by timely harvesting. It is advisable to pick fresh cucumbers as they ripen, even every day. Green leaves left on a branch inhibit the development of new ovaries. You can determine that a cucumber is ripe by the following signs.

Innovative methods of growing garden crops are not always immediately found positive reviews among gardeners, however, the more often positive reviews appear regarding each of them, the greater the interest in them. This also applies to the process of cultivating cucumbers in bags, and why exactly it is remarkable and what results can be expected - more on that later.

What is the success of this planting method?

Strange at first glance, growing a vegetable garden in plastic bags actually successfully replaces the use of seedling containers or large containers for home planting. With minimal costs for materials and equipment for cultivating plants, you can provide them with uniform heating of the root system and more rapid growth aboveground part, which guarantees earlier fruiting and abundant harvest. Simply put, by filling bags with prepared nutrient soil mixture, you get small beds in any convenient place, and caring for them will be much easier than in the same ordinary greenhouse.

Did you know?The longest cucumber in the Guinness Book of Records grew in the garden of British farmer Alf Cobb in 2008. Its length was 91.7 cm, and this despite the fact that the previous similar record of the same gardener was 89.2 cm.

Advantages and Disadvantages

There are many advantages of using this particular method of growing cucumbers, but along with them there are also some disadvantages that slightly cloud the overall picture. For this reason, in order to make a final decision, it is worth studying all the advantages and disadvantages of cultivating cucumbers in bags.

• The list of advantages includes the following:
• saving space on the beds, which is especially important when small areas personal plot;
• simplicity and ease of care for growing plantings (for example, weeds do not actively develop in bags);
• more early dates obtaining a tasty and high-quality harvest;
• long fruiting period;
• reduced likelihood of diseases and crop pests appearing, but even if this happens, it will be much easier to cope with the problem.

• Regarding weaknesses of the specified method, then first of all it is:
• it is difficult to control the humidity of the substrate, and in case of waterlogging, the root system of plants quickly rots, and they themselves quickly die (for gardeners who come to the site once a week, this is not the best good option landings);
• the impossibility of successfully using bags in regions with a dry and arid climate, since a rapid increase in soil temperature contributes to the drying out of the root system;
• the likelihood of bags being damaged and soil being scattered under the influence of ultraviolet radiation solar radiation(for this reason, the selection of suitable products should be approached with all responsibility, giving preference mainly to dense materials).

With sufficient attention to plantings, all of these disadvantages can be minimized, significantly increasing the chances successful cultivation cucumber crops in bags or bags.

Preparatory work

Technically, planting cucumbers in bags is a more labor-intensive process than placing them in open ground. But by strictly observing all the requirements for preparing materials and performing the planting actions themselves, even a novice gardener can cope with the task.

Preparing bags and fertile soil

The first thing to find out is preparatory stage- what exactly are you going to work with?: with polyethylene or burlap (you can use thick sugar bags). Their number should be calculated based on the number of available seedlings, so that individual specimens have enough space in the finished “bed”. In addition to bags, you should also prepare peat soil, tubes, twine and wooden sticks, not to mention seeds or cucumber seedlings. All bags must be durable, preferably new and pre-disinfected with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or any other disinfectant.

After the material has dried, the products are filled with a nutrient substrate, adhering to the following recommendations:

1. Considering the fact that the soil mixture in the bag will only reach half of its total volume, the upper edges are wrapped with a roller, which will later serve as a limit for the improvised mini-bed.
2. At the bottom of the product it is worth placing a layer of chicken droppings, straw, kitchen waste (preferably dried), last year's leaves and thin twigs (anything that is usually used for making compost will do). The thickness of such a layer should be about 20–30 cm.
3. The finished pillow is compacted and well moistened, for which clean hot water or a mixture of water and preparations to accelerate the formation of compost (for example, the “Shine” composition) is usually used.
4. When growing cucumbers at home (on a terrace or balcony), you should immediately place a basin or other suitable container under the bag, into which excess liquid should drain after watering.
5. On top of the prepared base, you should pour 3-4 buckets of the prepared soil mixture, which includes humus taken from the site, in a ratio of 2:1 or 1:1, which will depend on the level of natural fertility of the prepared land. To improve the characteristics of the substrate, you can add 1-2 cups to the resulting mixture wood ash or use only a special universal earth for garden crops. The soil layer is usually at least 20 cm.
6. Several small punctures should be made with a knife in the lower end part of the bag, which will protect the cucumber rhizome from stagnation of irrigation liquid and rotting of the roots.

Important!Fill the bag with soil only in the place where you plan to further grow adult plants, since transporting the finished “bed” is a very labor-intensive task.

1. To create horizontal beds, the product is filled with soil to the very top, after which another bag is put on the side of the neck and attached to the one already filled with soil. To plant cucumbers, a suitable hole is cut from the end side, after which the plantings can either be laid on the ground or hung in the desired place.
2. You can also organize a garden bed in bags with ready-made substrate, with a volume of at least 20 liters. They are laid horizontally on the prepared surface, and then suitable holes are arranged for planting seeds or seedlings of the required crop.
3. Sometimes it is practiced to plant in bags, packages or other similar products, which, as in the first case, are filled up to half with nutritious food. soil mixture, and holes are made in the lower part.

With a small number of seedlings, any of the above options can be used, but it is most convenient to grow plants in large, half-filled bags.

Seed preparation

Preparation seed material sowing into bags is carried out in exactly the same way as when planting in open ground or on greenhouse beds. The list of main preparatory activities in this case includes the following actions (sometimes performed step by step):

1. Seed calibration with the selection of the best specimens, without signs of damage (usually manifested by spots on the surface).
   
2. using a 1% solution of potassium permanganate or special antibacterial drugs, such as the composition “Fitosporin-M” or “Baxis” (soaking is carried out for no longer than 20–30 minutes, unless another time is indicated on the package with the composition).
   
3. Warming up planting material before sowing into the soil (the seeds are exposed to temperatures within +40°C for several hours). Unfortunately, it is very difficult to control this process at home, so in order to protect the seeds from unnecessary stress, it is worth once again reconsidering the appropriateness of warming up the planting material in each individual case.
   
4. . This method of pre-planting treatment is the most popular and involves placing the selected planting material on a damp cloth or gauze, so that the liquid covers only the lower part of the seeds, and the top is exposed to air. The period of aging the seeds in such conditions is 1-2 days or until the upper shell cracks, which will speed up the germination of plants after planting in the ground.
   
5. . This method of preparation will be relevant for those cases where there are doubts about the quality of the purchased seeds, but usually it is used infrequently. The essence of preparation comes down to spraying the material with water from a spray bottle and removing the top layer of skin with a toothpick, after which inner part place on a damp cotton pad and leave for a day at a temperature of +25...+28°C, periodically moistening the surface.
   

Usually, all these procedures will be sufficient to obtain high-quality seedlings in the future, but in order to further increase the chances of seeds to successfully form seedlings, some gardeners resort to enriching the planting material with oxygen (bubbling). Of course, you can simply choose the most suitable seeds and immediately plant them in bags of soil, but then you cannot guarantee the complete germination of young seedlings, and the more seeds sprout, the greater the chance of obtaining a bountiful harvest of fruits.

Did you know? Cucumber juice relieves pain from burns, so it is recommended to place thin slices of chopped vegetables on the affected area or prepare a compress from the pulp of the fruit.

Sowing cucumbers in a bag

Planting cucumbers in a bag can be done in two main ways: using seedlings or simply prepared seeds. In general, both procedures are almost completely consistent with those carried out in open ground, but they still have their own characteristics.

Seeds

Sowing cucumber seeds in bags is carried out only when the average daily temperature environment is established within +15°С and the threat passes return frosts. On the territory central regions In the Russian Federation, such conditions are created no earlier than May, so it is better to plant at this time. In one bag with a volume of 50 kg you can place 2–4 cucumber seeds ( exact quantity depends on varietal characteristics selected crop), deepening them into the soil by at least 2 cm.

At the end of the planting activities, all that remains is to moisten the substrate and cover the cucumbers plastic film, which should speed up seed germination. If necessary, plants can be replanted at the age of 30–35 days.

To ensure that the bag with the crop turns over, it is fixed using prepared sticks and twine, additionally adding a certain amount of soil from the outside.

Seedlings

Planting grown cucumber seedlings in bags- more difficult task than sowing seeds, because the main thing is to preserve the integrity of the root system of small plants. To eliminate possible troubles, a few days before moving the seedlings to new conditions, the cucumbers are watered generously, and small depressions are made in a bag of soil, the dimensions of which will correspond to the size of the earthen ball from the previous seedling container. The bottom of the resulting hole must be moistened warm water, and then carefully remove the plant from its previous place of growth and place it in new soil along with a lump of earth.
You cannot pull the plant by the stem, and if it is difficult to remove it from the cup, then it is better to simply turn the container over and gently tap on the bottom.

It is very easy to place an earthen lump braided with roots in a dug hole, and then gradually fill it with the remaining substrate. The soil around the stem part is compacted, and a little more soil is added on top, up to the level of the cotyledon leaves. At further care seedlings need to be moistened regularly, and if the bag is in a well-lit place, then also shade it a little from direct sunlight. Fine mesh, tulle or spunbond are perfect for the role of covering material.

Important! The number of seedlings per bag depends on the characteristics of a particular variety: it is advisable to place vigorous crops 1-2 copies, and representatives of small varieties - 3-4 per “bed”.

Rules for caring for seedlings

Caring for cucumber seedlings in bags begins from the day they are planted in the soil and involves regular moistening of the substrate, feeding the plants and the formation of seedlings, which has a beneficial effect on the future harvest. If you believe the reviews of gardeners, then growing cucumbers in a bag is as easy as planting them in such containers, the main thing is to know about some basic rules for carrying out all activities.

Bush formation

A properly formed plant not only looks more attractive, but also contributes to the abundant formation of fruit ovaries, therefore, already in the first stages of growing cucumber seedlings, it is important to promptly remove side shoots and other plant debris (for example, damaged or diseased leaves). Usually they try to form cucumbers into one stem, cutting off all unnecessary side branches. As soon as the plant reaches 45–50 cm, all lower leaves, shoots and flowers must be removed (the “blinding” procedure). Until the plant grows to 1 m, all are pinched lateral branches at the level of one leaf, so that only 1 ovary and 2-3 leaf blades remain.

A one- or one-and-a-half meter plant is formed slightly differently, leaving all the side shoots at 3-4 nodes, and so that 2 ovaries and 3-4 leaves continue to grow on each branch. If the plant continues to grow tall, you can throw it over the trellis and continue pinching it at the level of the third leaf, leaving 3-4 ovaries and the same number of leaf blades. Subsequently, upon reaching the maximum permissible length(it is different for each variety) you should pinch the top of the main shoot at a height of 20 cm from the soil surface.

For the normal formation of cucumber bushes, even in bags, you will have to install appropriate supports, to which you can tie the remaining lashes after trimming. After the formation of more than five leaf plates on the bush, the entire plant is tied to twine, pre-attached to the top wooden support(usually installed in the center of the bag).

Watering and fertilizing

In order for the planted cucumbers to grow strong and produce a stable harvest of quality fruits, they need to be watered regularly throughout the entire period of growth and development, keeping the soil in the bag slightly moist. On hot days, the regularity of watering is once every 2-3 days, and the procedure itself is performed mainly in the evening, using warm, well-settled water. At the beginning of flowering bushes, the regularity of soil moisture can be slightly reduced, which will ensure better fruit set. However, if the cucumber bushes begin to wilt, watering is resumed according to the usual pattern.

We must not forget about the need to fertilize the crop. During the entire growing season, fertilizers are applied three times: for the first time after the appearance of the first shoots (using weak solution, diluted in water in a ratio of 1:15), the second - during flowering (ready-made phosphorus-potassium compositions will be useful), and the third - at the beginning of active fruiting, using superphosphate fertilizer.

To protect plantings from root rot, it is useful to spill the soil in bags with a solution of brilliant green, prepared by mixing 10 drops of the substance with a bucket of water.

Important! If an infusion of herbs collected from the area is used to feed cucumbers, make sure that it is dominated by nettles and dandelions, but it is not advisable to use wheatgrass.

Harvesting and increasing bush productivity

Harvesting cucumbers grown in bags is carried out according to the general scenario for plants of a particular variety. The only thing one can hope for is an earlier period of ripening of the first greens, but only if the culture was provided with all the conditions for this. Young fruits should be collected daily, avoiding over-ripening. Firstly, in this form they will be tastier, and secondly, the bush will be able to form a new ovary and soon another one will appear good harvest(fruiting period may extend over time).

Perhaps in a photo or video, cucumbers in bags seem like a funny and ridiculous idea, but in practice, many gardeners have confirmed the success of using this particular method of planting this crop. Moreover, there is no need to immediately plant hundreds of cucumber bushes, because to ensure the effectiveness of their cultivation, it is enough to place 5-10 plants in bags, organizing full care of the “beds”.

Are you interested interesting way growing cucumbers in bags? You are on the right track, because it has many advantages over the standard one. On this page of our unique website we will tell you how to properly translate this idea into reality. But to whet your desire, first we will describe what this will give.

Planting cucumbers in bags of soil (video and description below) will lead to the following results:

Pests will not be able to damage the roots of the plant;
at proper care diseases are excluded;
planting will take up less usable space;
cucumbers will ripen earlier than usual;
there will be no need to dig up the ground;
Harvesting will be much more convenient.

Preparing bags of soil for planting cucumbers

Planting cucumbers in bags of soil (video at the end) helps better development root system of the crop. Why? Firstly, all the soil in which the roots are located is a fertile mixture. Secondly, it is loose, which means more oxygen penetrates to the roots. And thirdly, the soil in bags does not dry out so quickly in the heat, but quickly warms up in cool weather.

Preparing soil mixture for planting cucumbers. The bags should be filled with fertile and loose soil. How to cook it? It is necessary to mix rotted manure with compost. The amount of soil should be equal to the amount of this mixture. Finally, the substrate must be enriched with ash or suitable phosphorus and potassium fertilizer(superphosphate, potassium sulfate).

Choosing bags for planting cucumbers. You can use thick plastic bags or wicker sugar bags. Considering that the material is not particularly durable, it is better to take two bags, placing one inside the other.

Thick polyethylene or wicker bags are suitable

In order for the bag of soil to be completely ready for planting cucumbers, take the following steps:

Hay, bark, small branches, dry grass or manure are placed at the bottom.
The prepared soil is poured into the bag on top so that 2/3 of its volume is filled.
After watering the ground, the bag is tied and exposed to the sun's rays for a period of 5 to 10 days.
Next, the bags are transferred to permanent place and dig in a little, placing them in such a way that the distance between them does not allow neighboring bushes to intertwine.
A long pole or pole is stuck into each bag, at the top of which there should be a hook for tying the whips.
Three plastic or polyethylene pipes, in each of which 5-7 holes are made in a checkerboard pattern, and the lower end is sealed and touches the bottom of the bag.

Preparing cucumber seeds for planting

Usually, before sending seeds into the ground, they are carefully prepared. So, it is customary to carry out such activities:

Warming up. The seeds are placed in a fabric or paper bag and placed near a heating device for several weeks.
Selection. In a weak saline solution Place the seeds, mix, and then save and dry only those that have sunk to the bottom.
Etching. This process is only necessary if it was not carried out by the manufacturer. You can place the seeds for 2-3 hours in hot water, immerse them for half an hour in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate or hydrogen peroxide. Dry at the end.
Soak. The seed is kept for 24 hours warm water or growth stimulating solution.
Germination. The swollen seeds are placed in natural fabric and moistened with warm, purified water for two or three days until small sprouts appear. Some gardeners skip this stage.
Hardening

It is important to carefully prepare the seeds before planting.

Planting cucumbers in bags of soil - description of the process, video

Most often, prepared cucumber seeds are planted in a permanent place. But in some cases, if they really want to speed up the harvest period, farmers grow seedlings. This measure is practically necessary if the site is located in the northern region.

Planting seeds in a bag. Cucumber seeds are planted in two or three depressions made on the surface of the soil in a bag if its volume is 20-30 liters. If the volume is 70-90 liters, then several more 5-centimeter cuts are made on the sides for the bushes. At the time of planting and before germination, the soil should be well moistened.

Growing cucumber seedlings. You should start about a month before transplanting the sprouts into a bag of soil. To do this, prepare plastic cups with drainage holes, half filled with non-acidic soil mixed with sand. The whole process can be divided into the following stages:

Plant the seeds in soil with moderate moisture.
Place the containers in a warm (possibly dark) place.
The barely hatched sprouts are provided with the maximum amount of light for 2-3 days.
As they grow, soil should be poured into cups with sprouts.
Even at the stage of the first cotyledon leaves, cucumber seedlings can be fed with a product specially designed for this purpose.

Planting cucumber seedlings in a bag of soil. The holes on top and on the sides should be proportional to the earthen ball that you will take out of the containers along with the seedlings. It is very important to preserve it, for which the soil in the cups must be watered abundantly in advance. Cucumbers tolerate root damage extremely poorly. After planting, the sprouts must be covered with soil up to the cotyledon leaves.

Now you have an idea of ​​the advantages and rules by which cucumbers should be planted in bags of soil. Video from clear illustration this process you can find below. Don’t be afraid to experiment with planting cucumbers, because it will lead to wonderful results!

Probably, many experienced gardeners will be surprised to learn about this innovative approach to planting cucumbers. However, growing cucumbers in bags is one of the the best ways get a good harvest in open beds, in greenhouses, and even on a balcony or veranda. By using this method in your dacha, you can significantly save space in your garden for other crops or stylishly decorate a corner of your garden. The secrets of growing cucumbers will be discussed step by step in this article.

• Advantages and Disadvantages
• • Preparing bags and soil
  • How to plant

Main features of planting cucumbers in bags

Cucumbers are a crop that is very demanding on soil quality and moisture. With this method of planting, you can easily provide a layer of nutritious soil of 20-30 centimeters and the necessary humidity even in the hottest and driest weather in summer.

Cucumbers are also sensitive to soil temperature. Planting in bags allows you to warm the soil to a significant depth, which allows plants to develop faster.

Both seedlings and adult plants do not like exposure to direct sunlight.

You can provide a sufficient amount of diffused light by placing bag containers in the shade of the veranda, in shaded areas in the garden, on the balcony or loggia.

Bags can be placed on the veranda, balcony and loggia

Advantages and Disadvantages

The method has many advantages. The main ones are:

• significant space savings and lack of waste;
• the ability to grow many plants in a small area;
• minimum costs strength when caring for plants;
• opportunity to get big harvest on the balcony, veranda, loggia, greenhouse;
• ease of harvesting.

A significant advantage is also the ability to preserve harvested vegetables longer, since they did not touch the ground during cultivation.

During transportation, cucumbers remain clean and do not rot.

The disadvantages of this method include:

• the need to maintain a constant temperature in the bags to avoid overheating and death of the plant root system;
• difficulty maintaining required level soil moisture.

When planting cucumbers in bags, it is necessary to observe a strict watering regime.

It is necessary to maintain a strict watering regime, since if there is a lack of moisture, the fruits can become bitter, and if there is too much moisture, the roots will rot and the plant will die.

How to grow a cucumber step by step

Preparing bags and soil

To grow cucumbers, you can use durable plastic bags (transparent, black, colored), and ordinary ones made from sugar or flour. Please note that the wider the bag, the more plants you can grow it in it.

So in a standard bag 5-7 vines of cucumbers will feel comfortable, and with a diameter of 1.5 meters - from 10 to 15 plants. In southern regions and in well-lit areas it is better to use white and transparent bags; in northern latitudes and on shaded balconies and verandas - dark, gray and black shades.

Productivity directly depends on the size of the bag

For preparing nutritional mixture for one bag (50 kg) necessary ingredients are:

• 2 buckets (12 liters) of soil;
• 1 bucket of humus;
• 1 bucket of straw, hay or sawdust;
• 20 grams of superphosphate;
• 2 handfuls of wood ash;
• up to 10 grams of potash fertilizers.

Each bag must be filled in the following order:

Make several holes in the bottom for air circulation and removal excess moisture.

Line the bottom with steamed sawdust, hay or straw.

Place soil well mixed with humus, ash and fertilizer on top.

Fill to 13 parts of the entire height (as the plant grows, soil should be constantly added).

Insert a support stick up to 2 meters long into the middle and secure it securely.

Stretch wire, mesh or strong thick threads for subsequent placement of cucumber lashes.

Roll up the sides the desired height so that the soil does not spill out.

Before filling the soil, the bottom of the bag is covered with sawdust

How to plant

In the southern regions of our country, where warm weather established already in early May, cucumbers in bags or boxes can be planted from seeds. But for northern regions where frosts can be observed even in early June, it is preferable to grow seedlings.

Regardless of the method of planting plants in open ground, before planting, the seeds should be soaked in a small amount of water and preferably in a transparent container. Only those seeds that have sunk to the bottom are suitable for planting, and those that float on the surface must be thrown away.

Seeds should be sown when the temperature at night stops falling below 15 degrees and frosts stop on the soil surface and in the air.

The process of planting seeds consists of:

• installing bags on the site and filling them with soil mixture;
• adding soil outside for stability;
• placing support sticks inside the bags and securing mesh or wire for cucumber lashes;
• soil moisture;
• processing and hardening of seeds;
• sowing seeds in the ground to a depth of 3-5 cm;
• covering the surface with film until the first shoots appear.

When using the seedling method of growing cucumbers, it is better to plant each seed in a separate plastic cup half filled with a nutrient mixture. As the seedlings grow, soil must be added to the cup.

To transplant into a bag, the earthen ball in a glass should be well moistened. You should remove the seedling carefully (under no circumstances pull the stem) so as not to damage the root and the plant itself.

Features of plant care

Work on caring for cucumbers comes down to the following activities:

• regular watering;
• fertilizing with organic (chicken manure, herbal infusion) or chemical (nitrophoska, superphosphate, potassium sulfate) fertilizers;
• formation of bushes in order to increase the intensity of greenery formation;
• prevention of diseases and damage to bushes by pests;
• removing weeds and tying up growing vines;
• harvesting.

It should be noted that cucumbers must be collected every day, preventing them from overripening. Timely collection of greens allows the bush to form a new ovary, and therefore increases the fruiting period.

Cucumbers need to be picked every day, not allowing them to become overripe.

Problems when planting cucumbers in bags and boxes

One of the main problems with this method of growing cucumbers is uniform and sufficient soil moisture.

Many gardeners nowadays use drip irrigation, which allows them to use water efficiently. At the same time, the soil does not become waterlogged or dry out, which is very important for the normal formation of the bush, abundant flowering and obtaining a high-quality harvest.

Another problem can be excess sunlight, or more precisely the effect of direct sunlight on plants. Therefore, it is better to choose a place to place the bags in the sparse shade of trees, hedges, near buildings, or on an open shaded veranda.

When growing in bags on a balcony, you need to take care of diffused sunlight. When growing cucumbers on a loggia or balcony, you should provide the plants with diffused sunlight.

The next problem that gardeners may encounter is excessive planting density. It is important to remember that for the normal development of each bush, a certain space is necessary.

If you plant a lot of seeds or seedlings in one bag, they will develop poorly and bear fruit poorly. Therefore, it is better to grow five full-fledged plants than fifteen - but without a good harvest.

If you follow all the rules and recommendations for growing cucumbers in bags, you can get a rich harvest early cucumbers. Using this advanced technology, city residents will be able to feast on delicious vegetables from a vertical bed on the balcony. And summer residents always receive high yields, regardless of the vicissitudes of the weather.