Description of the procedure for pinching cucumbers
Pinching cucumbers is the main procedure for a plant. It is used for cucumbers growing in greenhouses and in open ground. Meeting the requirements for creating a bush will help increase yields. Pinching cucumbers is a good method for quick fruiting. Unknowing gardeners think that a plant growing in the ground only needs to be watered and fed from time to time, but this is not so, because in order to obtain a high yield and high-quality vegetables, it is often necessary to take care of vegetables.
Description of the procedure for pinching cucumbers
Why pinching is used
Often a gardener, without experience, generally refuses to pinch a cucumber. So is it necessary to pinch cucumbers and why do you need to do it:
- helps to form a bush correctly, for proper cultivation;
- the plant will grow properly;
- easier to care for the plant;
- fast harvesting;
- assistance in the formation of female flowers on the plant;
- after pinching cucumbers, they do not taste bitter;
- cucumbers have beneficial elements.
Many gardeners, by pinching cucumbers, harvest a large crop in greenhouses and in the open field, because pinching helped to correctly form female flowers. But not always a large harvest will delight gardeners, since instead of female flowers, male flowers grow in a year.
Almost all gardeners understand that pinching cucumbers is an integral part during cultivation. With such actions, the care will be considered correct and real.
Non-pinching species
Today there are a large number of hybrid cucumber varieties that do not need pinching. Their stem can independently release female flowers, and a person does not need to pinch. There are several fairly well-known hybrid varieties and they do not need to cut off the top of the stem: Metelitsa Variety, Valdai Variety, Izhorets Ogurtsy, Vyuga Variety, Severyanin Variety and all the others with a f1 mark.
The lateral stems of the hybrids are poorly developed, so most of the crop grows on the main vine. In such cases, it will not be wise to pinch the cucumbers. If you grow a vegetable in a greenhouse, then the plant will have one stem, and its stem does not need to be pinched.
Cucumber pinching rules
Schemes for pinching cucumbers must be performed step by step. There are several things to do with any kind of cucumber.
- Pinching cucumbers is done before the plants begin to bloom, this is quite an important point.
- The height of the bushes should be no more than 25 cm.
- After removing the lower ovaries, the plant will give up all the juices in order to form fruits. If the gardener does not touch them, then they will develop very slowly. As a result, there will be no chance to reap a high yield.
You need to pinch the plant before flowering
These conditions are identical for all schemes during pinching of cucumbers in the open field and pinching of cucumbers in the greenhouse. Schemes for pinching cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field are divided into subgroups:
- for insect-borne species;
- parthenocarpic cucumber species;
- vegetables that are grown in the air.
For the first schemes, a greenhouse is perfect, but many gardeners grow insect pollinated species in the fresh air.
Pinching an insect-pollinated variety
How to pinch insect pollinated cucumbers correctly? Recently, gardeners have often begun to use an insect-pollinated type of vegetables for cultivation in greenhouses. By the name you can understand that these plants need insect treatment. It is difficult for insects to get into a greenhouse, so people pollinate female inflorescences with their own hands. To do this, use brushes and, of course, humility.
How to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse - plant preparation:
- seedlings are not planted very tightly;
- fertilize the plant from time to time;
- when the seedlings are planted, they wait 2 weeks;
- before starting clothespins, gardeners with good experience recommend putting trellises for tying bushes; using a garter it will not be difficult to separate the top of the stem from the side branches.
Now you need to understand step by step how to pinch cucumbers in a greenhouse.
- Begin to pinch with the formation of the top. To do this, cut off not above the top, but above, so that 6 leaves are formed. Thus, the plant will be stimulated.
- During the ripening of cucumbers, stepchildren tie up.
- You need to leave 3 sprouts on the bush, and the rest must be removed.
This setup is also suitable for hybrid vegetables. For others, only 1 sprout is left. On the bush, it will be the main one. After that, you must continue to do this:
- each branch should start up 4 places of growth, it is on them that the fruits will begin to flutter;
- not very many leaves are left on the branches so that the fruits take all the useful elements;
- be sure to cut off injured leaves and sick.
After the plant has been pinched, you need to care for the cucumbers according to the usual scheme. If pinching is done correctly, you can get a large and high-quality harvest.
Pinching a parthenocarpic species
Pinching will help form a bush.
Do I need to pinch cucumbers of this variety? Parthenocarpic cucumber species do not require insect pollination. Such plants are well suited for growing in greenhouses. Fertile flowers often appear on such bushes. Therefore, in order to increase the amount of the harvest, it is not necessary to pinch such varieties.
This type of cucumber is able to quickly release new branches, so pinching is carried out so that the bush is thick and receives more light. How to pinch parthenocarpic cucumbers correctly, for this, perform the following actions:
- the bush is fixed on the trellis;
- when the main stem is 50 cm high, remove the side branches;
- flowers and buds also begin to tear off;
- over the bush, you need to pinch the whip, which is formed near the first leaf, a little higher;
- do not forget that 1 ovary is not necessarily touched, preserved;
- the procedure is done at a height of 50 cm;
- at a height of 1-1.5 m, 3-4 branches, several leaves and 2 buds must be left from the ground;
- 3-4 buds and a couple of leaves are left above the height.
Next, the bush must be thrown over the trellis if the gardener is going to grow it further. When the trellis is 20 cm to the ground, they destroy the growth site.
Pinching in an open area
How to pinch cucumbers in the open field? When the plant is grown outdoors, rather than in greenhouses, the pinching depends on the density of the planting. If the bush has small shoots, then pinching is not necessary because this will not affect the amount of harvest in any way. But, when the branches have grown long, then it is necessary to carry out the following actions:
- cut off the top of the bush - this is necessary in order for the main shoot to be long, about 1-1.5 m;
- on the side branches, the remaining sprouts should also form, no more than 20 cm in size.
This pattern is used for crocheted vegetables. If the garter was not done, the gardener should know how to pinch the cucumbers correctly in such moments. On the main branch, the growth site is removed after 4 leaves. The lateral branches should have a growth point after 2 leaves, so the growth site is removed. If the gardener grows Chinese types of vegetables, the pinch is done for the side branches. It is necessary to tear off all the grown axillary processes. You also need to remove the first grown buds and barren flowers.
Conclusion
How to pinch cucumbers correctly, every gardener should know, because the quantity and quality of the crop depends on this procedure. If the gardener did everything right, then the harvest will only delight. Pinching has only positive sides, but, of course, there are times when the procedure should not be carried out. Basically, this applies to side branches. All actions should be carried out correctly and carefully, and after the procedure, continue caring for the plant in the usual way.
Breeders have invented their own pinching method for each variety, so the gardener must take this into account. Growing in a greenhouse or in an open area depends on the preferences of gardeners.