How to germinate cucumber seeds correctly before planting

0

2021

Article rating

The cultivation of cucumbers begins with the selection of seeds. After that, you need to know how to germinate cucumber seeds.

Rules for germinating seeds before planting

When to start germination

Germination occurs quickly enough: from 2 to 10 days. The duration depends on the type and quality of the beans. Before planting, you must make sure that the air temperature at night no longer drops below 7 ° C.

If you plan to plant cucumbers in a greenhouse or on a windowsill, you can start germinating in the second half of April or early May. The air temperature at this time will be optimal for planting the plant in the ground. If the seedlings go directly into the open ground, it is important that the temperature does not drop below 15 ° C.

Seed selection

The first rule of correct selection is to collect the seeds of healthy plants that are not affected by diseases. If there are none, it is best to buy them at garden stores.

When selecting seeds, the following principles must be observed:

1. Pay attention to the stalk. It shouldn't be green.
2. It is important to select grains from female-type cucumbers (four-chamber). They will give a greater harvest.
3. Dry the grains in the sun for 3 days. They must be completely dry before disembarking.

The seeds should be firm and full. Empty and flat grains will not germinate.

For sorting, a 3-5% saline solution can be used. For 100 g of water, 3-5 g of salt is needed. Immerse the grains in a saline solution. Those that come up are empty, they can be thrown out. The grains that remain at the bottom can be germinated. 5-year-old grains are no longer suitable for planting. There will be low productivity.

Sterilization

Usually all plant diseases are seed-borne. Therefore, it is important to carry out the sterilization procedure.

Store-bought beans do not need to be sterilized. The producers have already carried out all the measures to prepare the grains for germination. They can be safely planted.

But if the grains are harvested on their own, traces of pathogens and various diseases may remain on them. Therefore, they must be sterilized and, if necessary, warmed up.

Sterilization will work correctly if you follow the following principles:

1. Take a 1% solution of potassium permanganate.
2. Submerge the seeds there.
3. The water in the solution should be warm enough - about 20-26 ° C.
4. Keep the grains in the solution for 15-20 minutes. Then rinse them under running water.
5. Sterilization completed.

Another sterilization method is heating. To do this, immerse the grains in warm water. The temperature should be around 50 ° C. The duration of the dive is 20-30 minutes. This will be enough to get rid of viruses or fungus remaining on the seeds.

Hardening

Seeds need to be hardened

It is needed if you plan to plant seedlings directly into open ground. Because the air temperature will be low and the plant must be adapted to weather conditions. If this is already a warm enough season or the plant will grow in a greenhouse, hardening is not needed.

Cucumbers begin to harden on the very first day after placing them in a container for germination. The container is placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of 4-6 ° C for 12 hours, or overnight, so that the plant gets used to the cold temperature. This is done for several days until the seeds germinate.

Before soaking, some gardeners lay out the grains in the snow for 1-2 days. In this case, it is important that they have not hatched yet.

Seed bubbling

Sparging is an additional procedure that allows you to speed up the emergence of seedlings. The essence of the procedure is the saturation of seeds with oxygen, which has a very good effect on the overall germination.

To carry out bubbling, you must have a conventional aquarium compressor and a capacity of 0.5-0.7 liters. It can be a regular glass jar. Sequencing:

1. Pour ¾ water into the jar.
2. Pour a small amount of grains into the water. They should float freely in the bank.
3. The tip of the compressor must be lowered to the bottom of the can and turned on.
4. It takes about 18 hours to process cucumber grains in this way.
5. After bubbling, the seeds are dried.

This procedure will increase germination up to 100%. It guarantees fast germination of seeds - within 3-7 days.

Germination methods

Usually, small containers with a height of 1 to 15 cm are used for germination. The choice depends on the conditions under which the process of preparing seedlings for transplanting into the ground will take place. There are several ways to germinate seeds.

Method number 1

The main method for germinating cucumber seeds is in regular plates. You can also use trays for indoor plants (height 1-2 cm.)

First, you need to place the grains in plates or trays between damp cotton pads. Hold until the seeds hatch. As a container, you can use plastic bottles cut across.

The required amount of water is a few drops per disc. It is important that the cotton pads are not dry.

The material will be impregnated with a nutrient solution. These can be branded growth stimulants. Another option is wood ash solutions. For 1 liter of water, you will need 1 teaspoon of ash.

Ready seedlings can be planted in the ground

Once the seeds are swollen and germinated, they can be moved into plastic cups filled with soil. In them, the grains will germinate to the size of the seedlings. After that, they can be planted in the ground or in the greenhouse before harvesting.

The main disadvantage of this method is inconvenient transportation. This is important if you need to transport grain to your dacha. Plates with sprouted grains are inconvenient for packing; sprouted sprouts can break. Plastic cups with dirt are heavy and can wrinkle on the way.

Method number 2

You can sprout cucumbers directly in plastic cups. Another option - in glass jars with thick glass, if there is a fear of damaging the grown plant.

Cotton pads, gauze or napkins are also placed on the bottom of the glass or jar. Seeds are placed in them. Regardless of the material, it should also be moist, not dry and free of excess water.

With this germination option, seeds can grow faster by 1-2 weeks. The size of the cup or jar will not allow the plant to wrinkle during transportation.

Method number 3

For large volumes, you can plant cucumbers in long boxes with sawdust. Small sawdust should be taken in the place where only original wood is cut. Sawdust mixtures will not work. Because they may contain glue that is harmful not only to plants but also to humans.

Sawdust handling scheme:

1. Sterilize the sawdust by pouring boiling water over them 2-3 times.
2. Take wooden crates and lay a drainage layer.
3. Place a layer of sawdust on the drain. The layer width should be about 10 cm. The sawdust should be wet, but not float in water.
4. Pre-treated seeds should be spread over sawdust. The optimal distance between them is 3-5 cm.
5. Add another layer of sawdust and moisten them.
6. Cover with plastic wrap.The film will help keep moisture and warmth.
7. After the sprouts appear, after a couple of days, the film can be removed.

In the future, when 3-4 leaves appear, the sprouts will need to be transplanted into the ground for further cultivation. Already being germinated, plants are pulled out of sawdust more easily than from any other soil. They are much less likely to be damaged.

You can try planting dry seeds directly into the ground. But this does not eliminate the preparatory selection and sterilization procedures. Remember that when planting in the ground, you must wait for a suitable air temperature (at least 14-15 ° C) and soil (at least 12 ° C).

Choosing a germination method

For the first time, gardeners are advised to conduct an experiment. This will help you learn how to properly germinate the seeds of cucumber bushes in a particular case. The goal is to be convinced of the effectiveness of this or that method by personal experience. To do this, you need to try to germinate the same grains of cucumbers with all 3 options.

You need to decide in advance on the number of seeds for a particular method. You need to record the start time of the procedure in a special summary. You also need to record the start and results of other parameters.

For starters, it can be up to 10 seeds in each variant. For germination in a plate with cotton pads, in plastic cups with a napkin, you will need up to 30 grains. Additionally, you can plant 10 dry seeds directly into the ground and the same amount in a plastic bottle with toilet paper folded in several layers.

Conclusion

Now you know how to germinate cucumber seeds. This process is not particularly difficult. First, you can try different options and choose the most convenient and effective one.

First of all, select quality grains. They should not be dry, empty or damaged. After that, sterilize and start germinating the cucumber seeds.