How to pinch cucumbers?

If you plan to grow cucumbers in your summer cottage, you need to remember that this crop requires special care. She will also need a pinch. Today we will talk about why such a procedure is needed, how to perform it correctly.

Pinching is an important procedure for cucumbers. It is carried out to achieve the following goals:

• increased fruiting;
• lack of bitterness in ripe fruits;
• the formation of female flowers.

These manipulations will also contribute to the development of the root system of vegetation. They allow the plantings to be well ventilated.... The plantings will also receive a sufficient amount of light. Thanks to the pinch, nutritious juice is fed to the top much more actively, due to which the vegetables ripen faster. The formation and pinching of bushes allows you to plant a larger number of seedlings in one area.

Without pinching, the culture will spend a lot of energy on barren flowers. As a result, the fruits will become too small and lose their taste. It is worth noting that the procedure must be carried out both in open ground and in greenhouse structures.

Pinching will allow you to get large and healthy fruits with excellent taste characteristics. But it is worth remembering that during its implementation it is necessary to preserve the foliage. After all, it is in it that a large number of useful and nutritious substances are concentrated, which will later be transferred to vegetables in the process of ripening.

It should be noted that the pinching pattern can differ significantly from one cultivar to another. Let's consider the following options separately.

• Pinching scheme for insect pollinated varieties.
• Pinching algorithm for self-pollinated species.
• Algorithm for pinching parthenocarpic species.

The first option is more common and is considered a classic... With a stem height of about 50 centimeters, all lateral shoots that are below the axil of the 6th leaf are cut off. This will be referred to as the "blinding zone".

When the bush is about 1 meter long, only one ovary is retained on the lateral processes. All the rest is removed by pinching over the first sheet.

When the length of the vegetation varies within 1-1.5 m, it will be possible to save four shoots, which have parts with 2 leaves or with 2 ovaries. If the variety grows more than 1.5 m, then it will need to be carefully thrown over the support and then, above 4 ovaries, pinch the four lateral processes.

When the distance between the end of the stem and the surface of the ground is about 60 cm, the crown of the main lash must also be pinched. For such varieties, a different scheme is sometimes used, which includes the following steps:

• the central stem is pinched after 5-6 leaves, then all this is tied up;
• lashes from the sides are placed at an angle of 60 degrees in relation to the central stem, while all excess mustaches and stepsons are carefully cut off;
• shoots that reach the trellis can be wrapped around it, and then pinched.

Both schemes are considered to be equally effective.

Next, we will consider a detailed scheme for pinching self-pollinated cucumber varieties. First, you will need to remove the first three ovaries that form on the main stem. To stimulate the growth of lateral shoots, the crown of the plantings is removed at a level above the sixth leaf.

On the lateral processes, the pinching is performed in such a way that 3-4 ovaries remain on each of them. Then each new shoot is tied to supporting structures after the picking procedure. This must be done in order to avoid intertwining the shoots with each other.

Now we will analyze how to pinch parthenocarpic cultures.... To begin with, the axils of the first four leaves are freed from shoots, and they are removed along with the flowers.

In the axils on a 6-7 leaf, only about 20 centimeters of shoots are left. The parts that appear above the fourth process must be pinched at a distance of 40 cm from their base, the next four parts are cut off by 50 centimeters. The main stem is pinched only when six more young leaves grow.

There are hybrid varieties that do not require pinching at all.... These species are intended for cultivation in greenhouse and greenhouse structures with a high density of plantings. In such plants, lateral loops do not grow. Their fruiting is bouquet-like, and this already significantly increases the level of productivity. These hybrids include cucumbers. Valaam, Bouquet.

Determinant varieties of cucumbers should not be pinched either, because they are initially characterized by limited stem growth, a minimum number of lateral shoots. The procedure in this case can lead to severe overload and breakdown of vegetation under the weight of ripe vegetables.

It is also worth noting that the pinching procedure may differ slightly depending on where the crop is grown.

As a rule, insect pollinated crop varieties are grown in open ground, therefore in this case, it is necessary to follow the scheme that was considered above for these types. But it should be remembered that before starting the procedure, it is necessary to perform a number of important activities.

Before pinching near the landings, you need to fix the trellis. Inflorescences and lateral shoots are preliminarily removed from the lower side of the vegetation.

Young seedlings will need to be tied up a couple of weeks after planting in open soil. Do not forget to shape the weave, for this purpose it is necessary to cut the crown above the sixth sheet.

Now we will consider the features of the pinching of plantings that are grown in greenhouse conditions. In such constructions, self-pollinated and parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers, various hybrids are predominantly planted, for them the corresponding pinching schemes, which were considered earlier, are used.

Crops that are planted in greenhouses often suffer from thickening of plantings due to the limited amount of space, therefore, pinching and pinching in greenhouses should be carried out more often and more thoroughly than in open soil.

At the same time, we must not forget that in this case you should not be late with the procedure. If the shoots on the bushes have already reached a length of 20-25 centimeters, and the manipulations have not yet been carried out, then they should not be done at all, since all the nutrients have been absorbed.

Greenhouse cucumbers will need a garter. This will make it possible to use the space in a greenhouse or greenhouse as efficiently as possible, and will greatly simplify the pinching of bushes. It is better to make a whole system consisting of supports and wires to which the cucumber lashes are attached. Pinching in greenhouses should be done in low humidity conditions.

Also, don't forget that immediately after pinching, the plant will need abundant watering with warm, settled liquid... But at the same time, young stems on the lower part should not be flooded with water. Also, 30-40 minutes after watering, it is recommended to loosen the ground around the bushes, this will saturate the root system with oxygen.

Separately, it is worth analyzing how for the first time to step by step pinch cucumbers that are grown on window sills, on balconies in apartments. First, let's look at the standard algorithm for pinching plants grown on a windowsill.

In this case, you need to wait until the culture reaches a height of 10 centimeters. After that, all new growth is removed. In the axils of the foliage, stepchildren and ovaries are carefully cut off, they do this up to the fifth leaf.

After the fifth sheet, only the stepsons need to be removed, while the ovaries remain. Only 1 stepson must be left on the 10th leaf, the operations are repeated again, moving along the entire height of the plant. As a result, 3-4 fruiting branches should rise to the top of the window.

Next, we will consider how to carry out such a procedure when growing balcony-type home cucumbers.... In this case, you must first remove all the processes that formed after the sixth leaf. When the young seedlings get a little stronger and release the lateral shoots, only one strong shoot will need to be left.

After that, the base is fixed to the twine. The whiskers and leaves are removed from the underside. For a week after that, it will be necessary to cut off the layers from the sides and overgrowth.

When the balcony seedlings can reach the ceiling, the growth point must be removed. When the side stems appear, they are removed, leaving only two of them on opposite sides. When they grow to 50 centimeters, you will need to shorten them by two sheets.

Many young gardeners make various mistakes when pinching cucumbers. So, some remove all barren flowers on insect pollinated plants. It is categorically impossible to do this. Pollination requires both male and female flowers at the same time.

In the process of cutting the shoots, you need to leave a small fragment of the stem (about 5 millimeters). Otherwise, when a new wound is infected with various infections, the entire plant can be affected at once.

Many gardeners carry out such manipulations in sunny weather during the day. If you are going to perform the procedure outdoors, then you should choose clear and dry weather for this. Excessive moisture levels can cause infection of the cut. It is best to pinch the cucumbers in the early morning. New wounds will be able to heal by the evening. At night, organic components can stimulate shoot growth.

It is best to pinch growth points with a special sharpened tool (pruner, office knife). It must first be treated with disinfectants so as not to infect the vegetation. All cuts can be additionally sprinkled with crushed coal.

In addition, many gardeners in the process of manipulation begin to process yellowed and damaged leaf plates. You don't need to do this. It is better to cut them off immediately with a garden tool; only strong and healthy green parts should be left on the bushes.

Sometimes, after pruning, small hemp is left on the plants, this also cannot be done. Otherwise, powdery mildew may develop on the vegetation in the future, which will prevent the young ovaries from forming correctly.