How many cucumbers sprout and why are there no shoots?

From the moment of sowing cucumbers to the emergence of seedlings, the gardener will more than once experience moments of doubt and fear - is everything good, will the seedlings sprout? Because it is at the initial stage that you can predict how this cucumber season will go, whether the seedlings will grow strong. And cucumbers do not always sprout. It is worth figuring out why there may not be seedlings and how to prevent the problem.

Conventionally, all factors are usually divided into internal and external. Internal - this is what is associated with the seeds, and external - these are climatic conditions, especially sowing and care of seedlings.

What affects seed germination after planting?

• Age. It happened more than once that eight-year-old seeds sprouted calmly and gave an excellent harvest. But still, there are norms according to which seeds of 2-3 years give the best result, are more predictable. The older the seed, the less chance it has.
• Storage conditions for seeds. In order for them to live, they need oxygen and not the highest temperature, about + 10 degrees (moreover, the temperature must be higher for germination). You must not let them damp, otherwise they will end. How they will die due to lack of moisture and due to overheating. If the humidity in the room is high, it is warm there, then the seeds can germinate ahead of time, which also dooms them to death.
• Size and shape / integrity. The seed should be heavy, without deformation. If there are visible signs of damage, it is better not to sow it. The heavier the seed, the greater the chance of germination.
• Landing dates. There is a whole point about this below, we can only say that it is because of the shift in timing that the whole harvest is dying.
• Soil condition. If the land is contaminated (there was no appropriate processing), if it is depleted (there was no crop rotation, sufficient feeding), the seeds have nowhere to take the strength for growth.
• Presowing seed treatment. This item simply cannot be skipped.

Sowing seeds usually occurs in mid-April. And in order to grow them all year round in a specially equipped greenhouse, they can be sown every 3 months - an uninterrupted harvest is ensured. It is better not to plant seeds in open ground: it will be impossible to give them as much light and warmth at this time as you can give at home, growing them on a windowsill for seedlings.

If everything is done correctly, cucumbers sprout in 4-7 days. If it is decided to grow them in a greenhouse, then this can be planned 3 weeks earlier than in open soil. But at the same time, if the temperature is below normal, the growth of plants will be delayed by 15 days. Summing up, we can say that within a week after planting, cucumbers should sprout. If they are not there on the eighth day, most likely something went wrong.

And now a little informative and boring botany. Germination of a cucumber sprout is the most delicate phase of the entire life cycle of a culture. The cucumber seed itself is white, elongated, with an embryo inside, in a strong seed coat.And this shell does not allow the embryo to be damaged, dry out, germinate ahead of time, be affected by viruses, fungi and other pathogens. But in order for the seed to germinate, it is necessary to create such conditions for this peel so that it opens. This is a special temperature, humidity and sufficient watering.

In general, the life cycle of a cucumber is saturated with moisture, it begins from this moment. When the required amount of water is absorbed into the seed, and the opening of the peel begins. Then the enzyme system is activated, aerobic activity begins.

In order for the seed to be nourished, and therefore, its development was given a start, it is necessary to make sure that the soil has 40% moisture after planting. While the seed swells, its moisture requirements will still grow - maybe even double. And all this will have a beneficial effect on the seed if the temperature does not drop below +25 degrees. But if this indicator falls, after swelling, the seed will become moldy, and this is destructive for it.

Then comes the stage of development of the embryo. This is a whole complex of chemical reactions aimed at breaking down starch, lipid oxidation, the appearance of proteins and amino acids. This is how the embryonic root is formed, and the nutrition of the cucumber will be built on the absorption of nutrients from the ground.

If the seed is planted, for example, too deep, it will be possible to see the roots that have not shed the peel (and they should have done it). Such cucumbers will not be able to give productive shoots, the peel will quickly harden and literally seal the seedling in itself. You can try to save it by regularly spraying the sample with a spray bottle, and then peeling off the peel with your fingers - this does work, but not always.

How to germinate seeds quickly is the question of many gardeners. And yes, there is quite obvious help, which consists in the use of growth stimulants. But they are not harmless, therefore, if you do not read the instructions, the shoot will not last long. Warming is also considered to stimulate germination. What this operation looks like: the seeds are placed near the battery (the temperature should be at least +30). And if the sowing period is about to come, you can also warm it up with a temperature of +50 degrees. It is believed that this will keep the cucumbers well without moisture if the summer is predicted to be dry.

Soaking is also part of the preparatory measures to help improve germination. It takes place with the participation of wet tissue: seeds are placed in it, then they are sent to a bag (protection from oxygen), moisture is maintained there.

The next way is to harden the seeds. It is a two-stage process: at the first stage, the seeds are wrapped in cloth, sent to the refrigerator for 5 hours, and at the second stage, the material is kept in the house for 5 hours. And all this two-stage hardening is repeated 6 times. For cucumbers, this is like training, which more easily adapts them to possible temperature fluctuations.

Finally, germination will help to increase germination. The seeds are again put in a wet cloth, covered with something dense on top. Humidity must also be controlled, if necessary, adding water. Light should not fall under the fabric, this is fraught with seeds inside. When the embryo appears, the germinated seeds are sent to the ground that has already been prepared for them. After 2-4 days, sprouting from germinated seeds can be expected.

Everything described above is an optimal plan for preparing seeds for growth and creating conditions for excellent seed germination. But it is worth considering separately all the main potential problems affecting the growth of a plant, the timeliness of its passage through all natural phases. And there are many such problems / reasons.

Most of the problems happen at low temperatures. Cucumbers are not viable with her, you should not even experiment. If it falls below +12, the seeds will most likely become moldy. The optimum temperature range for seed germination is + 23-27 degrees, which should be enough for cucumber germination in 4-5 days. Yes, not so rarely, and + 15-17 degrees for cucumbers is enough for visible shoots, but at the same time rarely all seeds sprout at the same time.

It turns out that this may be the case. The best burial depth, as practice shows, is 2 cm. This depth of sprout penetrates without problems, this is the optimal barrier earthen layer for it. But if you deepen it further, the seedlings are likely to experience problems with "pecking". Nothing can come up at all. And if the depth, on the contrary, is less than 2 cm, the peel may not come off the seedlings, and this, as already noted above, is also a threat to the death of seedlings.

The heavier the soil, the less uniform and uniform the sprout will emerge. And if the low temperature also negatively reinforces such unfavorable conditions, you don't have to wait for seedlings. But if there is only heavy soil, and no other is foreseen, you can do this: before planting, make a small groove in the ground up to 2 cm deep.In it, you need to sow seeds, which are sprinkled with lighter soil on top (or maybe sifted earth). The layer is also poured by 2 cm. If, in this case, the seeds in the groove are covered with heavy earth, the sprouts will not be able to pierce it.

Even before planting seeds, the soil must be moistened. Such irrigation is called water-charging. With cold watering, you need to wait, do not rush to sow, let the earth warm up a little. If you dry out the soil before sowing, seed germination will definitely slow down. They are unlikely to break through in a week, usually they will rise only on the 10-11th day. Finally, the seedlings are in danger of death, because the embryonic root itself will simply dry out. You just need to take into account that the earth dries up in hot weather.

And if, on the contrary, overflow the soil, then this is a threat to seeds growing in clay soil. Intensive watering of such land is almost always associated with thinning of seedlings - that is, not all seeds will be able to break through.

The above described what to do to improve seed germination. It is a common mistake to use all methods at once. No, such actions will be a great strain on the seed. Drying after stimulation by means of growth is also a mistake, embryonic roots may not form.

And here the main problems of seedlings may lie. The main point is maintaining the maximum level of conditioned germination. It is able to last up to 7 years and even a little more, but it is better not to live up to such terms. Two-year, three-year seed is much more productive and allows you to predict the season in advance.

Store seeds in a dry, relatively cool place (for example, in a basement or cellar). Usually, the seeds are covered with a film or something else equally dense. But it is not worth covering them with woven material, because there are gaps between the weaving of fibers, which will already be an obstacle to maintaining a special temperature inside this storage.

But even cucumbers may not grow if the soil is very depleted or infected. If pathogens act inside it, the seeds will have no chance of survival. And even if a few shoots still appear, they may be damaged and weak. Finally, do not discount the seed defects themselves. Especially if it is taken from the outside, it is not known how it was stored, how old it is, etc.