When to plant cucumber seedlings in the greenhouse?

For a long time I have been growing tomatoes for sale in a greenhouse. And this year I decided to expand my assortment and add cucumbers to them. I grew the seedlings myself in pots, but not all of them took root during transplantation. Tell me when is it better to plant cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse so that they do not disappear?

Cucumbers are big lovers of heat, so in order to get an early harvest or, conversely, to have vegetables almost all year round, they must be grown in a greenhouse.

Before transferring cucumber seedlings into it, you must first grow it, and also prepare the greenhouse itself. When growing seedlings, it is better to sow seeds immediately in separate pots, since cucumbers do not tolerate the transplanting process very well.

Preparing the soil and conditions for growing seedlings

It is recommended to prepare the greenhouse in the fall. For this you need:

1. Completely get rid of the remnants of vegetation from the previous season and remove the top layer of soil (up to 5 cm thick), in which spores of various diseases can remain.
2. Treat the remaining soil (and greenhouse floors) with copper sulfate.
   Fertilize it with fresh manure, potash and phosphorus fertilizers (respectively 25 g / 40 g / 40 g per 1 sq. M.)
   Dig up.

If in the fall it was not possible to prepare the greenhouse, you can do this in the spring before planting cucumber seedlings. But in this case, instead of fresh manure, you need to use humus, and also add nitrogen fertilizers.
Make ridges for seedlings of cucumbers 25 cm in height.
The location of the ridges depends on the size of the greenhouse and the wishes of the gardeners, the main thing is to provide unhindered access to the cucumbers during harvesting.

When can I plant seedlings in the greenhouse?

Seedlings of cucumbers are planted in a greenhouse at about the age of one month with 4 leaves. But it is also worth taking into account the temperature of the soil and the greenhouse itself. It is possible to plant seedlings only after the soil warms up well and the temperature in the greenhouse is 18 degrees Celsius.

Planting seedlings

To prevent diseases of the seedlings, before planting the hole, you should water it with a solution of potassium permanganate, always warm, and add compost.
Put the pots with cucumber shoots into a container of water. So the earth will get wet and when the seedling is removed, it will not be damaged. Plant the seedlings in prepared holes, water and mulch.

To obtain a generous harvest, cucumber seedlings should not be placed close to each other so that the bushes have room for free development.

The optimal distance between seedlings should be at least 35 cm, and the row spacing should be 90 cm. Since cucumbers are a climbing crop, you need to immediately take care of creating a support for the bush. To do this, a rope is tied from the root of the cucumber bush to the very top of the greenhouse, and after 2 meters from the ground level, a pair of ropes are pulled in the form of a net.
2-3 days after planting the seedlings, the young bush must be tied to a support, and then twisted around the trellis as it stretches. As soon as the bush reaches a height of 30 cm, it must be pinched. At the side lashes, remove up to 4 leaves of the lower flowers and shoots, and pinch the next 4-6 in such a way that one fruit remains on each, 2 ovaries in the middle of the stem, and 3 cucumbers at the top.

Read also the article: about growing cucumbers in a greenhouse!

Video about the intricacies of planting cucumber seedlings in a greenhouse