How to grow cucumbers in the Kuban in the heat? Many gardeners in recent years complain: there are no cucumbers, the leaves have turned yellow too early, there are no ovaries. We have a hot climate in the Kuban. In summer, heat, or even drought. There is no rain or very few. Cucumbers are hygrophilous plants. They are important not only moisture in the soil. Dry, hot air, they are also difficult to tolerate.
The first thing I want to advise is not to chase new advertised varieties, hybrids. Plant zoned seeds for each region. In our region, varieties of cucumbers Phoenix, Phoenix 640 have proven themselves well. It is a drought-resistant variety for open ground.
They withstand drought, dry, hot air. It should be said that it was they who did not leave my family without a harvest this year. I will share my experience in growing cucumbers.
The Farmer F1 hybrid tolerates heat and drought. It can be planted immediately in open ground or grown seedlings. It can be planted in the greenhouse.
For the future harvest of cucumbers, it is important to prepare the soil in the fall, dig a plot, at the same time, fill it with rotted compost or fertilizers.
Of course it is difficult to guess whether it will be next summer, dry or rainy. Heat, drought, or, conversely, frequent rains will test garden plants.But south is south, every year I plant seeds or seedlings in pits about 25 × 25 cm in size, with a depth on the bayonet of a shovel. I mix the earth dug from the hole with sand or sawdust, humus, add a tablespoon without top of superphosphate. I pour this soil mixture into the dug hole, plant 4-5 seeds of cucumber (open ground) or 4-5 seedling bushes (greenhouse) there.
By the way, I do not fall asleep to the top if it comes to open ground, leaving the prepared soil nearby. After germination, when the first 5-7 leaves appear, I make the powder of the plants with the prepared soil.
Cucumbers in such holes are very convenient to water, as the water does not spread, but gets exactly to the roots. By the way, plants should be watered only under the root of water warmed in the sun. After almost every watering, the soil is mulched with dry grass, sawdust or hay. Mulch keeps the soil near the roots of the cucumber moist. Constant moisture at the roots is very beneficial for them - after all, drying out the soil, uneven irrigation is one of the reasons why cucumbers are bitter.
I want to share another experience of keeping the soil moist during drought. Gardeners claim that this method will protect your crops from weeds.
Before you put the seeds of cucumbers or seedlings of seedlings into the ground, put on top a piece of thick cardboard (cardboard boxes are thrown in large quantities near any store) with a hole cut out in the middle. Sow seeds in this hole or plant seedlings. Cardboard will retain moisture, prevent weeds from germinating. You do not have to loosen the earth either.If after a while you slightly lift a sheet of cardboard, you will see moist soil, earthworms. They will loosen the soil for you around your cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers or eggplant, and you will save time.
As you can see, the answer to the question - how to grow cucumbers in the Kuban in a drought, in a hot climate - is not so difficult. Cucumbers love moisture, and our tricks will help you keep it.