If the cucumbers dry out or rot despite watering and fertilizing, then there is only one thing that can help: cut the cucumber plants. If you follow a few basic rules and remove certain leaves and shoots, you will reap a rich harvest and have healthy fruit on the table.
Cut cucumber plants and harvest healthy fruits
Unlike tomatoes, pruning is not a must for cucumber plants - but it is still recommended in some cases.
- Basically, the plants are thinned out, thinned out and shortened so that the fruits receive sufficient water and nutrients. Otherwise they remain small, dry out or rot directly on the plant.
- In addition, one or two fungal diseases can be prevented or even combated in the early stages through caring pruning measures.
- It often happens that the cucumbers spread in the vegetable patch and crowd out other plants. To prevent this, you can also remove some leaves.
- Tall cucumber plants need pruning that regulates growth and guides them in the desired direction.
- Pruning is also necessary if the cucumbers put all their energy into forming leaves and the fruits remain comparatively small.
- Fruit formation can also be delayed if fertilization is incorrect, for example with nitrogen fertilizer. Instead, the cucumbers rise. In this case, shortening the main shoots can help stimulate flower and fruit production.
When do you prune the cucumber plants?
The right time for a caring cut. By the way, it is never too late to give your cucumbers a cut. It's best to start at the start of the gardening season, but you can also cut cucumber plants during flowering and fruit formation. It is only important to adapt the cut to the respective development phase of the plant.
This is how the different types of cucumbers are cut
How the outdoor plants are cut also depends on the particular type of cucumber.
Basically, outdoor plants can cope without pruning. You can cut off the lower leaves and remove the side shoots so that the plant can dry more quickly after watering and rainand the leavesdon't rot.
The cucumbers that have been tied up are carefully thinned out. All shoots are removed; they bear neither flowers nor fruit. These plants often bear too many fruits, which then either remain small or become too heavy and the shoots break. To prevent this, leave a cucumber on each leaf axil.
For cucumbers in greenhouses or on balconies protected from the wind, the side shoots are regularly removed. Fruits that have formed directly on the trunk and those that lie on the ground are also removed promptly. In any case, rotting, sickly and yellow shoots, leaves and fruits should also be cut off.
Cutting cucumber plants: step-by-step instructions
1. Before you start pruning, disinfect the secateurs to prevent the spread of disease.
2. Work from bottom to top. Most of the time, the shoots at the bottom, with the exception of the main shoot, are completely removed. As with all plants with a main stem, you should never cut it off - because it will not sprout again. If you start cutting at the bottom, you can immediately see the side shoots. It's best to mark the main shoot so that you don't mix it up later and accidentally cut it off.
3. Remove the flowers at the very bottom - they receive little to no sunlight and take an unnecessary amount of energy from the plant. Cut them diagonally, as close to the base of the stem as possible. This will encourage flowering at the top, where most cucumbers get a lot of direct sunlight.
4. It is essential that all stingy shoots, as well as shoots that grow downwards or across, are cut off.
5. All leaves that are diseased, yellow, dried up, withered or eaten are also removed. The cucumbers can also be thinned out a little if the leaves grow too close together. This allows the plants to dry more quickly after rain and also
6. If the plant in the greenhouse reaches a height of 90 cm, you can shorten the main shoot slightly. This will keep the plants compact and encourage fruiting rather than growth. Outdoor plants can grow up to 100 cm high, after which you should also trim them regularly.
7. The fruits should then be harvested at regular intervals, as often as possible. It's best to harvest the plants every week so that they continue to bear fruit again.
Care after cutting
The cucumber plants are first watered from below, then cut and then fertilized if necessary. If it rains heavily in the coming days, the freshly cut plants need protection from the rain. If there are ripe fruits, you can harvest them straight away.
