Want to improve your gardening skills by learning how to use the right fertilizers and grow cucumbers with the perfect mix of softness and crunch? For a lush and tasty harvest, it is important to provide the cucumbers with the necessary nutrients at the right time. Growing cucumbers is a simple task that does not require any special gardening knowledge. However, it is more challenging to provide the plant with the right type and amount of fertilizer. Whether your cucumber crop will ripen or not depends on whether you know when, how and with what to fertilize the plants. If you are wondering – “How often to fertilize cucumbers?” – read on and find out more about how to achieve a bountiful harvest.
Fertilize cucumbers correctly: why is it important?
Fertilizers help cucumber plants mature and bear fruit faster. If you do not fertilize your cucumber plant, its development will be stunted and you will not get a good harvest. Using fertilizer also ensures more cucumbers that grow larger and have more flavor.
Cucumber plants need fertilizer primarily in three different growing seasons. The first step is to grow a cucumber plant from seed. Growth is stimulated if fertilization is applied during this phase. Applying mulch is the second time fertilizer should be applied to the plant. Mulch can be used around a cucumber plant to prevent weeds and pests. Mulch with fertilizer is like a supercharge for your cucumber plant.
The third critical time to fertilize your cucumber plant is when you see the first flowers. At this point liquid fertilizer is optimal. Never sprinkle fertilizer on the leaves of the plant as this could do more harm than good.
Once the plants have reached their maximum yield, you can no longer fertilize them as frequently. A low dose every 14 days is enough in summer to provide plants with sufficient nutrients without affecting their ability to produce new flowers. Now it's just a matter of harvesting the harvest!
Feed cucumber plants with natural fertilizers
If you want a chemical-free cucumber harvest from your plant, organic fertilizer is your best choice. You can mix some compost into the soil around the cucumber plant to act as an organic fertilizer. This mixture is used throughout the planting process. After digging a hole in the ground, fill it a few inches with compost before planting the seeds.
Fertilize cucumbers with coffee grounds
Low-nitrogen materials such as coffee grounds can be used as fertilizers. Cucumber plants require less nitrogen than other plants at every stage of development. This encourages the development of sweeter cucumbers. Cucumber plants enjoy coffee fertilizer. It should be noted that only fresh coffee grounds can increase the acidity of the soil and enrich it with nitrogen (the micronutrient that promotes the development of green and strong stems). Fertilizing with used coffee grounds is becoming increasingly popular because itKeeps pests away, which suppresses weed growth and aerates the soil. Feed your plants coffee grounds by working a thin layer into the soil with a rake.
Eggshells for your cucumber plants
Calcium, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, which are abundant in eggshells, are returned to the earth. To provide nutrients to your plants, crush a dozen eggshells and throw them into the planting hole or growing medium after making sure they are dry. Why exactly should you use this fertilizer? It increases the calcium content of the plant, which in turn makes the plant more robust and the fruits crunchier.
Ash as fertilizer for cucumbers
Ash can be used as fertilizer while the cucumbers are fruiting. The plants should be watered with the ash solution every two weeks. The preparation requires a little effort.
Cut branches, vines and leaves for the fire and pile up the wood. You can use a bucket to burn the wood. It burns faster outdoors, but there is a risk of sparks starting a fire and half of the valuable materials being lost as the wind cools. Then take a container with a lid for storing ashes. Sealed containers prevent condensation from accumulating, making the fertilizer almost unusable.
You can then do the followingWater your plantsand feed: Immediately before watering, you make your own solution: 1.5 cups of ash are diluted with a bucket of water. You boil the brew for up to 30 minutes and when it is cold you can use it to fertilize your plants.
Find out how you can fertilize your cucumbers with onion peels here!And don't forget:In summer you should feed the plants every 14 days!
