How to tie cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field

In order to properly tie up cucumbers during their growth, it is necessary to take into account the varietal characteristics and the method of growing the vegetable. By using a garter, you can facilitate crop maintenance and subsequent harvesting. Plants will hurt less. To obtain the expected result, the procedure must be carried out in a timely manner, using suitable supports and garters.

Is it necessary to tie up cucumbers?

During growth, the cucumber forms long flexible lashes, which, without support, lie on the ground, intertwine with each other. All this does not in the best way affect the quality of the crop and makes it difficult to care for the plants. In a polycarbonate greenhouse, the situation is complicated by the fact that the planting area is limited. Cucumbers and tomatoes are usually grown here, tied to vertical supports.

Benefits of a garter:

• saving space in the garden;
• cucumbers will begin to cling to the support with their whiskers, without interfering with each other;
• more adequate lighting will be available to plants;
• it is convenient to carry out foliar feeding and processing of bushes;
• ventilation is improved, which reduces the risk of fungal diseases;
• more ovaries are formed;
• a ripe crop is easier to harvest.

On the street, it is also advisable to tie up the plants - this will affect the growth and development of cucumber bushes in the most favorable way. Especially relevant is the garter of cucumbers in the open field in a rainy summer, when the fruits and shoots lying on the ground can rot from excess moisture.

Alternatively, planting cucumber seedlings in tall barrels can be used. In this case, the whips will hang down freely, and they will not need support. The advantages of this method include saving space on the site and the absence of the need to tinker with a trellis.

How to tie up cucumbers correctly and beautifully?

You can tie cucumbers in different ways. The method of fixing cucumber lashes depends on the method of growing the crop. Some options are more convenient to use outdoors, others in a greenhouse or in a greenhouse.

Horizontal garter

The horizontal type garter is ideal for low greenhouses:

1. Before planting seedlings, supports in the form of wooden or metal pillars are installed along the edges of the beds. You need to fasten the props securely. They are dug into the ground to a depth of 50 cm. The height of the supports above the ground should be 1–1.2 meters.
2. Then, a wire is pulled between the posts in several tiers with a step of 30 cm.
3. The cucumber shoots are fixed in a horizontal plane by wrapping them around the wire.

The method is not suitable for tall varieties, since the plants quickly reach the upper level of the trellis - and the lashes have to be redirected downward, as a result the lower part of the bushes darkens. To prevent this from happening, the tops of the stems are pinched. Bushes that have grown in breadth become more difficult to care for and harvest.

Vertical garter

The vertical method is suitable for polycarbonate greenhouses with a height of 2 m. With such a garter, the bushes look neat and beautiful, they receive a lot of sunlight.

The basis of the vertical trellis is a metal or wooden frame. The ropes are pulled between the upper and lower planks at the required interval.The number of stretch marks should correspond to the number of planted plants - thus, each bush receives an individual support for itself and is tied to it vertically.

A lighter version of such a trellis provides for the installation of an upper bar with hooks, which is fixed under the ceiling of the greenhouse, and a lower bar in the form of a bar dug into the ground.

After the main stem of each plant reaches the greenhouse ceiling, the top will need to be pinched.

In other cases, a vertical garter involves the installation of individual stakes or metal reinforcement near each bush. Then cucumbers are tied to the supports. This method is used both for greenhouses and for open ground. Bush and short-leaved cucumbers are usually tied to the stakes, the height of which does not exceed 50-80 cm.

Cone garter

The cone-shaped garter is used for growing cucumbers in the open field. The method involves planting plants in a circle:

1. 10 metal rods are driven into the ground around the circumference with an inclination to the center - so that they form a cone.
2. The mesh is pulled and secured onto the installed frame.
3. At the initial stage of development of the bushes, the antennae are passed into the cells of the mesh, later the plants themselves braid the support.

After the cucumbers have grown, the original green pyramid will decorate the site.

The structure must be installed before the seedlings are planted in the ground. Otherwise, young plants may be damaged during the installation of the support.

Twine garter

A simple garter method is to secure the cucumbers on a string.

1. The upper part of a thin rope is fastened using the free loop method on hooks fixed under the roof.
2. The lower part is tied to small pegs driven in next to the plants.
3. In the process of growth, the central stem of the cucumber is wrapped around the twine.

The rope can be tied not to the peg, but to the stem itself after the formation of 2-3 leaves. With this method, you can not pull the twine too much, otherwise it can pull the plant itself out of the ground or tear its roots.

Garter mesh

Using a mesh, you can build a green hedge from cucumbers. The structure is made of several long stakes and a strong mesh. The lower part of the stakes is treated with an antiseptic compound before installation to protect it from decay.

The stakes are dug into the ground, the mesh is attached to the supports. The dimensions of the cells must be at least 10x10 cm. You can buy the mesh in construction and gardening stores. Sometimes the mesh trellis is installed at an angle, reinforcing with additional supports.

Cucumbers are planted along the structure in one row. The method is convenient in that there are no problems with the garter of the shoots. They can be easily fixed at any level.

It is better to place such a trellis on the sunny side of the site. Ripening cucumbers with this garter method are clearly visible and easy to pick.

Garter on arches

The garter on the arcs is used for those cucumbers that are grown in temporary greenhouses. At first, the structure with arcs is used as a frame for the covering material. After the film is removed, the greenhouse is not completely disassembled.

The main stem of the cucumber is blinded and fixed in an arc, later on the side shoots are also tied up here. The same is done with neighboring plants. If necessary, cucumbers are easy to cover again during an unexpected cold snap or to protect from the scorching sun.

What is the best rope to tie?

Before carrying out the garter, you should select and purchase the garter material in advance or prepare it yourself:

• It is best to use a rope made from natural materials. For example, you can use jute twine.
• Rag strips are also good - they are soft and dry quickly. For the garter, cotton fabric is used, cutting it into strips 20 cm long and 2–3 cm wide.

The only drawback of natural garter materials is their fragility. They are not left for the next season.

For large-scale plantings, you can purchase a special stapler, which comes with staples and a tape for garters. Such a device will allow you to quickly fix the shoots without much hassle.

It is not recommended to use a twine made of nylon or nylon: the whips will not be able to hold on a smooth surface and will slide down. Fishing line and thin wire are not used due to the fact that these materials can injure the delicate tissue of young shoots.

When should you tie up cucumbers?

Cucumber bushes are tied up in stages. This manipulation should not be carried out while the plants are too small, but it is also impossible to tighten with a garter. In the process of growth, the stems become more rigid and fragile, can break, intertwine with each other.

The first time the garter is carried out after 2-3 pairs of true leaves appear on the cucumbers. By this time the bushes reach a height of 30–35 cm. The procedure is carried out in the morning, before the onset of the midday heat. The initial garter is made on the main stem above the first or second leaf. The growing lateral shoots are tied to a separate rope, preventing them from braiding the main stem.

It is impossible to fix the lashes too tightly - the stem should remain able to grow in thickness. If the garter is too tight, the material will squeeze the whip and disrupt its nutrition, which will cause big problems.

It is important to pick ripe fruits in time so that they do not give me an excessive load on the lash. Overgrown bushes already have an impressive mass.

The shoots overgrown with the trellis are pinched. Pinching will contribute to the branching of the bush and the active growth of side shoots.

Despite the fact that cucumbers belong to the pumpkin family, it is better not to let the lashes of plants spread along the ground. The shoot garter saves space, reduces the risk of disease, and makes it easier to care for the crop. When choosing a support, you need to analyze your capabilities and needs of the plant based on its characteristics.