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Cucumber Gardening Tips Can Keep You Out Of A Pickle
Cucumbers grow on a fairly forgiving vine and while not too particular about the soil in which it grows, they do prefer direct sunlight and the understanding they will be kept free of the many bugs that like to chew on the leaves. You can fend off many of the bugs and diseases that like cucumbers as much as you do by following some simple cucumber gardening tips and understand how they grow and produce.
Pickle worms, aphids, mites and cucumber beetles tend to attack the young sprouts and can destroy a plant before it reaches maturity. The beetle poses double problems as in addition to eating the plant it can spread cucumber wilt and once a plant is infected, without treatment it will wilt and die. Mildew and angular leaf spot also affect the cucumber and destroy the plants. One of the best cucumber gardening tips concerning fighting disease and insects is be careful what type of pesticide is used. Most chemicals can drive away the bees that the plant needs for pollination.
Because cucumber plants require good drainage many have better luck planting them on small hills within the garden. Hilling the dirt about 12 to 18 inches, large enough to accommodated four seeds planted about a foot apart, will usually provide a good crop. Subsequent hills should be at least four feet apart. Remember, cucumber gardening tips advise the vines will grow and spread and if planted too close together can cause them not to grow properly.
Growing Vegetable In Small Spaces
Since cucumbers grow on a vine, the best scenario is in a large garden area, however use these cucumber gardening tips for growing your own crop in a smaller space. The seeds can be started indoors, about two weeks before transferring them to an outdoor location, after the threat of the last frost has passed. Using a vertical lattice, as the vines grow, secure them to the lattice to keep them growing upright. Again, when growing cucumbers, bees are your friend and without them you will have a nice vine, but nothing to show for the effort.
The first flowers you will see will be males, which will fall off without leaving a cucumber. The second flowers, according to cucumber gardening tips will be both male and female and if the bees did their job will begin to bear fruit. Picking them as they ripen will allow more to grow better and sweeter. The larger they grow the more tendency they have to lose their flavor. |
