When is it better to pick cucumbers, in the morning or in the evening, and on what the features of harvesting depend

It would seem that if you grow cucumbers on your site, which is easier: go to the bush and pick as many fruits as you need. But even harvesting cucumbers has its own rules and taboos. In the morning or in the evening, with your hands or with a knife, before or after watering - read about this and more in the article.

When is it better to pick cucumbers: morning or evening

What time of day is it better to harvest from the garden? At any time convenient for you. It all depends on the degree of maturity, the size of the fruit and the intended use.Better to harvest early in the morning or late at night, as cucumbers are saturated and retain a large amount of moisture, which makes them more elastic.

Important! Don't pick cucumbers with your fingers. Use a pruner or knife. At the same time, leave the stalks on the lashes.

During harvest, do not tug or pull on the fruits, do not turn the leaves... Otherwise, you will damage the plant and its roots.

After collecting the greens are placed in a cool place and covered with a cloth.to protect from wind and sun.

Picking cucumbers in June

To harvest in June, it is necessary to plant it for seedlings in late March - early April. In early May, it is transplanted into open ground.

Reference. One of the earliest - hybrid Herman F1... Seedlings appear 39-41 days from the emergence of shoots. The length of the fruit reaches 10 cm. The yield reaches 23-26 kg per sq. m. It has a long fruiting period, immunity to fungi, self-pollinates.

To get the first early harvest, follow this algorithm:

1. Dig a trench about 1.5 shovel bayonet deep.
2. Fill the hole a third with last year's manure.
3. Add fertilizer such as ash or Nitroammofosku.
4. Sprinkle about 10-15 cm of earth with humus on top.
5. Plant seedlings at intervals of five bushes per meter.
6. Cover the plantings with a nonwoven fabric, stretch plastic wrap over it.
7. As soon as the plants grow whiskers, remove the covering material. Tie the sprouts to the trellis.

If you want to harvest a large and high-quality crop, then observe the correct watering mode... Water your cucumbers every day in hot weather. On rainy, cloudy days when the air temperature drops, irrigate the soil as it dries. And do not overdo it with the volume of water, otherwise the cucumbers will lose all their taste.

Important! Remove stepsons from cucumbers - they take nutrients from the main lashes. In order not to lose productivity, do not allow the bushes to thicken.

When the first harvest appears, remove the fruits, do not wait for the moment when they gain weight... The more often you do this, the higher the yield will be.

Harvesting in the greenhouse and outdoors

By growing cucumbers in the greenhouse, you can enjoy their taste as early as March. Several varieties and hybrids have been bred specifically for greenhouses.

Self-pollinated include:

• Masha F1;
• Siberian garland F1;
• Emerald Stream F1;
• Corinna F1.

Bee-pollinated varieties and hybrids:

• Ira F1;
• Delicacy;
• Madame F1;
• Elegant;
• Alligator F1;
• Salting.

Mid-season varieties of cucumbers can be grown both in greenhouses and in the open field:

• Chinese disease resistant F1;
• Nugget;
• Sister Alyonushka F1;
• Spring F1;
• Libelle F1.

Suitable for open ground such varieties of late-ripening cucumbers:

• Nezhinsky;
• Brownie F1;
• Crunch F1.

Cucumber hybrids (F1) give a large yield, are unpretentious, with different types of pollination.

To get the maximum yield, it is necessary:

1. Observe the temperature regime. For young plants - + 25-27 ° С, for fruiting plants - + 27-30 ° С.
2. Avoid a strong drop in temperature at night.
3. Water early in the morning every 3-4 days with warm water. Water should only fall on the soil, never on the leaves.
4. Increase watering when the first ovaries appear, let water between the rows during hot days. This will increase the humidity in the air.
5. If the soil was not fertilized with organic matter before planting the seedlings, it is important to regularly feed it with complex mineral fertilizers. Stop feeding three weeks before harvesting.

What size of cucumbers is best for picking

Do you like crunching young cucumbers or collecting seeds? Then pick small unripe fruits or large ones with large seeds, respectively.

Cucumbers are harvested once every two days.... If you do not pick the fruits in time, they will turn into large, thick-skinned "yellows". This product is not suitable for consumption. In addition, such specimens interfere with the growth of new cucumbers, draw out all the useful substances and forces from the lash.

The degree of maturity of a cucumber can be determined by such factors:

• the structure of the fetus is formed;
• the secondary flower fragment dries up;
• in the area of ​​connection of the fruit with the whip, the color is uniform;
• the tip has dried out.

The nuances of picking depending on the purpose of using cucumbers

Cucumbers are harvested at different ripening times depending on what you are going to do with them.

Planning to eat fresh, add to salads? Pluck when the fruit reaches 10 cm or more.

Fruit size depends on:

• varieties;
• growing method;
• content of nutrients in the soil.

For canning pick cucumbers 8-10 cm long.For pickling - 8-18 cm long.

For special purposes and special recipes fruits are very small, 3-4 cm.

If you need fruits to collect seeds, then F1 hybrids will not work - only varieties.

Storage of the harvested crop

Keeping fresh cucumbers is best in the refrigerator.... At low temperatures, high humidity, you will save your crop from wilting:

• the optimum temperature for storing fruits is 6-8 ° C;
• humidity - 85-95%.

When stored in the refrigerator the fruits are placed in a plastic bag without tying it, placed on the bottom shelf refrigerator. You can cover them with a damp cloth.

Important! Do not seal the bag with cucumbers! Otherwise, they will "suffocate" in 2-3 days and lose their taste.

For storage in the cellar, take trays or boxes, cover with foil... This method guarantees the presence of the necessary moisture, delays the evaporation of water. It is possible to use enamelled pots with lids.

If you don't plan store cucumbers for a long time, put them in water in the form of a bouquet with the stalks down... The water should only cover the lower parts of the fruit and their stalks. In this case, leave the stalks long. Change the water daily.

If you want to keep the cucumbers as long as possible, then use a glass jar, after dropping chopped or grated horseradish into it, following the following instructions:

1. Heat the jars in the oven.
2. Rinse with boiled water and dry. Be careful with the skin, do not damage.
3. Sprinkle horseradish on the bottom of the jar with a layer of about 2 cm.
4. Then add the cucumbers.
5. Close the filled jars with boiled polyethylene lids or use vacuum canning lids. For the latter, first pump out air through them.
6. Put the finished jars in a cool, dark place.

Another way to keep your cucumbers fresh is to use raw egg white:

1. Collect the cucumbers.
2. Rinse with boiled water, dry thoroughly.
3. Brush all over with egg white.
4. Do not touch the stalk.
5. Hang the cucumbers by the stalk while the protein dries and until a solid film forms.

Storing cucumbers in this way allows you to keep them fresh almost until the New Year., even without a refrigerator.

Conclusion

If you want to use cucumbers directly for food, for salads, then harvest slightly unripe early in the morning. If you need to collect the seeds and save for next year, then wait until the cucumbers are fully ripe, when they reach a size of more than 18 cm. A refrigerator or cellar will help keep the cucumbers fresh as long as possible. A rich harvest!