Why Cucumbers Grow Crochet, Curves: What To Do, Reviews

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Cucumbers grow ugly: what to do?

A classic cucumber should be slender: it is not for nothing that a healthy and strong person is often referred to as “like a cucumber”. But sometimes ugly specimens grow on the beds: crooked, crocheted, or even completely incomprehensible in shape. It is not always realistic to prevent this, but the gardener can do something.

Why do cucumbers grow curves

There are many reasons for the deformation of zelents: these are both gardener's mistakes and the vagaries of the weather. And if it is difficult to do something with the weather, then it is better not to make mistakes.

Incorrect planting of cucumbers

Even if the cucumbers are planted in a good place and according to the rules, "hooks" can grow if the gardener did not pay attention to the varieties. Bee-pollinated and parthenocarpic (self-pollinated) varieties should not be planted close to each other. Where insects often fly, it is worth planting bee-pollinated cucumbers, and parthenocarpic ones - at a distance from them, or better - in a greenhouse or greenhouse (unless, of course, we are talking about the southern regions).

Lack of nutrition

Often the cause of the curvature of cucumbers is a lack of basic nutrients (nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus) and a number of trace elements. So, in bad weather, potassium is absorbed worse by plants, and with a lack of it, pear-shaped fruits appear. Lack of nitrogen leads to yellowing of greens and their pulling from one end. With the general starvation of plants, the very "hooks" appear.

Real "hooks" can grow from a lack of complex nutrients

Improper watering

Cucumbers are waterlogs. But they must be watered not only systematically and abundantly, but also with water with a temperature of 23 … 28 ^o C. In dry times during the fruiting period, watering is required almost daily. If this is not possible, you should definitely use mulch, or even better, organize a drip irrigation system.

Temperature instability

Especially often cucumbers grow in "hooks" or in the form of an hourglass by the end of summer, when the difference between day and night temperatures becomes especially large. And if you can't do anything with the weather, then you can try to cover the garden bed at night with non-woven materials.

Poor pollination

If bee-pollinated varieties are planted, the fruits may acquire an irregular shape and color due to insufficient quality pollination. Therefore, if during flowering the flight of bees is weak, it is worth trying to artificially pollinate female flowers with male pollen using, for example, a brush.

Artificial pollination is not a problem at all

Rare harvest

Untimely plucked greens take away some of the food, and new growing specimens may not be enough. If cucumbers are not picked every 1–3 days, the risk of ugly fruit will increase dramatically. Fruiting lashes, the yield of which is dying out, should also be removed from the bushes over time.

Exotic variety

It is known that breeders specially create crooked cucumber varieties for canning. This is especially true for Chinese cucumbers. We have such varieties very rare, but what if you were lucky? Then hooks are the norm.

What to do if crocheted cucumbers

In order to prevent the growth of deformed zelents, it is necessary to strictly observe agricultural techniques: to water, fertilize, loosen the soil correctly, to harvest the crop on time, etc. eliminate it.

So, with a lack of potassium, you can use any potash fertilizer, but you can take ordinary wood ash: it is difficult to overdo it with it. A half-liter jar of ash is insisted in a bucket of water for a day and the mixture is poured into 10 bushes. The lack of nitrogen is quickly eliminated by urea, but an excess cannot be created; with a significant excess of nitrogen fertilizers, greens can crumble. To begin with, it will be enough to dissolve 1 tablespoon of fertilizer in a bucket of water (enough for 10-12 bushes).

In general, it is worth taking a complete mineral fertilizer

It is even easier to organize watering: the soil should not dry out for a moment, but waterlogging of the soil is unacceptable. Cucumbers are watered at the root, but in extreme heat, sprinkling is also permissible to cool the leaf apparatus. With a lack of pollination of cucumbers by bees, you can help plants form ovaries by sprinkling them with a 0.3% solution of boric acid. Bees are attracted by sprinkling cucumbers with sweet solutions (for example, by dissolving a spoonful of honey in a liter of water).

Video: what to do if crooked cucumbers appear

Reviews of gardeners

Crooked cucumbers are unpleasant, but tolerable. To correct the situation, it is often enough to just correct your own mistakes and take notes for the future.