Today, in the horticultural literature, you can increasingly find advice on how to grow cucumbers in conjunction with corn plantings in the open field. Experienced gardeners assure that the yield of cucumbers will only increase from this, it will be possible to pick cucumbers before the first frost. And such a neighborhood will have a positive effect on corn.
Can you plant corn with cucumbers?
Both plants on a common bed begin to develop together, as if competing with each other in growth rate. After the first antennae appear, it is recommended to constantly direct the cucumber whips to the corn stalks.
This will allow you not to install trellises and other tying devices on the beds.
The main advantage of growing cucumbers in this way is to extend the yield until at least mid-September. By clinging to vertical plants, cucumber stems are less susceptible to fungal diseases.
Cucumber corn will serve as a backstage crop, creating reliable protection from wind, strong sun and other natural factors. The new planting scheme significantly reduces air exchange near the earth's surface, cucumbers begin to consume less energy required for evaporation. This improves photosynthesis, energy is spent on the formation of fruits.
The corn root system penetrates into the soil up to one and a half meters, cucumber roots are located much closer to the surface, thirty centimeters. It can be concluded that the plants are well compatible in their roots.
Competition for nitrogen reserves is possible, so it is recommended to continually mulch plantings with cut grass.
How to plant them in the same bed?
Each of the plants is considered thermophilic, so it is allowed to plant them together, around mid-May. Having arranged the holes, three cucumber and corn kernels are placed in each.
Corn seed is soaked before planting, as it dries out a lot during the winter season. This measure will accelerate germination.
As soon as the first shoots appear, humus is poured into the holes, and the bed is mulched with grass, the layer of which should be about ten centimeters. Such a simple measure will not only suppress the growth of weeds, but also reduce the number of irrigations.
Landing scheme
With joint cultivation, it is recommended to arrange aisles at least a meter wide so that the plants are not crowded. But most often the planting patterns are determined by the climatic conditions of the areas in which the cultivation takes place.
Where there are no strong winds, it is allowed to use a combination of single plants, leaving a distance of about thirty centimeters between them so that the roots do not intertwine. It is not bad if the development of corn will be slightly faster than the cucumber plant.so that the latter has a rather powerful trunk for the hook.
Experienced gardeners assure that it makes no sense to grow corn seedlings. It is best to plant the seeds directly into the soil. But cucumbers, as before, germinate in peat pots.
If the bed is in an open area, then the corn should be planted in four rows. Such a precaution will reduce the load from the wind and keep the plants from breaking. In this case, the one-to-one combination can be diversified by planting three cucumber plants near each corn sprout. Such a group should occupy a whole square meter of the site. Only in this case, one can hope that the yield will be about thirty kilograms of a vegetable.
This landing method is also good in that the three anchor points guarantee maximum stability.
Some try to create long trellises out of plants, planting corn in rows with a distance of fifty centimeters. The cucumbers are sown in the middle, the general planting line is maintained. The whips are directed to the corn stalks, the main part of the foliage is located between the trunks, practically not creating a shadow for them. Zelentsy will be perfectly visible and easily accessible during harvesting. A convenient version of this method is to plant rows according to the 30 by 30 by 30 pattern.
Another way is "2 to 1". In this case, corn is planted in a small garden bed in the center, along the edges - one row of cucumber. In this case, the vegetable lashes simply walk between the supporting plants.
Five rules for harvesting
They look like this:
- evening watering is prohibited. A high level of humidity and a decrease in temperature can cause the appearance of spider mites or powdery mildew;
- until the cucumbers form a third leaf, they must be watered with warm water so as not to harm the immune system of the plants and stop their growth. In the future, the plant is watered in moderation at the root, only in the morning;
- top dressing is an important feature. After the third leaf, add mullein at the rate of "one in ten" or chicken droppings (1 in 20). The second stage occurs during the flowering period. Here ammophos or nitrophos is used in the amount of fifty grams per bucket of water. At the same time, foliar feeding is carried out, for which manganese, boron, zinc and copper are used. The amount of the drug (1 gram) is added to ten liters of water;
- the plant needs to be formed... The cucumber does not branch intensively, forms a small number of lateral branches. For this reason, at the stage of the fourth leaf, it is necessary to pinch the tops. This will enable each leaf to create new shoots, increasing yields;
- loosening the soil is carried out in the aisle, the depth should be about ten centimeters. After laying the third leaf, the depth of the procedure is halved so as not to damage the roots.
To achieve maximum efficiency in this way, it is necessary to organize the right care. Seeds are planted in well-fertilized soil, watering and loosening are carried out in a timely manner, weeds are constantly removed.