Have you ever envied your neighbors who proudly display baskets bursting with cucumbers, while your beds barely yield a couple of wilted fruits?
It's not all about magic fertilizers or expensive seeds.
It turns out that the main secret lies in how you treat the bush from the first days of its life.
Most gardeners don’t even suspect that cucumbers can bear fruit many times more intensively if they are given the right conditions.
For example, one simple technique related to the formation of whips can double the number of ovaries.
But it is important not to overdo it: too aggressive pruning will lead to the opposite effect.
Another nuance is watering. Cucumbers love not just water, but water of a certain temperature and at a strictly designated time of day.
If you start moistening the soil in the evening, when the sun has already set, the roots will have the opportunity to soak up moisture without the risk of overheating.
And adding ordinary wood ash to the hole before planting will not only protect the plant from pests, but also saturate it with potassium, which is critically important for the formation of juicy cucumbers.
Speaking of pests, spider mites and aphids can destroy your crop in a matter of days, but there is a natural way to repel them - an infusion of onion peels.
Spray it on the leaves once a week and the problem will go away.
And remember: cucumbers do not tolerate the proximity of some crops. Plant dill or marigolds nearby - and you will see how fruiting becomes stable and abundant.
Author: Elena Shimanovskaya