Common cucumber - an annual herb belonging to the Pumpkin family. Appeared in culture 6,000 years ago, India is considered its birthplace. In modern vegetable farming, there are several ways to grow cucumbers: on the tapestries, in barrels, under film, in bags and bags, and using hydroponics, which is now very common. Hydroponics allows you to grow plants in artificial environments without soil, which gives them the opportunity to feed on the roots in a humid air, solid, porous, air-consuming environment
Did you know? One of the Seven Wonders of the World - the Hanging Gardens of Babylon - was built using hydroponics.
Cucumbers in hydroponics: growing features
Hydroponics for cucumbers with your own hands will be most welcome in the economy if you want to quickly get a good harvest of these vegetables. Cucumbers are climbers, therefore in a small hydroponicum it is better to sow them along the wall of the pallet, and after the shoots appear, tie them to the stops installed at an angle. This method will help growers who are looking for a way to quickly grow cucumbers. Such placement of cucumbers does not interfere with other plants, which may also be in this pallet, and tied cucumbers eventually produce much higher quality fruits. Optimum growth of cucumbers contributes to light day up to 14 hours.
Did you know? American phytophysiologist William F. Gericke developed and confirmed the theory of hydroponics, providing fresh vegetables to American units during World War II.
Varieties of cucumbers for growing in hydroponics
In order to grow cucumbers in hydroponics with their own hands, the F1 Liliput variety will do. This early (from germination to fruiting takes 40-42 days), a hybrid of a female type of flowering is resistant to diseases and viruses. A suitable soil or substrate temperature for seed germination is 25-30 ° C. This hybrid gives a yield of 10-11 kg per square meter. m. Also small cucumber parthenocarpik of average endurance; shade tolerant parthenocarpic hybrid F1 MediaRZ of medium length, as well as the universal partial parthenocarpic variety Zozulya. Also popular are European, Long English, Almaty 1, Marfinsky. 
What you need to grow cucumbers in hydroponics
Cucumbers can suffer from the appearance of mold, as well as damage to the stems. Insufficient distance between the plants can cause these diseases, so if you want to grow cucumbers on the balcony, hydroponics will suit you perfectly. When placing pots, each container should be provided with approximately 2.5 square meters. m, and in the tank should be 2 seedlings.
Lighting is also very important for growing cucumbers. To increase the influence of lighting will help a large concentration of carbon dioxide in the air. Properly prepared solution will save a lot of time and effort of the owner. The solution for hydroponic solution: calcium - 1 g, sodium - 0.25 g, magnesium sulfate - 0.25 g, potassium sulfate - 0, 25 g, zinc - 0.75 g, copper - 0.25 g, the best acidity in solution - from 5.5 to 6.0, and the EU indicator - 2.2-2.7 mS.
Important! The lack of useful substances leads to the fact that there are a lot of leaves on plants, but few fruits.
The technology of growing cucumbers using hydroponics
Hydroponics will help in the apartment to grow cucumbers, comparable to those that were grown in the garden. It is necessary to strictly follow the technology of cultivation.
Sowing seeds in cassettes
First of all, the cork stoppers are impregnated with a nutrient solution, then a cucumber seed is placed in the middle of each cork. Hydroponics includes a lot of nutrients in the solution, which will help to saturate the seed from the inside. Powder vermiculite will help to create an optimal moist environment. After planting the seed cassette is covered with plastic film, which is removed after 3 days. The temperature to be followed is 23-25 ° C. 
Replanting sprouts into cubes
Cubes, like cassettes, are subject to treatment with a solution (how to make a hydroponic solution, it has already been described in the article), after which seven-day shoots can be transferred there. You should take a seedling with a cork and transfer it to a cube, reducing the temperature by 1 degree. The increased distance between the cubes contributes to the normal development of plants. Germinating seedlings in such conditions is 1.5 months. 
Transplanting cucumber seedlings into mats
Before planting cucumbers at home, the mats need to be soaked with a solution, make small holes in the package that will serve as a drainage function. It should be done at a temperature of + 22-25 ° C. After the beginning of flowering, the seedling will form a stem, after which it will be necessary to remove all the flowers to the fifth leaf. The germination of roots in the mat should be carried out at a temperature of + 21-22 ° C. 
Features care for cucumbers
If we finally decided that we grow cucumbers at home, we need to take good care of them. Before the formation of the first fruit will have to constantly remove the stem. As the number of cucumbers increases, it is worth controlling the transition from vegetative to generative growth. Cucumbers should be carefully watered, starting irrigation from droppers 2 hours after sunrise, and ending 2 hours before sunset, thus avoiding deformation of the fruit. The temperature for this should not exceed + 19-22 ° C, and on sunny days - +24 ° C. It is necessary to ventilate the greenhouse regularly, while maintaining a humidity level of 70-80%, which will avoid powdery mildew and botrytis. 
Important! If you can not provide a regular supply of light to vegetables, you need to use artificial lamps - such as DNAT and LED.
Advantages and disadvantages of growing cucumbers using hydroponics
If you are already going to grow cucumbers in hydroponics at home, you need to know its pros and cons. The advantages of cultivation include the fact that the host can regulate the feeding of plants, since only those elements that he brings with water himself get into the root zone, besides, he has access to the roots and can monitor their condition, observing the level of oxygen in the nutrient solution (you need to remember how to prepare the nutrient solution for hydroponic installation).
The plant transports all the water necessary to maintain good growth without leaving it in the soil. Thus, it saves water and also nutrients. Cucumber grows better and does not get sick, which means that the need for pesticides decreases, it becomes more viable, large, and its quality increases. Vegetable gets the optimal conditions to use its genetic potential. Hydroponics for cucumbers due to its high nitrogen content produces a large amount of biomass. 
However, there are drawbacks to the method, and before doing hydroponics yourself, several factors should be taken into account. Cucumber is completely dependent on the host, and its successful growth is possible only with proper care.e, without disturbing the balance of physical and biological parameters in the soil, which may arise from an excess of nutrients or a very high pH. An important factor is the constant control of the temperature of the root zone within +22 ° C, because a higher temperature will lead to the death of the roots, and therefore of the plants. Do-it-yourself hydroponics saves time and improves cucumbers, but it is very expensive and not every owner can afford it. Also, many reproach hydroponics for being unnatural due to plastic pipes and mineral salts.
Thus, the method of growing in hydroponics is popular and has many advantages over other methods, and it also has its drawbacks and efforts in the process of care.
