How to feed cucumbers with ash in open ground and greenhouses, and what this will give to the future harvest

For full growth and development, cucumbers need loose soil rich in humus and minerals. With annual cultivation, garden soil gradually becomes depleted and depleted. To prevent this from happening, it is important to fertilize the area regularly.

Of all the known fertilizers for cucumbers, ordinary ash becomes a real godsend for the summer resident. This affordable product will replace many expensive fertilizers and help increase the yield of crispy cucumbers.

Why feed cucumbers with ash?

Ash is a non-combustible combustion residue and a valuable organomineral fertilizer. It contains almost all the macro- and microelements needed by plants in an easily digestible form: phosphorus, potassium, calcium, iron, sulfur, silicon, manganese, magnesium, boron, molybdenum.

Depending on which plants are burned, the composition of wood slag will change:

• a substance obtained from deciduous trees and herbs (sunflower, buckwheat) contains a high concentration of potassium;
• Conifers, rye and wheat straw when burned produce ash rich in phosphorus.

Since ash contains the most phosphorus and potassium, it will be an excellent alternative to phosphorus and potassium fertilizers.

Phosphorus is necessary for cucumbers during the period of active formation green mass and in the setting phase of future cucumbers.

Available potassium will increase crop resistance to pests and diseases, will ensure the rapid growth of a strong root system and vegetative mass, and will help the moisture-loving cucumber regulate its water balance.

Attention! Do not feed cucumbers with ash formed after burning household waste (newspapers, magazines, boxes) with printing impregnations and dyes. Apart from the remains of pesticides, the plant will not receive anything.

Fertilizing cucumbers with this valuable fertilizer is necessary.:

• on acidic soils to neutralize acidity;
• during the period of flowering and formation of ovaries on cucumbers;
• during the autumn preparation of beds for cucumbers.

Pros and cons of this fertilizer

Benefits of use on a summer cottage, ash as a top dressing:

• 100% natural composition;
• absence of chlorine;
• fast and affordable nutrition of the crop (thanks to the dust fraction, it quickly dissolves in water and mixes in the soil);
• improving the mechanical composition of the soil;
• alkalization of acidic soil;
• free raw materials;
• ease of preparation of basic fertilizer and solution.

Vegetable ash is one of the best environmentally friendly fertilizers for cucumbers and other crops. However, preparing fertilizer is not as simple as it seems at first glance.

Disadvantages of use:

• carbon monoxide acrid smoke generated when burning plant debris (when the fire is burning, stand only on the leeward side);
• harm to plants and humans if technology is not followed (mixing plant and household waste into one fire);
• Excessive application of fertilizer (more than 6-7 times per season) - with excessive application, the soil is oversaturated with salts, its porosity and air permeability are impaired, and the soil becomes unsuitable for growing cucumbers.

It can be useful:

Feeding tomatoes and cucumbers with whey

What kind of soil do cucumbers like and how to treat it correctly

Why do cucumber ovaries turn yellow and what to do about it?

When and how to feed cucumbers in the open ground with ash

Throughout the entire season, 4-6 feedings are enough for a cucumber.:

• phase of plant development, when 1-2 true leaves appear;
• at the stage of the first flowers blooming;
• at the beginning of fruiting;
• the next 2-3 feedings are applied throughout the entire fruiting period with an interval of 1 time in 14 days.

Dry application

Dry ash is used to cultivate a future site for planting cucumbers. When digging the beds before sowing, add 100 g (1 cup) of the substance per 1 m². In heavy soil, ash is added for digging in the fall and spring, and in light sandy loam - only in the spring (due to the rapid leaching of nutrients).

When sowing seeds (or planting seedlings), a groove 10-15 cm deep is made along the planned cucumber plantings, into which dry ash is poured and immediately covered with earth.

Important! Never mix ash with mineral fertilizers (superphosphate, urea, etc.). When they are mixed, alkaline compounds are formed, nitrogen is lost, and phosphorus is converted into a hard-to-reach form.

How to prepare the solution

Liquid ash fertilizers are needed for cucumbers during their active flowering and fruiting. To prepare the solution, take 100-150 sifted ash and dissolve it in a bucket of water. Watering rate: 0.5 liters of solution per adult plant.

Attention! To water with ash, use warm water. After watering with cold water, cucumbers may develop fungal diseases due to hypothermia of the roots.

How to prepare fertilizer for future use

It happens that too much ash is produced (for example, when burning branches left after autumn pruning of an orchard).It won’t be used for the remaining season, and it’s irrational to throw away good raw materials. To prepare for future use, you will need a dry room. (house block, barn, greenhouse dressing room) and storage containers (boxes, thick plastic bags).

Ash is only afraid of dampness. It does not lose its valuable properties over time and, if stored correctly, will last for more than one season.

How to fertilize correctly

1 cup of ash powder is dissolved in a bucket of water and allowed to brew for 5-7 days. This amount of solution is enough for 2 m² area (0.5 liters of liquid fertilizer is consumed per plant). The frequency of feeding is 1 time every 14 days.

In liquid form

Ash is used as a means for pest control, disease control and as foliar feeding. For foliar feeding, it is recommended to combine ash with urea. These two fertilizers can be mixed, one component will complement the other. The dosages of substances when preparing a solution for spraying will vary in different months:

• in the first half of the season (May - early July) - 12 g of urea and 250 g of wood ash are diluted in a bucket of water;
• from mid-July to the end of fruiting - 5 g of urea and 250 g of ash.

If you decide to grow cucumbers completely without “chemicals”, use a folk recipe:

Pour boiling water over 300 g of sifted ash and leave for 25-30 minutes. The resulting infusion is brought to a working solution with 10 liters of water.

Reference! To avoid burning the plants, follow the dosage of preparing the solution; spray only in cloudy weather.

Features of using ash fertilizer for cucumbers in a greenhouse

In a greenhouse, the soil should be completely changed every 3-5 years.. Fertilizing cucumbers with ash in a greenhouse is no different from fertilizing cucumbers in open ground. The only peculiarity is that in a greenhouse, cucumbers go through all phases of development faster, so the frequency of watering at the root can be reduced to 3-4 times.

When foliar spraying of plants, it is useful to treat the walls of the greenhouse. Protected soil is a breeding ground for fungi, but they are afraid of ash. Irrigation in greenhouses is carried out in the morning so that the cucumber leaves remain dry at night.

Read also:

How to treat cucumbers against aphids during fruiting

Why do rusty spots appear on cucumber leaves?

Advice from experienced summer residents

To feed cucumbers with ash to benefit them, follow the recommendations on the preparation of fertilizer and advice from summer residents who successfully use ash solutions on their site:

1. Use the ash to soak cucumber seeds. Soaking seeds for 4-5 hours will give future plants protection from pests and diseases and additional nutrition. To prepare ash infusion, mix 20 g of ash and 1 glass of water. The infusion can be used 24 hours after preparation.
2. For cucumbers, it is important to frequently add ash in minimal doses. The peculiarity of this crop is the gradual absorption of fertilizing a little at a time.
3. During the period of fruit filling, reduce mineral supplements. It is often recommended to mix ash with nitrogen and potassium fertilizers, but cucumber is a watery vegetable. Everything that the plant absorbs at the time of fruit growth will be in the cucumber harvest.
4. It is necessary to add dry ash before watering so that all its beneficial elements immediately reach the roots.

Reviews

Gardeners actively use ash as a fertilizer and speak positively about the results of fertilizing.. The main thing is to first find out whether it is possible to fertilize the beds on your site with ash and find out what the soil composition is there.

Nadezhda, Moscow region: “Ash is just a universal thing. I'm retired now and I can't afford many fertilizers. And it immediately replaces a whole set of products for me: as a fertilizer, as a means of protection against pests and diseases, as a soil deoxidizer.”.

Alexander, Lipetsk region: “The ability of ash to deoxidize the soil is not useful for everyone. At my dacha the soil is alkaline and cucumbers grow just fine. If you add it, you can upset the acid balance.".

Maya, Tver: “When the cucumbers sprout and form 3 leaves, I always make watering holes around the plants. I water the cucumbers in them, and when they bloom, I add ash mash every 10 days. I’m not complaining about the harvest.”.

Conclusion

The experience of many gardeners has shown in practice that the use of ash as a fertilizer when growing cucumbers helps to increase productivity, and on acidic soils its application is simply necessary. It is important to apply fertilizers in the recommended amount and monitor the plants’ reaction to fertilizing.