Spraying cucumbers with mullein. Mullein infusion

They need to be provided with adequate nutrition. And for this you need to know how and what to feed them. We will look at 5 main ways to feed cucumbers.

Top dressing with mineral fertilizers

It is better to choose complex, soluble mineral fertilizers. Firstly, such fertilizers are easy to use, and secondly, liquid top dressings are better absorbed by plants. It is necessary to start feeding cucumbers 10 days after planting seedlings.

Take 1 tablespoon of complex fertilizer, for example "Mortar", for a bucket of water. And when the ovary appears, the dose is increased. Feeding cucumbers during fruiting should be done with a more concentrated solution. In a bucket of water, dissolve 1.5 tbsp. spoons of fertilizer

Top dressing of cucumbers with ashes

Ash is a unique complex fertilizer. There is no such amount of useful microelements in any mineral fertilizer. Ash can and should be used to fertilize all garden crops, including cucumbers. Dry ash can be sprinkled on the beds, but it is better to water them with an ash solution. This solution is very easy to prepare. Take a glass of ash in a bucket of water, stir it well and the dressing is ready.
You can water. Just make sure that the insoluble sediment also gets into the garden.

An ash solution for foliar dressings is prepared somewhat more complicated. In 3 liters of water, dilute 300 gr. ash. Put on fire and boil for 30 minutes. Then let it brew for 5-6 hours. Add a little soap to the solution and bring the volume to 10 liters. Strain and start spraying.

Feeding cucumbers with mullein

If, during growth and fruiting, feed cucumbers with manure, then this will give a tangible increase in yield. To prepare mullein, you need to pour fresh manure with water in a ratio of 1: 3. Let it ferment for 10 days. Before watering, 1 liter of mullein is taken in a bucket of water.

And during fruiting, add another 50 gr. superphosphate on a bucket of ready-made solution. It is desirable to water not directly into the garden, but into pre-prepared grooves. After watering, the grooves are leveled.

With the same solution, only diluted 1:20, foliar top dressing can also be carried out. And if you grow cucumbers in a greenhouse, then the container in which the mullein roams is also better to put in the same greenhouse. The smell will certainly not be very good. But on the other hand, all these evaporations, which are formed as a result of fermentation, are foliar top dressing for cucumbers.

By the way, if ordinary mash roams in the greenhouse, then the effect will be exactly the same. But it is, by the way.

Top dressing with liquid compost

How to feed cucumbers if there is neither ash nor manure at hand, but you don’t really want to use “chemistry”? There is one good and absolutely free option. This fertilizer is literally lying around under our feet.

Any fresh grass, tops, as well as all fallen apples, pears, etc. are suitable for its preparation. We fill a barrel or any other container with all this “raw materials”, about two-thirds. Then fill it with water, cover with a lid and leave for fermentation. Fermentation will continue for about 10 days. After the fermentation stops, the fertilizer can be used. It is necessary to breed this "talker" in the same way as the mullein. For a bucket of water 1 liter of solution.

This fertilizer has one drawback. A strong and unpleasant odor comes from the barrel. To muffle it, add a little valerian to the barrel. And of course cover with a lid.

Yeast dressing of cucumbers

Many gardeners use ordinary baker's yeast to feed plants. For this, both dry and ordinary yeast are used. Ordinary bred 100 gr. for 10 liters of water. And you can water right away.

Dry yeast (10 g bag) is also diluted in 10 liters of water, but they must be allowed to infuse for 2 hours. In addition, it is recommended to add 2 - 3 tablespoons of sugar to this solution. Yeast-based fertilizers are also sold in the store. It is called Rostmoment.

Yeast feeding of cucumbers should be carried out no more than 2 times per season. Yeast does not contain any beneficial trace elements. Such top dressing can be regarded as stimulating, not nourishing. . However, after applying such dressings, cucumbers noticeably “come alive” and grow. So there is a benefit to them.

It is necessary to carry out all these top dressings 1 time in 10 - 15 days. The greatest effect is obtained by alternating different methods. All these methods can be combined with each other. Of course, within reason. Fertilizer beyond measure will not lead to the desired result. In addition to regular top dressing, you must definitely deal with all the subtleties

Mullein is a very common organic fertilizer, a source of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus for plants. However, sometimes a wayfarer arises, which should be called a mullein. According to the book by O. Petrosyan "Fertilizers and top dressing", mullein is an aqueous solution of cow feces. But in colloquial speech, cow dung is often called mullein. It's the same with slurry. Slurry is not diluted manure at all, but fertilizer, which consists mainly of animal urine and, to a small extent, of decomposed manure.

How to prepare mullein for plant nutrition

Cow patties are a very concentrated substance. And if you bring it under the plants in its pure form, you can simply burn them. Therefore, cow cakes are diluted with water, preparing an aqueous solution - mullein. recipes, how to prepare mullein for plant nutrition, there are many. Add to the mullein .... An aqueous solution of mullein is used to feed strawberries, tomatoes, cucumbers and other plants.

In the above manual, this recipe for making mullein is given:

First of all, a concentrated infusion of mullein is prepared from fresh cow cakes and manure.

The container is filled with cow feces by 1/3, the remaining volume of the container is topped up with water. In this form, the solution is left to ferment for 1-2 weeks (another source says that 5-7 days is enough), tightly covered with a lid. But if the feces are sufficiently rich in nitrogen (which is highly dependent on the animal feed), then leaving the fermentation solution is not required. It is difficult for us, ordinary summer residents, to find out whether cow cakes are rich in nitrogen or not :)))) Therefore, just in case, it is better to let the infusion ferment, at least for 5 days.

2. Dilute the mullein with water in a ratio of 1 to 10.

Before use, the fermented mullein is well mixed and diluted with water (the proportions in the source are not given, but most often diluted 1:10). This means we take 1 part of mullein and dilute it in 10 parts of water (usually a 10-liter bucket).

It is best to use the infusion immediately after preparation, so that the substances useful for plants are preserved in it as much as possible.

We feed the mullein: recipes

Some recipes what can be fed mullein :

Mullein infusion, diluted in a ratio of 1: 10, is used for cabbage, beets.
The first top dressing of tomatoes (2 weeks after planting seedlings) is carried out with mullein infusion with ash added. The second top dressing of tomatoes occurs at the time when ovaries with a diameter of 1.5 cm have formed on the second brush of tomatoes. 1 tablespoon of complete mineral fertilizer, 3 g of copper sulfate and potassium permanganate are added to the mullein solution per 10 liters. Consumption: 1 liter per plant. The third top dressing is carried out, as well as the second (when the fruit picking begins).
Beets are fed with 1 to 10 mullein diluted in water. If there is no organic matter, it is replaced with a mineral complex fertilizer.
It is useful to give cucumbers at the beginning of flowering the following dressing: for 10 liters of water, 500 ml of mullein and 1 tbsp. nitrophoska. Consumption: 3 liters of solution per 1 m2. Subsequent top dressing can be carried out in the same way, increasing the fertilizer consumption to 5, and then to 7 liters.
But for onions, a different proportion of dilution of mullein with water is used: 1 to 12, with the addition of 30 g of ammonium nitrate to the solution. Top dressing will be especially effective if the onion does not grow well.
Chrysanthemums are fed with mullein during the growth of leaves, shoots, roots. For top dressing, a liquid infusion of mullein is prepared and 500 ml is used to feed 1 plant. Combine organic matter with complex mineral fertilizers.
It is useful to feed strawberries during the period of active flowering with mullein, diluted with water in a ratio of 1 to 8, with the addition of 0.5 cups of ash per 1 bucket.
Gooseberries respond well to feeding with mullein, diluted 1 to 10 with water. Consumption: 1 bucket per 1 m2.
During the growing season, mullein infusion is used (as soon as it blooms and again after 2 weeks). 1 bucket of mullein is taken for 5-6 buckets of water, 1-1.5 kg of ash is added, insisted for 3-6 days. Consumption: half a bucket of infusion is poured under 1 tree, and then cherries are immediately watered at the rate of 2-3 buckets per 1 tree.

The advantages of fertilizing with mullein, in addition to the high content of useful substances in it, are also that fertilizers in liquid form are better absorbed by plants. Top dressing with mullein is especially effective for nitrogen starvation, which is expressed in poor development and pale green leaves. Excess nitrogen, on the contrary, is expressed in the violent growth of greenery. And then feeding with mullein will be superfluous.

Organic fertilizers are an excellent source of essential plant nutrients. They improve the physical and chemical properties of the soil, increase the efficiency of the use of mineral fertilizers, and also improve the water and air permeability of the soil. Mullein is considered the ideal option. Fertilizer, which can be obtained almost for free if you have a cow in your neighborhood. This simple remedy provides all the nutrients necessary for green spaces, including trace elements. Unlike mineral supplements, which contain only one or a few elements, it provides a luxurious base for plant growth. Therefore, today let's talk in more detail about mullein - fertilizer, which is more natural than any other in the world.

ecological farming

After several decades of the industrial revolution and the abuse of chemical plant foods, many are starting to switch back to regular mullein, a fertilizer whose nutrients are readily available to all plants. It best meets the principles of organic farming. However, we must remember that the rules of agricultural technology must be observed even if you use mullein. A fertilizer so rich in nitrogen can contribute to the accumulation of harmful substances and nitrates in fruits and vegetables.

How to apply to the soil

If you decide to follow the principles of organic farming, then you probably want to buy mullein (fertilizer). What it is? This is nothing but ordinary manure. But most often they use its present solution. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between fresh manure, which can be used to cover the beds only in the fall, so that it has time to overheat. Not the same as mullein, and slurry, that is, a fresh solution of manure with water. Mullein in this case has the properties of humus, but it cooks much faster. In order to cook it, you need to get a barrel, fill it 1/3 with manure, fill it with water and leave it warm for 2 weeks. In the summer on the garden plot, the process will go very quickly. This is how mullein (fertilizer) is produced at home. What it is, you already know, now let's find out how it can be used.

Chemical composition

Although it is a completely natural product, its uncontrolled use can harm your garden. That is why we raised this topic today. So, what is mullein (fertilizer), how to prepare this useful product, we have already described, now let's look at what elements it contains.

This is a real pantry of organic substances and trace elements. It contains a large amount of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, that is, manure completely replaces the famous nitroamophoska. In addition, it enriches the soil with molybdenum and iron, copper, sulfur, boron and manganese. It is thanks to this composition that the mullein is only gaining popularity among gardeners, as it allows you to do without chemical dressings.

Using fresh or dried mullein

The nutrients contained in this fertilizer tolerate drying out easily, so you can prepare the mullein for future use by spreading it out in a thin layer and drying it in the sun. Plant fertilization with mullein is carried out by introducing it into the soil, while the fresh mass is applied in a larger amount, and the dry mass is applied in a smaller amount. So, in order to fertilize the site well, from autumn 30-40 kg of manure is introduced into the soil for every 10 square meters. It is optimal to scatter manure and dig the soil well to a depth of at least 20 cm. Moreover, if it has not been possible to introduce it into the soil since autumn, then it is better to abandon this idea. If manure is introduced into the bed in the spring and root crops are planted immediately, the fruits will grow watery and tasteless.

If you have dry mullein available, then it can be crushed and scattered over the site in an amount of 2-4 kg per square meter. It is also brought in in the fall, while it is imperative to dig the site well.

Liquid fertilizer mullein

Its peculiarity is that it can be used for summer top dressing. In fact, this is humus, only the fermentation processes in it are much faster due to the aqueous solution and high temperature. However, one must be careful, because the solution is very concentrated. First, the manure is diluted with 1/3 of the water and left to ferment in the sun. Then the resulting raw materials must be further diluted 4-5 times, and then proceed to feeding the plants.

rotted mullein

If you have manure and some time left, it is best to prepare humus, which will come in handy in the garden. To do this, you need to make a compost heap, where you can throw off all the collected grass, add the collected eggshells, and cover with manure on top. Cover the pile with branches left over from pruning garden trees and grass. It remains only to water the pile and leave it for natural debate. It usually takes a year for the manure to become usable, so if you plant this pile in the spring, you'll have a great fertilizer for the next gardening season.

When to Use Mullein

If you see that the plants have a pale color and thin stems, then you need to use mullein. Cucumbers and tomatoes, beets, peppers, pumpkins and cabbages are especially loved. This fertilizer adds vitality to many plants and becomes a real lifesaver for the gardener. We can say that it is a universal remedy for the entire garden. Almost all plants immediately activate growth and become much stronger. After fertilizing with mullein, much more fruits are tied, this also applies to fruit trees. However, there are plants that do not benefit from fertilizer with such a tool. These are radishes, radishes and peas. Do not forget that when using liquid mullein, you need to pour it into grooves or holes, trying not to get on the plant itself. This can cause severe burns to leaves and stems, so extreme care must be taken.

Mullein is one of the best organic fertilizers used to feed garden crops. Once in the soil, it, like other organic matter, gradually mineralizes in it and provides plant nutrition throughout the season.

Often, mullein is called liquid cow dung without a straw or sawdust base - slurry. Actually it's not exactly the same thing. Slurry is a widespread organic fertilizer, which contains almost all the main nutrients and most trace elements. Mullein is a fermented aqueous solution of cow dung. The biggest disadvantage of fresh slurry is that it can contain pathogens of various plant diseases. During fermentation, they die, so mullein is a much safer, but no less useful fertilizer.

Mullein is prepared from cow dung. To do this, one part of fresh manure is placed in a sufficiently large container and poured with five parts of water. Mix well, close the lid and leave to ferment for 1 - 2 weeks. Every 2-3 days the mixture should be opened and stirred. The beginning of fermentation is signaled by bubbles appearing on the surface of the mixture. After a week, the color of the solution changes - it becomes noticeably lighter, and solid particles begin to settle to the bottom.

Before use, the fertilizer must be diluted at least twice. And for enrichment with phosphorus and potassium, you can add superphosphate - 100 grams per 10 liters of solution, and wood ash - 500 grams.

The chemical composition of mullein is highly dependent on the feed that was given to the animals. But in any case, it is a fertilizer that contains the most nitrogen and potassium. Phosphorus is much less in it. Nutrients of mullein are easily absorbed by plants. Under the action of microorganisms, the urea contained in the mullein turns into ammonium carbonate, ammonia gas is easily released from it and evaporates into the surrounding air. Therefore, during the manufacture of mullein and subsequent storage, it must be kept in a container tightly closed with a lid.

Those plants that are strong and medium consumers of nutrients respond especially well to mullein feeding: cauliflower, white and red cabbage, broccoli, Beijing cabbage, onions, celery, chard, cucumbers, tomatoes. Most of all love mullein pumpkin: zucchini, pumpkins, zucchini, squash. It will also be useful for red table beets, head lettuce, spinach, peppers and eggplant.

On radishes, peas, radishes, beans and kohlrabi, top dressing from mullein has little effect. Therefore, the expediency of its use for these crops is very doubtful.

Cucumbers can be fed with mullein every ten days. To do this, 10 liters of water are taken per liter of mullein, and with the onset of flowering, superphosphate and potassium sulfate are added there.

For tomatoes, mullein is best used in the initial period of development, when there is a rapid increase in green mass, as well as flowering and ovary formation. About half a liter of diluted mullein is consumed per plant.

To feed the trees, they take a bucket of mullein per square meter of the trunk circle. Most often, a groove is dug around the tree up to 10 cm deep and located along a circle equal to the perimeter of the crown. A dilute solution of mullein is poured into it, after which it is leveled. Instead of a groove, you can make a series of small holes around the tree, pour top dressing into them, let it soak and bury.

But when feeding perennials, especially trees, one must be careful enough. When making mullein in the second half of summer and, especially, in autumn, the nitrogen component of this fertilizer will contribute to the rapid growth of wood and green mass of the whole plant. As a result, the natural aging and fall of the leaves is delayed - this phenomenon causes great harm to all perennials. The fast-growing wood of both decorative and fruit trees does not have time to mature and prepare for wintering. This means the inevitable freezing of young branches in the cold season. Of course, the tree will not die completely, but it will be long and hard to recover for the next season.

Mullein is a very good environmentally friendly organic fertilizer, the value of which can hardly be overestimated. But it must be applied, like all other means, in a timely manner and in moderation, otherwise the results obtained may be very far from expected.

Any owner of the garden wants to get the maximum yield of cucumbers, they are needed not only fresh for salads, but also as an important component of winter harvesting. If you have a desire to get a lot of good, large and healthy fruits, then you need to think about feeding plants in a timely manner.

It is simply impossible to get a good result without a suitable fertilizer. For this reason, a direct question arises - what is better to use for feeding cucumbers to get a decent harvest? Many people use mineral fertilizers for this purpose. They are easy to use, but such top dressing is “chemistry” (cucumbers absorb a lot of nitrates). For those who care not only about the harvest, but also about their health, it is better to use compounds of organic origin. Thanks to them, you will get safe and environmentally friendly fruits from cucumber bushes. One of the environmentally friendly ways is to feed cucumbers with mullein.

What is a mullein

Oddly enough, not everyone knows what a mullein is. This is the most effective natural fertilizer, it is used for almost all plants in the garden. In origin, it is the dung of cattle. It is able not only to increase the yield of garden and garden plants, but also protects them from diseases and increases their immunity. The composition of the mullein contains all the substances necessary for the development and fruiting of plants.

Important! Unlike mineral fertilizers, in addition to the main elements, it contains many trace elements.

If you add only 1 ton of manure to the garden, then the soil on the site will receive 5 kg of nitrogen, 6 kg of potassium and 2.5 kg of phosphorus. These factors have a positive effect on the development of garden plants, increases the quantity and quality of fruits.

The most important thing is that nitrogen is present in organic form in cow manure. When this fertilizer decomposes in the soil, 1/3 of the nitrogen passes into a form accessible to plants very quickly, and the rest of the active substance of the mullein passes into this state for a long time, and for a long time feeds the cucumbers growing in the garden. Also passes into an accessible form and phosphorus. Potassium, unlike these elements, completely dissolves in soil moisture and becomes available to plants immediately after manure enters the soil.

The benefits that mullein will bring to cucumbers

Such a fertilizer has many positive qualities. Its main positive property of mullein is the active reproduction of microorganisms in the soil that help the plant. The reason is that the mullein contains a large supply of food and energy for any microorganisms. In addition, cow dung greatly improves the chemical and physical properties of the soil. Its use makes it possible to transfer insoluble soil compounds into an easily digestible state.

In addition to these advantages, mullein has the ability to improve the structure of the soil, turning it into a mixture of small lumps, among which there is enough space for moisture and air. This structure is considered the best for the development of any plants. The soil is saturated with humic acids (an important component of humus), and after you water the beds or after it rains, it is difficult to destroy the lumpy structure with water flows, they are quite strong for this. In a clay area with difficult soil, the mullein will loosen the soil and make it breathable. Once cow dung is applied, it is easier to care for and warms up quickly in the spring. This will have a good effect both on the growth of cucumber lashes and on the number of grown fruits.

Attention! With this fertilizer, you can feed not only cucumbers, but also any shrubs and trees, mullein is suitable for crops and you can fertilize indoor plants with it.

However, before using mullein, it is necessary to know the existing feeding methods and how they should be prepared. This will prevent the appearance of problems with cucumbers, which are possible with improper feeding.

What is cow dung

Everyone understands that mullein comes from a cow. There are 2 varieties of it, depending on the method of keeping the animal. Some breeders bed the barn with sawdust or straw, while others do not.

As a result of this, cow dung happens:

litter;
liquid.

Litter is cow dung without the slurry that the bedding material absorbs. During storage, after a while, it begins to overheat, gradually turning into high-quality humus. Liquid mullein, to obtain humus, is placed in a compost pit along with organic components. You can mix it in a compost pit with garden soil, weeds, post-harvest residues, fallen leaves, straw or sawdust. The proportion between manure without bedding and additional components is 5/2 (5 parts of manure and 2 parts of organic components are added). Wood ash or lime can be added to the compost pit, approximately 2-4% of the amount of compost laid.

You need to prepare it according to the following scheme:

Sawdust, fallen leaves or straw are poured into the bottom of a plastic barrel or pit.
From above, everything is poured with slurry.
From above, everything is again covered with another layer of organic material.
After that, again a layer of cow dung, filling it with the previous layer. The filling of the barrel is thus continued until it is full.

You can use the mullein both immediately from the barn, and after it is half or completely overheated. Fresh manure must be introduced into the soil carefully, as it can burn the roots of cucumbers, after which the root may die. For this reason, it is advisable to bring fresh mullein under the autumn digging of the soil. It will have time to rot before spring, and will not damage the root system of cucumbers. And in the spring and summer, you can feed cucumbers by diluting it with infusion of cow dung 1:10, or adding rotted manure to the soil.

Important! To get the maximum positive effect for cucumbers from cow dung, you need to introduce it into the soil on the site before planting the cucumbers.

Features of mullein fertilizer

With top dressing, you are much more than ideal cucumbers, strengthen the plant. It is only necessary to take into account several features of the fertilizer of this crop, and properly prepare the mullein.

Cucumbers need to be fed several times a year, preferably 1 time in 2 weeks. It is especially important to think about top dressing if the cucumber bush is weak, with a small number of shoots and does not bear fruit well. The first time they use mullein for feeding - after the appearance of the first 2 leaves of cucumber seedlings. This period begins 14 days after the emergence of seedlings. Once again, top dressing is needed at the beginning of the appearance of fruits on plants in the same way. After that, plants are fed every 2-3 weeks. Under each bush of cucumbers, it is necessary to apply 8-10 liters of fertilizer.

Making an infusion of cow dung is not difficult - you just need to dilute the mullein with water in a ratio of 2: 1. You need to wait a week, during this period the manure will infuse, and they can feed cucumber bushes. This is a concentrated infusion of mullein, it can damage the roots of cucumbers. It is best added to water when watering plants, diluting 0.5 liters per 10 liters of water. In this form, it will become safe for plants.

You can not water cucumbers with infusion of cow dung, on top of the green mass, they should not wet the leaves of plants. Cucumbers do not respond well to excessive moisture. It is best to carefully apply this solution into the grooves and grooves in which cucumber bushes are planted. So, the solution will go directly to the roots of plants, for every 1 m 2 you need to pour a bucket of diluted cow manure solution. If you properly feed cucumber plants, they will increase the yield of beautiful fruits in a short time.

Top dressing of cucumbers with rotted mullein

It can be applied to the soil whenever you want, but it is most effective in spring feeding. Fertilizer is scattered over the site before digging and immediately dug up so that all useful substances are preserved.

Decomposed cow manure should be applied to the site in a smaller amount than fresh manure, it is enough to add 4–5 kg of humus per 10 m 2. It is successfully used as a mulch that can feed growing cucumbers. Nutrients from manure are released very slowly, this is a kind of "long-playing" top dressing.

What else is used to feed cucumbers

Please note that you can not feed plants with one fertilizer, you can alternate feeding with mullein and mineral compositions of trace elements. So the plants will be able to get all the substances necessary for proper development, they will grow well and bear fruit successfully. Growing cucumbers need nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus, and in the period after the fruits begin to grow, plants require potassium, magnesium and nitrogen.

Fertilizers that are still used for dressing cucumbers:

Wood ash.
Ammonium nitrate.
Fermented green grass.
Infusion of chicken manure.

It is undesirable to use these formulations at the same time, it is better to choose 1-2 drugs that are convenient for you and use them alternately. Do not get carried away with too frequent feeding of plants, but do not skip the jumps of fertilizing.

Conclusion

Mullein is an effective natural fertilizer for cucumbers, which combines in its composition many elements necessary for the plant. Their use will allow you to get a decent harvest from plants even in an unfavorable year. Grown cucumbers grow useful for the body, with a wonderful aroma and taste, they can be used both in salads and for winter preparations.