Tag: compost

  • 4 Steps For Growing Cucumbers Up a Fence

    Growing cucumbers up a fence significantly maximize garden space and eliminate many diseases and insect issues. In addition, it is an excellent way to grow organically. The steps below, plus some planning and preparation, will make this easy. Complete the steps, and you are on the way to enjoying fresh, delicious cucumbers all season long. In addition, the last time I went to the store, organic cucumbers were $1.79 each. This is an easy vegetable to grow that can be used in salads daily and, say, a portion of your food budget.

    Why grow cucumbers up a fence?

    Growing cucumbers up a fence work well for many reasons. First, if you are short of space in your garden and have a fence, you significantly expand your space by growing up a fence. This is especially important if you have limited space, and it also takes advantage of space between ornamentals like roses.

    Second, growing cucumbers up a fence make them easier to harvest. Gardeners spend enough time bending over in gardens weeding, planting, and harvesting. Growing cucumbers vertically makes them more visible and accessible. This makes grabbing one off the vine easy when it’s time to make a salad.

    Ever worry about vegetables lying on the ground ripening? When vegetables are grown on the ground, they are more susceptible to pests and diseases. Growing them vertically helps improve air circulation around the plants, which reduces the risk of disease and makes it more difficult for pests to find them.

    Here’s how to grow cucumbers up a fence in 5 easy steps:

    Step 1: Choose a fence

    The first step is to choose a fence suitable for growing cucumbers. Ideally, the fence should be sturdy and able to support the weight of the cucumber plants. Two cucumbers can easily weigh a pound. Leave them on the vine awhile, and they get to a pound each easily. Each of your plants will yield around ten cucumbers.

    Step 2: Prepare the soil

    This is a common step for all vegetable growing. First, prepare the soil by adding compost and other organic matter. Good examples of organic matter include manure, leaves, or, my favorite, worm castings. Here is an excellent article on worm castings if you are unfamiliar with them. Cucumbers prefer well-draining soil. Consider adding sand or perlite to improve drainage if your soil is heavy or clay-like.

    Step 3: Plant the cucumbers

    Plant the cucumber seeds or seedlings at the base of the fence, about 6 inches apart. If you’re using seeds, plant them about 1 inch deep. If you’re using seedlings, dig a hole slightly larger than the root ball and place the seedling in the hole. Cover the roots with soil and press down gently. If you want to grow from seeds and have a store-bought cucumber, scoop the seeds out of the cucumber. Then drop them in water. The best seeds will settle on the bottom. Transfer those seeds to a wet paper towel and sprinkle them with cinnamon. The cinnamon protects the seeds from rot and helps keep them moist. Put them in a dark place, and in a few days, the seedlings will be ready for planting.

    Step 4: Train the cucumbers

    As the cucumbers grow, gently train them to climb the fence or trellis. You can do this by gently tying them to the fence with string. Check on the cucumbers regularly and adjust the trellis or support system as needed.

    Remember the water. Cucumbers have shallow root zones. Six inches under the soil is standard, spreading a couple of feet wide. Their crop coefficient is .6 early season, 1 mid-season, and .75 late. In the hot summer months, you may have to water them daily. Remember, the water that passes the roots in the root zone is wasted water and nutrients. Watch carefully to determine how much water is needed to fill the root zone.

    Cucumber plants typically start to produce fruit in about 60-70 days. Once the cucumbers are ready to harvest, pick them off the vine. Check the cucumbers regularly, as they can grow quickly and become overripe if left on the vine too long.

    Growing cucumbers up a fence is a great way to save space, battle disease and pests, and produce fresh, delicious cucumbers. With some planning and preparation, it’s easy to grow cucumbers vertically and enjoy this method’s many benefits.

  • 4 Ways To Fix Crusting Soil

    The wet weather this past winter has been a blessing and a curse. Many growers and gardeners report crusting soil due to the heavy rains landing on bare ground. The impact of the raindrops helps compact the soil. The challenge is this crust makes it harder for water to penetrate the soil, and more runoff occurs. Fortunately, there are ways to fix and improve your soil. Below are four favorites.

    1. Add Organic Matter

    What soil wouldn’t benefit from more organic matter? This can be compost, leaf litter, worm casting, or cover crops are a few of my favorites. More organic matter in the soil helps bind the soil particles together, creating larger pore space in the soil.

    This improves the soil’s ability to absorb and retain water. The organic matter also contains nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, which slowly release into the soil providing steady nutrients.

    1. Add Mulch 

    Mulching soil is better before the rain because it ensures the raindrops don’t hit bare soil with full force. As a result, the soil is less likely to compact. It also helps the soil stay moist, which makes it less likely to crust. Here is a link to an excellent article about using compost as mulch.

    1. Use Cover Crops 

    Cover crops do everything organic matter and mulch do with live plants. Cover crops are planted with the goal of improving soil health. Legumes are an excellent cover crop because they can fix nitrogen in the soil. Legume cover crops include clover, beans, and lentils. Grasses also meet the cover crop requirement. They suppress weeds and reduce erosion. Ryegrass and fescue are excellent examples of grasses used as cover crops. Brassicas are known for their pest-controlling ability, along with improving soil health. These include radish, turnips, and mustard.

    1. Don’t Overwater

    Irrigating plants is done to supplement rainwater. However, watering too much causes the same damage to the soil as too much rain. It causes soil compaction, loss of organic material and reduces the ability of the soil to absorb water. When soil is waterlogged, it breaks down the soil structure and works against all the good done in the three fixes above. This is just another negative impact of overwatering plants. Here is a link to an article that describes how to tell if you are overwatering your plants.

    Crusting soil is discouraging because, at first, it can seem overwhelming to correct. However, adding mulch or organic material or using compost helps improve the problem quickly and easily. Using cover crops is an excellent practice, and paying attention to water is a consistent message. Healthy soil is one of the most significant contributors to your crop and plants’ success. Take care of the soil, and it will take care of your plants.