Soda can become your indispensable assistant not only in the kitchen, but also in the garden. Using this food supplement can significantly increase the yield of cucumbers. How to use soda for watering cucumbers in the open ground will be discussed in this article.
Why you need to water cucumbers with baking soda
Let's figure out why you need to process cucumbers with soda. First of all, this food supplement will become an indispensable assistant in your garden for all occasions.
Did you know? In the USSR, the first packaging of baking soda appeared only in 1967. This nutritional supplement has been known to us for a little over fifty years.
There are many folk recipes based on soda for the prevention of diseases of cucumber plants, and further in the article we will talk about the effect of such recipes. In addition, the proper use of sodium carbonate (the scientific name for soda) will increase yield and improve its quality.
- To understand why soda is needed in the garden, consider a number of its useful properties:
- improves visual characteristics and palatability of greens;
- destroys sworn cucumber enemies: gray rot, powdery mildew and aphids;
- prolongs the period of fruiting;
- destroys pathogenic bacterial and fungal microorganisms in the soil;
- perfectly disinfects planting seeds.
Use sodium carbonate in reasonable quantities, otherwise you can harm cucumbers.
Basic rules of application
An important rule is the strict observance of the proportions of soda solutions for processing. If you exceed the dosage, then the plants can cause burns, and the soil will become excessively alkaline. This situation will entail a decrease in the amount of the crop, and its quality will also deteriorate due to the fact that the plants will not be able to fully eat and participate in the process of photosynthesis.
Sodium carbonate contains a little chlorine, which in excess harms cucumber plantations. At an increased dosage due to excess chlorine, many macro- and microelements contained in the soil will not be able to enter the plant through the root system.
Remember the basic rules for using soda in the garden:
- watering cucumbers should be at the very root;
- the temperature of the calcium carbonate solution should be in the range + 25 ... + 28 ° C;
- when applying by sprinkling, try to use a spray gun whose hole diameter is as small as possible;
- It is forbidden to prepare a soda solution in containers made of polystyrene or metal, since sodium carbonate has the property to react with these materials;
- do not heat the soda solution to a temperature above + 60 ° C, since when this value is exceeded, sodium carbonate decomposes and its properties change;
- if the sprinkling method is used, then you need to spray the entire plant - the stems and leaves from all sides.
Dates and frequency of processing
The yield will depend on how often you use soda to process cucumbers. It is best to treat with sodium carbonate in the dry period.
Strong winds can also become a hindrance. Specialists recommend processing cucumber plantations in the early morning or late evening, when the intensity of sunlight is minimal. If, after applying soda, heavy rain fell in the garden, it is recommended to repeat the treatment.
In general, sodium carbonate should be used as a drug for controlling pests and diseases as necessary. But you need to remember that too frequent application of this substance to the garden can harm plants.
Important! You can use soda for processing cucumbers no more than once a week.
Features and basic rules of application
If you are going to feed cucumbers with soda or overcome dangerous diseases with its help, then you need to know some recipes for preparing mixtures and the rules for their use.
For the treatment of diseases
One of the most famous diseases of cucumber plants is powdery mildew, which annually spoils yield statistics for many farmers around the world. When the disease affects the cucumber bush, whitish spots appear on its leaves. Then the leaves turn yellow, begin to fall, photosynthesis is disrupted, and the plant dies. You can overcome this dangerous disease with baking soda.
Prepare a solution that will consist of the following components:
- 4 tbsp. l soda;
- 2 hours of iodine;
- 200 g of laundry soap.
Dissolve all of these ingredients in warm water, which must first be left in the sun. To better dissolve the soap in water, it must be rubbed or cut into small pieces. The solution should be applied by sprinkling every 7 days until the signs of defeat disappear completely.
Against this disease, prevention can also be carried out. You will need an aqueous solution based on soda and laundry soap. For 20 liters of water add 6 tbsp. sodium carbonate and 4 tbsp. crushed soap. Make no more than once every two weeks.Important! If the cucumber bushes are affected by sclerotinia, then the beds should be processed in the same way as in the fight against white and gray rot.
Gray and white rot are fungal diseases of cucumbers. Most often, the fungus affects the leaves and internodes. You can overcome the disease with an aqueous solution of soda: add 10 g of sodium carbonate to 10 liters of water and add to the beds by sprinkling.
In this case, you need to irrigate the cucumbers every other day, discarding all contraindications. Fungal diseases require immediate action, otherwise there is a risk of losing all the cucumber bushes.
Sometimes yellow spots appear on the cucumber leaves prematurely, which contribute to the early wilting of the plant due to disturbances in the photosynthesis process.
For the prevention and treatment of planting, you need to water it with an aqueous solution of sodium carbonate. 1 tbsp. Dissolve the food additive in 10 l of water and add it to the root by irrigation. It is necessary to carry out three treatments: beginning of July, end of July and mid-August.
Against pests
Sodium carbonate is alkaline in nature, which is why small insects try to avoid contact with this substance. Aphids and caterpillars are afraid of soda, so you can overcome these insects with the following solution: add 3 tbsp. To a ten-liter bucket of water. soda, 70 g of soap and a full handful of chopped wood ash.
For preventive purposes, treatment with this solution is carried out by irrigation or sprinkling every week, starting immediately after the first sunrises.
If aphids or caterpillars have already settled on cucumber plants, then it is permissible to carry out the treatment every 2-3 days, but you must carefully monitor the condition of the plants. If you notice that the cucumbers begin to fade, you will have to suspend the processing of soda for a while.
In the fight against spider mites, you need to spray cucumber plantings with a one percent aqueous solution of sodium carbonate. Treatments should be done no more than once a week. An unlimited number of repetitions is allowed, while you need to monitor the condition of the plants. However, with low efficacy, it is better to seek the help of synthetic drugs.
As a top dressing
If you are going to use a food supplement as a top dressing for cucumbers, then fertilizer must be applied three times for the entire growing season. There are two options for applying soda fertilizer. In the first case, the first two top dressings are applied at the beginning and end of July, the third - in mid-August.
Important! Soda does not contain all the necessary macro- and microelements for cucumbers, so it is necessary to combine such top dressing with mineral and organic fertilizers.
The second technique is as follows:
- Fertilize 14 days after planting the soil.
- Next time use soda 20 days after the first treatment.
- The third - after ten days (repeat if necessary with an interval of 10 days).
If your beds are localized on poor clay soils, then soda fertilizers are extremely necessary for plants.
There are several methods for preparing and applying fertilizers based on sodium carbonate:
You will be interested to know
- one percent aqueous solution of baking soda, to fertilize by sprinkling;
- a five percent aqueous soda solution, applied by irrigation;
- 2 liters of water 2 tbsp. sodium carbonate, dosage for one plant, applied by sprinkling, used against barrenness;
- during the ripening period, add an aqueous solution of soda, ash and soap. For 10 liters of water, add a handful of wood ash, 40 g of laundry soap and 2 tbsp. soda;
- as a simultaneous prevention and fertilizer, you can prepare the following composition: water (3 l), sodium carbonate (2 tbsp. l.), iodine (10 g), potassium permanganate (add until the liquid acquires a light lilac shade).
Video: How and why to process cucumbers with soda solution
Additional Cucumber Care Tips
One baking soda is not possible to achieve great success in your garden.
For high yields and quality fruits, you need to know and use the following care recommendations:
- you need to start loosening the soil from the very first day of sunrise;
- it is necessary to establish optimal watering of cucumber plantings. These plants are 95% water, so watering should be done 5-6 times a week. In the rainy periods of summer, this period should be shortened, and in the drier periods, increased;
- watch for the antennae, as their excessive amount selects a lot of nutrients;
- correctly plan feeding. They should consist of complex organic and mineral fertilizers;
- early weed removal can significantly increase the quantity and quality of fruits. Excess weed picks up a lot of useful macro- and microelements from the soil;
- harvest the crop on time, otherwise the supply of nutrients will not be enough for the bush to grow new cucumbers
As you can see, sodium carbonate can benefit not only in cooking. Use it on your cucumber beds, just follow the rules given in this article so as not to harm the cucumbers.Did you know? Cucumbers were considered sacred vegetables in Egypt. During archaeological excavations, cucumbers were found in some tombs of the pharaohs.