How to Water Cucumber Plants
Many gardeners enjoy growing cucumbers in annual summer gardens because these vining vegetables grow easily and quickly during the summer months. Whether you train them to climb vertically or grow them in rows, the main concern with growing cucumbers is providing them with adequate and regular water. You must water cucumber plants regularly if sufficient rain does not fall--especially when the plants begin to blossom and set fruit.
Place the mulch around the base of the cucumber plants to help conserve soil moisture. Apply the mulch in a 2-inch-thick layer.
Keep a rain gauge in a spot nearby the garden to enable you to monitor how much rain falls each week. If less than one inch of rain falls in a one-week period, provide supplemental water for the cucumber plants.
- Many gardeners enjoy growing cucumbers in annual summer gardens because these vining vegetables grow easily and quickly during the summer months.
- Place the mulch around the base of the cucumber plants to help conserve soil moisture.
Check the soil around the cucumber plants. Whenever the top inch of soil dries, water the cucumber plants until the surface soil is visibly saturated. Stop watering before puddles form.
Watermelon & Cucumber Plants
Watermelon leaves contain three deep-cut lobes that are further divided into smaller lobes. Cucumber leaves, however, are triangular and lightly lobed at the base. Cucumber leaves end in points similar to maple leaves. Check the color of the leaves. Look for veins on the leaves. Veins on the watermelon leaf appear lighter than the surrounding leaf – especially the central vein that runs from the base to nearly the tip of the leaf. Smaller veins branch out to each lobe. These veins fan out over the entire leaf from the base to the tip. Tendrils on watermelon vines resemble string, hold tightly to anything they attach to and resist your efforts to remove them. Watermelon ovaries appear round, whereas the ovary on the cucumber plant is oval or cylindrical.
- Check the soil around the cucumber plants.
- Watermelon ovaries appear round, whereas the ovary on the cucumber plant is oval or cylindrical.
Tip
Close attention to watering cucumbers will produce sweeter cucumbers. If you habitually allow the soil around cucumber plants to dry out, the cucumbers will be bitter. If you notice cucumber leaves wilting during the hottest hours of the day, check the soil for moistness. If the soil is not dry, the leaves should recover during the evening hours. If the soil is dry, water the cucumbers.
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Writer Bio
Kathryn Hatter is a veteran home-school educator, as well as an accomplished gardener, quilter, crocheter, cook, decorator and digital graphics creator. As a regular contributor to Natural News, many of Hatter's Internet publications focus on natural health and parenting. Hatter has also had publication on home improvement websites such as Redbeacon.
