How to properly pinch cucumbers in open ground: step-by-step instructions

Pinching cucumbers is an essential agricultural technique used when growing these vegetables. How to properly pinch cucumbers to get the maximum yield from your garden? Learn more about this, as well as how to grow parthenocarpic and insect-pollinated varieties in greenhouses and open ground.

Why is pinching necessary?

Some gardeners believe that cucumbers don't need to be pinched to produce good fruit. This may be true in some cases, as much depends on the characteristics of each variety. But more often than not, vines that develop without pinching produce barren flowers. They are unable to set fruit and fall off after drying out.

Pinching allows the bush to form female flowers on lateral shoots. It also prevents various diseases that occur in dense plantings. Furthermore, the fruits that form on the lateral branches are abundant, beautifully shaped (not hooked), and mostly free of bitterness.

Rules for conducting the procedure

To avoid damaging the planting during its formation, it is necessary to first study the following rules:

1. Cucumbers have a shallow, weak root system. Therefore, planting must be done very carefully.
2. Along with pinching, loosen the soil in the bed around the bush.
3. Remove weak shoots and male inflorescences in a timely manner.
4. To prevent plant contamination, tools must be sterilized before use.
5. Each ovary should have at least one leaf.
6. Plant care: Remove unwanted leaves at the base. Leaving stumps on them can cause powdery mildew, which can negatively impact further growth.
7. Bush cucumbers do not need to be pinched.

Maintaining healthy leaves is essential when handling cucumbers. Each leaf contains a large amount of nutrients that are transferred to the developing fruit.

The bushes need to be looked after: damaged, rotting leaves must be removed, otherwise they can infect the bush with various diseases.

The rules for shaping cucumbers are simple, and following them will help gardeners grow healthy bushes that produce a bountiful harvest throughout the season.

How to pinch cucumbers

Gardeners grow vegetables both in greenhouses and outdoors. Each method has its own characteristics.

The basic rules that garden owners follow when deciding when and how to pinch cucumbers in both indoor and outdoor soil are as follows:

• First, the vines are tied up without touching the cotyledon leaves;
• when 5-6 leaves appear on the stem, you need to pinch off the top;
• for insect-pollinated varieties, 4 growth points are left, freeing the bush from non-viable, weak shoots;
• In hybrid cucumbers, 3 shoots are left.

Let's look at options for pinching cucumbers when growing them in different conditions.

In the greenhouse

The following method of growing cucumbers in greenhouse conditions is popular:

• the top of the vine located on the crossbar of the trellis is pinched;
• 2 branches descend down the support (fruit-bearing flowers will form on them);

These branches, in turn, will later grow new lateral shoots. A blinding zone is properly formed on the main stem at a distance of 50 centimeters from the soil surface: all ovaries and shoots growing at this height are removed. This is necessary to ensure good ventilation of the bush (preventing various types of rot).

Please note! If pinching is not performed in greenhouse conditions, the overgrown vines will not produce full-fledged fruit due to insufficient sunlight.

How to properly pinch cucumbers in open ground

Even though the garden is large and allows for ample space for cucumber planting, pinching is essential. In open areas, bee-pollinated varieties are typically planted, which produce numerous male flowers as they grow. Pinching encourages the development of lateral shoots, which soon produce female flowers.

The procedure is carried out according to the following rules:

1. Cucumber seedlings are planted at a distance of at least 30-45 centimeters from one bush to another.
2. The vine is tied up no earlier than 10 days after planting the seedlings.
3. The first ovaries, as well as the lower shoots, are removed, otherwise they will not allow the upper fruits to form properly.

The correct method for shaping a vine involves careful handling, without damaging the side stems. When the bush begins to lean downward, it is tied to a support. You can’t pull the vines too tightly: they should grow and develop freely. It is necessary to inspect the bushes in a timely manner and remove diseased, yellowed leaves, since they may contain a source of infection for the entire plant.

Cucumber bush pinching diagram

When transplanting seedlings from a box into the ground, it's important to remember that they will need pinching later. Therefore, maintain a distance of at least 30 centimeters between plants, and install supports in advance. When training cucumbers, gardeners must consider several factors: whether the plant is pollinated by bees or self-pollinated, and whether it's a hybrid or a cultivar.

Insect-pollinated varieties and hybrids

Step-by-step instructions for pinching insect-pollinated cucumbers:

1. The top is cut off above the 5-6th leaf: shoots will form from the lateral axils, which are then tied to a support.
2. No more than 3 shoots are left on the bush.
3. On the lateral shoots, 4 ovaries are allowed, the rest are removed.

Hybrids are also shaped. There are only a few hybrid varieties that don't require main stem removal, such as Valdai F1, Metelitsa F1, and Vyuga F1. These varieties have a well-developed main stem, but their lateral branches are weak and unable to produce a high-quality harvest. The remaining hybrids are shaped in the same way as varietal cucumbers.

Parthenocarpic varieties and hybrids

For non-pollinated by insects (parthenocarpic) plants, the following is a visual planting scheme:

1. The whip is tied to the support.
2. A blinding zone is formed: all ovaries and shoots are removed at a height of 0.5 meters from the ground surface.
3. In the next 3-4 nodes, leave 1 leaf and 1 cucumber ovary, pinch off the rest.
4. From the next 3-4 nodes, remove all but 2 leaves and 2 fruit ovaries.
5. In the upper zone of the plant, pinch off the stepson, leaving 3 leaves and 3 cucumber ovaries.
6. If the vine continues to grow, the vine can be thrown over the support, and it will grow further downwards.

Parthenocarpic cucumbers are usually grown in a greenhouse. There are hybrids with cluster fruiting (the cucumbers grow in clusters). In these varieties, the side stem is pruned to a height of 1.5 meters. Then, the main shoot is pinched. Side branches will begin to form at the top: you can leave 2-3, pinching them above the second leaf. This type of plant formation results in harvesting first from the main shoot, then from the side branches.

Important! Inspect the fruiting bushes once a week and remove any unwanted shoots and buds.

Without pinching, gardeners risk acquiring a feral plant with a haphazard collection of green fruits. By regulating the vine's growth and performing step-by-step pinching, gardeners improve the quality of their plants. Throughout the season, they can harvest delicious and healthy fruit, using them both fresh and for preserving for the winter.