Frozen cucumber seedlings: what to do, how and with what to save them

Cucumbers thrive when daytime temperatures rise to 23°C or higher, and nighttime temperatures don't drop to 16°C or lower. When temperatures drop to 9-15°C, growth and development are delayed. The minimum temperature cucumber seedlings can tolerate is 8°C. At this temperature, the plant will survive for no more than 5 days. If the temperature drops to 5°C, the plant will die within 24 hours. This is why frost protection is so important. There are various options for what to do with cucumber seedlings if they have been frozen. In any case, care and fertilizing after frostbite should be approached responsibly.

Signs of hypothermia

Hypothermia is recognized by its characteristic symptoms. These vary at different stages:

1. Stage 1: The leaf's color changes, it becomes softer, and its edges curl.
2. Stage 2. Negative changes affect the stem, which becomes covered with a thin, icy crust.
3. Stage 3. Not only the above-ground part of the bush is exposed to freezing, but also the underground part.

After a frost, the bushes are either covered with cardboard boxes on the sides or covered with old buckets or bottomless pots. A covering of plastic is placed on top to protect the plants from direct sunlight, which quickly heats the foliage and dries out the surface. This doesn't improve the condition of the plants; on the contrary, it worsens it. They are unable to withstand this stress and therefore die. Maintaining a cool environment helps reduce stress. The covering is removed only in the evening, and the next morning, an assessment is made of which bushes can be saved. If the root system freezes, the chances of survival are virtually zero.

Treatment and aftercare

One of the most effective treatments for restoring frozen cucumber seedlings is Epin-Extra, a biological growth stimulant. It not only restores the seedlings but also normalizes phytoimmunity, which reduces stress from temperature fluctuations. Using this biostimulant effectively prevents viral, bacterial, and fungal diseases.

At home, gardeners prepare a yeast fertilizer. They do it this way: dissolve 100 grams of yeast in 10 liters of warm water, stir, and leave in a warm place for 24 hours to ferment. This yeast fertilizer is then watered at the roots of frozen cucumber seedlings. This restores and strengthens the root system, promoting vigorous foliage growth.

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Seedlings that survive hypothermia need some time to recover. During this time, their growth and development slows. Often, gardeners are alarmed by this and begin to overdose the plants with all kinds of fertilizers. However, this is incorrect. To help plants recover, experienced farmers give them rest. No new products are used for 7 days, with the exception of those used during resuscitation. After 7-10 days, natural fertilizer is added, and then care is resumed as usual.

Top dressing after cold weather

In cold rainy weather plants planted outside Plants develop more slowly. Their immunity weakens, and fruit formation is impaired. To protect the bushes from the cold, they are covered with dry grass and branches, and the shoots tied to the trellis are lowered. After the weather warms, the plant material is moved away from the bushes but left in the garden bed. During periods of prolonged rainfall, the crop is irrigated with a boric acid solution (a packet of the solution is dissolved in a bucket of water). This prevents the development of infectious diseases.

When it rains for several days in a row, the following is used for fertilizing:

1. Iodine solution. Mix 9 liters of water with 1 liter of milk or whey and add 30 drops of iodine.
2. Ash infusion. Dissolve 1 kg of the solution in 10 liters of water and let it steep for 3 days. Dilute the finished infusion with water at a ratio of 1:10. This fertilizer is easy to make and provides excellent potassium for plants.
3. Mullein. Mix it with water in a 1:2 ratio and let it steep for a week. Before use, dilute 500 ml of the product in 10 liters of water.

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In cool weather, pathogenic fungi actively reproduce. To prevent their activation, the tops are sprayed with a soap and soda solution (1 tablespoon of soda and 1 teaspoon of liquid soap diluted in 5 liters of water). If the leaves of cucumber seedlings begin to turn yellow due to the cold, gardeners apply foliar treatment with Zircon. Plants respond well to products such as Ispolin, Ideal, and Plodorodiye, which are specially formulated for this crop.

How to cover seedlings in open ground

Weather forecasters can't predict frosts in late spring or early summer, but they can provide a relatively accurate forecast for the next four to five days. If a significant cold snap is expected and the gardener has already planted seedlings, shelter is necessary. Outdoors, this is done by installing arches near the garden bed and stretching burlap over them, then covering the burlap with dry grass or pine branches.

Using dark material produces good results. Transparent polyethylene can protect plants from strong winds, rain, and mild cold snaps, but it's useless against frost. Dark polyethylene attracts sunlight, retains heat, and transfers it to the soil. It's also used when growing shrubs in raised beds with borders.

How to protect greenhouse seedlings

While forecasters predict temperatures of 3-5°C in the city, in surrounding communities they'll be even colder, dropping to 0°C or below. A polycarbonate greenhouse won't protect crops from even light frosts. Therefore, to keep the plants alive, farmers use a number of tricks. For example, they fill bottles with hot water and bury them in the ground. When the bottles cool, they replace them. Lighting candles placed in the greenhouse also solves the problem.

To prevent plants from freezing in anticipation of prolonged frosts, polyethylene film is stretched inside the greenhouse and secured to the frame with clamps (not too tightly). This creates an air cushion between the materials, preventing excessive cooling. Some gardeners place an iron barrel near the greenhouse, fill it with bricks, and soak it in gasoline. A pipe from the barrel is directed to the top of the greenhouse. The resulting frost cloud protects the crops from frost.

Spring weather increasingly brings unpleasant surprises in the form of sudden temperature fluctuations. Seedlings of most varieties struggle to withstand even a slight drop in temperature. If a gardener fails to protect seedlings from frost, they face a new challenge: properly performing resuscitation measures. Typically, not all plants can be revived, and some must be replanted; however, some frozen seedlings can be saved.