Sowing cucumber seedlings in bottomless cups

Cucumbers

Most experienced gardeners know that cucumbers don't tolerate transplanting well, so they try sowing seeds for seedlings in bottomless cups. This method is advantageous because it prevents damage to the vegetable's delicate root system when transplanting to their permanent location in a greenhouse or garden beds.

To sow cucumbers in bottomless cups for seedlings, use either plastic containers with the bottom cut off, or homemade paper cylinders.

The main requirements for this type of instrumentation remain:

strength;
water drainage capacity;
isolation from each other.

You can also use regular, small, ready-made plastic bags for this purpose. Or you can make your own small bags with the bottoms cut off from heavy-duty dog food containers, securing the side seams with a regular stapler.

Important! These seedling containers should be filled with soil from the garden bed where the vegetables will be transplanted in the future for further growth and fruiting.

Prepare a suitable tray in advance to accommodate the cups or cylinders filled with soil. Line the bottom of this tray with plastic and cover with a thick layer of damp sawdust. Place the cups tightly next to each other and store the entire structure in a warm, sunny location.

Some gardeners successfully use regular disposable containers, which hold their shape well. In this case, a special tray is unnecessary. Simply take two disposable cups and a plastic bag with holes for each seedling. Cut the bottom off one container completely, insert it into the plastic bag, and place the entire container inside the glass.

In this case, you only need to fill the container halfway with soil, place a sprouted cucumber seed, and cover with a centimeter of the same soil. As the seedlings grow, add soil to the inner cup—this will prevent the plant from growing too tall prematurely and subsequently producing numerous barren flowers.

As soon as the climate allows for transplanting the seedlings into open ground, gently pull the plastic bag and remove the bottomless container from its stand. Plant the seedling in the prepared hole, leaving the sides of the cup a few centimeters above the surface. There's no risk to the root system, but the cucumber will be reliably protected from mole crickets. Watering is also easier this way—the water will fall precisely where it needs to.

According to online reviews, this method is the most convenient, and the transplanted plant is practically not damaged and therefore does not get sick when moving to its permanent place of residence.

Germination and planting of seeds

This technique will help calibrate future plants and save seedling space. Lay a piece of linen fabric on a flat surface, place the seeds on it at a distance from each other, and cover with another layer of fabric.

Place the "package" on a wide, flat plate and moisten it with water. Keep the cloth damp and the room temperature at least 26 degrees Celsius. Once the shoots are longer than 3–4 mm, the seedlings are ready for transplanting into bottomless cups.

Important to remember! Cucumbers should be sown 30 days before they are planned to be transplanted into the ground to avoid seedlings becoming stretched due to lack of sunlight.

Water plants carefully, using a small watering can and only settled water. Avoid splashing water on the leaves, as the sun will cause the droplets to turn into lenses and burn the delicate foliage.