Gherkins from our own cultivation are particularly tasty. To increase the yield, you can pinch the cucumbers. But how does it work?
Opinions on whether cucumbers should be maxed out or not vary widely in the gardening world. Many hobby gardeners simply let their cucumbers grow, while others regularly skimp on their cucumbers to increase the yield. However, all of this has not been proven. Not so with the tomatoes. Here it is extremely important that they are regularly exhausted so that the plant bears many delicious fruits.
You decide for yourself whether you want to max out your cucumbers. In any case, it cannot harm your plant. You will now learn how to proceed with the pinching.
What is maxing out anyway?
Tomatoes and cucumbers form many small shoots and the main shoots can also grow tall.
So that the plant does not put all its energy into the shoots and leaves, but rather produces tasty fruits, you should pinch off excess shoots in a targeted manner. It can even happen that buds and flowers have to be pinched off.
Use cucumbers specifically
Tomatoes grow new side shoots over and over again. Here you always have to be behind and thin out the tomatoes every now and then. It's different with cucumbers. What you take away from here once is and stays away.
If you let your cucumbers climb up a trellis or a trellis, you can use the following pinching method:
Step 1: Remove the lower part
Remove all buds, flowers and shoots that grow below 50 to 60 centimetres. In this way you stimulate the formation of buds above it. It also prevents the cucumbers from lying on the ground and potentially spreading pathogens and bacteria.
Step 2: clip off the tip
If the plant is growing high above the trellis, you can also remove the top of the cucumber plant. This stimulates the formation of side shoots. Accordingly, you can harvest more cucumbers. But beware! If too many side shoots form, you should also remove some here so that the energy stays in the main shoots.
Don't use up the cucumbers on the floor
who hisGrowing cucumbers along the ground doesn't have to be quite as rigorous. When the cucumber meanders across the ground, it becomes confusing at some point and you don't really see where new side shoots have developed. However, you should note a few things.
» Tip 1: Prevent fungi and pathogens
Remove all dead and decayed leaves, flowers and buds while harvesting. Even in between, this approach can not be wrong. This way, fungi and pathogens don't stand a chance and you can enjoy delicious cucumbers.
» Tip 2: Harvest time
Don't let your cucumbers grow too big or the cucumber will become watery and bitter internally. The earlier you pick the fruit, the more you can harvest overall. Cucumbers are ripe when the tips round off at the bottom.
» Tip 3: Increase harvest yield
If you specifically want to increase your yield, you should fertilize your cucumbers from time to time. You can read how best to do this in the article Fertilizing cucumbers - How to increase your yield.