Cultivation of cucumbers involves the provision of vegetable culture of heat, light and moisture. But how annoying it is when there is no harvest at all. There are many flowers on the weeds, but they turn out to be empty. And it happens because of poor-quality seed material and errors in agricultural technology. Let's try to figure out what to do if there are a lot of empty flowers on cucumbers, and we will analyze in more detail the reasons for their appearance.
Did you know? Cucumbers on 95 % consist of water. The remaining 5% are vitamins B2, B6, C, PP, as well as magnesium, phosphorus, iron, silicon, potassium and calcium. Thanks to the liquid, which during the growth of the plant passes a unique filtering, the vegetable is leading in the list of dietary products.
Why cucumbers barren flowers, or gross mistakes gardeners
What is empty flowers, no doubt, every gardener knows, since every year they are revealed on cucumber beds and are mandatory for harvest. But as a result of a number of reasons, which will be discussed later, it happens that the development of female cucumber flowers does not occur or is much late.
Purpose empty flowers
Often, young gardeners who have heard about the problems with the fruiting of cucumbers, consider male flowers unnecessary atavism and, having learned to distinguish them, are immediately removed. And soon they complain that there are no ovaries on the weave.
In fact, for the full development and fruiting of cucumbers should be equally as male and female flowers. Their presence is important for fertilization. If the stems will be dominated solely by one or the other, pollination will not occur. Therefore, there is no need to intervene without reason in the process of the growing season of the plant.
Did you know? Cucumber, whose birthplace is India, has existed for about 6 thousand years.
When you need to sound the alarm
From the school lessons of botany, we remember that cucumbers with female flowers are distinguished by the presence of queen cells. If you look well, then among the yellow petals you can see a small continuation of the flower in the form of a green cylinder, which resembles a small cucumber.
This is where the formation of the ovary. Pollination is done with the help of insects that carry pollen from male buds, although recently breeders have created many self-pollinating varieties.
Consider how to distinguish the barren flower cucumbers. Waste flowers - male flowers, without which the ovary of cucumber fruit is impossible. They are determined by the absence of the mother liquor and the presence of anthers. They are called hollow flowers. If on flowers one after another such flowers appear, and fertile ones are absent, take urgent measures, otherwise your garden will be barren.
There are many ways to solve this problem, but to determine which one is appropriate in a particular case, you first need to find out the reason.
Important! The appearance of female flowers in different varieties of cucumbers provokes heating of fresh seeds on the battery or in the thermostat.
Causes of
Perhaps the root cause of cucumber infertility is seed. It is known that seed should be sown for 2-3 years. Then the inflorescences of the female and male types appear simultaneously and in almost equal quantities. But if you have not listened to these recommendations and sprout fresh grains, do not ask why your cucumbers have solid empty flowers.
When everything is fine with the seeds, but there is no harvest, look for mistakes that you made in caring for the plants. Consider the most common ones.
Crop thickening
This problem is more common in the cultivation of vegetables in areas where there is not enough space for all planned crops. As a result, in order to save space, the gardener makes too thick a crop.
When asked why only empty flowers appear on cucumbers, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences, associate professor of the department of plant breeding and seed production at Dnepropetrovsk Agrarian University, Elena Lazareva pointed out, among a number of reasons, the non-compliance of the distance between the rows and the plants in them.
See also unusual varieties of cucumbers: tladiant, melotriya, cucumber-lemon.
According to her, landing scheme must clearly comply with the following standards:
- distance between rows - 70 cm;
- distance between plants - 20-25 cm.
Ignoring these requirements leads to very dense shoots that are unable to fully develop. The flowers that appeared on them soon wither and fall off without a formed ovary, which means the complete absence of the female type of flowering.
Did you know? People who regularly consume fresh cucumbers, thus normalize the thyroid gland and clean the walls of blood vessels from cholesterol.
Watering errors
It would seem that moisture-loving plants regularly receive the required rate of water, other requirements are also fulfilled on time, all conditions for fruiting are created. But a lot of empty flowers on cucumbers are a sign that you are doing something wrong.
In cases with irrigation, all errors are reduced to the temperature of the water poured under the vegetable crop. Ideally, it should be warm (from 22 to 25 ºС). This recommendation is especially important in the period of bud formation. Water for irrigation should always be collected in large containers for settling and warming up.
But if you also strictly observe this condition, then why cucumbers are blooming with barren flowers and what you are doing wrong this time, experienced gardeners say. According to them, regular watering of cucumbers is completely useless. It should be carried out systematically and abundantly only before flowering and during the fruiting period. When the vines begin to bloom, they are not moistened at all. This is done in order to create an artificial extreme culture.
According to the laws of nature, finding himself in such conditions, cucumbers throw all their strength to leave offspring. As a result, female and male buds appear on the weave. When the soil begins to dry, and the leaves are slightly wilted, you need to resume watering, doubling the amount of water.
Important! When outside temperature does not rise above 16 °WITH, water cucumbers do not need, otherwise the plants will be fruitless.
Lack of lighting
The explanation of why empty cucumbers grow in a greenhouse is that culture doesn't get enough light. There are cases on the open ground, when the fence is shaded by tall neighbors. Of course, their presence is important, because cucumbers do not like drafts and cold.
They need a specific wet microclimate in a cozy place. Therefore, when planning planting in the garden, it is important to take into account that other plants do not create a shadow for light-loving cucumbers. Corn, dill and other crops should be placed on the north side. 
How to deal with empty cucumbers: tips to summer residents
If you notice empty flowers on cucumbers, do not rush to pick them off. First, they must exercise their function in pollination. And secondly, after fertilization of female flowers, the male ones will wither and fall off.
In cases where the ovary is not formed, experts advise to pay attention to fertilizers, temperature, planting site and crop varieties. And now, in order, we will understand why cucumbers bloom only with empty flowers and what to do in such situations.
Agronomists believe that barren flowers are the result of the wrong place for sowing cucumbers. The planned bed should not be located on an elevation where it is too hot and dry, or in lowland areas where cold air is collected. As already mentioned, nothing should obscure the culture.
Important! A cucumber will grow better and be preserved if you stretch twine on the posts in the garden and make a trellis for it. The plant will curl, while it is provided with airing the stems and foliage, access to light and bees. Besides, flowers will not get dirty as well harvest will be easier to harvest.The next important aspect for fruiting is unbalanced dressing plants. About what to do if the cause of the cucumber-barren flowers lies precisely in this, says Elena Lazareva, Candidate of Agricultural Sciences.
According to her, excess nitrogen provokes fattening of the lashes, foliage, tendrils, flowers grow, and there are no fruits. Therefore, do not overdo it with fertilizers, because cucumbers do not need to increase biomass for decoration, you are interested in collecting generous and in buckets, bags, barrels, in winter on the windowsill.
Carbon dioxide can be provided to the plant by overlapping it with mullein. In order not to dominate the hollow flowers on cucumbers, it is advisable to bring mullein or chicken manure before flowering, and during fruiting - a mixture that is made of potassium sulfate, superphosphate, mullein and wood ash extracts.
For one hundred percent of the ovary on all lianas, Elena Lazareva recommends the use of hybrid varieties: "Duchess", "Nightingale", "Swallow", "Phoenix plus", "Crane". They form a crop of up to 700% per hectare, give a good fruit with dark thorns. In addition, hybrids have a gene for resistance to peronosporoza.
Did you know? In Sanskrit, the name of the cucumber is consonant with the name of the Indian prince, whose offspring, according to legend, has 60 thousand children.
To increase the yield, the associate professor recommends planting umbellas for cross-pollination next to cucumber crops. In particular, we are talking about dill, coriander and parsley.
Often, gardeners complain that empty cucumbers grow in greenhouses with proper care, and, according to agronomists, the reason why this happens is the heat. According to experts, the pollen of male buds at a temperature above 26 ºС becomes sterile.
Therefore, it is important to control these processes. To save the plants in the garden from the heat, in some farms, when sowing, they planted a seeder with corn, and behind it with cucumbers, alternating them. In small areas in the heat necessarily mulch the soil. For these purposes, suitable hay, cut grass, straw. The main thing is to keep the mulch moisture.
A cardinal method of saving vines from barren flowers is to pluck the top of the main stem. This contributes to the rapid development of lateral branches, on which female buds are formed. For early cucumbers, the procedure is done after the tenth leaf, and for later ones - after the eighth.
