Why our grandmas used sugar to fertilize cucumbers in September

Probably everyone has tried to grow cucumbers at some point and with various level of success. There are many folk advices that you can try but not all of them work well. We have used milk to fight grey mould, bacteriosis, root rot and powdery mildew. We have also tried aspirin and ammonia as a fertilizer because it worked so well for our neighbour…

But still there are seasons when cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) are very stubborn and do not “follow” the rules no matter what you do and may even fail to produce fruit. Sometimes cumbers seem to be growing and doing well until July, but in August, they suddenly refuse to produce fruit and nothing seems to help.

An old treatment from a recipe book

In my grandfather’s recipe book (sorry, grandma you were never keen on gardening) I found an interesting note. It came from the Gardener magazine and it even had the publication date. This note advised to fertilize cucumbers with sugar. Yes, they knew that potassium, nitrogen and, of course, phosphorus are absolutely essential, but sugar shall be the icing on the cake.

Photo: Pixabay

So, when should you use sugar? Definitely in August when the cucumbers seem to be tired and getting ready to slow down disregarding our tries and prayers. And how should you use it?

Two spoons are plenty

Take a litre of warm water and mix two spoons of sugar in it and water cucumbers with it. Easy-peasy. This is a dose for one mature plant, and you should repeat it every 7-10 days. Sugar supports the formation of flowers and therefore production of new fruit.

Conclusion. Last year it worked for us on some cucumber plants but not on others. But if your crops are stubborn and simply do not “listen”, then you have nothing to lose. Folk’s wisdom sometimes works and sometimes it does not. This experiment cost almost no money so, why not give it a try?

Preview photo: Pixabay

Source: Podle zkušenosti autora, https://www.zdravizone.cz/okurky-10-duvodu-proc-je-jist-a-jejich-ucinky-na-zdravi/