{"id":3917,"date":"2026-09-28T20:29:10","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:29:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/?p=3917"},"modified":"2026-09-28T20:30:06","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T20:30:06","slug":"cucumber-fertilizer-talks-from-chicken-manure-to-custom-npk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/cucumber-fertilizer-talks-from-chicken-manure-to-custom-npk\/","title":{"rendered":"Cucumber Fertilizer Talks: From Chicken Manure to Custom NPK Tank Mixes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<div class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-auto kksr-align-left kksr-valign-top\"\n    data-payload='{&quot;align&quot;:&quot;left&quot;,&quot;id&quot;:&quot;3917&quot;,&quot;slug&quot;:&quot;default&quot;,&quot;valign&quot;:&quot;top&quot;,&quot;ignore&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;reference&quot;:&quot;auto&quot;,&quot;class&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;count&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;legendonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;readonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;score&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;starsonly&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;best&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;gap&quot;:&quot;5&quot;,&quot;greet&quot;:&quot;Share your rating&quot;,&quot;legend&quot;:&quot;0\\\/5 - (0 votes)&quot;,&quot;size&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Cucumber Fertilizer Talks: From Chicken Manure to Custom NPK Tank Mixes&quot;,&quot;width&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;_legend&quot;:&quot;{score}\\\/{best} - ({count} {votes})&quot;,&quot;font_factor&quot;:&quot;1.25&quot;}'>\n            \n<div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    \n<div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 0px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" style=\"padding-right: 5px\">\n            \n\n<div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 24px; height: 24px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n                \n\n<div class=\"kksr-legend\" style=\"font-size: 19.2px;\">\n            <span class=\"kksr-muted\">Share your rating<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<div class=\"tldr-box\" style=\"background: #f4f9f4; padding: 20px; border-left: 5px solid #4CAF50; margin-bottom: 20px; border-radius: 4px;\">\n<h3>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary (TL;DR): Feeding Greenhouse Cucumbers<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\ud83c\udf31 <strong>The Simple (Visual) Method:<\/strong> Start young plants with pure Nitrogen (Ammonium Nitrate or chicken manure tea). A week later, use a balanced granular mix. Once they start fruiting heavily, switch to <strong>Calcium Nitrate<\/strong> to support cell structure.<\/li>\n<li>\ud83e\uddea <strong>The Pro &#8220;Tank Mix&#8221; Formula:<\/strong> For heavy fruiting, experienced growers mix their own custom water-soluble fertilizer. A standard fruiting ratio requires high Potassium and steady Nitrogen (e.g., 550g Potassium Nitrate + 400g Magnesium Nitrate + 400g Calcium Nitrate + 150g MKP + 100g Ammonium Nitrate per 1000 Liters \/ 264 Gallons of water).<\/li>\n<li>\ud83d\udd04 <strong>Adjusting for Plant Age:<\/strong> As cucumber vines get older and enter <em>mass fruiting<\/em>, they demand massive amounts of Potassium. If you see cucumber leaves getting a pale halo around the edges or the cucumbers curling into hook shapes, immediately increase the Potassium Nitrate!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tp-bridge\" style=\"background: #fffaf0; border-left: 4px solid #ff9800; padding: 15px 20px; margin: 20px 0 30px 0; border-radius: 4px; font-size: 1em; line-height: 1.6; box-shadow: 0 1px 3px rgba(0,0,0,0.05);\">\n<p>\ud83c\udf0d <strong>You&#8217;re reading a translated thread<\/strong> from our Russian-language forum. These growers garden in climates very similar to <strong>Minnesota, Wisconsin, Maine, and Ontario<\/strong> (short summers, late frosts, and cold soil). Do you mix your own custom NPK fertilizers, or use organic compost teas? <a style=\"color: #ff9800; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;\" href=\"#wpdcom\">Drop a comment below<\/a>! We&#8217;d love to compare notes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h3 id=\"simple-feeding\">The Simple Method: Eyeballing &amp; Organics<\/h3>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">D<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Anastasia <span class=\"author-stats\">\ud83c\udf31 Enthusiast (263 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Unknown | \ud83d\udcc5 June 20, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Aleksan9ra (Ludmila) wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8230;I am currently watering with chicken manure tea. You can also use Calcium Nitrate, or alternate with a balanced fertilizer (two Nitrogen feedings, then one balanced)&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Good afternoon, Luda! Could you please specify exactly which balanced granular fertilizer you use, and how much Nitrogen you give them?<\/p>\n<p>Also, can I use pelletized (store-bought) chicken manure for the tea? \ud83d\udc14<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">A<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Aleksan9ra (Ludmila) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (15,056 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Moscow Region USDA Zone 4 | \ud83d\udcc5 June 20, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>I just picked my first 5 cucumbers from the outdoor bed today! I am so happy! \ud83e\udd52<\/p>\n<p><strong>Here is my feeding schedule:<\/strong><br \/>\nRight after I transplant the seedlings, I give them Ammonium Nitrate (pure Nitrogen). My plants are spaced far apart, so I just sprinkle a tiny pinch (about 1\/2 teaspoon) by eye under each bush. Then I water the bed heavily to dissolve it.<\/p>\n<p>The next feeding is a liquid tea made from chicken manure, also poured right at the root. A week after that, I give them a pinch of a balanced granular fertilizer (like a Spring-Summer blend) under each root.<\/p>\n<p>From there, I just watch how the plant develops and see if it&#8217;s lacking anything. Right now, the plants have started fruiting heavily, so for their Nitrogen source, I will switch to giving them <strong>Calcium Nitrate<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>As for the pelletized chicken manure: yes, you can use it. Soak it in a 1:2 ratio with water, let it steep, and dilute it just like fresh manure. But keep in mind, its effectiveness is about three times weaker than fresh manure. And never forget: ALL liquid fertilizers must be applied to soil that is already wet! \ud83d\udca6<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h3 id=\"pro-tank-mix\">The Pro Method: Custom NPK Tank Mixing<\/h3>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">S<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Simka (Olga) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (15,833 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Unknown | \ud83d\udcc5 June 20, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<p>\u00a0Astero (Anatoly) shared this exact custom fertilizer recipe specifically for cucumbers.<\/p>\n<p>Cucumbers require a completely different diet than tomatoes. During the period of intense vegetative growth and fruiting, you can use the following bulk recipe (designed for a 1000 Liter \/ 264 Gallon irrigation tank):<\/p>\n<p>* <strong>Potassium Nitrate:<\/strong> 550 grams (1.2 lbs)<br \/>\n* <strong>Magnesium Nitrate:<\/strong> 400 grams (0.88 lbs)<br \/>\n* <strong>Calcium Nitrate:<\/strong> 400 grams (0.88 lbs)<br \/>\n* <strong>Monopotassium Phosphate (MKP):<\/strong> 150 grams (0.33 lbs)<br \/>\n* <strong>Ammonium Nitrate:<\/strong> 100 grams (0.22 lbs)<br \/>\n* <strong>Total fertilizer weight:<\/strong> 1600 grams (3.5 lbs)<\/p>\n<p>You must dissolve these salts exactly as you would for tomatoes: dissolve each component completely in a small bucket of water separately before mixing them all together in the main tank! \ud83e\uddea\ud83d\udeb0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"forum-post\">\n<div class=\"author-header\">\n<div class=\"forum-avatar\">V<\/div>\n<div class=\"author-meta\">\n<div class=\"author-name\">Valtwelve (Valery) <span class=\"author-stats\">\u2b50 Pro Grower (1,847 posts)<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"author-geo\">\ud83d\udccd Between Samara and Ufa (USDA Zone 4) | \ud83d\udcc5 June 21, 2021<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"post-content\">\n<blockquote><p><strong>Simka (Olga) wrote:<\/strong><br \/>\n&#8230;During the period of intense vegetative growth and fruiting, you can use the following bulk recipe&#8230;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Cucumbers, just like tomatoes, need to be fed differently depending on their exact stage of development.<\/p>\n<p>In the very beginning, they need more Nitrogen and Phosphorus. Then, they need more Nitrogen and Potassium. Finally, during <em>mass fruiting<\/em>, they demand huge amounts of Potassium.<\/p>\n<p>The formula you posted above is best suited for the &#8220;Flowering to Early Fruiting&#8221; stage. The macronutrient ratio of that specific mix works out to exactly <strong>N:P:K:Ca:Mg = 1 : 0.16 : 1.2 : 0.5 : 0.18<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>However, once the plant enters the <strong>Mass Fruiting<\/strong> stage, I would tweak that recipe: I would bump the Potassium Nitrate up to 800 grams and remove the Calcium Nitrate entirely, leaving the rest unchanged. That changes the ratio to <strong>N:P:K:Mg = 1 : 0.18 : 1.87 : 0.2<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>Personally, I feed my cucumbers by rotating different things: herbal weed tea, a balanced vegetable water-soluble mix, and pure Potassium Nitrate. I recently noticed a pale halo forming around the edges of my cucumber leaves, and the cucumbers themselves were bending into hook shapes (a classic sign of severe Potassium deficiency!). I immediately fed them twice in a row with Potassium Nitrate. It seems to have fixed the issue. \ud83e\udd52\ud83e\ude9d<\/p>\n<p>Now that my cucumber vines are getting older, I plan to give them Potassium Nitrate much more frequently\u2014even directly after giving them herbal tea. Old cucumber vines need massive amounts of Potassium! But honestly, I just eyeball the amounts; I don&#8217;t calculate the exact ratios like the formula above. \ud83e\udd37\u200d\u2642\ufe0f<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"editor-note\" style=\"background: #eef7ff; padding: 15px; border-left: 4px solid #2196F3; margin-top: 25px; font-size: 0.95em; border-radius: 4px;\"><strong>\ud83d\udc68\u200d\ud83d\udd2c Editor&#8217;s Agronomy Note: Reading Cucumber Shapes<\/strong><br \/>\nValery mentions a brilliant diagnostic trick in this thread. Cucumbers will physically tell you what fertilizer they are missing by the shape of the fruit!<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Curled \/ Hook-Shaped Cucumbers:<\/strong> If the cucumber curls into a &#8220;C&#8221; or hook shape, and the leaves have a pale halo around the edge, the plant is starving for Potassium (K).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Lightbulb-Shaped (Fat bottom, skinny top):<\/strong> Also a sign of severe Potassium deficiency.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Carrot-Shaped (Fat top near the stem, skinny\/pointed bottom):<\/strong> The plant is starving for Nitrogen (N).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Hourglass \/ Pinch in the middle:<\/strong> This is usually caused by inconsistent watering (dry spells followed by flooding) rather than a fertilizer issue.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\ud83d\udccc Quick Summary (TL;DR): Feeding Greenhouse Cucumbers \ud83c\udf31 The Simple (Visual) Method: Start young plants with pure Nitrogen (Ammonium Nitrate or chicken manure tea). A week later, use a balanced granular mix. Once they start fruiting heavily, switch to Calcium Nitrate to support cell structure. \ud83e\uddea The Pro &#8220;Tank Mix&#8221; Formula: For heavy fruiting, experienced &#8230; <a title=\"Cucumber Fertilizer Talks: From Chicken Manure to Custom NPK Tank Mixes\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/cucumber-fertilizer-talks-from-chicken-manure-to-custom-npk\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Cucumber Fertilizer Talks: From Chicken Manure to Custom NPK Tank Mixes\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[784],"tags":[1014,1015,1017,1016],"class_list":["post-3917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cucumbers","tag-cucumber-fertilizer","tag-custom-npk-mix","tag-feeding-fruiting-cucumbers","tag-potassium-nitrate"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3917"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3917\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3918,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3917\/revisions\/3918"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3917"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tomat-pomidor.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}