Detailed Guide to Cucumber Planting Methods and Timing
SummaryCucumber planting time: spring sowing is generally from January to March, and summer-autumn sowing is generally from June to August. Cucumber planting methods: for greenhouse cultivation, choose excellent disease-free varieties, soak the seeds in warm water for about 6 hours, then spray with New High-Fat Film; after the seedlings emerge, apply an appropriate amount of base fertilizer for planting, keep the temperature inside the greenhouse at around 25°C, and later apply water and fertilizer appropriately according to the climate and growth conditions. For cucumber cultivation in winter greenhouses, pests and diseases need to be actively prevented and controlled.
I. Cucumber Planting Time
Generally, planting is done from January to March in spring or from June to August in summer and autumn. For spring planting, seedlings are raised after soaking the seeds to promote germination, or direct sowing is done with plastic film mulching; for summer and autumn planting, either soaked seeds or dry seeds can be used. Depending on the variety, cucumbers can also be planted in open fields, spring greenhouses, spring plastic tunnels, autumn plastic tunnels, winter greenhouses, and other locations.
II. Cucumber Planting Methods
1. Seed selection and soaking
(1) When planting cucumbers in a greenhouse, choose excellent varieties with strong cold resistance and no diseases. Before planting, each seedling bed should be selected in a plot that is dry, well-ventilated, well-drained, and has not previously grown solanaceous vegetables, then prepare nutrient soil. The soil bed mixture is decomposed organic fertilizer : compound fertilizer = 7:3:0.01. Stir evenly and then water the bed thoroughly.
(2) Remove the sticky rice-like grains from the seeds, place them in hot water at 50-60°C, stir slowly until the temperature drops to around 30°C, then soak the seeds for about 6 hours. Remove and dry them, then spray with 800-times dilution of New High-Fat Film.
(3) Evenly scatter the soaked seeds on the seedling bed, cover with 1-1.5 cm of nutrient soil after sowing, then spray with New High-Fat Film, which helps promote cucumber seedling emergence.
2. Preparing for planting
(1) Reasonable planting: apply base fertilizer about 15 days before planting to ensure a reasonable balance of various elements (NPK ratio of 1:0.25:1), then water the bed thoroughly, plan the greenhouse spacing well, and plant reasonably.
(2) Film mulching for warmth: because winter temperatures are relatively low, it is necessary to cover 2 sheds and 3 films; the ground and cucumbers need to be sprayed with New High-Fat Film, which helps with warmth retention and pest and disease prevention and control. Each day, slight cooling should be carried out according to temperature changes, and the suitable temperature inside the shed should be maintained at around 25°C.
(3) Water and fertilizer management: after cucumber planting, apply water and fertilizer appropriately according to temperature changes and growth conditions, so as to ensure sufficient and balanced nutrients.
3. Promoting flowers and strengthening fruits
When the plants have fully recovered to normal seedlings, spray flower-promoting agents in time, which can effectively inhibit excessive growth of the main and side buds and promote flower bud differentiation. During the flower bud stage, young fruit stage, and fruiting stage of cucumbers, spray Zhuanggu Tiling agent to promote fruit development and improve cucumber quality and yield.
4. Pest and disease control
When planting cucumbers in winter greenhouses, the main diseases include: anthracnose, powdery mildew, scab, angular leaf spot, mosaic disease, downy mildew virus, and Fusarium wilt virus. During this period, agricultural streptomycin, chlorothalonil wettable powder, and 800-times dilution of New High-Fat Film can be used for prevention and control.