A Detailed Guide to Field Cucumber Planting Techniques and Management Key Points

Cucumbers, I believe many people grow them at home, especially in the countryside where almost every household that grows vegetables will plant cucumbers, because cucumbers are both delicious and nutritious, and are an especially easy vegetable to grow. So how exactly should field cucumbers be planted? Let's take a look together below!

Field Cucumber Planting Techniques

1. Variety Selection

Choose varieties with high yield, strong disease resistance and good market quality that are suitable for open-field cultivation in spring, such as Jinchun No. 4, Zhongnongda No. 11, Zhongnongda No. 12, Bomei No. 4, Derite 902 and Zhongnong No. 12; varieties suitable for open-field cultivation in autumn include Jinyou No. 3, Jinyan No. 2 and Tangshan Autumn Cucumber.

2. Raising Seedlings

The seedling age is about 35 days. Standards for strong seedlings: intact cotyledons, 3-5 true leaves, relatively short internodes, a 45-degree angle between the petiole and the main vine, dark green leaf color, thick leaves, thick and sturdy stems, a well-developed root system, and no pests or diseases.

3. Fertilizing and Making Beds

Prepare the soil and apply 5 cubic meters of decomposed organic fertilizer, 25-30 kg of superphosphate or 10-15 kg of diammonium phosphate. Before transplanting, plow the soil and make beds 1.2 m wide and more than 15 cm high, and cover them with plastic film.

4. Transplanting

Determining the transplanting date: transplant as early as possible on the premise that the plants will not be frozen after transplanting. In the Chengde area, transplanting is generally done in late April to early May. Temperature requirements: the minimum night temperature should be above 5°C, and the soil temperature at 0-10 cm should be above 12°C. For open-field cucumbers in autumn, direct seeding is used.

Transplanting density: 4000-4500 plants/mu, with wide and narrow row spacing, narrow row spacing 40 cm, wide row spacing 80 cm, plant spacing 25-30 cm, using the dark-water method for transplanting.

Field Management of Cucumbers

Water should be controlled during the cucumber seedling stage. The water requirement is greatest during the flowering and fruiting stage; on sunny days, water generally once a day, and during drought, irrigate once every 3-5 days. On rainy days, do a good job of preventing waterlogging.

Fertilizing in field cultivation: cucumbers respond well to base fertilizer. During soil preparation, plow deeply and increase the application of decomposed organic fertilizer, applying 2000 kg-3000 kg per mu, 50 kg of feather fertilizer and 30 kg of superphosphate as base fertilizer. When the plants have 2-3 true leaves, begin topdressing. Cucumber roots have weak absorption capacity and are sensitive to high-concentration fertilizers. Topdressing should follow the principle of "frequent application and light application", applying fertilizer once every 6-8 days, with 5 kg-6 kg of urea per mu.

Pest and disease control: cucumber downy mildew, powdery mildew, etc.; pests include aphids, whiteflies, leafminers, etc. It is necessary to strengthen cultivation and fertilizer-water management, increase the application of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, improve the plants' disease resistance, and pay attention to ventilation, light transmission and dehumidification in the greenhouse, creating conditions unfavorable to the occurrence of pests and diseases. At the early stage of pest and disease occurrence, effective chemical control measures should be taken to control them, so as to extend the cucumber harvesting period and achieve the goal of increasing yield and income.

Planting Time for Spring Cucumbers

Spring cucumbers refer to cucumbers raised as seedlings in winter and harvested in spring. Below, let's look at the sowing time and transplanting time of spring cucumbers:

1. Sowing time for spring cucumbers: the sowing date of spring cucumbers is determined according to the transplanting date. The suitable calendar seedling age at transplanting is 40-50 days, and the physiological seedling age is four leaves and one heart. If calculated by calendar seedling age, sow 40-50 days before transplanting. The length of physiological seedling age is related to the seedling-raising method: 50-55 days when using a cold frame or solar greenhouse for seedling raising; 45-50 days when using a heated greenhouse; 45 days when using an electric heating wire greenhouse. Therefore, different seedling-raising methods also mean different sowing times. Practice has proved that rapid seedling raising not only saves time, but also produces seedlings that emerge quickly and grow strong, with high early yield. Where conditions permit, rapid seedling raising should be used as much as possible.

2. Transplanting time for spring cucumbers: the transplanting time for spring cucumbers is after the local late frost, when the average temperature of the ten-day period reaches above 18°C. In Beijing, Tianjin and Shijiazhuang areas, transplanting is generally done after late April. In order to slow the seedling recovery quickly, choose sunny days to plant seedlings, and do not transplant on cloudy or windy days. The transplanting density is mainly determined by the characteristics of the variety.

Growth Cycle

1. Germination stage: from sowing to the appearance of the first true leaf, generally 5-7 days. At this stage, growth is small and slow, and higher temperature and humidity and sufficient light are needed to promote early emergence, uniform emergence and prevent excessive vegetative growth.

2. Seedling stage: from the unfolding of the first true leaf to the unfolding of the 4th-5th true leaves, generally about 30 days. At this stage, flower bud differentiation begins, but the growth center is still the roots, stems, leaves and other vegetative organs. The management goal is to combine promotion and control to cultivate strong seedlings.

3. Early flowering stage (vine growth and spreading stage): from the unfolding of the 4th-5th true leaves to the setting of the first female cucumber, about 20 days. At this time, vegetative growth and reproductive growth proceed simultaneously, and the growth center gradually changes from vegetative growth to reproductive growth. Promotion and control should be combined, promoting fruit setting and controlling excessive growth.

4. Fruiting stage: from the setting of the first female cucumber to vine pulling, the duration varies with different cultivation methods. At this stage, the plant growth rate slows down, with fruit and flower bud development as the center. Sufficient water and fertilizer should be supplied to promote fruit setting and prevent premature aging.

The above is the field cucumber planting method summarized for everyone. I hope it can help you! As is widely known, cucumber is an especially nutritious vegetable, and it can also be eaten raw; whether stir-fried or eaten raw, it is delicious and nutritious. For female friends, cucumbers can help you whiten your skin and lose weight!