A detailed guide to fruit cucumber growing techniques, easy for beginners to learn

Fruit cucumber growing techniques

1. Raising seedlings

Small cucumber seeds are expensive, so when raising seedlings you can use plug trays or nutrient pots for precision sowing. The plants have very high temperature requirements; the optimum germination temperature is 24℃—26℃, and seedlings generally emerge in 4 days. After emergence, keep the daytime temperature at 23℃—25℃ and the nighttime at 16℃—18℃. The root system likes moisture but fears waterlogging, likes warmth but fears cold, and has vigorous aerobic respiration. Be sure to choose a growing medium with good aeration, heat retention, fertilizer retention, water permeability and moisture retention, such as peat, vermiculite, perlite, coco peat, etc.

2. Transplanting

Small cucumbers have relatively large leaves and bear fruit early, and can bear fruit continuously, but their root absorption capacity is relatively weak. Therefore, before transplanting, the soil must be finely prepared and a large amount of organic fertilizer applied: apply more than 5000 kg of decomposed poultry and livestock manure per 667 sq m, then supplement with some compound fertilizer. Make small raised beds 1-1.2 m wide. The standard for transplanting seedlings is 2-4 true leaves, with a seedling age of 25 days and a density of 2500 plants/667 sq m. Immediately after transplanting, water to settle the seedlings, which helps the roots develop outward.

3. Field management

1. Fertilizer and water After transplanting, apply a smaller amount of water once every 3—4 days to help the seedlings recover. After the seedling-recovery watering, every watering should be accompanied by fertilizer, applying 10 kg of urea per 667 sq m by flushing, once every 5-7 days. During the fruiting period, spray 0.2%-0.3% monopotassium phosphate on the leaves once a week. Keep air humidity at 80%.

2. Temperature Within 1 week after transplanting, keep the daytime temperature at 25℃-30℃ and the nighttime at 18℃—20℃; do not ventilate unless it exceeds 35℃. After the seedlings recover, lower the temperature to 22℃-25℃ during the day and 16℃-18℃ at night.

3. Light Dutch small cucumbers have relatively strong tolerance to low light and can still achieve relatively high yields under low-light conditions in winter. During high temperatures and strong light in summer, shade netting must be added.

4. Carbon dioxide fertilization If possible, appropriately supplement carbon dioxide gas fertilizer so that the indoor carbon dioxide concentration reaches 750 mg/kg; cucumber yield will increase by 20%.