How to Plant Cucumber Seeds? Detailed Planting Methods and Techniques

Cucumber is a common vegetable in our country, widely planted because it is easy to grow and has low investment costs. Many people also specifically save their own seeds for planting, so how do you plant cucumber seeds?

1. Planting time

Cucumbers can be sown in early spring from January to March, when the climate is mild and the growth rate is relatively fast, which is very conducive to germination and seedling emergence. Another time is in summer and autumn from June to August, when the climate is cool and pleasant, which is also helpful for vegetable growth.

2. Choosing seeds

According to local climatic conditions, choose suitable seeds and ensure good quality. Screen the seeds and pick out the shriveled and damaged ones.

3. Seed treatment

(1) Warm water pre-soaking: First soak the cucumber seeds in room-temperature water for 4 hours, remove them, then soak them in 55°C hot water, using the heat to sterilize and disinfect for 15 minutes, then remove them and put them into cool water to cool down, then transfer them to germination or sowing. The precaution is to strictly follow the technical requirements for water temperature and time.

(2) Seed disinfection: Seed disinfection is the most economical and effective method for preventing and controlling many infectious diseases and pests, and is an indispensable measure for preventing seedling-stage diseases and pests. Because very little pesticide is used in seed treatment, and the time until cucumber harvest is long, there is almost no problem of pesticide residue, so it is also an important measure advocated for producing pollution-free vegetables.

(2.1) Seed coating: Seed coating agents contain fungicides and insecticides that kill seed-borne diseases and underground pests, as well as trace element fertilizers and plant growth regulators that can promote seed germination and cucumber growth. Some commercial seeds are now already coated before leaving the factory, and such seeds do not need further disinfection treatment.

(2.2) Hot water seed soaking: Hot water seed soaking uses the difference in heat tolerance between dry seeds and pathogens, killing pathogens on the seed surface through high temperature. Put dry seeds into 55-60°C warm water, stir continuously, and keep adding hot water to maintain the water temperature at 55-60°C for 10 minutes. When the temperature drops to 28-30°C, soak the seeds for another 4-6 hours, rinse them clean, and then germinate them.

(2.3) Chemical seed soaking: First, use 72.2% Previcur AS or 25% metalaxyl wettable powder at 800 times dilution, soak the seeds for 20 minutes, which can prevent and control fungal diseases at the cucumber seedling stage. Second, soak the seeds in 50% thiram wettable powder at 500 times dilution for 20 minutes to prevent and control anthracnose and stem blight. Third, coating disinfection with 2.5% Celest suspension seed coating agent can not only kill pathogenic fungi lurking in the seed coat, but also penetrate into the inside of the seed to kill pathogenic fungi that have invaded the seed interior, effectively preventing and controlling damping-off, Rhizoctonia rot, and other diseases at the melon seedling stage. Fourth, to prevent virus diseases caused by virus-carrying seeds, soak the seeds in 10% trisodium phosphate solution for 20 minutes. Fifth, soaking seeds in a 500 times dilution of 1 million units agricultural streptomycin for 2 hours can prevent and control bacterial diseases.

No matter which chemical is used for seed soaking, after soaking the seeds must be rinsed with clean water to prevent phytotoxicity.

4. Sowing the seeds

Prepare a seedling plug tray. You can mix peat soil, perlite, and vermiculite in equal proportions to ensure fertility, looseness, and air permeability, and add organic fertilizer at the bottom. After preparing the soil, water it thoroughly, sow the seeds in the holes, and cover with a thin layer of soil, about 0.5-1 cm is enough. Adjust the surrounding temperature to 24-30 degrees.

Overall, cucumber seeds are quite easy to plant. As long as you choose good seeds, treat the seeds properly, and then sow them into the seedling bed when the weather is good, it is fine.