How to Grow Cucumbers in a Greenhouse? A Detailed Guide to High-Efficiency Cultivation Techniques

Cucumber is a common and highly sought-after vegetable on the market, and it is also widely cultivated, mainly including greenhouse and open-field methods. Next, the editor will explain in detail the high-efficiency cultivation techniques for greenhouse cucumbers.

1. Land preparation and application of base fertilizer

After the plot is selected, weeds on the ground and residual branches and leaves from the previous crop should be cleared as early as possible, and plowing and sun-bleaching should be carried out as soon as possible. After the soil is dug, it should be exposed to the sun for no less than 2 days, then the clods should be broken up finely, leveled, and formed into beds. Apply base fertilizer at the same time as forming the beds; the base fertilizer should be decomposed compost, pig manure, cow manure, chicken manure, and organic fertilizers such as peanut bran and soybean cake. The base fertilizer should be applied in a furrow opened in the middle of the bed, and soil should be covered immediately after fertilizing, then the bed surface should be leveled.

2. Sprouting and sowing

Cucumbers can be sown directly with dry seeds, or soaked to promote sprouting before sowing. Sprouting should be carried out 2-3 days before sowing. Seeds treated with a seed coating agent are best sown dry.

3. Seedling stage management

After sowing, great attention should be paid to soil moisture; cucumber seedlings require moist soil. After the cucumbers emerge, covers that affect light, such as black shade netting, should be removed immediately to ensure the seedlings receive enough sunlight. Cucumber seedlings are also affected by pests and diseases during the seedling stage, so observe carefully, detect early, and prevent and control early. Before emergence, the temperature in the greenhouse should preferably be about 30°C during the day and 15~20°C at night; after emergence, the temperature in the greenhouse should preferably be about 25°C during the day and 13~16°C at night.

4. Timely transplanting and thinning to a stand

Seedlings can be transplanted from when the cotyledons are fully expanded until they have 4 true leaves, that is, when the seedling age is 8~25 days. For small plastic-film arched tunnels, the density is 3000~3500 plants per mu, planted in double rows, with a plant spacing of 25 cm × 65 cm; for plastic-film greenhouses, the density should be slightly thinner, at 2000~2500 plants per mu. Planted in double rows, with a plant spacing of 30 cm × 35 cm.

5. Field management

1. Fertilizer management

The more commonly used fertilizers for topdressing are NPK compound fertilizer, urea, and other types of chemical fertilizers; decomposed poultry and livestock manure and urine and other organic fertilizers can also be used. Topdressing methods include furrow burying and broadcasting; generally, holes are opened between 2 plants, and furrows should be opened more than 10 cm away from the base of the plant stems, then fertilizer is applied and covered with soil.

2. Water management

Within 3~5 days after transplanting, water more to keep the soil moist, so as to help the seedlings quickly recover growth. When the seedlings have 3~4 true leaves, water supply should be reduced in a timely manner to lower the moisture of the surface soil layer. From the vine-running stage to the early fruiting stage, water demand increases somewhat, so water appropriately according to soil moisture conditions and weather conditions to keep the soil moist. Entering the peak fruiting stage, the plants' water demand increases greatly. In dry weather, water twice a day, and the amount of water should be large; at this time, irrigation is best, watering once every 3~5 days.

6. Timely harvesting

From sowing to the first harvest, cucumbers need 40~70 days, and the entire harvest period is generally 30~60 days.

Because greenhouse cultivation has high yields and good economic returns, it has become the main cultivation method in various places. Friends who need it can plant according to the above methods.