A Detailed Guide to Cucumber Cultivation Techniques and Planting Methods
Cucumber is a vegetable suitable for all ages, and it can be eaten raw or processed. At present, market demand is constantly growing. Below is a detailed explanation of cucumber cultivation methods and cultivation techniques for reference.
I. Cucumber Cultivation Methods
Judging from the cucumber cultivation methods currently promoted, there are mainly three cultivation models: open-field cultivation, greenhouse cultivation, and soilless cultivation.
1. Open-field cucumber cultivation
Open-field cucumber cultivation is China's traditional cucumber cultivation method. Cucumbers are usually grown by directly making beds, sowing seeds, and building trellises. The advantage of open-field cucumber cultivation is low cost, but it is greatly affected by climate and season.
2. Greenhouse cucumber cultivation
Greenhouse cucumber cultivation is currently the most common cucumber cultivation method. Although the cost is somewhat higher, cultivation can be chosen to be earlier or later according to market trends, and its ability to withstand natural disasters is stronger than that of open-field cultivation.
3. Soilless cucumber cultivation
It is understood that the yield of soilless-cultivated cucumbers is currently second only to tomatoes. It is mainly divided into bag-type soilless cucumber cultivation and non-bag-type soilless cucumber cultivation. The culture substrate can be selected according to local conditions, and material sources mainly include but are not limited to rice husks, peat soil, perlite, vermiculite, washed sand, coal cinders, crushed straw, and so on.
II. Key Points of Cucumber Cultivation Techniques
Open-field cultivation, greenhouse cultivation, and soilless cucumber cultivation each have their own emphases in key points of cultivation techniques.
1. Key points of open-field cucumber cultivation techniques
(1) Variety selection
For open-field cucumber planting, choose varieties with strong resistance, heat and drought tolerance, and ease of cultivation, such as Dingguagua 668, Yanqing Taiwan Huagua, Dingfeng 839, Cuifeng, and other varieties.
(2) Pest and disease control
In open-field cultivation, emphasis should be placed on controlling cucumber pests and diseases, such as downy mildew, powdery mildew, anthracnose, and so on.
2. Key points of greenhouse cucumber cultivation techniques
(1) Greenhouse selection
Generally, the greenhouses selected for cucumber cultivation are solar greenhouses, mainly including earthen-wall solar greenhouses and brick-wall solar greenhouses. The former is suitable for off-season cultivation and has lower cost, but its service life is easily affected by weather; the latter costs more but is sturdy and durable, with a service life of at least 20 years or more.
(2) Greenhouse temperature control
Taking the tomato seedling recovery stage as the boundary, before seedling recovery ensure the daytime temperature is 25-30°C and around 20°C at night; after the seedling recovery stage, ensure the daytime temperature is 20-25°C and around 15°C at night.
3. Key points of soilless cucumber cultivation techniques
(1) Substrate preparation
The selection of soilless cultivation substrate materials was discussed earlier, but these substrates still need steam sterilization and bagging during preparation.
(2) Cucumber variety selection
Generally, the variety selected for soilless cucumber cultivation is the Dutch “Zhuanggua”. After the cucumber seeds are soaked and sprouted, plug tray seedling raising is used for sowing and seedling cultivation.
(3) Preparation of nutrient solution
In soilless cucumber cultivation, fertilizer is generally not applied. Instead, nutrient solution is prepared in real time according to the actual growth of the cucumbers and then sprayed through a drip irrigation system.
Soilless cultivation requires specific greenhouses and substrate nutrient solutions, so production costs are relatively high. Therefore, the market price of soilless-cultivated cucumbers is also much higher than that of open-field and greenhouse-grown cucumbers.