The Latest Cucumber Cultivation Technique Tutorial: A Detailed Explanation of Methods and Key Points

Cucumber is one of the common vegetables, called qinggua in some regions, and it is cultivated in most parts of our country. It is commonly grown as an off-season vegetable in greenhouses or glasshouses. Today let us learn together about how to grow cucumbers and how to deal with the practical problems that arise during the growing process.

1. Site selection and land preparation

Choose flat land with suitable acidity and alkalinity, deep soil, good drainage and aeration, and rich organic matter for planting. It must not be planted in continuous cropping with the same family or grown together with them. It is best to plant on high ridges with deep furrows; generally the furrow depth is more than 20 cm, the ridge width is about 1 to 1.5 m, the plot faces south with its back to the north, and the plant spacing is more than 20 cm.

2. Sowing and raising seedlings

It is best to sow before March in early spring. In spring, after sprouting the seeds they are generally sown with plastic film mulching. First, stir them in hot water at 50 to 60 degrees for about 10 to 15 minutes to kill bacteria. Then soak them in warm water at about 30 degrees for about 5 hours, take them out, drain off the water, rub and wash off dust on the surface, and finally put them into an incubation box at 25 degrees to sprout. During this period, spray water once every one or two hours to keep them warm and moist, and they will sprout after about one day. Summer cultivation is mostly between June and August, generally using soaked seeds for direct sowing. When the seedlings grow two true leaves, they can be transplanted. This is generally done on a sunny afternoon; after watering thoroughly, lift the seedlings, being careful not to bruise the roots, and transplant them with soil still attached as much as possible.

3. Fertilizer and water management

Before planting, apply about 60% of the year's base fertilizer first. The base fertilizer is generally mainly decomposed farmyard organic fertilizer, usually applied when preparing the land and deep plowing the soil. Apply about one thousand to two thousand jin per mu, together with a small amount of superphosphate. After transplanting, when the plants grow three true leaves, topdressing can begin, generally applying dilute fertilizer water in small amounts but frequently. Apply topdressing once a week, mostly nitrogen fertilizer. When tendrils appear on the cucumbers, earth up, dig the soil, and apply urea once as topdressing. After the first harvest of cucumbers, earth up and apply topdressing once more, applying about 100 jin of compound fertilizer per mu. In summer, with high temperatures, rapid growth, accelerated aging, and heavy rainfall, nutrients are lost, so topdressing is generally carried out as early as possible.

For spring cucumbers, keeping the seedling stage moist is enough, to avoid the occurrence of damping-off disease. During the flowering and fruiting stages, a large amount of water is needed, so spray water once every afternoon on sunny days. At other times, decide whether to water and how much to water according to the weather and soil moisture. When drought occurs, water 3 to 4 times a day.

The most important thing in cucumber planting is fertilizer and water management measures. Fertilizer is the foundation that ensures growth, and raising seedlings is the prerequisite for yield, quality, and seedling growth, so doing a good job of technical management during cucumber cultivation is very important for growing them.