How to grow cucumbers in summer and autumn so they thrive
How can summer and autumn cucumbers be grown well? Please advise. In some places, spring cucumbers generally go out of season from late June to early-to-mid July, while summer and autumn cucumber cultivation exactly fills the market cucumber supply gap from mid-to-late July to early-to-mid December, so they are very popular with city residents, and vegetable growers also get relatively good economic returns. To grow summer and autumn cucumbers well,...
How can summer and autumn cucumbers be grown well? Please advise.
In some places, spring cucumbers generally go out of season from late June to early-to-mid July, while summer and autumn cucumber cultivation exactly fills the market cucumber supply gap from mid-to-late July to early-to-mid December, so they are very popular with city residents, and vegetable growers also get relatively good economic returns. To grow summer and autumn cucumbers well, the following points must be grasped:
1. Choose suitable cucumber varieties. If the variety is chosen improperly, the yield will be seriously affected. During summer and autumn, temperatures are high and pests and diseases are numerous, so heat-tolerant and disease-resistant varieties should be chosen. Also, because summer has long daylight hours, when cultivating cucumbers under long-day conditions, varieties that are not sensitive to light response should also be chosen, to avoid a reduction in female flowers and lower yield. Cucumber is a short-day vegetable. Generally, spring cucumber varieties sown in spring under short-day conditions can promote the formation of female flowers, but if sowing is delayed to summer and autumn, under long-day conditions, they will produce luxuriant branches and leaves, with few female flowers and many male flowers, and will only bloom without setting fruit. Therefore, spring cucumber varieties are generally not suitable for summer and autumn cucumber cultivation. For this reason, in the Shanghai area, summer and autumn cucumbers generally use the Jinyan series types of cucumber; for example, for summer cucumbers, Qingliang Xiaji, Lvmei, or Jinza No. 2 can be chosen, and for autumn cucumbers, Jinyan cucumber, Changxing Baici, Liqiu Luohe, etc. can be chosen.
2. Sow at the right time. Summer cucumbers are generally sown in batches from mid-June to late June, and autumn cucumbers are generally sown in early July, in batches, and sowing can continue until August; if using pipe sheds, cucumbers can be sown until late August to early September.
3. Use protected cultivation such as pipe sheds. In summer and autumn in Shanghai, temperatures are high, with many rainstorms and typhoons, and natural disasters are frequent. To ensure a bumper harvest of summer and autumn cucumbers, not only should seedlings be raised in plastic pipe sheds, but cultivation should also be carried out in pipe sheds, with small seedlings transplanted, plastic film mulching, and shade nets used well during the seedling stage, to improve seedling quality and lay a good foundation for high yield and good quality.
4. Strengthen fertilizer and water management. Summer and autumn cucumbers in pipe sheds do not receive rainwater, and at this time temperatures are also high, so cucumber transpiration is vigorous and a large amount of water is needed. Therefore, fertilizer and water management must be strengthened, and furrow irrigation should be carried out when necessary, but full-bed flooding irrigation should be avoided; after furrow irrigation at night, drain away standing water promptly. During the harvest stage, topdressing should be applied, using the method of "eat small meals often", that is, topdressing can be done more frequently, but the concentration should be lighter, and each fertilizer application should be a little smaller, which helps cucumbers absorb it.
5. Prevent diseases and control pests. The main pests and diseases harming summer and autumn cucumbers include Fusarium wilt, powdery mildew, and aphids, among others. Prevention and control must be strengthened, with prevention as the main approach. The pesticides used are the same as those for spring cucumbers, ensuring robust plant growth and improving yield, quality, and economic returns.
Click to get more cucumber cultivation techniques
Click to get more vegetable cultivation techniques