What environmental conditions are needed for growing cucumbers?
Cucumber is a very common fruit-type gourd vegetable. Cucumber has effects such as moisturizing the skin, clearing heat, and refreshing the body, so many people also use cucumber as a facial mask. Today, whether grown on a large scale or at home for personal use, cucumbers are abundant in some regions of our country. However, growing cucumbers is not something you can just do whenever you want, because cucumber growth still has certain requirements for the environment. So what conditions are required when planting? Let's take a look together below!
1. Soil
The roots of cucumber are not deeply distributed and have a relatively high demand for air, so when planting we should choose thick, loose soil with strong permeability for cultivation. Different soils have different effects on cucumber growth. For example, sandy soil can increase the emergence speed of cucumber seedlings and promote early maturity of cucumbers, but the plant aging speed will also accelerate and reduce yield. Clay soil has strong water and fertilizer retention and is suitable for cucumber growth in the middle and later stages, but cucumber grows slowly in the early stage and is not easy to mature early. Finally, pay attention to the soil pH value; around 6.5 is the most suitable range for cucumber growth.
2. Temperature
Cucumber originally belongs to a tropical crop and likes to grow in a warm environment. Its ability to tolerate low temperatures is very weak. At around 5°C, frost damage may occur, and at around 10°C, growth slows down or even stops. Its suitable growth temperature is around 20°C. However, the temperature also changes somewhat during different growth stages of cucumber. For example, after sowing, the temperature must not be lower than 13°C, and the optimal temperature should be maintained at around 30°C. During the seedling stage, the daytime temperature should be controlled at around 25°C, and the nighttime temperature should also be maintained at around 15°C. Therefore, we should control the temperature well according to weather changes and the cucumber's growth stages to promote cucumber growth.
3. Water
The front part of the cucumber root cannot absorb water from deep in the soil. Also, because the leaves of the cucumber plant are thin and large, water evaporates relatively quickly. Especially under high temperatures and strong light intensity, cucumber plants are very prone to water shortage and wilting. So when planting, we must ensure there is sufficient water to meet the cucumber's needs. Especially during high summer temperatures, water must be given in time to ensure the soil's moisture content and increase yield. But also pay attention to the weather and the amount used. If there is too much water, it can easily cause cucumber root rot and decay, trigger various diseases and pests, and affect cucumber growth.
4. Light
Cucumber has a relatively strong ability to tolerate weak light, so when growing cucumbers it is best to cultivate them in protected facilities. During cultivation, keeping the light duration at around 11 hours helps increase the flowering rate of female cucumber flowers, while slightly extending the light duration can increase the flowering rate of male flowers. However, if it is under cloudy weather with little sun for a long time, adverse phenomena such as cucumber fruit abortion are likely to occur. Therefore, in order to maintain cucumber yield, we should maintain a certain light intensity and duration during planting to create a good growth environment for cucumbers.
The above are the environmental condition requirements for growing cucumbers. Cucumber growth also has relatively large demands for oxygen and nutrients. Therefore, when planting, we should pay attention to doing good ventilation and topdressing work to meet the cucumber's nutritional needs, promote growth, increase yield, and expand planting benefits. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you everyone for reading and supporting.