How to grow cucumbers in summer? Seed soaking time and fertilizing methods
Among summer vegetables and fruits to grow, there is one that even beginners are sure to succeed with, and it does not take up a lot of space either. Even on a brightly lit windowsill you can grow it successfully, and that is the cucumber. Let's learn about cucumber growing methods together!
To growcucumbers you must buy seeds, because the green cucumbers bought from the market are all unripe fruits, so the seeds inside them are also unripe and cannot sprout and grow. There are several kinds of green cucumber: the ordinary smooth-skinned cucumber, the spiny cucumber, or the mini Persian cucumber. For growing at home it is best to choose a mini variety, because apart from the plant being smaller in size, the most important thing is that it can produce cucumbers without pollinating. This is because in all cucurbit vines the flowers are divided into male and female; the male flowers are responsible for producing pollen, and the female flower already has a mini cucumber at the receptacle, making them very easy to tell apart. Larger green cucumber varieties need insects or hand pollination, but mini varieties can set fruit on their own.
Soak the seeds you bought for four to five hours, then plant them into a seedling tray, and within a week they will sprout. If you want the best harvest you cannot crowd them too much; in a 20 cm flower pot you can only grow one plant. Cucumbers are climbing vines and need a support to grow upward. When they grow to one meter tall, you can pinch off the growing tip to encourage branching, and this way they will produce even more cucumbers.
Every two weeks you can apply organic fertilizer. Cucumber roots are very shallow, so when fertilizing do not let it touch the roots, to avoid burning them. If the roots become exposed upward, you can gently cover them with soil as protection.Cucumbers need a lot of water, especially with direct sunlight; it is best to water in both morning and evening, but do not water at noon, when the summer sun is very intense, because the temperature is too high and the water evaporates directly, and the steam will scorch the fragile roots.
If they grow healthily, basically each cucumber plant can produce one to three per week. If you have several plants, this summer you basically will not need to buy cucumbers again, and you can also have fresh organic cucumbers to eat!
