Cucumber Planting Techniques and Timing

Cucumber is a warm-loving vegetable, and its optimal growing temperature range is 18 to 32 degrees Celsius. Cucumbers can be grown all year round, with spring and winter usually grown in greenhouses, while spring and autumn are suitable for outdoor cultivation. Below we will learn about cucumber planting techniques and time.

1. Accurately grasp the planting time

When growing cucumbers in the open air, it is critical to ensure that the seedlings encounter suitable growth temperatures after emerging from the soil. This requires determining the best sowing time based on local climatic conditions. The minimum temperature for cucumber seeds to germinate is 12.7℃, and the most suitable temperature is 28℃. The root system of cucumber is extremely sensitive to temperature. It will only start to grow when the temperature rises above 15℃, and will stop growing when the temperature exceeds 38℃. The most suitable temperature range for cucumber seedlings growth is 20-25℃. In the Huanghuai region, seedling cultivation is generally carried out from the end of February to the beginning of March, and transplanting is carried out in early April. The temperature rise should be taken into consideration when transplanting. Transplanting can only be carried out when the average temperature remains above 20℃ for 5 to 7 consecutive days. Otherwise, it is better to postpone it for 3 to 5 days rather than planting it too early, so as to avoid the formation of "cold seedlings" and affect subsequent growth.

2. Precautions during seedling cultivation

Given that cucumber has a weak root system and poor regeneration ability, special attention should be paid to protecting the root system when raising seedlings. It is recommended to use nutrient pots for seedling cultivation and avoid damaging the root system when planting. Cucumber seedlings grow rapidly, and the internodes and petioles tend to elongate, so attention should be paid to temperature changes and water control to prevent excessive growth of seedlings, which would pose a hidden danger to later growth. The location and number of female flowers of cucumber are affected by temperature and humidity. Therefore, when raising seedlings, attention should be paid to regulating temperature and humidity, creating a suitable growth environment, and cultivating strong seedlings to lay a good foundation for early maturity and high yield.

3. Scientific planting

1. Soil fertilization

Cucumbers have shallow roots but large leaves, resulting in high evaporation, so they require more fertilizer and water. The soil in the planting area should be loose, fertile and rich in organic matter. Fertilization should be mainly organic fertilizer , combined with dispersed and concentrated fertilization methods, that is, spreading deep-buried organic fertilizer when tilling the land, and applying cake fertilizer and chemical fertilizer in the planting furrow when preparing the land and making ridges. Generally, 3 cubic meters of organic fertilizer, about 40 kilograms of cake fertilizer, and 40 to 50 kilograms of compound fertilizer are applied per mu.

2. Planting density

The density is determined based on the characteristics of the cucumber variety, pruning method and rack height. For early-maturing varieties that mainly produce melons on the main vine, the row spacing is 18 to 24 cm × 83 cm, and 7,000 to 8,000 plants are planted per acre. For medium and late-maturing varieties that bear fruits on both the main vine and side branches, the row spacing is 20 to 25 cm × 83 cm, and 3,000 to 3,500 plants are planted per acre.

3. Colonization

When the temperature is low in early spring, you can plant the seedlings by digging trenches at noon on a sunny day. Pay attention to the depth of soil burial to avoid burying the cotyledons or damaging the pot. Water thoroughly after planting to help the seedlings grow. The trellis can be set up immediately after planting, or after the seedlings have grown.

4. Field Management

1. Intertillage and fertilizer and water regulation

During the seedling slow-growing period after transplanting: cultivate the soil frequently to increase the soil temperature. When the new leaves of the transplanted seedlings emerge, you can start cultivating the soil. The cultivation should be shallow, and it is better to use hoeing. The principle of watering is to water less but more frequently, and keep the soil moist.

Flowering and fruiting period: After the seedlings have grown, carry out inter-row cultivation and seedling squatting to control fertility. The length of the seedling squatting time should be flexibly controlled according to the soil, climate, and plant growth conditions. Start using fertilizer and water, applying 10 kg of urea per mu to promote healthy growth of seedlings. After the root melon is established, the stems and leaves grow rapidly. At this time, apply fertilizer and water at the same time and increase the frequency of watering. Apply 5 to 8 kg of compound fertilizer per mu, water every 3 to 5 days. After the root melons are harvested, water them once every 1 to 2 days. After entering the peak fruit-bearing period, apply decomposed organic fertilizer once after each melon harvest. After entering the high temperature season, no more topdressing is done, and watering is done to lower the ground temperature. At this time, watering should be done in the morning and evening.

Later stage: To prevent the leaves from aging prematurely, you can spray fertilizer on the leaves and pay attention to the regulation of ground temperature.

2. Plant adjustment

Binding vines: Start by leading the vines into the racks when the seedlings are 30 to 50 cm tall, and adjust the height and direction of the stems and vines appropriately so that the growing groups do not block each other and the field is well ventilated and light-permeable.

Pinching: Pinching the melons at the right time according to the characteristics of the planted varieties and the soil conditions is a measure taken to promote the development of melon strips, the growth of side branches and increase yield. For early-maturing varieties, top the plants when they have 12 to 14 leaves, while for mid- to late-maturing varieties, top the plants when they have 18 to 20 leaves.

Crossing: Use varieties that bear fruits on the main and side branches with well-developed side branches. Leave 2 to 3 strong side branches at the base of each plant. After female flowers appear on the side branches, leave 2 leaves and remove the top to promote rapid growth of the fruit.

5. Harvest

Reasonable harvesting is one of the important measures to ensure high quality and high yield of cucumbers. Cucumber harvesting is different from other melons. It depends on the development of the melon strips and the growth of the entire plant. In the early stage of fruit formation, the root melons compete with the plant for nutrients. If they are harvested too late, they will hinder the growth of the entire plant and affect the total yield. In the middle stage, the plant grows vigorously and the melon strips growing in the middle develop quickly. Seize the favorable opportunity and pick the melon strips when they are the right size to promote the development of more melon strips, so picking must be done skillfully. In the later stage, the growth of the plants slows down and the nutrient supply is insufficient, which makes it easy for deformed melon strips to appear. They should be picked in time to concentrate the nutrients on the melon strips with good shapes to ensure that good melons are picked.

The above are just some key points in cucumber planting. The cucumber planting process also needs to be considered according to local conditions. If you have better technical measures, please feel free to share them in the comment section.