Which month is best to plant cucumbers?

Cucumber is a very common crop in rural areas. Cucumber seeds are small and germinate slowly, so you can first grow seedlings and then transplant them to the fields after the seedlings grow to a certain height, or you can directly dig small holes in the soil and sow them. The ideal temperature range for cucumber growth is 15 to 30 degrees Celsius. Planting cucumbers should be avoided too early to avoid being affected by low temperatures. So which month is the best to plant cucumbers?

Which month is best to plant cucumbers?

For southern regions, the best time to plant cucumbers is usually between March 15 and April 15 of the Gregorian calendar. For areas that are geographically closer to the north, the sowing time can be appropriately delayed and should be carried out between April 1 and April 30 of the Gregorian calendar. This timing helps ensure that the cucumber seeds germinate and grow under suitable temperature conditions.

Cucumber planting precautions

When planting cucumbers, you should choose high-quality varieties that are resistant to both low and high temperatures and have strong disease resistance.

Cucumber seeds should be dried 1 to 3 days before sowing. After drying, soak the seeds in 55℃ warm water for a few minutes, stirring constantly until the water temperature drops to 30 to 35℃. Then, scrub the seeds thoroughly to remove any mucus from the surface, and soak them for 3 to 4 hours. Take out the seeds, wrap them in a moist cloth, and keep the temperature at around 20°C, spraying them with water regularly to keep them moist. After about two days, the seeds will begin to turn white.

The nutrient soil for cucumbers should be made from garden soil or field soil that has not been used to grow melon crops in the past 3 to 5 years, and mixed with high-quality decomposed organic fertilizer at a ratio of 30%, ensuring that the soil and organic fertilizer are evenly mixed and pass through the sieve. Add 100 grams of carbendazim to every 1 cubic meter of nutrient soil and mix evenly to make medicated soil.

Whether you are planting in the ground or in a pot , you need to make sure the soil is suitable for cucumber growth. Usually garden soil is mixed with river sand as the substrate, and an appropriate amount of farmyard manure is added as base fertilizer to provide the necessary nutrients for cucumbers. After sowing, cover with a layer of fine soil and water thoroughly. The cucumbers will germinate in about a week.

The best time to sow cucumbers is in mid-to-late January, and the seedlings should be grown in a heated greenhouse or energy-saving solar greenhouse. Use a nutrient pot with a diameter of 10 cm and a height of 10 cm, fill it with 8 cm deep nutrient soil, water it thoroughly, sow a germinated seed in each nutrient pot, cover it with 1 cm thick medicinal soil, and cover it with a plastic film to maintain soil moisture.

When cucumbers have two true leaves, they can be transplanted. For cucumbers that were previously planted densely, they should be planted separately, with two plants in each pot. Be careful when transplanting to avoid damaging the root system. Remember to water the cucumbers after transplanting. Usually the cucumbers will resume growing within a week. Afterwards, you need to prepare the trellis and carry out proper water and fertilizer management.

In short, cucumber sowing is usually arranged between March and April in spring every year. The temperature is relatively moderate at this time, with the night temperature maintained above 5°C and the daytime temperature reaching around 18°C. Such climatic conditions are very beneficial to the growth and development of cucumber seedlings. Of course, the specific sowing time needs to be adjusted appropriately according to local climatic conditions, either advanced or delayed. Cucumbers can also be planted in the fall, with the best time usually being about two months before the first frost. If planted too late and encounter frost, the quality and yield of cucumbers may be affected.