Autumn cucumber sowing method and sowing time

Depending on the climatic conditions of different regions, open-air cultivation of cucumbers can be carried out in spring, summer and autumn, while greenhouse cultivation can achieve year-round production. The planting of autumn cucumbers can just fill the market gap. For farmers who grow autumn cucumbers on a large scale , the autumn cucumbers that mature in September and October are out-of-season vegetables and can usually be sold at a higher price, thus earning higher profits. Let’s learn the sowing method and time of autumn cucumbers.

1. Sowing time of autumn cucumber

The planting time of autumn cucumbers varies from region to region, starting from early to mid-July and lasting until early August. After mid-to-late August, especially in the northern regions, due to the cucumber's growth cycle, if sowing is too late and the cucumbers are not yet mature when frost occurs, it will be difficult to bear fruit.

In central and northern China, many farmers choose to sow autumn cucumbers during the middle period of the dog days. As the saying goes, "radishes in the first dog days and vegetables in the second dog days," and the "vegetables in the second dog days" include cucumbers. Some areas also believe that autumn cucumbers should be sown before the beginning of autumn, which is usually during the middle of the dog days.

2. Sowing method of autumn cucumber

Since the temperature is high when sowing autumn cucumbers, heat-resistant varieties should be selected. Before sowing, deep plow the soil into small raised beds, and then sow directly. You can sow or broadcast seeds in holes, sowing 2-3 seeds in each hole.

When sowing, since the surface temperature may be as high as over 40 degrees, in order to increase the survival rate of cucumber seedlings, sowing should be carried out after sufficient water is poured, or irrigation should be carried out in time according to the soil moisture conditions after sowing, and continuous observation should be carried out after emergence to ensure water supply .

3. Build a trellis for autumn cucumbers

Cucumber seedlings grow quickly, and trellises need to be set up in time to facilitate climbing and fruiting. The construction of a rattan trellis is relatively simple. You can use bamboo poles, 3 or 4 in a group, forming a triangle or square at the bottom, intersecting at the top and fixing them with ropes, which is convenient and firm.

For farmers who grow crops on a large scale, they may have special trellis-building equipment. If not, they can also buy it on the market. A one-time investment can be used for many years. Even if cucumbers are no longer grown in the future, it can be used for other crops that require trellises.

4. Management of autumn cucumbers

To ensure high cucumber yields, nutrient supply is essential, so the use of fertilizers is critical. Base fertilizer can be applied at 100 kilograms of compound fertilizer per mu. If the family vegetable garden only has one mu of land, use 10 kilograms. Cucumbers need to be top-dressed once during the flowering and fruiting period. You can apply urea or compound fertilizer, 30-40 pounds per mu, and 3-4 pounds per small family vegetable garden.

It should be noted that if excessive water and fertilizer cause cucumbers to grow vigorously, it is necessary to spray dwarfing agents such as chlormequat to control the growth. Otherwise, the cucumber fruits may be small and the yield will decrease.

Cucumbers may encounter a variety of diseases and pests during their growth period, and prevention and control work needs to be done. Common diseases include damping-off, blight, powdery mildew, gray mold, downy mildew, sclerotinia, anthracnose, etc., and common insect pests include aphids, whiteflies, armyworms, and fall armyworms.

Different fungicides and insecticides are used for different diseases and pests. For example, cucumber downy mildew is common, and fungicides such as pyraclostrobin, metalaxyl, and mancozeb can be sprayed. Other diseases can be controlled with triazole fungicides. For insect pests, aphids can be sprayed with imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, etc., while pests such as the fall armyworm and the armyworm can be sprayed with highly effective cypermethrin, avermectin, bifenthrin and other insecticides. As a reminder, do not spray pesticides half a month before cucumber harvest to avoid pesticide residues.

Wait for the cucumbers to mature and be harvested. Depending on the variety and growing conditions, the cucumber growth cycle is 60-100 days, so the picking time span is relatively long. Farmers in small family vegetable gardens can pick and eat the fruits at the same time, while farmers engaged in large-scale cultivation can pick and sell them in batches.

The above is the relevant content about autumn cucumber planting . If you decide to plant autumn cucumbers, be careful not to miss the best time.