Landscaping and Garden Care

Cucumbers are popularly eaten fresh or pickled. Its nutrients are beneficial to our hair, skins and nails. It is also easy to grow. The vine needs warms temperature so it will yield sweet fruits. It needs a good amount of sunshine. They are easily grown in greenhouses. As good seed is requirement to have a good yield. One must rely on the recommendations of the local and experienced cucumber gardener, horticulturist or seed supplier as there are diseases that affect the local plants. New seed varieties are already available that are disease resistant.

One must also remember that a good yield will rely on nature’s pollination requirements. Normally a cucumber vine has a male and female flower and fruits are formed from the pollinated female flowers. There are some cucumber varieties that are called “gynoecious”. These varieties produces mainly female flowers so that it’s yield will be larger. These varieties are packed with a few normal seed, thus these seeds must also be planted. A well drained soil is a requirement for cucumber. It will thrive well in a sandy loam soil with an adequate supply of compost and organic nutrients. It needs a good space too as the vine can rapidly reach 6 feet. It can be trained to grow against a wall, trellis, and stakes. Cucumbers can also spread in the ground.

Seeds can be germinated indoors by using biodegradable seedling pots. The roots of the cucumber need not be disturbed when transplanted thus a biodegradable pot is preferred to be used. The seedlings will be ready for transplant in around four weeks. Cucumber seeds can also be directly sown in the ground. Most growers prefer to plant them in hills or rows. Applying fertilizer to the ground will enrich the growing environment of the vine. A 5-10-5 fertilizer is good to apply before sowing the seeds. Rows are approximately one foot (30 centimeters) deep and the seeds are sown ½ inch (1.25 centimeters) deep. Keep the distance between the seeds to around 4 inches (10 centimeters). When the vine is around 2 inches (5 centimeters) high, thin them to the strongest one keeping plants at least a foot (30 centimeters) apart.

Cucumber needs a lot of moisture thus plastic mulch is always preferred to be laid. Laying the mulch will also prevent the weeds for growing. In the absence of plastic mulch, dried hay stalks can be used to present moisture loss of the soil. If the mulch cannot keep the weeds from growing, pull out the weeds carefully without disturbing the roots of the vines. Regular cultivation is also recommended. A good hand shovel can do the job as shovels and hoes can accidentally damage the roots. The cucumbers can be harvested in approximately 50 to 60 days after planting. Harvest them while they are still dark green in color. These are the good fruits and they are normally juicy and firm.

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