Cucumbers are part of the cucurbitaceae family that includes melons as well as squashes and as such like a warm well drained soil. Cucumbers can be taken as they are fresh or they can be pickled depending on what someone wishes. For those cucumbers that are taken fresh they are referred to as slicing varieties while those that are pickled are referred to as pickling varieties. Cucumbers contain important nutrients that are especially beneficial to the human skin, hair as well as nails. Cucumbers are straight forward to grow as they are a climbing vine and below are the steps to follow when growing cucumbers:
Preparation
You should dig a fair amount of organic compost into the soil with the depth of a spade.
Sowing
You can start your plants off indoors by sowing in biodegradable seedling pots that will ensure roots are not damaged when you plant out the seedlings. You should never plant out before the last frost. A gap of around 40 cm should be left between the seedlings. Each hole can contain up to three seeds and this is advisable so as to increase the chances of germination success. These seeds should be planted approx 2.5cm deep. For those who are planting cucumbers in more than one row they should make sure that the rows are spaced at around 90 cm.
Position
Cucumbers require a good amount of sunshine as well as warmth and are a green house favorite. It is important to make sure that you have adequate space as cucumbers can rapidly reach around 6 feet. In cases where there is limited space you can train the plant against a wall, stake or trellice. For those who have more space they can spread on the ground.
Soil Type
The soil type to use when planting cucumbers is very important and this will require a well drained soil in raised beds that are around 6 inches high. Cucumbers will thrive in a sandy loam soil. You should ensure that the soil has a good amount of organic matter within it such as manure which will give the plants the nutrients they require.
Tending
The weeding process should be done very carefully as you are not supposed to go below a couple of centimeters with the hoe as you may damage the root system and this will thereby slow down plant growth. The cucumbers should be watered well weekly if they are to become juicy and firm. The plant has both male and female flowers and it is the female flowers that give rise to the cucumbers. If you use a cotton bud to transfer pollen from the male to the center of female flowers you will aid in pollination as well as increase the fruit count. You can distinguish between these two flowers by looking at the base of each and the female flower will have a tiny cucumber.
Harvesting
They can be harvested when they reach a suitable size which is normally after 50 to 60 days. The skin should be dark green in color. If you wait for long the cucumber will over ripe and their quality of flavor will decline as they turn yellow. When harvesting you can either twist the cucumbers off the plant or you can cut the stalk just above the cucumber tip.
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