Cucumber or Cucumis sativus is a creeping vine from the Cucurbitaceous gourd family. Since it is so easy to grow a lot of home gardeners choose to plant cucumbers in the summertime. The benefits of including cucumber in your diet are various.
Such as:
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They are full of nutrition
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They contain antioxidants
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It promotes hydration in the human body
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It helps with weight loss and lowers blood sugar
Where to grow cucumber?
Once planted, cucumbers barely need any maintenance to grow. They can be grown in a pot, kitchen garden, terrace, and even indoors. The cucumber plant comes in two types: bushy and vines. Bush cucumbers can be grown indoors and in containers and still produce a good yield.
Although cucumbers can be grown in any type of container, plastic or ceramic containers with a soil holding capacity of 12-20 kg is the best to accommodate two to three plants. Cucumbers needed at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight to thrive so make sure they are getting enough sunlight. They are vines so they also need a trellis for support.
How to grow cucumbers from seeds?
Examine your available space before starting to plant cucumber seeds. Vertical gardening is the best way to cultivate cucumbers in limited spaces. Cucumbers thrive well when planted directly in the ground.
Cucumber plants require warmth and light to thrive. As a result, keeping the pot/container in direct sunlight is the best option.
Sow the seeds at least 1 inch deep and 4 inches apart in the soil. Seeds need to be watered regularly to germinate.
You can either soak seeds in a damp paper towel for 24 hours or soak seeds in water for 24 hours to speed up the germination process.
Soil Requirements
You can use organic potting mix or seed starter mix to grow cucumber plants. Mix an equal part of compost or aged manure and loose potting soil and press the soil slightly in the container to get rid of air pockets.
Make sure that the soil is thoroughly moist and at a temperature of at least 20 degrees to 25 degrees Celsius.
The soil should be neutral or slightly acidic with a pH of around 5.5 to 6.8.
Plant Support
To get a yield of clean and well-shaped cucumbers, place a cage or trellis at the planting site. You can make more use of garden space with vertical support.
Fertilizers
Make planting beds before you start sowing by adding aged compost or organic manure. Low nitrogen and high potassium compost mix are preferred for the best growth of cucumbers.
Watering
Cucumbers grow best in a constantly moist planting bed they contain 95 percent water themselves. Make sure that the planting bed is evenly moist in all stages of growth.
Harvesting
Cucumbers are ready for harvest in 55 to 60 days. They should be harvested as soon as they are ready because they grow bigger, become bitter, and stop the growth of new fruits. Snip the cucumbers gently off the vine using garden shears.
