Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is a widely-cultivated creeping vine plant in the Cucurbitaceae gourd family that bears cucumiform fruits, which are used as vegetables. The three main varieties of cucumber —burpless, slicing, and pickling — features numerous cultivators under each variety.
Burpless
This cucumber has little taste and contains less of the burp-causing compound called cucurbitacin. Burpless cucumbers are long and cylindrical with tender skin; you can have them all year round.
Slicing
Fresh market cucumber is usually 8-9 inches long with blocky ends and small yellow ground spots on a thick, dark green skin.
Pickling
These cucumbers are typically warty, thin, and light green, fruit sizes ranging from 3 to 7 inches. Maturation can take up to 60 days.
Sowing Time
-
Summer - January to March
-
Rainy - June to July
-
Seed requirement - 2 - 3 kg of seeds per hectare
Temperature requirement
It requires moderate warm temperature, a maximum of 40oCelsius, and a minimumof 20o Celsius. The best temperature for good growth and flowering should be between 25-30o Celsius.
Benefits of cucumber
They are low in calories but contain essential vitamins and minerals, with high water content. Eating cucumbers has many great health benefits, including weight loss, maintaining a balance of hydration, proper digestion, and low blood sugar levels.
The following is a brief of its benefits:
1. Cucumbers keep your body hydrated
Cucumbers are 96% water. Daily cucumber consumption helps to keep the body hydrated—tremendously helpful to combat common problems of the summer season when we tend to get dehydrated quickly. Cucumber is also known as a coolant vegetable that gives relief from the summer heat. Detox water made using cucumber and mint effectively reduces toxins from the body, improves hydration, and results in numerous health benefits.
2. It controls diabetes
Cucumbers are known to reduce blood sugar levels, thus helping manage and prevent diabetes mellitus.
Diabetic people can enjoy the cucumber without any stress.
3. It is incredible for skin
Cucumbers are great beauty enhancers. It has a tremendous effect on the skin. The application of cucumber juice on the skin makes the skin softer and brighter. Cucumber juice or slice also lightens dark circle under the eyes. Anti-inflammatory effects of cucumber lighten our skin and reduce tanning.
Tip: Keeping cucumber slices on the eyes for about 8-10 minutes relaxes your eyes.
4. Cucumber reduces the risk of cancer
The fibre in cucumber protects from colorectal cancer. Cucurbitacin may help preventcancer by stopping cancer cells from reproducing.
5. It prevents bad breath
Phytochemicals present in cucumber destroy the bacteria in our mouth that cause bad breath.
Which cucumber is better to consume: raw or peeled?
Of course, raw cucumber consumption is better to prevent loss of fibre, vitamins, and minerals.The peel and seeds are the most nutrient parts of the cucumber. They contain fibre and beta-carotene.
However, wash the cucumber properly so that no bacteria or soil gets inside your body while eating the cucumber.
How to grow cucumber at home?
Cucumbers can easily grow at home; you need to keep a few things in mind:
-
Proper sunlight, choose a location that has good sunlight.
-
Adequate drainage.
-
Rich fertile soil.
-
If you are planting the seeds in a container, ensure proper drainage and add compost to enrich the soil in the container.
In summer, you must eat cucumber every day to keep your body hydrated and cool. Raw cucumber itself tastes well. You can enhance the flavor of cucumber by adding the same in curd, salad, sandwich, burger and so on.
All cucumber varieties are great to have, and they all have more than 94% water. So, you don’t need to put your time into the selection of cucumber species.
