Plantation : Sowing in ground: Cucumber seeds are planted when the soil temperature reaches 20° C. Uniform germination of the plant is achieved with warm, moist soil. Begin sowing the second half of May. Even during this period, sudden drops in temperature can damage crops.Sowing in pots: Harvesting can be accelerated up to three weeks. If you are considering this option, it is best to use peat containers. Because transplantation can damage the plant and not tolerate the change in the environment. Start sowing in April. For germination, the plant needs light and a temperature between 20 °C and 25 °C, fill the pot with 2/3 of compost and after germination, cover with nutrient supply. After four weeks, usually in mid-May, the plant should reach 12-27 cm and have several leaves. A few days before transplanting, fortify the seedlings by limiting the water supply and exposing them to the sun. Transplant them into 45 cm pots.

Soil : a light, fresh and rich in humus and well loosened soil.

Spacing : for vertical crops: 18 inches in the row and tree feet between the rows. For flat crops: three feet in the row and three feet between the rows.

Cultural practices : The superficial root system and the production of large amounts of green mass induce intensive watering and constant soil moisture. Most of the water is needed during the flowering and fruiting stages. You need to remember to water them systematically, because cucumbers do not tolerate irregular irrigation. The water should be warm or hot, not cold, so as not to slow down growth and cause the plant to collapse.Cucumbers trained vertically, cut from a single stem: the main stem is allowed to grow to about 8 ft in height, then it is pinched: this causes lateral ramifications between each leaf, called “suckers”. Then, as the growth progresses, the suckers and fruits developed on the main stem are removed from the ground up to about two feet high.Cucumbers grown flat: pinch above the second leaf: soon, two stems will form. These are then pinched after the fourth leaf and then all the other branches are cut to one leaf above each fruit.

Harvest : The harvest begins in July and ends in the first days of September. When greenhouse cucumbers develop, they grow quite quickly. You must therefore monitor the condition of the fruit at this time and pick the ripe ones. Unfortunately, cucumbers do not tolerate storage. They are, however, the perfect raw material for all preserves. They can be stored for years under the proper rules.

Consult our technical sheet