Cucumber is an easy vegetable to grow. It requires both adequate sunlight and water. It can be grown in your backyard garden or container for home consumption.
Planting
According to David Mwesigye, a gardening expert, cucumbers can be planted in rows or by creating mounds in the soil.
Cucumber rows should be spaced between two and three metres apart from each row to enable the cucumber vines spread easily and produce high yields.
Cucumber can also be trellised by directing the stalks to a chain link. Sow cucumber seeds directly in the garden in rows and place two to three seeds in a hole of one to two centimetres deep.
Cover the seeds with enough soil and water them.
Requirements
Mwesigye says cucumbers are warm-season vegetables and like quite an amount of water and well-drained fertile soils. If planted during a dry season, they should be watered twice; in the morning and the evening.
Propagation is by seeds
Seeds take three to 10 days to germinate into seedlings.
Common pests and diseases
Cucumbers are prone to powdery mildew disease and are mainly attacked by beetles.
“Apply a good fungicide during flowering to prevent the spread of pests and diseases. Spraying can be done every after two weeks,” Mwesigye explains.
Harvesting
“Twist the cucumbers off the plants or cut the stalk just above the cucumber tip. The more you harvest, the more the plant flowers and produce more fruit. If you don’t harvest, the plant will just produce once and dry up,” he says.
After about 40 to 50 days, the skin of the cucumber turns dark green in colour, showing that they are ready.
Do not wait for cucumbers to turn yellow as this indicates that the fruit has over-ripened and its quality and taste are compromised.
