Cucumbers

Category: Vegetables post

Author: Garden

cucumbers

Cucumbers:

India is considered to be the homeland of cucumbers. Even nowadays you can find wild cucumber growing there. It has been estimated that India started growing cucumber as early as 3^rd millennium BC. Both Greeks and Egyptians loved cucumber. Drawings of cucumber and grape remain painted on their sanctuary frescos until nowadays. The ancient Romans would grow cucumbers in their greenhouses all year round and after they would ferment them in barrels in exactly the same way as it is done now. To European countries cucumber spread from Mediterranean coastal states. On the contrary to most European countries, to Russia it was brought from East Asia. In the beginning of the sixteenth century our country’s agricultural literature was already enriched with the knowledge of cultural cucumber. People from different counties all soon came to love cucumbers for their mild flavor and pleasant aroma; therefore, there were no obstacles for the even greater spread of cucumber.

Now cucumber is spread all over the world. People grow cucumbers both in fields and greenhouses which makes it available of consumption all year round. Cucumbers are used fresh or can be mixed with other vegetables (onion, tomato, radish, parsley) when making salad. Stuffed cucumber is often used as a second dish. It is popular among housewives to fermentate, marinate and preserve cucumbers as well as cooking cucumber soup. On summer time Lithuanian Cold-borscht with additions of cucumber is the most favorite soup among all. Cucumbers are not very nutritious. They contain 97% of water, celluloid, nitrogen and nitrogen-free elements, up to 148 mg% of potassium salt and little vitamin D, Bi, B2, PP and pro-vitamin A. Even though they are not very nutritious, cucumbers improve the appetite and help the body to assimilate fat and protein better. Eating marinated cucumbers and pickles result in the increased activity of digestive gland which produces secretion. Therefore, people who are predisposed to obesity should avoid eating cucumber at any cost.

Pickles are not recommended for patients with gastric and intestinal diseases and atherosclerosis, hypertonic illness, liver and kidney diseases and those with a heart defect.

Fresh cucumber is very beneficial for those who suffer from chronic constipation. It also stimulates the bladder, forcing the release of urine and gall; therefore, making the cucumber juice the most recommended treatment for swellings which appear due to heart disease. In folk medicine fresh cucumber juice is used as a sedative and pain-reducing drug.

Cucumbers

is very much appreciated by the beauticians. Its juice can be used to clean the face of the pigmented spots and tan, freckles or acne. For oily skin it is advisable to make a face lotion from one glass of fresh grated cucumbers poured with a glass of vodka. After two weeks have passed, the liquid in the glass should be filtered through gauze and then applied on the face. For dry facial skin you should mix equal parts of boiled water and cucumber juice and then add a teaspoon of glycerin to the mix. Cucumber juice refreshes the skin well too, so during the summer when strong body perspiration is unavoidable, you should rub your skin with some cut cucumber.

Cucumber growing conditions are quite demanding seeing as cucumbers are very receptive to heat and humidity. Cucumber seeds begin to grow at 13-14 ° C degrees, but they are more likely to grow faster at the temperature of 25-30 degree Celsius seeing as it is the best temperature for plants to grow and develop. Once the temperature falls below 15 ° C, cucumbers stop developing at all. If the temperature stays so low for a longer period of time, the womanly blooms of cucumbers start to fall. When the temperature drops down to 10 ° C the late development of cucumber is impaired, while once the temperature falls to 0.5 ° C the plants perish.

Cucumber roots are weak and mainly located on the surface of soil. That is why you must maintain the optimum moisture content. The moisture plays an important role during the flowering and coherence time in particular. At that time, if the soil is parched cucumber blossoms and rudiments of fruit begin to crumble, fruit gets deformed and their quality drops down as cucumbers become bitter, unpalatable. Nevertheless, cucumbers do not like soaked soil either, that is why they need to be watered often but in moderation. The best relative air humidity for cucumbers is around 90%.

Cucumbers should be sown on the second half of May once the soil is warm enough (10 cm deep – about 16 ° C). If sown in cold soil seeds tend to swell and rot.

The holes where seeds are inserted should be 3-4 cm in depth and contain gaps of 4-5 cm between them.

Growing Cucumbers in the Greenhouse

Once the temperature of soil reaches at least 16° C you may begin planting cucumber seedlings in depth of 10 cm in rows from 0.9 to1.2 meters. Gaps between plants should very from 20 to 25 cm. Firstly, the ground should be watered. After small holes are made, they are filled with water. Once the water soaks in the seedlings have to be planted into holes at the same depth that they were grown in pots. Within 2-3 days after planting, cucumbers must be attached to a wire with a string that is stretched at the height of 2.0-2,2 meters. Binding techniques are shown in Figure 16. After some time has passed cucumbers should be rotated around the string once or twice a week, their whiskers and diseased leaves should be removed. Decayed outer leaves must be picked off once the petiole decays completely.

Soil surface should be mellowed no deeper than 2 – 3 cm to prevent the damage of roots. Soil must be watered in the mornings with water of 20 – 25 ° C. Before flowering and once the flowering has begun you should cut down on watering, meanwhile during the period of yield starts you should water the plants more.

Whether or not you should use the additional fertilizer you can decide after agrochemical analysis is done and results are carried out. Unfortunately it is not affordable for everyone so you can try and decide whether you need to use more fertilizer or not judging from the characteristics of a plant.
In the absence of nitrogen fertilizer cucumber leaves tend to lighten and gain a yellowish tinge, especially the leaves which are located below. Fruits are small and scarce, the growth slows down. Cucumber stems are thin, hard and hairy.

In the absence of phosphorus fertilizer, foliage is small, blue-greened. Plants grow slowly, are weak and all fruit rudiments and blossoms fall out.

In the absence of potassium fertilizer, leaves are small even though rich in dark green color. Edges of leaves are pale yellow, later on turning into brown.

In the absence of magnesium fertilizer, leaves become pale meanwhile veins of leaves remain green.

If you notice signs of a lack of fertilizer in cucumbers, you should put some extra manure that contains elements which plants are lacking. The concentration of mineral fertilizer in the solution should not exceed 0.5% (50 grams to 10 liters of water).The concentration of nitrogen fertilizers (ammonium nitrate or other) in the solution must not exceed 0.2% (20 g/10 l ). Right before fertilization the soil must be watered.

Cucumbers do not like drafts, thus only windows at the top of the greenhouse should be opened up for ventilation. Ventilation must be done with the condition of air temperature never dropping below 22 ° Celsius.

Cucumbers are cross-pollinating crops, so in order for them to get pollinated they require the help of bees and other insects. With the exception of homogeneous cucumber variety which does not require any outside help for pollination. To attract bees to your greenhouse you should pick some flowers from blooming bird cherry trees and soak them somewhere in the greenhouse. Branches of alder suit too. If bees do not come anyway, female cucumber rings can be pollinated with a help of a hand. It can be acquired by picking men’s ring, tearing away its petals and then touching 2-3 female flowers (those that already have some rudiments of fruit) on their pistil with the stamen. Cucumber yield should be harvested every other day, in the meanwhile picking and removing the diseased fruit from the greenhouse too. Cucumbers.