This article is about Cucumber farming. Cucumber is a very popular vegetable in the world, hence, there is a need to learn cucumber farming. It is one vegetable with a very large market in Nigeria. It is consumed for all its nutritious and sweet purposes. It is also very medicinal and added to herbs in order to increase its potency.
Starting cucumber farming is very profitable in Nigeria. There is a chance to export this Agric product and even make a name in the international market. You also add weight to social economic development setting of the society.
You might not know a lot about investing in cucumbers, this is the reason I will be explaining that in this article. Starting a cucumber farm is even easy when you have a background knowledge or idea like that which will be disclosed in this article.
Benefits of cucumber
1. It is a vegetable consumed for several purposes
2. It is used for several medical and herbal purposes. Hence used in treating diabetics, skin irritations, bad breath etc.
3. It is a great source of vitamin A, B1, B6 and D.
4. It is a great source of revenue for some countries as they put it up in the international trading market
5. Cucumber is one vegetable that doesn’t require a lot of capital to cultivate and it is very profitable.
How To Get Started With Cucumber Farming
A lot of people don’t even know cucumbers are grown in Nigeria but they crave for them. Meanwhile, they have the ability to start the cultivation of this crop near them. It’s not like you need a lot of capital or need to practice difficult agronomy. A free crop like cucumber only requires intense care.
Let’s see the easy process of cucumber farming in Nigeria.
Site Selection For Cucumber Farming
Cucumber is one vegetable that can survive in any part of the country. It is very versatile and it’s adaptability is fast enough for anyone to invest in cucumber. This means no excuse for not investing in cucumber except the fact that we are not seeing it as attractive in this part of the world. The temperature should be about 16 – 350C.
The fact is that once you have any land that is loamy or clayey and rich in high organic nutrients, you can start a cucumber farm. Also, the land must have high access to water such that the rainfall pattern of the area must be up to 300 cm to 400 cm per month. Also the PH of the soil should be about 7.0 and the land should have an adequate amount of direct sunlight.
Proper Research for Cucumber Farming
Research will definitely bring life to your farm. If you have cucumber vegetation near you, it’s better you speak to the farmer and make sure he explains all the potential issues that might happen.
Another thing is that your farm must be close to the market or to the potential buyers so that you get enough sales from your yield. You have to research about people in that vicinity if they have a strong affinity for this your cucumber yield later on. Having a cucumber farm where people won’t appreciate you is not advisable.
Finally, do not forget to cut your coat according to your size. If you have to start a cucumber farm start small before thinking of going large scale in order to to have an experience of the market you will be selling to. Also, it helps you to be on the safer side of sales and storing.
Land Preparation
Next step is to get your land ready for farming. Clearing the land with hoes and cutlasses or making use of witnesses to remove weeds. Also make sure that the land is free of hard stones. If there are still weeds that remain in the soil, then you can apply herbicides to keep them all out.
The next step is to apply fertilizers or organic manure to the soil in order to keep. Apply Nitrogen and potassium fertilizer in the same proportion. Do not over apply fertilizers when preparing for planting, you will still apply fertilizer in the course of the planting. Over application will kill your yield later on.
SEED SELECTION
Purchasing healthy and viable seeds makes your crop grow easily and boost your yield during your harvest. You can get seeds from the local market but the fact is that the seed must be entirely good. If you think you can’t trust buying from a local market, meet with experts around you, they will direct you to the right and reliable seller to buy from.
PLANTING
The next step is to plant. This is the real deal because you have to monitor several things here. Some of the things you should plant in a damp soil of the same features listed above. However, later on you need to supply a lot of water to the soil. Cucumber can be planted anytime. During rainfall, you might not need an irrigation system like that but afterwards you need a lot of water during the dry season.
Fertilizer application, weeding, checking for pests and diseases, are important agronomy practices for your plants.
Harvesting
Normally, Within 40-45 days of cucumber farming, you should be able to harvest your cucumber. If you are making use of a different variety from the normal, the time might differ but it is close to what that stated above. Harvest your cucumber with your hands.
Wash your cucumber in a bowl after harvest and store them in a bag, placing the bag in a cool place. It shouldn’t take long to sell all if you don’t want to lose your yield.
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