How To Cultivate Organic Cucumbers

Makintau - Cucumber or Cucumis sativus is a plant that can adapt to various types of climates. However, cucumber cultivation is more maximal in dry climatic conditions with full irradiation at a temperature of 21-27oC. While the ideal height for cucumber cultivation is 1000-1200 meters above sea level. Even so, cucumbers can still be grown at low data.

Cultivation of organic cucumbers requires extra care, since the plant is susceptible to pests and weather. Cucumbers will be better planted on soils that contain quite a lot of organic nutrients. The texture of the soil is good for the growth and development of this plant with a low clay with a pH of 6-7.

Cucumber Seed Preparation

Cultivation of cucumbers usually propagates the plant through seeds. How to get good seeds is to select cucumbers whose base is small but the fruit is long and large. Let the cucumbers cook on the tree.

After it looks like it will rot the fruit and let stand for one night. The next day the fruit is split and scraped the seeds. Then put it in a clean container and leave it back for one night.

After that, sift the cucumber seeds in the water flow until the membrane that envelops them is gone. To facilitate the peeling of the membranes, finely mix ash on the seeds. At the time of sifting do seed sorting.

Choose seeds that sink, do not get washed away by the flow of water. Then dry the cucumber seeds for 2 days. After drying, the seeds should be packaged in a clean glass bottle. Keep the seeds for 1-2 months before use to remove their dormant period. Well-stored seeds can last up to a year.

The day before the cultivation of cucumbers is carried out, prepare the seeds by soaking in warm water for 3-5 hours then place them in a wet and damp cloth. After 15-24 hours it will usually grow buds from such seeds, and cucumber seeds are ready for planting.

Organic Land Processing

First plow or turn the ground 20-30 cm deep. In soil conditions with a pH of less than 6 give dolomite lime as much as 1-2 tons per hectare, depending on the acidity of the soil. Mix with the ground and let stand for 1-2 weeks.

Make a bed with a width of 1 meter 20-30 cm high and a length tailored to the needs. Make the distance between the beds 30 cm. Cover the beds with plastic mulch. The usefulness of plastic mulch to retain soil moisture, since cucumbers are better to plant in the dry season whose irradiation is full. However, the root zone for cucumbers should be kept moist.

Make a planting hole on the surface of the mulch with a diameter of 10 cm, each bed two rows of planting holes. The distance between planting holes in one row is 40 cm and the distance between rows is 50-60 cm.

Give manure, it is better to mix chicken manure with goat or cow manure 1: 1. How to give fertilizer can be stocked in a bed then stirred with soil, or placed in a planting hole.

Place fertilizer as much as 0.5-1 kg on each planting hole. The total fertilizer requirement for one hectare is 20-30 tons. After fertilizer leave the land for 1-2 weeks.

Planting Cucumber Seeds

Plant sprouted seeds, which have been prepared in the manner outlined above. Put each one seed into the planting hole then cover with soil. Flush every morning and evening. After 2 days usually the planted seeds have begun to grow and sprout somewhat higher.

Cucumber Cultivation Treatment

At the age of 3-4 days after planting do plant control, then immediately embroidery if there are plants that die or fail to grow with new seeds. Clean the weeds around the atanam area. At the age of 2 weeks after planting, usually the leaves have begun to appear. Provide additional fertilizer in the form of liquid fertilizer.

Liquid fertilizer is made from goat manure that has been cooked mixed with water. The mixed composition of 1 kg of goat manure with 1 liter of water. The mixture should be left in advance for one week. Give liquid fertilizer by watering it on each planting hole. The need for liquid fertilizer is 1 liter per square meter.

To get good fruit, you should install lenjer or turus made of bamboo. Install one bamboo lenjer for each planting hole and then tie every four bamboo lenjer at the top end. Help the plant to wrap around or climb on the bamboo.

Pest And Disease Control

Some of the diseases and pests that attack you include known as cacantal or oteng-oteng. This pest attacks the leaves and can cause death in plants. In addition, pests that often attack cucumbers are soil caterpillars.

This pest usually attacks the stem that is the base of the exit of the leaves or fruit. Both of these pests can be controlled using biopesticides made from kipaite and gadung extract mixed with rabbit urine.

Diseases that attack cucumber cultivation are late blight, white flour, anthracnose, leaf spot and fruit rot. This disease can be controlled technically in the form of crop rotation and disposal of plant parts affected by the disease.

Cucumber Cultivation Harvest

Cucumbers begin to flower at 20 days after planting and bear fruit after 40 days. The first harvest of cucumber cultivation is usually carried out after 75 days. Harvesting is carried out gradually over 1-1.5 months. Harvesting can be done every day, generally can be picked 1-2 pieces per plant.

Good production of cucumber fruit can reach 30 tons per hectare. Cucumbers should be placed in a cool place because cucumbers will quickly lose water content. After harvesting, cucumbers are usually packed in a place that has air circulation or put sacks to be sold to the market.