Growing cucumbers in greenhouses year-round as a business

The homeland of cucumbers is the tropical and subtropical region of India, where they grow in completely wild conditions for about six thousand years. For today cucumbers grow practically in all states. It is not known exactly who and when they were brought to Russia, but since the 16th century, raw and pickled fruits were already on the tables of rich people. At the moment, a huge number of dishes can not even be imagined without this vegetable.

Cucumbers in greenhouse conditions

Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round - the business is pretty lucrative. In these conditions, it is possible to create the most optimal microclimate for a high and fairly stable crop yield. Heated greenhouse will allow this culture to bear fruit throughout the year, and autumn and winter harvest will bring profit, sometimes exceeding the income from summer months by several times. Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round as a business is very profitable. The profitability of such enterprises is high - it reaches 400-600%.

What is necessary for growing cucumbers in a greenhouse

In order to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse in winter and all year round, it is necessary:

• Create favorable conditions inside the greenhouse. As a rule, they depend on the materials from which these structures are made.
• Make the right choice of the most productive varieties of cucumbers.
• Determine when it will be grown cucumbers, as this determines the choice of varieties.
• Perform soil preparation and create all necessary systems to provide greenhouses.

Greenhouses

How to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round? First of all, it is necessary to properly manufacture a greenhouse:

• It must have a coating that reliably retains heat inside the structure.
• The greenhouse must have a frame that can withstand the weight of the coating. And if the cultivation of cucumbers is planned for more than one year, then it should be also durable, sufficiently reliable and resistant to weather conditions.

The structures of greenhouses can have a variety of shapes and sizes, differ in height and material of manufacture.

Material for the manufacture of greenhouses

Currently, greenhouse frameworks are:

• Metal;
• Wooden.

Metal carcass

It is made of channel bars, profile pipes or large diameter reinforcement (depending on the selected coating material).

For the reinforcing cage, the best option is to use a simple polyethylene film that is commercially available in a large assortment. By its properties, it is in no way inferior to the polycarbonate often used.

For the frame of pipes it is possible to use absolutely any material for coating. The most common option is the use of reinforced polyethylene film or honeycomb polycarbonate.

If you plan to grow cucumbers in greenhouses all year round, it is better to use cellular polycarbonate. With proper heating it is able to maintain a constant temperature inside.

Metal frames can be used for up to 10 years or more. However, it should be borne in mind that due to irrigation inside the greenhouse the humidity of the air rises, and this has a negative effect on the metal. To secure the frame, it must be painted or painted with paint after construction.

Wooden frame

It is less practical, since wood has a much longer service life than metal. It is also subject to weather and climatic influences.
After the manufacture of such a frame must be painted, which allows to protect the wood from harmful effects and significantly increase the period of its operation.

The main advantage of the wooden frame is its ecological compatibility. In addition, it is distinguished by its strength and reliability

Both the metal and the wooden frame can be made on their own. If the greenhouse is large, it is better to pre-fill a small base for strength. The cost of the wooden frame is lower than that of the metal, which provides an increased demand for these structures.

To cover the wooden frame use:

• A film of different kinds;
• Cellular polycarbonate;
• glass.

With honeycomb polycarbonate or glass coating, it is possible to grow cucumbers in a greenhouse in winter and all year round.

Variety choice

Cultivation of cucumbers in greenhouses year round begins with the right choice of seeds. There is a huge variety of both conventional and hybrid varieties, which are well-fruited in greenhouses.

To carry out the cultivation of cucumbers in greenhouses all year round, seeds of varieties are selected that:

• Freely tolerate temperature changes and are frost-resistant;
• Characterized by frequent fruit bearing;
• Resistant to diseases;
• The taste is not bitter;
• Do not need careful care.

The most popular varieties for greenhouses today are:

• "Cartoon" - fruiting begins 40 days after planting.
• "Courage" - bearing fruit after 45 days of planting. Cucumber is quite long.
• "Barcelona" - is an early ripening variety of cucumbers. It is most often used in the greenhouse business.
• "Bobrick" - has an increased resistance to low temperature effects. Used for growing in winter.
• "Schedryk" is a ripening and fruitful variety. Used at different times of the year.
• "Matrix" refers to the most popular variety. The cucumber itself is not very long, it has good resistance to diseases.

Also, the best hybrid varieties of cucumbers include "Emel", "Annushka", "Dynamite" and "Hercules".

It is recommended to purchase F1 seeds, which have the best characteristics. Removal of infected and "empty" seeds can be done with water and a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Seeds are poured with a solution in the calculation of 1 gram of manganese per 150 ml of water. This will kill pathogens. Next, the seeds are washed with clean water ("empty" float). This is done immediately before the planting of the seeds.

Soil for cultivation of cucumbers

Before you start growing cucumbers in the greenhouse all year round (see photo below), it is necessary to prepare soil for this. It is fertilized and purified from different vegetation, which can have a negative impact on the development of the root system of cucumbers.

To prevent the drying of the soil and allow the root system to develop freely, wood chips are added to it. For fertilization use mineral substances. To enhance the growth of cucumbers, it is recommended to use saltpetre, but only if the greenhouse business is large-scale.

Growing cucumbers in greenhouses all year round

There are two ways of planting cucumbers:

• Finished seedlings, which can be grown both directly in the greenhouse itself (when creating all conditions), and at home;
• Seeds.

For planting it is necessary to have:

• Peat cups or other small containers, for example plastic bottles with small capacity;
• Pre-fertilized soil;
• Disinfected in a solution of potassium permanganate and soaked in liquid for several hours seeds.

Seeds for seedlings are placed in a nutrient substrate. When creating favorable conditions, the seeds will germinate within four to five days. Fertilizing seedlings is carried out when the first leaf appears and several days before transplanting into a greenhouse.

Transplanting transplants can be performed when two or three leaves appear on the bush (approximately after 20-25 days). During this period, the daytime temperature of the air inside the greenhouse should not be above 18 degrees, and the night temperature should be 15. In addition, it is necessary to monitor the feeding, irrigation and lighting of seedlings. Watering the seedlings is best done with warm water. On an overcast day it is necessary to include additional lighting.

Sometimes it happens that seedlings or seeds are not accepted. The appearance of new leaves and the beginning of flowering will indicate that its root system feels comfortable in the ground.

Planting seedlings

Growing cucumbers in greenhouses all year round can not do without improvised garden tools, such as:

• hoe;
• Small scapula;
• Rake, etc.

Landing works are carried out in the following order:

• First of all, with the help of the tool determine the location of each of the rows of planting and make special trenches or individual holes.
• The distance between cucumbers is made depending on the variety. Some varieties of hybrids require a lot of space for normal development. The optimal distance between the bushes of cucumbers is 30-50 cm.
• Near each of the bushes seedlings insert into the ground a metal rod or a wooden stick. Seedlings as they grow up will be tied to them.

Planting seedlings are carried out so that the root system is in the soil in which it grew. She is transplanted with a lump of soil in a peat cup or some other container.

When the first watering of seedlings is carried out

After planting in a greenhouse soil, sprinkling can be done only after a few days, since it must be acclimatized in the conditions of the greenhouse. It is better to give preference to drip irrigation, which can saturate the root system with the necessary amount of moisture and significantly save the expense of finance, as it relates to the most economical. Fertilizer seedlings are performed after it is well absorbed.

Growing cucumbers in a greenhouse all year round: yield

The yield of cucumbers in modern greenhouses is approximately 30-45 kg per square meter, which is a good indicator, as the crop can be harvested several times a year.