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Cucumbers
Cucumbers are never ready too soon to meet the demand in early spring. They are grown in houses more or less adapted to their requirements, and also in frames over hot-beds. At this time of year, however, frames are somewhat troublesome to manage, and in trying weather they are a little hazardous, although later in the season there is no difficulty whatever with them.
For the present, therefore, we shall confine our remarks to house culture. Almost any greenhouse may be made to answer, but the work can be carried on most successfully and with the greatest economy in houses which are expressly constructed for Cucumbers.
For winter work a lean-to, facing south, possesses special advantages. But for general utility, if we had to erect a building on a well-drained soil, it should be dwarf, sunk three feet in the ground, with brick walls up to the eaves, and lighted only from the roof. Such a structure is less influenced by atmospheric changes than a building wholly above ground. The size, of course, is optional; and quite a small house will supply an ordinary family with Cucumbers. But a small house is not economical either in fuel or in labour.
A building thirty feet long by twelve feet wide, six feet high at the sides, and eight and a half feet high at the ridge, will not only grow Cucumbers and Melons, but will also be of immense service for many other plants. A division across the middle by a wall rising four feet, surmounted with a glass screen fitted to the roof, and finished with a door partially of glass, will greatly augment its usefulness.
There should be an alley down the centre four or five feet wide, bounded by walls reaching four feet above the floor. These walls should be nine inches thick for two feet six inches of their height, but for the upper parts the brickwork need only be four and a half inches thick. This arrangement will provide a ledge on the inner side of each wall, and the main walls should also have ledges corresponding in height, on which to lay slates to carry the soil.
To insure drainage, allow a space of about an inch between the slates, and place tiles or an inverted turf over every opening to prevent the soil being washed away. The hot-water pipes will be in chambers immediately beneath the plants. Openings in the alley walls, fitted with sliding doors, will admit the heat direct into the house whenever it may be desirable. Ventilation should be provided for under the ridge at each end, as well as in the roof.
In such a house it is easy to grow Cucumbers all the year round, except, perhaps, in the dead of winter, when the short, dark days render the task difficult, no matter how perfect the appliances at command. The division in the centre will be found valuable at all times, and especially when one set of plants is failing; for another set can be brought into bearing exactly when wanted. But whatever the structure may be, the mode of culture remains substantially the same in any case.
Now, as to soil, a compost made of mellow turfy loam and leaf-mould in equal parts will be effective and sweet. In the absence of leaf-mould, use two parts of loam and one of thoroughly decayed manure with a few pieces of charcoal added.
Sweetness is not absolutely necessary for success, but nevertheless we like to have it, so that a visit to the Cucumber-house may be a source of pleasure. This it cannot be if rank manure has been used. Raise the seed singly in small 60-pots, and sow enough, for however good the seed may be a proportion will almost certainly fail from some cause at this critical period. Give the plants one shift into the 48-size, to keep them going until they are ready for putting into the beds.
Cucumbers grow with great rapidity, and should never know a check, least of all by starvation. Upon the slates make as many heaps of soil as are required, and in the centre of each heap put one plant. As the roots extend, add more soil until the heaps meet and finally become level with the top of the brickwork. This treatment will supply food as the roots develop, and help to maintain the plants in bearing for a long period. Stout wires running parallel with the length of the house, a foot below the glass, will carry the vines.
Temperature should never fall below 60° at night; but as the season advances, if the thermometer registers 90° on sunny days, no harm will be done, provided the roots are not dry, and the air be kept properly moist by plying the syringe. On dull days one good sprinkling over the foliage will suffice, and it should be done in the morning. In warm sunny weather, however, two or three syringings will be beneficial; but the work must not be done so late as to risk the foliage being wet when night comes on. There will be occasions when it may be advisable to avoid touching the leaves with water, if there is no probability of their drying before nightfall. In such a case the moisture can be kept up by freely sprinkling the floor and walls.
Cucumbers cannot thrive if they are dry at the roots, but although there should be no stint of water, it must be given with judgment; and it is of the utmost importance that the drainage should be effectual, for stagnant water is even more injurious than a dry soil.
A few sticks placed in various parts of the bed, reaching down to the slates, will serve as indicators. Draw and inspect them occasionally, and a pretty correct idea of the condition of the soil will be obtained. The water should be of the same temperature as the house; if applied cold the plants will sustain a serious check. In the event of the bed falling somewhat below the proper temperature, the water may with advantage be a few degrees higher than usual.
Source: The Culture of Vegetables and Flowers From Seeds and Roots, 16th Edition 1921, Sutton and Sons