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Cultivation (To keep up a supply all)

To keep up a supply all the year round, is a matter of great difficulty where there is not provision for adopting various methods, according to the season. In summer, Cucumbers will grow and fruit freely in frames or pits with a little dung heat; but in winter, a light house, with plenty of both top and bottom-heat at command, is absolutely necessary. Their cultivation outside in summer is a matter of uncertainty, excepting in very warm and sheltered positions, or in the case of the Short Prickly and a few others of the hardier kinds. Cucumbers delight in a rather light soil, and during the spring and summer plenty of water, applying liquid manure frequently at the time they are bearing heavily.

Culture under Glass. Beginning with spring and summer supply, seeds should be sown the end of January, and at short intervals during the three following months, as the plants soon get too large if their respective situations are not ready for them at the proper time; and others should therefore be coming on. If allowed to get pot-bound, they become infested with insects, and should be thrown away. It is best to sow singly, in small pots, to prevent injury to the roots when repotting. Plunge them in a good bottom heat, and, as soon as up, admit all the light possible, especially in January and February. The house intended for them should be well cleaned previous to planting, and the soil put in in small heaps, to get thoroughly warmed. Light turfy loam, not broken too small, with the addition of about one-half or one-third the quantity of well-decayed manure, will be found a good compost. The trellis should not be nearer the glass than 1ft., and a stake should be put to the plants as soon as they are put in, to prevent them breaking off. A temperature of 70deg. to 75deg., or higher on bright days, with a minimum night temperature of 60deg., should be maintained, keeping the walls and passages damped frequently. Airing and syringing will greatly depend on the outside temperature; in early spring, very little of either will be necessary; but, as summer advances, the plants may be syringed morning and evening, using water that has been standing in the house to warm. Plenty of air should be admitted in warm weather, but draughts must be avoided. The training will consist chiefly in stopping the main shoot when on to the trellis, to train the laterals a good distance apart, and keep thinning out, to admit all the light possible. Additional soil should be given each time the roots appear through the mounds, until sufficient is collected to enable the plants to reach their limits, when liquid manure may be applied. Light, thin shading will be necessary in bright weather, or the leaves will burn, especially if there is any water on them. Plants that are required to stand the winter, should be inserted not later than the end of August, or early in September, in order to get them well established before the cold weather sets in. Great care and attention are necessary with winter Cucumbers, particularly during November and December, when least sunshine is generally experienced. All the sun and light possible must be obtained, and it is rarely necessary to open the ventilators at this season, unless the laps of the glass are airtight. Watering must be done very carefully, and syringing, unless in exceptionally mild weather, should be withheld. Cucumbers should not be planted thickly; if in a large house, a good vigorous plant will cover several yards of trellis, and will produce plenty of fruits throughout its whole length. Where space is limited, they may be grown in large pots, and trained up a rafter; top-dressing the plants with rich soil, and supplying liquid or artificial manure. Excellent crops can be obtained by this method if the plants receive attention.

Green Fly, Red Spider, and Thrips are the worst insect enemies to Cucumbers. Fumigating must be done very carefully to destroy the Fly, on two successive evenings. As soon as Red Spider or Thrips are detected, it is best to at once sponge the infested leaves with soapy water, and so prevent the insects spreading to others. The leaves must be handled with great care, as they are very brittle.

Culture in Pits and Frames. In gardens where stable littler and leaves are plentiful, a good supply of Cucumbers may be kept up during the summer by this method, without fire heat. The material to form the hotbed should be well mixed, and occasionally turned over for a week or two before it is required; and, if at all dry, it must be wetted, to cause fermentation. A thickness of about 3ft. will be sufficient for enclosed pits, adding 1ft. more for frames. In the latter case, the bed should be about 3ft. wider than the frames. Tread evenly, and place small heaps of soil at least 9in. from the glass, allowing it to remain with the sashes a little open for a few days, to let off any rank steam, which would prove fatal to the plants. Give plenty of room when growing, thinning out and stopping the shoots, to induce fruitfulness; supply plenty of water when necessary. If sufficient heat cannot be obtained, the frames should occasionally be lined with new fermenting material. As this system is now almost limited to summer cultivation, shading and plenty of air will be required. If Cucumbers be grown in the open air, a warm south aspect should be selected for the purpose. Dig out holes or trenches, and lay the soil on the north side. Fill up the holes with fermenting material, prepared as for frames; put some soil on the top, and plant out in May, affording protection for a time with bell glasses or hand lights. The seed should be sown in heat to obtain these plants about the end of March. Cucumbers produce male and female flowers. Except for seeding purposes, it is not necessary that the latter should be fertilised, the fruit reaching the same size, and being all the better for the absence of seeds. In winter time, or in the case of weak plants, the whole of the male flowers might with advantage be kept removed. Tubular glasses, about 30in. long, are often used to grow straight Cucumbers for exhibition. Well-formed fruits are placed in them when young, and the glass being fixed by some means, the fruit is protected, and grows, in some cases, nearly the size of the glass. They are not used for ordinary purposes, as for fruit shown in Fig. 558.

Sorts. These are extremely numerous, as far as names are concerned, each year producing many so-called new or improved forms, which, however, do not get into general cultivation. Some grow to a length of over 2ft., but they are often coarse and deficient in quality. The following are amongst the best for general purposes, choosing the first if only one variety is grown: Rollisson's Telegraph, Tender and True, Sion House, Turner's Blue Gown, Munro's Duke of Edinburgh, and Marquis of Lorne. Some of these grow a good length; but they are all very tender if used when from 1ft. to 18in. long. Houses and Frames. Where accommodation for Cucumbers in the way of proper frames or houses is limited, those of almost any description may be utilised in summer by the aid of dung heat; but for winter supply, houses are necessary, having plenty of piping for fire-heat, with or without the addition of dung. Fig. 559 shows a section of an ordinary frame as prepared for a Cucumber plant. Pieces of slate, or other material, should be laid under the fruits to keep them from the soil. The ordinary span-roofed or half-span frame may be used in summer for Cucumbers, placing some heaps of manure, with soil on the top, a yard or more apart, and putting one plant on each. A lean-to pit, with south aspect, is suitable for winter, where only a few are grown, planting on the stage above the hot-water pipes. A somewhat similar system is adopted in a span-roofed house. Both would require additional fire-heat for winter. Fig. 560 represents a section of a suitable house for growing a large quantity of Cucumbers in summer, when plenty of air is needed. More pipes for the top heat would be necessary for spring. A section of a lean-to house is shown in Fig. 561, where the front part would suit Cucumbers, not allowing them to grow too far up to shade the back wall, which might be utilised for some other crop-Tomatoes, for instance. Fig. 562 shows a span-roof house, with heated beds, that, with the addition of sufficient top heat, might be used at any season. A chambered frame is shown in Fig. 563, which sufficiently explains itself. Such a frame might be fitted with hot-water pipes in the space shown for heating material; and the frame, with the bed removed, may be used for many other purposes. Either fixed or movable trellises, placed from 1ft. to 18in. from the glass, are necessary for all Cucumber houses. The fruits are much cleaner and of a better shape when grown on a trellis; but in the case of frames, this is impracticable.