Vegetable Cucumber farming

Vegatable Cucumber belongs to the family of cucumbers (Cucumis sps) is widely cultivated & used in curry's in south india coastal belt, esp Mangalore.

Land selection & preparation
well drained loamy soils is best suited for sowing. It is necessary the soils must be fertile & supplemented with rich organic manure. it prefers pH of 5.5 to 6.5. However it cannot tolerate salt concentration.
clear weeds, unwanted plant material on the site of sowing the seeds. stones must be removed as germination is affected. in the monsoons , raised beds are made & seeds sown on them as shown in the above photo. the raised seed beds help prevent excess water from damaging the seeds. for quick germination, light, temperature & moisture play important role. when field condition is optimum, germination can be seen within a week after sowing. (see photo below )

above photo shows germination , 4 days after sowing


third week after germination

It is very important to constantly remove all weeds as it affects the main crop adversely. weeds act as a host to variety of insects which damage the tender leaves of the young plant.

Manuring & Fertilizer

responds well to NPK application. at 5th week, top dressing , earthing up & inter culture operations like weeding, should be performed. foliar sprays show better absorption of nutrients than soil application.

above 2 photos show crop stage after 5th week of sowing seeds.

well rotted farm yard manure should be applied to the base of the raised beds & top dressing is done. care must be taken to see that the farm yard manure is well rotted. if its fresh, it contains toxic ammonia gas, which gets released slowly, and it will damage the plant, even causing death.

Irrigation

since the vines grew long, it requires adequate water in the summer. here instead of raised beds, long rows are made, & the seeds sowed in them. light irrigation is recommended when the seedlings are still young and tender. too much moisture can cause fungal infections. at all times , crust formation should be checked & avoided.

during monsoon, irrigation is not necessary, but adequate height of the raised seed beds will ensure that water does not stagnate near the roots or it will kill the plant. proper channeling between the rows must be done to ensure flow of excess water away from the roots of the plant.


above photo shows crop stage after top dressing with farm yard manure 6 weeks from date of sowing. flower formation starts. plant hormones like NAA can be sprayed @1 ml per litre. this will increase the number of female flowers.


harvesting and post harvesting

green coloured vegetable cucumbers with white stripes turn yellow & this is a common harvest index. the fruits must be plucked at an interval of 2 days. seed formation takes place usually nearly a month after pollination. & the cucumbers selected for seeds must be tied using thread or strips of cloth, for identification purpose & must be harvested at much later stages.


above photo shows the vegetable cucumber in a semi ripe condition.


above photo shows the change in strip color to yellow, which means its ready for harvesting. the keeping quality of the fruit depends on the use of fertilizer inputs. in farms which practice organic methods, it is known to have a shelf life of more than 3 months.

semi ripe fruits are sometimes harvested, when the stripes are still green, & these fruits are used in salads & also in preparation of sweets.

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

Ash Gourd vegetable farming

Ash gourd ( Benincasa hispida) is an annual vine which trains on the ground. Its high in nutritive value and is excellent for its shelf life of 2 to 4 months. Popular sweets are also made using this vegetable.


Land Selection
Deep loamy soils are best suited. Can be grown on most soils, where the Ph should be in range of 6.5 t0 7.5

here the base of a hillock is chosen. All weeds must be removed & manual ploughing/tilling is recommended to bring the soil to fine tilth. Terracing is often carried out & the vines are made to grow along the side of the slope.


Making Pits
Pits measuring about 45 cm width, height must be dug maintaining about 2 meter distance from each pit. Upto 5 seeds must be manually sown in each pit. After germination 2 seedlings can be retained in each pit. This is done to prevent overcrowding of the vines as they grow. In some cases, 2 seeds are sowed in nursery bags prepared with a mixture of fine soil, sand & organic manure. The healthy seedlings are then transplanted to the main field.

It is advised to use foratox granules at the time of transplanting to prevent the young seedlings of potential risk from soil borne diseases causing pathogens, insects, nematodes.

Up to 10 kg of organic manure should be added in each pit & mixed well with the soil before sowing/transplanting. The germinating seeds will derieve much of its nutrients from the soil.

Irrigation & fertilizer management
Watering is done immediately after sowing/transplanting. The growing vines require large quantities of water. However with proper mulching, the water requirements can be halved. Plant residues, greens, dried leaves, etc can be added to the pits. The main advantages are it prevents the loss of water in the effective root zone due to rise in temperature. It also minimises water requirement. Watering 2 or 3 times weekly is sufficient.

50 to 100 grams of NPK can be added to the pits at regular intervals, during its vegetative growth. Some people practise the use of split doses. the safest is to add organic manure once a month till flowering starts.
Above 2 photos show the plants at 20 days after sowing.



Care must be taken to see the vines do not get wet during watering. This will otherwise lead to fungal infections & the flowers & fruits will rot

The above 2 photos show the plant at above 50 days after sowing. This is the most crucial stage, as manuring is again done to replenish the soil with nutrients.

Flowering and harvesting
Flowering can be seen at 50 to 60 days after sowing. Honey bees and other pollinators have known to increase the yield of the crop up to 15 percent in some cases.

Young gourds start to develop ash formation


the above 3 photos show the flowering & later the harvest index.

Ideally, the ash gourds are harvested, 100 days after sowing. Due to its excellent keeping quality & long shelf life, it can be stored in good ventilated stock rooms, or used to transport in long distances

the above photo shows how a barren hillock can be made productive


The average yield per acre is between 5 to 10 tons.

WATCH ASH GOURD HARVEST VIDEO BELOW BY CLICKING ON PLAY BUTTON

Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza

Composting Techniques for vegetable Farming

Following are a few basic methods to prepare compost manure.

Inputs like weeds, plant residue, chicken manure, goat droppings etc, which are of bio degradable nature must be used as these are available in plenty. Composting should be done in the shortest of time to retain maximum plant nutrients. Good organic manure rich in plant nutrients can be prepared within 90 days.
The base of the heap layer, coconut leaves, husk, outer shells, paddy straw etc should be added & a uniform bed has to be made. on top of this, weeds, plant residue, and other greens should be added.

Add a layer of chicken manure or goat droppings or cow dung evenly on the surface of the plant residue bed
Add microbial mixture solution & water the surface of the layer lightly to retain moisture.

Again add another layer of farm greens, weeds, plant residue &on top of it another layer of fresh manure , topped with microbial solution.

moisture must be maintained, this can be achieved by adding/spraying water every time manure is added

repeat the process with farm greens+ manure+ microbial solution till desired height is achieved. generally a height up to 6 feet is suitable. 6 to 7 layers will do fine.
In the monsoons, it is recommended to cover the top of the heap, in order to avoid leaching of nutrients due to excess rains. The sides however need not be covered as aeration is vital in bacterial degradation of plant residue & manure.

During dry spells, watering the heap is done on a daily basis to avoid drying of the heap. adding water increases the temperature within the heap , thus destroying harmful eggs and larvae that are harmful to vegetable crops

The compost heap is ready to use after a period of 60 to 90 days. The organic matter is rich in plant nutrients & can be readily utilized for all stages of plant development in almost all crop varieties.


Photos and content by Pritham 'Heavy metal farmer' denzil dsouza