270 Bulletin 231. * 



III. Notes on the Culture of Cucumbers and Melons. 



In sowing seeds of cucumbers or melons, it is quite important that 

 they be sown in small pots, pieces of sod or other material that will 

 hold its shape and not allow the.^soil to break away from the roots 

 when transplanted. In sowing in pots, a soil composed of equal 

 parts of loam, leaf mould and sand is used. Two seeds are sown in 

 each three-inch pot. These pots are then plunged in soil or sand on 

 a warm bench and thoroughly watered. In from two to four weeks 

 the plants should be large enough to plant out on the benches. They 

 should be pushed along rapidly and not receive any check at any 

 time through low temperature or neglect. 



The Bench — It is the usual practice to entirely fill the bench^with 

 soil and set the plants two feet each way in benches filled with soil 

 composed of fibrous loam with at least one-third sharp sand or good 

 gravel added. To this should be added well-rotted manure, at the 

 rate of one bushel to six of loam; and a four-inch pot of ground bone 

 or dissolved rock is also well mixed with each six bushels of soil. 

 Commercial growers are very much more lavish in the use of manure. 

 They often use a soil half loam and half manure, and enrich this as 

 the crop develops. 



In setting the plants in the bed, some soil is removed from the 

 place where the plant is to be set, a large handful of sharp sand is 

 scattered in the hole, the plant then set and sand again used to fill 

 up to the stem of the plant, firming the soil well around the sand. 

 This sand is used to avoid, as far as possible, the serious trouble called 

 "damping off." This fungus attacks the plants after they have 

 attained some size, often when in fruit, and is encouraged by over- 

 moist condition directly around the stem of the plant. Previous to 

 this use of sand, quite a number of plants were lost each year through 

 this trouble; but since setting each plant in sand, no plants have 

 been lost. 



Training — It is the general practice to train the vines upward 

 rather than allow them to spread over the soil on the benches, and 

 for this purpose wires are stretched lengthwise on the bench. These 

 are connected by smaller wires or strings running from the lower to 

 the upper wire. To these, the plots' are tied, using raffia or soft 

 twine. Usually one main vine or leader is allowed to grow to the 

 desired height, the tip then pinched back and two or more laterals 

 started, these to be also tied as they grow. It is usually better to 

 wait until the vines have made a good strong growth before at- 

 tempting to set fruits, as the fruits grow very rapidly and will i^ften 

 check the plants if allowed to set too early. After fruits are swell- 



