Vegetable Growing for Market 103 



In due course the seed leaves appear through the soil, and later on are 

 followed with the true roughish, lobed leaves, and later on still the tendrils. 

 Once germination has taken place, plenty of light should be given, but the 

 temperature must be maintained up to 70 or thereabouts at night. The 

 young plants are sprinkled over or syringed with tepid water two or three 

 times a day according to the state of the weather, and the atmosphere is 

 kept moist and buoyant, not only to ensure rapid growth, but also to check 

 attacks of Thrips and Red Spider pests that soon appear if the air is 

 allowed to become too dry. 



When the seedling pots are filled with roots the plants should be 

 shifted into 5 -in. pots, or if space is available they may be planted at 

 once in a fairly rich and gritty compost. Later crops are often trans- 

 ferred from 3-in. to 5-in. pots while waiting for space, and also because 

 a good trade is done in selling the young plants to growers who have 

 not the convenience for raising a supply of plants themselves. 



Another method of raising Cucumber plants is to fill a 3-in. (60) pot 

 about half-full of compost, insert a seed in each pot, and cover slightly 

 with soil. When the first true leaves, after the seed leaves, appear, a little 

 more compost is added in the way of a topdressing, almost up to the rim. 

 At this stage the young plants, being very tender and juicy, must be 

 handled with great care, but the topdressing will generally carry them 

 till planting time. 



Planting 1 . W T hen Cucumbers are grown in specially constructed 

 houses it will pay to keep the latter in a clean condition. This may be 

 accomplished by whitewashing the brickwork with limewash, and by 

 burning some sulphur or brimstone with all the ventilators and doors 

 closed as tightly as possible. This is to suffocate and kill any insect pests 

 and fungoid diseases lurking in the crevices, &c. Two or three pounds of 

 sulphur will be sufficient to vaporize a house 100 ft. long. 



The soil to be used should be chopped down with the spade from the 

 heap of compost, but not into too fine a condition. A little superphosphate 

 of lime, basic slag, or dissolved bones may be sprinkled over it at the rate 

 of a 5-in. potful to every barrowload, and thoroughly mixed by turning 

 over. 



The compost thus prepared is then placed in little heaps 2 to 2J ft. 

 apart in the houses, about 1 bus. of soil being sufficient for three plants 

 at first. 



When the plants are large enough they should be planted in their 

 fruiting quarters without delay. Owing to their rapid growth they soon 

 begin to look yellowish and sickly if kept too long in the small pots. 

 In planting, a hole should be scooped out in the centre of each mound 

 of soil, and deep enough to allow the top of the ball of soil attached to 

 the plant to be about 1 in. or so below the fresh soil. This should be 

 pressed carefully but firmly round the roots and base of the stem, to 

 encourage new roots and increasing vigour. In two or three weeks each 

 mound of soil will be permeated with a mass of clean healthy-looking roots. 



