VINE CROP PROJECTS 159 



5. What relation, if any, has the character of cucumber roots to the 



preparatory treatment of the land? 



6. Whai is the chemical composition of the different parts of the 



cucumher plant f 



7. Does your particular soil need lime for growing cucumbers ? 



8. How do the market gardeners of your community treat their soils 



for the growing of cucumbers f 



7. Transplanting into the garden. — Every possible effort should 

 be made to have the soil fine and moist at the time the plants 

 are transferred from the hotbed to the open ground. If the soil 

 is in proper condition, there should be no loss of plants due to 

 transplanting. 



The proper time to set the plants in the open ground is wholly 

 a local question. We should bear in mind that the cucumber is 

 easily injured by frost, and that no amount of hardening in the 

 hotbed or cold frame will enable the plants to withstand it. Each 

 grower should make careful inquiry among old residents and ascer- 

 tain the date when it is probably safe to plant in the field. 



The plants should be taken from the pots with the least possible 

 distiu-bance of the roots. Holes for the balls of earth should 

 be made amply large and the soil should be pressed gently 

 around the balls of earth so that they will not be broken. 



Planting distances for cucumbers are extremely variable ; 5X5 

 feet apart is practically always satisfactory, even in the most 

 fertile soils, and in thin, light soils less space may be allowed. 



1. When should pot-grown cucumber plants be transferred to the 



open ground? W-VG : 334. C : 232. 



2. Give specific directions for setting pot-grown plants. 



W-VG : 334. C : 232. 



