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European cucumber farming started as experiment turns successful
“We used to grow normal vegetables in open cultivation as required for our restaurant kitchen. Once there was a hail storm and all the crops were completely destroyed. We had to start growing vegetables again but we thought to do some changes to avoid these disasters in future. Therefore, we decided to construct a poly house to protect the crops. During our research on protected cultivation we learnt about European cucumber cultivation and started growing it as experiment. It was fruitful decision,” shares Mr. S. Venkat Reddy on drive to start European cucumber farming. Based at Bhongir, Yadadri district, Telangana.
European cucumber is most sought after salad vegetable amongst the health conscious people. Even doctors and dieticians recommend it for good health. “The demand is growing steadily. We started growing it just 2.5 years back and receiving good response,” he adds.
Poly house is constructed in 2777 sq.mts with the investment of Rs. 30lakhs. “We got subsidy of Rs. 14lakhs. It has drip irrigation facility,” he highlights. Shade net is developed on 2 acres while rest is left for dairy unit and open cultivation having papaya trees.
In the shade net house Mr. S. Reddy grows some other vegetables also. “We grow brinjal, capsicum, tomatoes, ladies finger, tomatoes and French beans. We have two shade nets and one poly house. In poly house we tried growing tomatoes, but it was not a success. European cucumber is growing well. We didn’t grow capsicum in poly house as it is highly prone to pest attacks and we don’t like using pesticides,” he says.
Dairy at the farm premises provides for all the farming inputs. Cattle manure like jeevamrutham is primarily used in vegetable cultivation however sometimes sprays are used occasionally on need basis.
Soil was nutrient deficit hence before commencing European cucumber farming, Mr. S. Reddy changed the soil. “We bought the soil from other farmland at the price of Rs. 3lakhs for 400 cu.mts soil. We have added 1.5ft of the new soil on our land. We mixed around 30tons of cow dung from our dairy unit. Nothing more we added as the new soil was nutrient rich,” he describes on the measure taken to improve the production.
When asked about the planting material, Mr. S. Reddy replies, “It is best to grow European cucumber through seeds. It is a three months crop and seedlings germinate in 2-3days. Seeds costs around Rs. 6/seed. We have 6, 000 plants in our poly house. It is hybrid variety seed.” It is sown in May first week and fruiting takes place by June 15. Plant-plant distance maintained is 30cms. Initial stages it does not require but once it starts fruiting irrigation is must every day.
The creeper grows to 25-30 feet high. “We have a GI wire mesh with 1ftx1ft gap. It is around 7ft height. The creeper grows on its own on to the mesh. After 7ft again it comes down. Later we manually tie it to the mesh to provide support to rise up again,” he explains.
The yield attained is around 25tons. It is harvested till Aug 15. One plant produces approximately 4-4.5kg cucumber. “We sow it regularly. We sow half area of the poly house first so that the crop is continuous and the roots do not go deep. In this way we are able to have continuous crops. After the harvest, we allow the soil to rest for 15days, and prepare the soil with manure to sow the seeds again after 15-20days,” elaborates Mr. S. Reddy on the cultivation cycle.
Mr. S. Reddy prefers mono crop in poly house, reason being, “We do not have much space in between the creepers and it is difficult to grow some other crops in the poly house. Intercropping is not profitable and space will not be used efficiently.”
Entire farm produce is first used in the restaurant kitchen while remaining is sold to walk-in-buyers/restaurant customers. “We sell around 200kg cucumber everyday at Rs. 50/kg. We also sell other vegetables in 1kg pack,” he shares. “Direct sale is much more profitable than selling it to traders who purchases cucumber from us at price of Rs.15-18/kg.”
Mr. S. Reddy concludes, “I have been farming all through my life. As my children grew I diversified into restaurant business but still continued farming in a small way. Slowly and gradually I have reached the stage where farming and restaurant are functioning smoothly inter-dependent on one another. Experiments are successful if implemented with continuous learning and patience.”
Contact details:
Mr. S. Venkat Reddy
Number 1-5 12/7, Near SLNS Degree College, Bhongir, Yadadri District, Telangana – 508 116
Phone: 09866099669
Email: saddiraghu@gmail.com
“We used to grow normal vegetables in open cultivation as required for our restaurant kitchen. Once there was a hail storm and all the crops were completely destroyed. We had to start growing vegetables again but we thought to do some changes to avoid these disasters in future. Therefore, we decided to construct a poly house to protect the crops. During our research on protected cultivation we learnt about European cucumber cultivation and started growing it as experiment. It was fruitful decision,” shares Mr. S. Venkat Reddy on drive to start European cucumber farming. Based at Bhongir, Yadadri district, Telangana.
European cucumber is most sought after salad vegetable amongst the health conscious people. Even doctors and dieticians recommend it for good health. “The demand is growing steadily. We started growing it just 2.5 years back and receiving good response,” he adds.
Poly house is constructed in 2777 sq.mts with the investment of Rs. 30lakhs. “We got subsidy of Rs. 14lakhs. It has drip irrigation facility,” he highlights. Shade net is developed on 2 acres while rest is left for dairy unit and open cultivation having papaya trees.
In the shade net house Mr. S. Reddy grows some other vegetables also. “We grow brinjal, capsicum, tomatoes, ladies finger, tomatoes and French beans. We have two shade nets and one poly house. In poly house we tried growing tomatoes, but it was not a success. European cucumber is growing well. We didn’t grow capsicum in poly house as it is highly prone to pest attacks and we don’t like using pesticides,” he says.
Dairy at the farm premises provides for all the farming inputs. Cattle manure like jeevamrutham is primarily used in vegetable cultivation however sometimes sprays are used occasionally on need basis.
Soil was nutrient deficit hence before commencing European cucumber farming, Mr. S. Reddy changed the soil. “We bought the soil from other farmland at the price of Rs. 3lakhs for 400 cu.mts soil. We have added 1.5ft of the new soil on our land. We mixed around 30tons of cow dung from our dairy unit. Nothing more we added as the new soil was nutrient rich,” he describes on the measure taken to improve the production.
When asked about the planting material, Mr. S. Reddy replies, “It is best to grow European cucumber through seeds. It is a three months crop and seedlings germinate in 2-3days. Seeds costs around Rs. 6/seed. We have 6, 000 plants in our poly house. It is hybrid variety seed.” It is sown in May first week and fruiting takes place by June 15. Plant-plant distance maintained is 30cms. Initial stages it does not require but once it starts fruiting irrigation is must every day.
The creeper grows to 25-30 feet high. “We have a GI wire mesh with 1ftx1ft gap. It is around 7ft height. The creeper grows on its own on to the mesh. After 7ft again it comes down. Later we manually tie it to the mesh to provide support to rise up again,” he explains.
The yield attained is around 25tons. It is harvested till Aug 15. One plant produces approximately 4-4.5kg cucumber. “We sow it regularly. We sow half area of the poly house first so that the crop is continuous and the roots do not go deep. In this way we are able to have continuous crops. After the harvest, we allow the soil to rest for 15days, and prepare the soil with manure to sow the seeds again after 15-20days,” elaborates Mr. S. Reddy on the cultivation cycle.
Mr. S. Reddy prefers mono crop in poly house, reason being, “We do not have much space in between the creepers and it is difficult to grow some other crops in the poly house. Intercropping is not profitable and space will not be used efficiently.”
Entire farm produce is first used in the restaurant kitchen while remaining is sold to walk-in-buyers/restaurant customers. “We sell around 200kg cucumber everyday at Rs. 50/kg. We also sell other vegetables in 1kg pack,” he shares. “Direct sale is much more profitable than selling it to traders who purchases cucumber from us at price of Rs.15-18/kg.”
Mr. S. Reddy concludes, “I have been farming all through my life. As my children grew I diversified into restaurant business but still continued farming in a small way. Slowly and gradually I have reached the stage where farming and restaurant are functioning smoothly inter-dependent on one another. Experiments are successful if implemented with continuous learning and patience.”
Contact details:
Mr. S. Venkat Reddy
Number 1-5 12/7, Near SLNS Degree College, Bhongir, Yadadri District, Telangana – 508 116
Phone: 09866099669
Email: saddiraghu@gmail.com