Cucumber Farming in Nigeria | Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the most nutritious fruits and vegetables and one of the fruits well-sought after. A member of the Cucurbitaceous family, classified as a berry having more than one seed. There are no controversy to the assumption that majority of people prefer the watery fruity berry to other fruits.
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Cucumber Farming in Nigeria
Cucumber farming is not the same as maize farming, this class of plant and contends lots of risks during its weeding process thus; great level of consciousness is to be expected of the farmer.
How to Start Cucumber Farming
1) CONDUCT YOUR RESEARCH: One thing with most of us is that immediately we set our hearts to do something we must achieve it but the problem lies when we do not make necessary enquire as to find out every bit of information we need to get before venturing into anything. Farmers don’t usually consider having a clearly written business plan as important thing, but this will give you an edge over others. With a good business plan, you can easily attract investors and other financial institutions to fund your farm to become highly sought after. But this depends on your ability in managing it properly for the likely investors to see. And this you should do without any fears because cucumber markets itself.
2) GET A SUITABLE LAND IN GOOD LOCATION: If you had tried growing cucumber on small scale, you may have noticed that it produces as long as there is a bit sun shine there, but to really get the best out of your investments, getting a rich humid soil can serve multiple purposes. Firstly, it lowers the overhead costs of getting water for irrigating the vegetable which enables it to produce the big and greenish types that are highly sought after. When you spend less on irrigation by having your farm close to water bed, your profit would climb.
3) GET THE LAND READY AND PLANT THE SEED: Plan adequately to moisten the ground by adding fertilizer after clearing and tilling the soil. Then after that, plant your cucumber in a hole of about 2.5cm deep and a space of 50cm apart from each other to enable it grow each one on its own without having to be struggling against themselves.
Another important thing to do is to have the farm land in rows and columns to allow for easy human passage or tractors as the case may be. Making it that way also allows for easy harvesting and sometimes weeding
4) HARVESTING AND DISPOSING YOUR PRODUCE: For sure! You didn’t just go into the business to for the fun of it but to make money. One unique thing about cucumber which makes it different from other vegetables is its market value. You hardly struggle to sell your cucumber. All you have to do is to inform the locals that you have it for sale and have them trooping down to you.