There are many reasons why you should start cucumber farming. Cucumber farming is a lucrative business, it’s quite simple.
This is desirable, cucumber farming is not as complex as other areas of agriculture, so you can start small with relatively little or no experience.
Though simple yet there are some basic requirements. Over 80% of cucumber composition is water. So, there is need for constant water supply on the cucumber farm. For this reason, irrigation is a key factor. If you don’t have a constant water supply, cucumber farming is not for you.
For those who have some farming experience, or are keen to begin on their own initiative, then a formal training program in cucumber farming is not necessarily needed to progress to the next level. In fact, you can start your own cucumber farm without any formal experience in farming or business.
I want to help you to your own cucumber farm immediately. so follow the steps to the best of your ability, and don’t delay, start your cucumber farm today!
Step 1: Conduct a feasibility study
Make a thorough background search; as to determine the feasibility of cucumber. There are several breeds/varieties of cucumber: some are specific and thrive best in specific regions. So, before you start cucumber farming in Nigeria, you need to gather all of the necessary information in order to setup the farm at the right place, time and the cost.
The study will help you understand the implications, including the required capital, your competitors and potential customers.
The study will also help you to know the marketing methods to use in order to reach and attract customers once your crop. One of the best things about choosing cucumber farming is that cucumbers has no season, provided you have a sufficient water supply.
Step 2: Make a good business plan
The average farmer may not may not see the need to having a reliable business plan, you should because it will give your cucumber farm the structure needed to ensure that you generate the profits that you have worked hard for.
A business plan is what you need to run your farm in an organized and structured manner. Also, if you do not have all the capital required to start your cucumber farm, then with a solid and defined business plan, you will be in a better position to attract bank loans, private investors, or even government grants that are becoming widely available.
Step 3: location your farm strategically
While the basic requirements for setting up a cucumber farm include a sufficient supply of water along with sunshine that is not all you need to take care of. Cucumber best grows in land that has rich and humid soil.
If you are working on a budget and want to save on operational costs, then choosing a farmland in a highly fertile and humid area will help you cut down on the costs. The most ideal situation would be to secure farmland that is close to any waterbed. The logic here is simple- while you may be able to grow cucumber in an area that has less rain and is far from a river, it will take a lot of resource and time to ensure that your cucumber crop is constantly moist. This will add to the costs that you will incur on irrigation as well as other operational costs.
If you do not have a lot of knowledge about lands, then consulting with an expert before you start your cucumber farm would be wise. Since you are trying to produce cucumber on a commercial scale, it is essential that you cultivate it in the best conditions possible.
Step 4: Land preparation and cucumber planting
Once you have finalized and secured your land, you will need to prepare it before you begin the plantation of cucumber seeds.
Land preparation is the most crucial step, Some things that you must do as a part of preparing the land for the plantation includes:
Clear all weed and grass
Till the land
Dig holes in the land, each about 2.5cm in depth for planting the seeds; with a space of 40cm apart to allow for good growth
To make easy access road for tractors and humans , for purposes of watering and harvesting, you can make the land in columns and rows.
Types of cucumber seeds to use
The most important factor that will determine the success of your cucumber farm is the seeds that you use. You need to determine the following: Is it an open or a closed seed? Is it a hybrid or General seed?
Some other information you need to know is that some seeds can produce higher than others.
Information you should know about the seeds is in deciding how long you can harvest. Some 3-5 times some 5-10 times while a select few can go 15-20 times before they wither.
Cucumber seeds are also very responsive to formulas “A” and “B” you can use them together with some other organic manure. As they grow, you can nip off the tips of the main stems so that branching is encouraged.
From this you can see that the type of seed used is a vital factor in determining the direction of your cucumber farm.
Step 5: Labor
If you are starting small with about one plot of land you can probably handle most of the labour yourself, and only hire people for difficult tasks such as making the beds. This will reduce your costs and increase your profits.
But if you start big or grow your business you will need to hire labour. As a guide, you can expect to pay around N20,000 a month per person.
Labor can sometimes be your biggest challenge so don’t take it lightly. I’ve seen some promising businesses fail because they hired lazy or incompetent labor.
I will therefore suggest that you start small and build up your labor force gradually with trusted, hardworking personnel.
Step 6: Irrigation
As I mentioned earlier, over 80% of cucumber composition is water, so the need for constant water is key. Personally, Securing suitable land and a constant water supply are the most important parts of a successful cucumber farm.
Your constant source of water could be a nearby stream or a sink borehole in the land. If you don’t have a constant source of water, your cucumber farm will not even survive past the first harvest.
If your plants are not well watered, the primary effect is that the cucumber will taste bitter. Have you ever eaten bitter cucumber before? Let’s just say it’s not very nice, even animals will refuse to eat it. The end result will be that nobody will buy your cucumbers and you can wave goodbye to your profits. Secondly, the plants won’t last long.
Step 7: Harvesting
Cucumber fruits are harvested before they are mature, which varies between 1 and 2 weeks depending on when they flower. The time of first harvest is around 40 to 60 days after they have been sowed. This again varies as per the climate, and can be done either every other day or after a gap of a few days.
Step 8: Marketing
Like most businesses your initial marketing efforts will be time consuming, but once you have built momentum you will not struggle to sell your cucumbers.
Cucumbers can be sold in retail, wholesale, in a market near you, or in one of the many companies that specialize in cucumber processing. All you need to do is ensure that you cucumbers are green, big, attractive, fresh and juicy, and of a high quality. So ensure that you have put in place high quality regulation for your cucumbers. If these steps closely followed, sufficient investment and resources, you should be able to realize the huge business potential of cucumber farming in Nigeria within a few months.
HEALTH BENEFITS OF CUCUMBERS:
Apart from the business benefits that we have discussed, cucumbers are said to have the following health benefits: potential anti-diabetic, antioxidant activity, cleansing action of toxins and waste, soothing effect against skin irritation, and prevention of constipation.
