Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 2.6 Peppers 38 days old (13 days after transplanting to rockwool
blocks) ready to transplant to final growing system. (Courtesy of CuisinArt Golf
Resort & Spa, Anguilla.)
about three sets of true leaves unfolded when ready to transplant as shown
in Figure 2.6.
Eggplants are cared for similarly to peppers, but do not lay them on
their sides.
Cucumbers must be cared for somewhat differently than tomatoes and
peppers. Cucumbers grow very rapidly. Their leaves expand quickly and
to a large size. For this reason, it is important to separate and space them
out early. As soon as the first true leaves have unfolded, separate the cubes
and space them to about half the number as for tomatoes in a flat (3 × 5
= 15 plants/tray). But do not lay them on their sides, as they are suscep-
tible to such fungus diseases as gummy stem blight that may infect them
in a horizontal position. You can in fact skip the step of just separating
them in a flat and proceed immediately to transplanting them to the larger
4-inch rockwool blocks. Set them in the blocks upright. Set the blocks in
a checkerboard arrangement to get proper spacing (Figure 2.7). You can
keep them at this spacing for 7 to 10 days. If you do not transplant them
to the final hydroponic system, you will need to space them out again to
about half the pants per flat (twice the spacing). Do not hold them in the
flats more than about 2 to 3 weeks before their final transplant destination
(Figure 2.8). Within a week after transplanting, the cucumbers are grow-
ing rapidly (Figure 2.9).
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