Just like other fruits and vegetable, there are various Cucumber Health Benefits you should know about. Cucumber is actually a vegetable and nutritious fruit that is consumed largely in the world. Mostly, it is being planted in Nigeria but to start a cucumber farming in Nigeria there are some factors which should be considered before venturing into it, which are: Planning process, planting process and understanding the cucumber health benefits.

8 Cucumber Health Benefits to the body explained

Consuming cucumber regularly does a lot of good to the body which includes:

Hydration: This is one of the cucumber health benefits. Cucumber contains a large content of water which keeps the body from dehydration and washed the entire body system free of toxins.
Weight loss: Due to the high content of water in cucumber, it reduces the number of calories in it, which makes it one of the sought-after fruits people who desire to lose weight seek after.
Cures diabetes: It is believed that this is one of the major cucumber health benefits. Cucumber juice helps in the treatment of diabetes which helps inactivating the pancreas that produces insulin.
Treatment of mouth odour: This is a major cucumber health benefits. Cucumber fruit helps in the treatment of mouth odour; it kills the bacteria that causes mouth odour.
It aids digestion: Due to the high-water content of cucumber, it aids and improves digestion which helps the body in getting rid of harmful and toxic substances from the system. Its daily consumption helps in the treatment of severe constipation.
Treatment of kidney stones: This is one of the major cucumber health benefits. Daily consumption of cucumber helps in the reduction of kidney problems. Its anti-toxins help in keeping the kidney in work and removing kidney stones and reducing acid content in the body.
It is rich in vitamins: Cucumber is a fruit that is highly rich in vitamins. Daily intake of this fruit helps to restore the vitamins needed by the body and also boost the immune system.
Reducing the risk of cancer in the body: One of the major cucumber health benefits is that it reduces the risk of cancer. Cucumber helps to fight the risk of cancer in the body, it fights various types of cancer in the body. This is the reason why all over the world, women are advised to take it as part of their diet, since they are at risk of cancerous diseases. e.g., breast cancer.
Good for face treatment: One of cucumber health benefits is that it is good for face treatment. Cucumber serves as an important use for face treatment and treatment of the skin and skin problems such as eczema, skin inflammation and helps in making the eyes sharp.

Planning process: Planning process involved in cucumber business includes how, when, and where to start planting, problems involved in planting.

Planting process:

There are various processes involved in the planting stage, these are:

Selection of the land: There are things to be considered when selecting land to be used for planting cucumber farming, the soil should be loamy or clay soil and water should be accessible to the soil. Also, sunlight which is also essential not only for this particular fruit, but, generally for all plants.

For this kind of farming, location matters a lot, the farm should not be too far from its market and the larger the farm, the larger the market.

Preparation of the land: In the preparation of the land to be used for cucumber farming, the very first process in the preparation is to clear the land and weeding it. Using organic manure and fertilizes for the land to aid fat and good produce. Inorganic products shouldn’t be used on the land.

Selection of seed: sourcing for seed is a very important process in cucumber farming. Seeds that are certain to bring a good yield should be of use.

Planting of the seed: Generally, this plant needs water to survive, and planting during the rainy season should be the prime focus except adequate irrigation system is put in place for it should it be planted during the dry season. It can be planted on beds and there should be right spacing between them and the seeds should be pushed into the bed at 1-3cm from the soil surface.

Care for the plants: After planting, and the plants starts germinating, the first thing that should come to mind should be staking of sticks for the plants to climb and crawl on. These sticks serve as a source of support for these plants.

Also, this period is the time irrigation is needed, that is if available provisions is made for it. If otherwise, the plants should be watered daily.

Weeding is also necessary, and should be done in about 20 days interval, mulching and pests’ control is also required. Moreover, it should be noted that planting of seeds that has already been treated with fungicide. And encase of any disease on the leaf, fungicide should be quickly applied. Insecticide should also be used regularly and the plants should be protected from open grazing.

Harvesting of the fruits: Maturity of cucumber seeds depends on the type of seed planted because it varies a lot. Mostly it takes close to 45 days before it matures well. Cucumber should be harvested early and when its green colour is still intact before it starts changing colour. i.e., when it ripens.

Harvesting cucumber is mostly done with hands without use of any mechanical tools as handling it will prevent cuts, bruises, falling which causes internal cuts and bloating when harvesting or transporting them. The fruits should then be washed, arranged neatly and stored under a cool temperature for marketing.

Marketing of the fruits: An available market with a bountiful harvest is what makes cucumber farming a success. Once the fruits are harvested, an efficient transport system should be put in place to move the fruits from the farm to the market for efficient marketing.