MAKE BIG MONEY Selling Cucumbers Grown in Portable Farms

MAKE BIG MONEY Selling Cucumbers Grown in Portable Farms
by Colle and Phyllis Davis

MAKE BIG MONEY Selling Cucumbers Grown in Portable Farms. Cucumbers are delicious in salads, as a side dish garnished with vinegar and spices, as part of a refreshing addition to a relish tray or even sliced and served on a sandwich!

The cucumber has long been known as a summer ‘fruit.’ Yes, the cucumber is considered a fruit but used as a vegetable. When cucumbers are grown in a Portable Farms Aquaponics System, they can be grown YEAR ROUND and sold to local customers as organic food for top prices. In fact, (this surprised us as well) cucumbers grown in our Portable Farms are a better cash crop than even basil!

Since cucumbers are ‘blooming’ plants, they require:

— Warm temperatures in the greenhouse ranging from 70 to 95 degrees F

— Six to seven hour of direct light per day and LED or fluorescent grow lights from September to April (Northern Hemisphere) for another five hours per day. If direct sun is unavailable, the grow lights must be utilized 18 hours per day. 

— Adequate circulation to assure the blossoms set.

If cucumbers grown in a Portable Farms® Aquaponics Systems are raised and sold as ‘locally grown and pesticide free,’ the grower can receive higher prices further reducing the ROI than stated in this article.

Cucumber production begins 60 to 70 days after seeding.  For good production, a temperature range of 75 degrees to 80 degrees F during the day is desirable.  While peak daytime temperatures of 85 degrees to 95 degrees F are tolerable, prolonged periods of high temperatures may adversely affect fruit quality.  Night temperatures no lower than 65 degrees F will allow a rapid growth rate and earliest fruit production.  At 55 degrees to 60 degrees F, savings in fuel costs will be significant, but growth rate will be slower and harvest will be delayed.

Fruit generally grows to market maturity 12 to 15 days after the flower opens.

Considering these variables, yields range from 1 – 1 ½ to 3 pounds of fruit per plant per week, during mid-harvest on an umbrella trained crop.  Twenty to twenty-five fruit may be expected over a 10 to 12 week harvest period.

Cucumber production from a single full size 5′ x 40′ (200sq ft) [1.5m x 12m (18m²) Grow Tray:

• Each Grow Tray can hold 106 plants 18in x 12in (45cm x 30cm) centers and are planted twice a year
• Production is normally over a 10 to 12 week period
• Because the plants spread out so much they need to be trained in a V shape or directly vertical
• Plants may require some pruning
• The staking or trellising can be installed permanently
• Cucumbers yield is between 1.5 and 3 lbs [0.7 and 1.3k] per plant per week depending on variety
• Yield per plant is 20 to 25 cucumbers per plant depending on variety
• No pesticides, fungicides or artificial fertilizers are ever used
• Cucumbers can be harvested and used the same day for peak flavor and texture plus they store well
• Yields 4,000 lbs to 4,500 lbs [1,800 to 2045kg] per year per Grow Tray
• 85lbs [38kg] per week
• 11.7lbs [5kg] per day

Each Module contains one Grow Tray, one Fish Tank and one Clarifier. The components to make the Module functional also include a special pump and valve system, a control panel, air pumps and related hardware and wiring.

Labor costs are higher than with lettuce because of the training and harvesting of cucumbers. This is true for tomatoes, zucchini, peppers and any plant that requires extra time after planting. Lettuces does not, plant it and then a few weeks later harvest it and plant the same place again. Two people can operate a 10,000 sq ft PFAS if they are only growing lettuce. With other bush or vine crops two to four additional personnel are required.