A sodium vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp which uses sodium in an excited state to produce light. There are two varieties of such lamps: low pressure and high pressure.

1. Soil Preperation:

Cucumbers require a sunny spot protected from strong winds for the best results. The soil should be rich and well drained. Dig a hole approximately one foot square and fill the hole with a mixture of compost or rotted manure and soil. Raise the soil into a mound. Each mound should be spaced 18 inches apart. Most households will require only a few such mounds to provide plenty of cucumbers for their use.

A few varieties of cucumber are parthenocarpic, the blossoms creating seedless fruit without pollination. Pollination for these varieties degrades the quality. In the US, these are usually grown in greenhouses, where bees are excluded. In Europe, they are grown outdoors in some regions, and bees are excluded from these areas. Most cuke varieties however, are seeded and require pollination. Thousands of hives of bees are annually carried to cucumber fields just before bloom for the purpose. Cucumbers may also be pollinated by flies.

The cucumber is the edible fruit of the cucumber plant Cucumis sativus, which belongs to the gourd family Cucurbitaceae, as do melons and squash. The plant has been cultivated for 3000 years and is widely cultivated today. The cucumber plant has large leaves that form a canopy over the fruit. The vine is grown on the ground or on trellises, often in greenhouses.