The long-awaited spring has arrived! Before we know it, a warm, gentle summer will come, and with it the season of garden abundance will open. How wonderful it will be to go out early in the morning, look into the greenhouse, inhale the unique smell of cucumber freshness and try the first young, impossibly crunchy and sweet cucumber… We’ve missed him so much over the winter!
However, even in cold weather, you can not do without cucumbers. Why deprive yourself of pleasure! If you already want such a cucumber variety, it’s a small matter: stock up on seeds and start sowing, and we will advise you how to make the right choice and prepare everything correctly.
Cucumbers for seedlings
Parthenocarpic hybrids are better grown through seedlings. Agricultural equipment is simple, but a good harvest will be collected by the gardener who follows the recommendations. Remember that cucumber likes heat. At low temperatures (+12… + 15°C), it practically does not grow and may even die, so it should be planted when the soil warms up above +18…+20°C. This crop develops best at an air temperature of +25…+27°C on warm soil (+22…+24°C). In the middle zone, the first early cucumbers are obtained from seedlings planted in greenhouses and greenhouses.
To sow the seeds for seedlings is recommended for 16 to 25 days prior to planting in greenhouse or open garden. In the middle zone, cucumbers are planted in the open ground after June 5, when all possible frosts will recede, and the soil will warm up enough.
You can get a decent crop of this crop only on a generously fertilized organic bed with light, well-structured soil with a neutral or slightly acidic reaction. We are sure to add sand, neutralised peat and bio humus (2-3 buckets per 1 m²) to our experimental site.
It is very important to water cucumbers correctly. It is best to conduct water-charging irrigation, soaking the soil to the depth of the root layer. Do not be lazy to increase the humidity in the greenhouse by watering the aisles. In the morning and evening, spray the entire plant. Use warm water that has accumulated solar heat during the day for watering.
Proven hybrids
Today we want to offer you new products of this season-hybrids for protected ground ‘Esthet F1’, ‘Furo F1’, ‘Shosha F1’ and ‘Bingo F1’. We tested them in our own experimental area last season and got excellent results. These hybrids were “marked” by abundant harvests, bouquet type of ovary formation, precocity and, what is very valuable, resistance to the main diseases of this crop.
Hybrids are very precocious: from germination to maturation of the first fruit takes 38-45 days. These plants are parthenocarpic, meaning they do not require pollinators, but with them the yield will be higher. Therefore, put in a greenhouse annual flowers, such as marigolds: and beautiful, and aphids repel, and attract useful insects.
These wonderful hybrids are of the bouquet type, with a bunch of cucumbers of 2-4 fruits maturing in each sinus. They ripen at the same time, so they are very convenient to preserve. There are surprisingly many fruits, especially In ‘bingo F1’! They can be mass-collected even very small (3-4 cm long) and harvested pickles. Cucumbers have an amazing taste; they are crisp and dense both fresh and pickled.
Cucumbers do not outgrow for a long time, their usual length is 9-12 cm, and the seeds are almost invisible. The fruits are juicy, sweet, and fragrant! We assure you that the yield will please you very much — ‘Aesthete F1’ and ‘Bingo F1’ will give 14-18 kg per 1 m², and ‘Shosha F1’ and ‘Furo F1’ will give 20 kg/m² and more!
Dear gardeners, cucumber time is coming. It’s time to sow seedlings!