Cornice cucumbers: grade description, photo
Tiny, strong cucumber “fingers” no larger than a woman’s palm are gherkin cucumbers. In salting, they retain their density, crunch appetizingly, and look aesthetically pleasing. Gherkins grown in their own garden are tasty and healthy.
Ordinary cucumbers, plucked by small ones, 2-3 days after setting, are not gherkins. The beautiful French name applies only to special varieties: they grow no more than 10-12 cm in length, even if they are forgotten in the garden. Of course, you shouldn’t do this. Overgrown gherkins become lethargic, stop crunching appetizingly.
Gherkins are especially good pickled and pickled
The main difference between gherkins and other varieties is the early ripening period. A tiny cucumber is completely ready for use on the 3rd day from the beginning of flowering. It is tender, tasty, fragrant, dense – the same as a ripe cucumber should be.
In the photo, the varieties of gherkin cucumbers practically do not differ from each other. What unites them:
- standard size from 4 to 8 cm;
- lack of large seeds;
- thin, bright green skin with pimples;
- dense pulp, in which voids never form;
- nodular ovary, 3 pcs. at the bottom of the lash and 5-7 pcs. at the top.
Breeders have bred about 20 varieties of early, medium and late ripeness gherkins. Popular, for example, such varieties as “Parisian Gherkin”, “Filippok”, “Son of the Regiment”, “Harmonist”, “Thumbelina”. They are resistant to disease, tolerate cold weather well, and do not turn yellow.
Growing gherkins is different from growing regular cucumbers. This is due to the fact that they love warmth. In the cold ground, the seed dies, therefore, the gherkins are planted in the ground by the seed method closer to the second decade of June.
However, it is preferable to use the seedling method. It differs little from the traditional method of planting cucumbers, but there are also important nuances here.
- the volume of the cups must be large, at least ½ l;
- the height of the glass does not matter, but the neck needs to be wide;
- despite the fact that gherkins are weakly branching, plant seedlings less often: no more than 3 plants per 1 sq. m;
- gherkins need loose soil, with organic fertilizer.
Gherkins love yeast feeding. To prepare it, dilute a standard 5 g bag of active dry yeast in 11 liters of settled water, leave it for a week to ferment. Water the plants with the resulting concentrate throughout the entire fruiting period, adding 1 tbsp. yeast solution for 10 liters of water for irrigation.
Gherkins are a small-fruited vegetable crop that differs from conventional cucumber varieties. They are more tender, afraid of cold weather, ripen within 3 days and do not outgrow in the garden.