Varieties of beam cucumbers for open ground

Numerous breeders are working tirelessly to create new, more and more perfect plants for various purposes. Including they did not bypass their attention and folk favorites – cucumbers. The subject of their labor activity is such fundamental characteristics as the reduction of the growing season, resistance to diseases, productivity, taste and consumer qualities.

For more than 10 years, the interest of ordinary gardeners in the bush variety of cucumbers has continued to grow. They vaguely resemble the popular mini-banana brushes. They are small, neat and very tasty. They, of course, have their own characteristics both in preparation for planting, and directly in cultivation and care. But their appearance, consumer qualities, precocity and productivity do not leave anyone indifferent.

Bunch cucumbers. Joy or disappointment

First of all, bunch cucumbers are the same greens that are familiar to everyone. They just have the ability to form several fruits from one node is genetically incorporated. Thus, a kind of beam or brush is obtained. These, of course, are not cucumbers the size of the same Zozuli. Small cucumbers about 100 mm in size are formed. There can be from 3 to 9 pieces in a bundle.

Depending on the variety chosen, both the timing of fruiting and the complexity of caring for plants will differ. There is a direct dependence on the type of selected variety of bunched cucumber:

• plant with strong branching. This type of cucumber is the most time-consuming to care for, but at the same time it is the most productive. It has the longest growing season;
• cucumber with medium branching. Unlike the previous type of plant, the middle branching is not so laborious and has a shorter fruiting period. Its yield is not much different from that of a heavily branched variety;
• with weak stem branching. This type of whip does not require significant labor costs in the current care of him. It practically does not form lashes and grows in one stem. It has the shortest growing season and lower yield compared to previous types of plants.

All varieties of beam cucumbers intended for open ground are of the parthenocarpic type and are extremely photophilous. In them, the bulk of the resulting flowers have female characteristics that do not require pollination. Such plants practically do not form male flowers-empty flowers.

Variety of varieties. Rejoice or grieve

It is necessary to select a variety of bunch cucumbers for certain growing conditions.

However, we should not forget about the need for regular care for them. In some cases, you may have to abandon the variety you like and limit yourself to a less demanding specimen. This is especially true for cucumbers with a strong degree of branching.

The understanding that the formation of ovaries in a bunch directly depends on the growing conditions of the cucumber will help you choose a specific variety:

Early ripe variety “Vyuga”

A modern parthenocarpic hybrid. A plant with weak branching, which is almost absent in the lower part of the bush, which indicates the low labor intensity of its cultivation:

• an extremely early ripening variant of the bunch cucumber. Fruits on the 35th day of its growth;
• up to 5 greens are formed in one ovary;
• fruits of small size (about 80 mm) and weight close to 70 g;
• yield value exceeds 15 kg/m²;
• the variety is resistant to most traditional diseases, including powdery mildew;
• is the most suitable for climatic zones close to the conditions of Ukraine, where in early May it is possible to plant seeds in the ground;
• in central Our Country it is more convenient to grow this variety through seedlings. At the same time, it is necessary to plant seeds in early April.

Planting care is no different from the usual cultivation of cucumbers. It is only necessary to carefully remove the side shoots. It is planned to use trellises for growing plants with a planting density of 40 cm or more.

Early ripening variety “Detinets”

Like the previous variety, it is a parthenocarpic hybrid. The plant is indeterminate with an average degree of branching. In this connection, the labor intensity of growing such a variety is slightly higher than that of the Blizzard variety.

The characteristic features of this variety are expressed as follows:

• the beginning of fruiting begins on the 45th day of its growth;
• forms up to 5 ovaries in one sinus of a healthy leaf;
• fruits of medium size. With a weight of 100 – 120 g, the length of the cucumber reaches 120 mm;
• productivity – up to 15 kg / m²;
• the variety is extremely resistant to cladosporiosis;
• lays an early harvest in all leaf axils, except for the lower leaf;
• it is better to start growing seedlings from mid-April, so that by the time of planting in the ground, stable warm weather has time to establish.

The trellis method of growing with a planting density of no more than 40 cm is recommended. The variety is very responsive to the use of micronutrient supplements and preventive spraying of fungicides against diseases.

Early variety “Okhotny Ryad”

The variety is a bright parthenocarpic hybrid of early fruiting time. 40 days is enough for the first appearance of the ovaries. The degree of branching depends on the number of greens on the shoot. The more of them, the shorter the branch. The most abundant and high-quality harvest is expected at the beginning of fruiting.

The characteristic features of the variety are:

• the variety has a medium-sized greens 100 – 120 mm long;
• up to 6 ovaries are formed in each leaf axil;
• all Zelentsy have a beautiful, studded shape with excellent taste and consumer characteristics;
• the variety has a universal application for harvesting and storage;
• recommended seedling method of cultivation;
• this variety is resistant to most traditional diseases except downy (peronosporosis) powdery mildew;
• it is distinguished by a long fruiting period both in open ground and in greenhouse conditions;

If the ovaries are not formed, while the plant has a sufficient vegetative mass, the ends of the main shoots should be pinched off the plant.

Cucumbers in the open field – some useful tips

Growing bunch cucumbers in open ground is similar to growing ordinary varieties.

But some tips for growing them can still be given:

• 2 weeks before the proposed planting of seedlings of bunch cucumbers, it is necessary to properly fertilize the planting site. It will be very useful to add up to 2 buckets of compost and a couple of spoons of mineral fertilizer for each square meter of land;

  

• the day before planting, pour plenty of beds with warm water;
• control the temperature of the earth at a depth of 100 mm. It must not be below 15⁰. Plants should be planted at a distance of at least 400 mm from each other;
• immediately before planting, it is necessary to shed each well with a weak solution of ordinary potassium permanganate (1 g per bucket). After planting the seedlings, we mulch it with a mixture of humus and peat;
• in anticipation of return frosts, it is necessary to cover the plantings with lutrasil stretched over arcs. In established warm weather, when the danger of return frosts has passed, we tie bunch cucumbers to the trellis;

  

• growing shoots should be regularly shortened in strongly and medium branching varieties. It is necessary to remove all female flowers in 1-XNUMX axils along with regrown shoots;
• top dressing to carry out once in 2 weeks. Urea – one and a half tablespoons per bucket, cow dung – diluted in a ratio of 1: 10. At the beginning of flowering and during its maximum phase – treat open ground cucumbers with Epin or Zircon. This treatment will increase the resistance of ground cucumbers to possible changes in conditions and activate the process of filling greens.

New varieties of beam hybrids for open ground are able to please their zealous owners not only with a rich harvest. They have both excellent taste and good consumer characteristics. It should only be remembered, when choosing the variety you like, that the size of the crop itself will depend on the degree of branching of the variety. The higher this degree, the longer the fruiting period.

On the other hand, low-branching varieties, although they have a shorter period of growth of greens, are the least labor-intensive to care for, since they do not have side shoots. Thus, if the gardener is regularly with his plantings, his fate is 20 kg of greens from the bush and a lot of work. If such an order is not possible, then low-branching varieties are the only way out. But in any case, the harvest will be.