Features of growing and caring for cucumbers
Among a large number of different varietal variations of cucumbers, a hybrid variety Ukhazher also found its place, which is increasingly found in areas of Russian gardeners. These plants are really characterized by high aesthetic qualities and excellent taste, and if you add to the list of advantages also comparative unpretentiousness in care, it is not surprising that the culture deserves increased attention. What exactly is remarkable about the cucumber Ukhazher and how to properly grow it to obtain the maximum yield - more on this later.
Botanical description of cucumbers
Cucumbers of this variety belong to medium-sized plants of medium maturity. They were bred due to the efforts of breeders of VNIIO of Russia and got into the State Register of the country in 2004 with regionalization in the North Caucasus, Middle Volga, North-West and North regions of the Russian Federation.
Check out the varieties of cucumbers for growing on the windowsill.
Usually, fruits are grown only under film shelters in small private farms, although in the southern regions they are often planted in open soil, waiting for its maximum spring heating. Before sowing seeds, you should familiarize yourself with the main characteristics of cucumbers and the bushes themselves.
Fruit
The fruits of the cucumber cultivar Ukhazher have an attractive appearance, have large white tubercles over the entire surface. Their shape is predominantly oval, elongated up to 16–18 cm in length, with a green leaf diameter of 3.5–4 cm. The weight of one such fruit is 180–210 g.
Did you know? As part of the cucumber, 95% of the total volume of the fruit is water, so 1 kg of green leaves contains no more than 150 kcal.
One of the advantages of Cucumber curators is the possibility of their long-term storage, without loss of taste characteristics or external product data. They are excellent for fresh consumption, as well as for processing for all kinds of preservation.
Kustov
Plants of this variety consist of one main and several lateral shoots (no more than 2-3). The sheet plates formed on them are large, slightly wavy at the edges. Flowering is bisexual, and later 2-3 ovaries form on one node. Since the bush is characterized by medium growth rates, the first fruits can be removed 55-60 days after emergence.
Characteristic
The Sukhazher variety has many positive characteristics, but first of all, it is worth paying attention to yield indicators, the timing of flowering and fruiting of cucumber bushes.
Find out what the benefits and harms of cucumbers are.
The timing of flowering and fruiting
The first crop of cucumbers Ukhazher is harvested approximately 55-60 days after emergence of seedlings, that is, in late July or early August. If you sow the seeds a second time on time, then in greenhouse conditions it will be possible to collect two crops a year. Flowering of cucumber bushes is observed about 1-1.5 months before harvesting greenhouses.
Productivity
In good growing conditions, about 5–6 kg of greenery can be removed from one cucumber bush, while the marketable yield of 1 m² of stands is at least 15–16 kg. Fruiting extended over time and in some cases continues until the frost.
Pest and disease resistance
Like most other hybrid crops, Ukhazher cucumbers are highly resistant to typical diseases and are not afraid of diseases (powdery mildew, root rot, cucumber mosaic). This means that even without the use of fungicidal and insecticidal compounds, you have every chance of getting a quality crop, without chemical impurities.
Important! To start collecting cucumbers, the Caretaker does not have to wait until they reach their maximum size. Small specimens also have a good taste, the main thing is to remove the skin with a lot of small spines in a timely manner.
In addition, high resistance to ailments is maintained during prolonged storage of collected fruits: they do not decay and do not deteriorate, and their peel retains its integrity even during prolonged transportation of greens.
Advantages and disadvantages of the variety
The main advantage of cucumbers of the described variety is its delicate taste and crisp flesh, although in addition to these characteristics they have something to surprise the gardener.
- The following merits of the Advantage’s general merits include:
- a long period of fruiting (often before the frost itself);
- high yields;
- excellent commercial quality of fruits;
- the possibility of long-term storage of harvested crops and long-term transportation;
- good resistance to diseases and pests;
- low demand for care.
As for the lack of these fruits, some vegetable growers consider them to be the presence of a large number of prickly spikes on the peel, which must be brushed off before use.
Read also articles on this topic:
Planting varieties
Cucumber cultivation is possible both by seed and seedling, and the choice of a particular option depends more on the climatic characteristics of the region and the availability of a film shelter recommended by the manufacturer. In any case, each of the described methods has its own nuances of the procedure. Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in March or April and provides for the preliminary disinfection of planting material in the Fitosporin solution, which will help to avoid disease damage during further cultivation.
Read more about when to plant cucumbers for seedlings.
As soon as the seeds swell, they are placed in a damp cloth and left in it for several days, controlling the humidity. After such preparation, cucumbers are planted in separate seedling containers or peat-humus cups, which will help to dispense with picking plants in the future.
At the end of the planting process, seedlings are watered and the boxes are transferred to a warm room with an air temperature of + 23 ... + 27 ° С. To increase the temperature indicators and create a greenhouse effect, the boxes with cucumbers should be covered with a plastic film, periodically removing it for airing the plantings.
Important! Tomatoes, cabbage, onions and perennial herbs are deservedly considered the best predecessors for cucumbers, but after pumpkin plants it is better not to plant them.
There are a number of requirements for growing cucumber seedlings:
- daytime temperature should be maintained within + 20 ° С, and nighttime should not fall below + 16 ° С;
- sufficient lighting provides for exposure to light for 12 hours (if necessary, install additional daylight sources above the seedling tanks);
- humidity should not be lower than 70%.
You will be interested to know how to plant cucumbers in open ground.
The planting scheme for the Ukhazher cultivar is 50 × 50 (the distance between adjacent plants in the row and the rows themselves), and the planting depth depends on the size of the peat pot with which the cucumber seedlings are planted on a bed or under a film shelter. At the end of the planting, each bush should be watered with three liters of relatively warm water.
Bush care
Achievement of high yield indicators from the Ukhazher variety is possible only with properly organized plant care. First of all, this applies to timely top dressing and watering seedlings, as well as care for the soil on which it grows.
Intensity of watering and top dressing
The intensity and frequency of watering cucumbers directly depends on the stage of their development. So, before buds appear on one bush, at least three liters of water are consumed weekly, while during flowering and fruiting they are watered with six liters of liquid every three days. To achieve the optimum water temperature for irrigation, it is worth collecting it in advance in large barrels located in a sunny area.
Read also about how to properly water cucumbers in a greenhouse and in the open ground.
The preferred method of watering cucumber bushes is drip, and the procedure itself should be performed in the morning or evening. In the absence of a drip irrigation system, you can draw liquid into watering cans with spray nozzles, but when using them you will have to follow the direction of irrigation: the leaves and stems of the plants must remain completely dry. At the end of the procedure, it remains only to loosen the soil and at the same time remove weed vegetation from it, thereby increasing the moisture and air permeability of the substrate.
- for the first time 14 days after transplanting seedlings to a constant place of growth;
- the second time in the formation of buds;
- the third - during the period of active fruiting.
Important! In the absence of mineral fertilizers, they can be replaced with wood ash dissolved in water. It will not only help saturate the soil with nutrients, but also scare away possible pests that occasionally appear on the beds.
For the second and third time, you can fertilize cucumber bushes with complex mineral compositions by mixing 15 g of urea, 25 g of potassium sulfate and 30 g of superphosphate fertilizers. In this case, the working solution is poured into the sprayer and foliar feeding of plants is performed in the morning and evening hours, during reduced solar activity.
Soil loosening and weeding
Loosening the soil and removing weeds are mandatory measures when growing the Ukhazher variety, especially in the initial stages of seedling development. In the first month, while the plants take root in a new place and adapt to the soil, this procedure is performed every time after the next watering, trying not to deepen the tool much into the soil. The optimal solution is loosening the substrate in the aisles, and not at the root system of cucumbers.
Also read about what to do if cucumbers grow poorly.
Disease and Pest Prevention
Despite the fact that the described variety of cucumbers has increased resistance to typical vegetable diseases and pests, timely prevention of these problems will not be superfluous, therefore, if powdery mildew or root rot has already been noticed in this area, it is better to treat the bushes with Fitosporin, Oksikhom "Or" Topaz. " Any of them are bred according to the instructions on the package and used during the period of active fruiting of the culture.
The following actions will be non-chemical ways to reduce the likelihood of problems:
- compliance with crop rotation requirements for a given crop (seedlings of the Ukhazher cultivar should be planted only in those areas where the desired predecessors, such as tomatoes, had grown before);
- the use of only high-quality planting material, with current expiration dates;
- rationing of irrigation during care;
- timely ventilation of greenhouses and greenhouses with cucumber plantings.
Some gardeners use traditional methods of combating ailments and insects for preventive purposes. For example, you can treat the bushes with infusion of onion husks and garlic, and to keep it better on the leaves, you can add a small amount of grated laundry soap to the mixture.
Did you know? The largest cucumber in history grew in the garden of the British farmer Alfa Cobb in 2008. Its length was 91.7 cm, which was confirmed at the National Amateur Horticultural Exhibition in the English town of Bath.
The sharp garlic or onion odor perfectly repels aphids, spider mites, thrips and some other pests, and slugs can be eliminated with the help of coniferous extract or ammonia solution, which shed soil around the plantings.
Harvesting and storage of crops
On average, the harvest of cucumbers of the Ukhazher variety begins not earlier than mid-August, but, given the uneven ripening of greenery, the length of the harvesting period often stretches to September or even October. It is advisable to remove cucumbers from the bushes in mittens so as not to shake their hands on sharp spikes, but you can put them in ordinary boxes in which they will lie in the room.
In cool conditions and with moderate humidity, the crop can be stored for about a month, but in the future it will have to be used for preservation or frozen.
We recommend that you learn how to prepare cucumbers for the winter without sterilization.
Despite the fact that the Ukhazher cucumber variety is considered a salad variety, the fruits are very tasty when rolled into jars, so do not give up the possibility of such a harvest. Moreover, given the abundance of the grown crop, even with moderate planting of cucumbers on the beds, you will definitely have enough fruit for use for any purpose.
