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If you decide to grow cucumbers in open beds, you should pay attention to whether the selected variety can feel comfortable in the weather conditions of the region. Thus, heat-loving varieties will not be able to provide a good harvest in northern latitudes. Therefore, experienced gardeners select those options that can grow comfortably and produce fruit in appropriate weather conditions.
The most famous varieties of cucumbers that feel great in open ground include: parthenocarpic, gherkins, Dutch and early.
Parthenocarpic varieties do not require the intervention of insects in the pollination process, since they have both pistil and stamens and are characterized by a high level of productivity. Such cucumbers do not have bitterness; their plant successfully tolerates cold and rain and rarely becomes infected with diseases. Currently, this variety is considered a real boon for gardeners, as natural pollinators are becoming fewer and fewer. Their resistance to temperature changes is also considered a useful feature, since during flowering in the open ground this factor often has a negative effect. TO self-pollinating cucumberswhich are the most common include:
- Alliance;
- Enthusiasm;
- Zozulya;
- Orpheus;
- Lapland F1.
Gherkins are known for their miniature size and crispy properties. However, they love soil enriched with calcium; the gardener should take care of providing this factor in advance. Gherkins also require care, so to get a good harvest, you will have to tinker with them. But the resulting cucumbers have excellent taste and are considered the best for pickling.
Dutch varieties are the most popular in Russia, as they tolerate the climatic conditions of most regions well and are resistant to diseases. Depending on the purpose of cucumbers, select the appropriate varieties. Barion is suitable for pickling, and Pioneer F1 is suitable for eating raw.
Early varieties are especially popular, because you want to get delicious cucumbers early. The most famous variety early cucumbergrown in open ground is Muromsky, which has high yields. The first ripe fruits appear already 32-40 days after germination, while mid-ripening cucumbers begin to produce crops at 45-50 days.
Varieties of early cucumbers, how they differ
According to the speed of ripening, cucumbers are divided into:
- ultra-early - fruiting occurs 33-39 days after the sprouts appear;
- early ripening - fruiting in 42-52 days;
- mid-season - fruiting in 47-55 days;
- late ripening - fruiting in 50-56 days.
Mid-season and late ripening cucumbers are less popular among gardeners. Most prefer ultra-early and early ripening varieties. The ultra-early ones include: Malysh, Altaisky early 166, Masha F1, German F1. Early ripening varieties: Advance F1, Zyatek F1, Orlik F1, Benefit F1. However, early varieties are more often infected with diseases, and their fruiting time is shorter than that of later ones. Therefore, you should carefully select cucumbers and take those that are least susceptible to infection. In central Russia, cucumber diseases such as powdery mildew (true and downy), bacteriosis, cucumber mosaic virus, and olive spot occur.
When choosing vegetables, it is important to consider their further purpose. So, if you want to pickle them, you should make sure that the selected variety is suitable for this. There are three groups of cucumbers that differ in purpose:
- salad;
- pickling;
- universal.
Everyone chooses the option that suits their needs. It is advisable to plant 2 or 3 types in open ground at once, for example, 50% salad and 50% pickling or 50% universal, 25% pickling and 25% salad.
April F1
This variety belongs to the early-ripening universal hybrids, the fruits of which grow in open ground 46-51 days after germination. April F1 is characterized by the ability to regulate branching, so it is used for planting not only in open ground, but also in balcony boxes. A ripe cucumber has the shape of a cylinder and weighs 210-260 grams, its length is about 23 cm. The advantages of this variety are: ease of care, resistance to cold, lack of bitterness. All this allows him to produce a decent harvest.
Ant F1
An ultra-early ripening, self-pollinating hybrid variety, fruiting begins 34-38 days after germination. The bush has a small number of side shoots.The fruits have large tubercles, are cylindrical in shape, and their average length is 11 cm. The plant is resistant to olive spot and powdery mildew.
Herman F1
An ultra-early ripening, self-pollinating hybrid with a bunch type of flowering, fruits appear in 36-40 days. It produces a rich harvest under favorable growing conditions. The fruits are short, large-tubercular, without bitterness. This hybrid is resistant to temperature changes and most cucumber diseases. It is well suited for use in salads and for preservation.
Masha F1
An ultra-early ripening, self-pollinating hybrid, fruiting begins 34-39 days after germination. This variety produces a decent harvest in open ground and has a long fruiting period. The hybrid is characterized by bunch-type flowering. The fruit is a large-tubercular gherkin in the shape of a cylinder; it is genetically devoid of bitterness and has excellent taste. This cucumber is suitable for eating fresh or for pickling. The variety easily tolerates bad weather and is resistant to powdery mildew and cucumber mosaic virus.
Competitor
An early ripening variety that is suitable for preservation. It is characterized by good productivity, the fruits appear after 44-52 days. They have the shape of a cylinder and are covered with small tubercles, the length of cucumbers is small - up to 12 cm, weight -90-150 g. The variety is resistant to infection by powdery mildew or bacterial spot.
Moscow dude F1
An early ripening hybrid, its fruits are harvested 41-47 days after germination. Pollination occurs with the help of insects in open beds. The plants are characterized by an average ability to grow shoots. The fruit is characterized by a green color with stripes and whitish small spines, its length is usually 9-13 cm, weight - 110 g.This hybrid is resistant to bacteriosis and olive spot. From a garden bed of 1 sq. m, you can harvest up to 14 kg of cucumbers under favorable growth conditions.
Most garden crops love sunny areas, but often the garden is not so large that there are enough beds illuminated by the sun to plant all the desired vegetables. In this case, it is advisable to use cucumber varieties that can feel comfortable in partial shade. The best of them are considered to be: Secret of the Company F1, Moscow Evenings F1, Muromsky 36.
F1 company secret
An early-ripening, self-pollinating hybrid that can be used both raw and for pickling. You can get the harvest 38-44 days after the sprouts appear. The plant has medium branching and mainly female flowering type. The fruit weighs up to 123 g and has a cylindrical shape.
Moscow evenings F1
An early ripening hybrid variety, self-pollinated, has female-type flowering. The dark green fruits appear on days 44-50, have tubercles and white fluff, their length is 10-14 cm. They are characterized by good pickling and taste qualities. The plant is usually thickly covered with cucumbers. The variety is resistant to negative weather influences, cucumber mosaic virus and powdery mildew.
Muromsky 36
Early ripening variety, suitable for pickling. The fruits ripen 35-47 days after germination of the seedlings, they grow 8-11 cm in length, have a light green tint and an oval shape. This variety easily tolerates low temperatures for a short period of time. A special feature of the variety is that after ripening, cucumbers quickly turn yellow, so they should be collected on time.
If you plan to grow cucumbers from your own seeds, rather than buying new ones every year, then the best thing to do is to choose non-hybrid varieties that have proven themselves well over many years. If the harvest is successful, their seeds are quite suitable for planting next year. To choose the optimal variety that will take root better on your site, you should sow several varieties of cucumber. But just don’t plant them next to each other to avoid crossbreeding.
Altai early 166
This variety appeared in 1958 and is still considered one of the earliest and highest-yielding. The small-lumpy fruits appear on days 36-39, are egg-shaped and light green in color. The plant is resistant to fungal diseases and cold. Cucumber reaches a length of 8-10 cm, and their weight reaches 100 g.
Zozulya
An early ripening variety, appeared in 1977. The first fruits ripen 49 days after the sprouts appear. The variety is known for its high yield: from 1 sq. m of open ground, with good care, you can collect up to 18 kg of cucumbers. The fruits are sparsely tuberculate, have white fluff, are 17-23 cm long, and weigh from 210 to 310 g. The plant is characterized by resistance to yellowing and olive spot.
Cascade
An early ripening variety, appeared in 1982. Its tuberous fruits are very juicy and crispy, their length is 13-18 cm, their weight is no more than 160 g. This variety loves moist soil, and with a lack of moisture, cucumbers take on a curved shape.
Finger
A universal, early ripening variety, pollinated by bees. The fruits appear on days 41-47. The plant has mostly female flowers, medium branched. The fruits ripen dark in color and are cylindrical in shape with sparse large bumps. The length of a ripe cucumber is 11-14 cm with a weight of 100-125 g.This variety is resistant to powdery mildew; its feature is a long fruiting period - up to two months.
Bush
An early ripening variety that has mostly female flowers. It has an ovoid-elongated dark green fruit weighing about 80-95 grams, which reaches a length of about 12 cm. The plant is characterized by compact size and weak branching. From 1 sq. m area of open ground produces 9-11 kg of cucumbers.
Conclusion
This is not the entire list of varieties. early cucumbers, which can be planted in open ground. Breeders are constantly working to produce new varieties that are more resistant to diseases and adverse conditions than previous ones. Seeds should be selected carefully, based on many factors described above. But correctly selected cucumbers will delight you with a decent harvest and will require a minimum of care.
