Characteristics of Graceful Cucumbers

Not all crops are suitable for growing in a cool region, but the Graceful cucumber variety will be a good choice. It was developed in the village of VNIISSOK, Moscow Region, it feels calm in Siberia and the Far East. And gardeners mostly respond positively about it.

Variety cucumber characteristics Elegant

Variety characteristic

Cucumber An elegant mid-season crop can be harvested already in one and a half to two months after planting. The average population is about 4-6 lateral shoots. The variety is suitable for open ground and spring greenhouses, it needs pollinating insects. It gives many male flowers and will be good as a pollinator of neighboring plants.

Fruits grow in size 9 -12 centimeters and weighing 130-150 grams, do not turn yellow over time. The peel is thick, light green in color, does not taste bitter. The pulp does not form voids, except after salting. Productivity of the variety is 5-7 kilograms per square meter.

Advantages

Cucumber Graceful is endowed with qualitative characteristics of such a plan:

• early ripeness;
• good looking and tastes great;
• resistant to low temperatures and olive spotting, has an average resistance to bacteriosis;
• suitable for salads, not bitter;
• overripe, does not turn yellow , and the seeds remain soft;
• easily tolerates transportation;
• low cost of seeds.

Disadvantages

• many white-sided fruits that do not look good in preservation;
• when marinating emptiness, sometimes sour;
• dense peel not everyone will like;
• relatively low productivity.

Far from the best characteristics endowed with cucumber Elegant to apply it in salting. Use other varieties for it so as not to disappoint yourself. And “graceful” is better to eat fresh, by the way, they are well stored.

Growing seeds

By growing seedlings, you can harvest earlier, and the productivity of the crop will be higher . Start sowing cucumbers of the Graceful variety at the end of April, or the beginning of March. To do this, soak the seeds in water, add a growth stimulator if desired, and with the first sprouts, put them in pots. Planting depth should be no more than 2 centimeters, a place for seedlings must be chosen warm and sunny. A glazed balcony is perfect for these purposes.

But even putting the seedlings in an ideal place, she will not have enough light, and she needs it 16 hours a day. Therefore, build a support structure with a fluorescent lamp on top and light the cucumbers when there is no sun. And in order to protect the plants from stretching, they expose it with a decrease in temperature.

Cucumbers that have undergone a hardening procedure are easier to take root after moving. For this purpose, they are taken out into the open air and left for a couple of hours. At the same time, they are shaded and protected from drafts, aggressive sun and wind can harm delicate sprouts. You will understand when the seedlings are ready for planting on dark green leaves and short internodes, the stems should be thick. And the soil temperature warms up to 15 degrees.

Soil preparation

It is better to get rid of weeds immediately

When choosing a place for culture, follow the rules of crop rotation: plant them after potatoes, tomatoes, onions or cabbage. Or plants that are specially embedded in the soil, giving the earth a “rest”. But refrain from planting pumpkin, the soil in this case will not be prolific enough. In addition, they have common pests that have managed to settle in the ground well during the season.

For the Grace variety, loose soil, in which humus predominates, is well suited. To determine the type of soil on your site, there is a special test.Take some earth and knead it like a dough, and then roll it into a sausage.

The sandy loamy soil will fall apart immediately, and light loam will pass the test. If you can turn the earth into a ring, it is heavy loam. You can lighten heavy soil if you bring it to a piece of sand, distribute it evenly and plow.

In autumn, you need to add fresh manure to the soil. Rotting, it creates a beneficial structure, bonding too loose and loosening clay soil. Having well fertilized the bed in this way, the mineral fertilizers added later will reveal themselves much better.

In the spring, the cucumber plot needs to be loosened again. If you didn’t make manure in the fall, add humus and dig the land on a bayonet. Watch the state of the beds: weeds must be disposed of immediately. Approximately May 20-25, add mineral fertilizers, dig a bed and level it with a rake.

Planting Rules

Planting this vegetable will not create any problems even for inexperienced gardeners.

Dates

When the soil warms up to 15-18 degrees, seedlings can be transferred to an open area. And at the same time, make sure that return frosts do not threaten your seedlings. For warranty, check the weather from several sources.

But meteorological forecasts are not always accurate.To protect cucumbers from unexpected frosts, you need to build a temporary shelter for them from metal arcs and polyethylene. Do this immediately after planting, and it is better to prepare the materials in advance.

At the end of May-April, dig holes in the size of a seedling pot, their density should not be higher than 3 plants per 1 square meter. Carefully remove the lump of earth from the pot and place in the hole. Try not to disturb this lump, cucumbers do not tolerate diving and with a damaged root system begin to hurt.

Compact the soil around the sprout and sprinkle it a little on the ground to save moisture, otherwise a crust may form. Then generously pour the bush with warm water and build a temporary shelter from unexpected frosts. As soon as the threat of night frost passes completely, remove the shelter so that the plant fully absorbs sunlight.

Care for the bush

Characteristics of table cucumbers cultivar Graceful claims that you don’t need some complicated bush maintenance. Like all plants, he loves regular watering with warm water.

Use a barrel in which water will be infused in the sun. Also, you can combine watering with top dressing once every ten days, these plants are very dependent on nutrients and top dressing will have a good effect on yield.

By forming a bush of cucumbers, you can make it much more effective and simplify cultivation at times.Pinch the stem over the third leaf, as a result you will get 5-6 shoots. And in addition, engage in daily harvesting, so the plant juices will grow and form new ovaries.

Pest treatment

The description of an elegant cucumber variety, in addition to the above, requires touch on pest control. If melon aphid has settled on your cucumber bed, ferment 1 kilogram of grass in 10 liters of water throughout the day. Or prepare a solution: 200 grams of ash and 50 grams of grated soap in a bucket of water. Then treat the insects with a spray gun.

You can get rid of a spider mite with tincture of garlic or onion: 200 grams of husk per 10 liters of water. You need to spray periodically, until once a season. And to remove gluttonous slugs, scatter ash or slaked lime on the soil.

Conclusion

Gardeners often choose a cucumber variety. Its elegant characteristics let us know that it is good in cool regions, as a very stable look. At the same time, his productivity is not high, the culture is poorly suited for salting. And not everyone will like a thick peel.

But this cucumber is unpretentious in cultivation and ripens quickly. Its fruits are perfectly preserved, with good taste, without bitterness. And due to the large number of male flowers, it can act as a pollinator.These points make good compensation for the flaws, making it a good grade in its place.