Cucumber Palchik is an early ripe variety from Russian breeders, which attracts gardeners with high immunity to various diseases, increased frost resistance and the versatility of using dark green fruits. It is noteworthy that the variety is characterized by long fruiting, and its yield is about 6.8-7 kg per 1 sq. Km. m
Cucumber Finger pleasantly crunches and does not contain bitterness
Cucumber Finger
Seeds Cucumber Finger
Grade description
Variety Palchik bred in the Volgograd region breeder Shefatov V. A. at the experimental station VNIIR them. Vavilova. He appeared in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2001 for cultivation in the Central, Central Black Earth and Lower Volga regions.
The characteristics of this cucumber are presented in the table:
Parameter | Description |
Ripening period | The variety is early ripe, so cucumbers quickly reach technical maturity - on 42-48 days after emergence. |
Plant characteristics | Cucumber Finger belongs to the group of bee pollinated varieties, so flowers require pollination by bees or other insects. The flowering itself is predominantly female type. A tall plant with medium branching is indeterminate, so its height can reach 2-2.5 m. The scourge is formed in large numbers, and they are long, strong and thick. The plant is covered with dark green large leaves characteristic of cucumber culture. The ovaries are bundled. |
Fruit Characteristics | The form of Zelentsy is elongated-cylindrical, length - 9-12 cm, diameter - 3-4 cm, weight - 114-120 g. The skin of dark green color has longitudinal stripes and slightly pronounced spotting. On its surface there are rare, but large tubercles. If you look closely at the cucumbers, you can also notice the pubescence of white color. The pulp of ripe fruits has a dense structure, so it pleasantly crunches when bitten off. Moreover, it is juicy, fragrant and without bitterness. Thanks to the dense structure, Zelentsy perfectly transfers the transporter to long distances. |
Destination | Finger cucumbers have a pleasant taste and excellent commercial qualities. They can be either consumed fresh or used for canning (pickling, pickling). Even after heat treatment, they retain a characteristic crunch. |
Productivity | With 1 sq. m of cucumber beds, you can collect about 6.8-7 kg of fresh and crisp fruits. Their yield is 76-95%. The difference in the variety is that it has uniform fruiting lasting 2 months. |
Growing Features | The variety is frost-resistant and can withstand temperatures of 4 ° C for 5 days. However, in the future, if the microclimate does not normalize, the plant will die. At the same time, it tolerates insignificant changes in temperature in spring, as well as early autumn cold. In this regard, the vegetable crop is mainly grown in open ground. In a greenhouse, it can be cultivated provided that a fan or a beehive is installed. |
Disease resistance | The plant has good immunity and tolerates downy mildew, which poses a mortal danger to other vegetables. |
Cucumber Finger - an original variety with the properties of a hybrid, which is why its disease resistance and cold resistance are associated.
Agricultural technology
When cultivating Palchik varieties, the following agrotechnical rules must be taken into account:
- Cucumber can be grown in two ways - seedlings or through direct sowing of seeds in open ground. In the first case, seeds for seedlings need to be sown in early May, so that at the end of the month 20-25-day-old seedlings are planted in the ground. With direct sowing of seeds into the soil, work should be carried out only after the soil warms up to + 15 ... + 20 ° C during the day, and at night to + 8 ° C. In this case, the threat of cooling should completely pass.
- Windless areas are chosen under a bee pollinated cucumber so that gusts of wind do not blow off pollen attractive to insects. If the bushes grow on a draft, then the bees will visit them much less often, which will negatively affect the productivity indicators. The site must be protected from direct sunlight. Recent studies have shown that more intensive growth of greenhouses occurs in the dark.
- Under Fingers, choose loose, airy and moderately moist soil. The beds should not be arranged in places where groundwater accumulates, since with such a planting there is a high probability of decay of the root system of seedlings and loss of the entire crop. In an excessively humid environment, the risks of developing fungal diseases increase significantly. So, the best option for a vegetable crop is light sandy loam and loam.
- Follow crop rotation standards and do not plant cucumber after other members of the pumpkin family. When growing the same crop in one area, “soil fatigue” occurs. It may contain pathogens that have wintered with weeds and plant debris from the previous season. To comply with crop rotation rules, it is worth examining the following table:
Cucumber predecessors | Neighbors cucumber | ||
good ones | bad | good ones | bad |
tomato, cabbage, spinach, carrots, beets, legumes, eggplant, greens | cucumbers, zucchini, squash, pumpkin, melon, watermelon | cabbage, peas, beans, basil, dill, onions, garlic, beets, celery, fennel, spinach, coriander, sunflower | tomato, carrot, potato, sage, zucchini, rhubarb, turnip, radish, leek, wild strawberry, berry bushes |
- To prepare a bed for sowing a cucumber since the fall. To do this, you need to clean it of plant residues and dig it up, adding a mixture of 200 g of wood ash, 40 g of superphosphate and 25 g of potassium nitrate. For 1 square. m of land will need 1 bucket of this composition. The soil can additionally be fertilized with manure at the rate of 25 liters per 1 sq. Km. m. To make it more fertile and with high aeration, compost or sawdust can be added to it. In spring, the earth does not need to be dug. It is enough to loosen it with a rake and water it abundantly.
The composition of the soil should be treated with special attention, since the formation of lateral roots and the further development of sprouts depend on it.
- Avoid severe thickening of the landing. The optimal planting frequency is 3-4 plants per 1 sq. Km. Depth of landing - 1.5-2 cm.
- To provide proper care to cucumbers, which consists in systematic watering, top dressing, weeding from weeds and loosening of row-spacings from crusts. The plant needs to be pinched over 3-4 leaves, otherwise its branching and productivity will suffer.
Direct Landing
When rearing seedlings of cucumber, planting operations can be carried out in mid-May, since by this time the average daily air temperature in the street reaches + 15 ° С. Sowing of seeds is carried out in previously prepared soil according to the following instructions:
- Cucumber seeds, having a slightly convex shape and almost the same size, are warmed up before planting in the ground, and then soaked in a damp cloth for 2-3 days. After this treatment, they will rise a few days earlier than when planted in a dry form.
- In the prepared wells, put the seeds to a depth of 2-3 cm with the nose up and not vertically, but at an angle of 45 °. Due to this arrangement, the sprouts from the hatching nose can quickly get rid of the seed coat and go up without bending in the ground. In this case, the root system can develop parallel to the upper layer of the earth and go deep down. The optimal landing pattern is 30x50 cm.
If the seeds are laid in the holes lying, then the sprouts will have to bend in order to get to the light faster. If the spouts look down, then it will be even harder for them to grow. Having spent all his strength on this, the sprouts will turn out to be weak and sick, which in the future will negatively affect the health and strength of the bush, so the chances of a rich harvest will be significantly reduced.
- Cover the cucumber bed with a film to protect the crops from night frost. It will need to be removed in about a week, when the first shoots appear. Some gardeners insulate the garden with newspapers, laying them in several layers. To preserve moisture in the soil, the site should be regularly watered on top of the newspaper. Some of it will decay and remain in the ground. The remaining thick pieces of paper should be removed into the manure, as they will saturate the soil with micronutrients when decomposed.
Planting a cucumber through seedlings
The seedling method is often used for year-round cultivation of cucumber in a greenhouse. In this case, to obtain a rich harvest, you need to grow strong seedlings. It must be prepared 20-25 days before the seedlings are transplanted to a permanent place, following the following instructions:
- To grow seedlings, prepare a substrate of turf land, lowland peat, manure and sawdust in a ratio of 4: 4: 1: 1. On 10 l of this composition add 6 g of urea, 14 g of superphosphate, 8 g of potassium sulfate and 2 g of magnesium sulfate. In order not to cook the substrate with your own hands, it can be purchased at a garden store.
- Pour the soil mixture into containers, moisten and sow the seeds to a depth of 1-2 cm, but no more, otherwise the moment of germination will be delayed, since the green leaves the soil only after the formation of lateral roots. As with direct sowing in open ground, spread the seeds with the spout up and at an angle of 45 °, so that the prolific sprout easily splits the seed coat and then can develop without any barriers.
- Cover containers with crops with polyethylene or 2-3 layers of newspaper and keep in a room with good lighting at an air temperature of about + 25 ° С. The newspaper needs to be sprayed from time to time so that it is wet and allows oxygen to pass through to the seeds. Without the right amount of moisture and air, the plant can die. When the first shoots appear, remove the shelter, and gradually lower the air temperature by 5 ° C. During this period, watering seedlings is no longer necessary, since there is already enough liquid in it.
With the arrival of stable warm weather and warming up the soil to + 15 ... + 20 ° С, seedlings can be transplanted to a constant place of germination. As a rule, the optimal time for planting is at the end of May. By this time, the seedlings should grow to 25-30 cm and get 4-5 real leaves. When transplanting it into the ground, it is worth considering the following recommendations:
- optimal landing pattern - 30x50 cm;
- before planting in the prepared trenches, you can add a little manure or compost, and then sprinkle fertilizer with a layer of earth;
- To deepen the roots of seedlings by 30 mm, but if the height of the bushes exceeds 25 cm, it is better to make the holes deeper - by 40 mm;
- after the seedlings have been placed in the hole, carefully direct it, sprinkle it with earth and press it with your hands.
After planting in open ground, plants can be covered with a film. When the night temperature normalizes, and the threat of frost is completely over, the secondary shelter can be removed and cucumbers grown on a trellis.
Seedling care
After planting a cucumber, Finger in the open ground, it is necessary to organize proper care for it, which consists in carrying out a number of agricultural activities.
Organization of an optimal microclimate
If a vegetable crop is grown in a greenhouse, it is necessary to maintain the air temperature at the level of + 21 ... + 23 ° C, since it is optimal for the growth, development and abundant fruiting of cucumbers. For the influx of fresh air, the room must be regularly ventilated.
Watering and loosening
Cucumber culture loves moisture, but it needs to be watered gently, because excess moisture will lead to rotting of the roots and the development of fungal diseases. A lack of moisture should not be allowed, as this will cause bitterness in ripened cucumbers.
When watering a plant, it is worth starting from such rules:
- Water the bushes every day in the evening or early in the morning, before sunrise. Adjust the frequency of watering depending on weather conditions. So, on dry days, bushes can be irrigated 2 times a day, and on cloudy days - once every few days.
- Pour at least a bucket of water under each bush. However, it is impossible to fill in the roots, since stagnation of moisture around the plant will lead to the development of fungal lesions. To precisely avoid such consequences, if possible, it is worth organizing a drip irrigation system. On hot days, it is advisable to spray the leaves of the plant to protect them from premature fall and extend the fruiting period.
- For irrigation use only standing warm water. If it is cold, then this will cause a temperature shock in the plant, which will lead to a massive discharge of ovaries, so the crop will be scarce.
After watering, the soil in the aisles should be loosened from the crusts, which is necessary for the rapid growth of the plant. However, it is worth carrying out weeding from weeds. After such manipulations, it is recommended to mulch the bed with dry grass or straw to prevent excessive evaporation of moisture on hot days.
An overview of the rules and methods of watering cucumbers in open ground and a greenhouse can be found in this article.
Top dressing
Over the entire growing season, you need to feed the cucumber several times in clear sunny weather. Here is an example feeding scheme:
- on the 14th day after the emergence of seedlings or after transplanting seedlings into the soil, apply nitrogen-potassium fertilizers under the bush, which will help the plant grow green mass and strengthen;
- at the stage of mass flowering, fertilize the plant with phosphorus;
- in case of violation of the thermal regime, carry out foliar dressing of the plant with potassium, phosphorus and iron in order to stabilize the shaky balance in his body;
- with a slow filling of greens or the development of weak and small fruits, add diluted liquid mullein to the soil (1:10), and periodically feed the plant with urea or humus.
Bush formation
Palchik cucumbers are tall, so they should be grown on vertical trellises, on which seedlings will curl. This will facilitate the process of spraying the plant and harvesting.
If a vegetable crop is grown in a greenhouse or a greenhouse with a high ceiling, with the appearance of 3-4 real leaves, the main lash of the bush must be nipped over the trellis.
Protection against diseases and pests
To protect the plant from fungal diseases, you need to follow all the rules of irrigation, avoiding excessive waterlogging of the soil. The culture of cucumber diseases and pests will help preventive treatment of bushes with chemical and toxic drugs.
Good results in the fight against ticks, various bugs, caterpillars and aphids show folk remedies harmless to the plant. Among them, the most effective for the bee pollinated variety Palchik are decoctions of potato and tomato tops. Spraying leaves and stems with copper sulfate also helps. If this is not the case, you can use a soap solution.
To scare away slugs and parasites that settle on the roots of the bushes, the bed should be sprinkled with wood ash or fly ash.
Harvesting
42-48 days after the emergence of seedlings, you can begin to collect ripened fruits. They need to be carefully torn off or cut with sharp scissors. After reaching technical maturity, the cucumbers do not need to be left on the lashes for a long time, as they quickly re-rip, which makes them yellow, watery and tasteless.
It should be borne in mind that this variety has a long fruiting period, so the more greens collected, the more they will appear.
Pros and cons of the variety
Cucumber Finger has the following indisputable advantages:
- long fruiting period (about 60 days);
- excellent taste and attractive appearance of universal greens;
- bunch formation of cucumber ovaries;
- good transportability;
- high immunity to many fungal diseases, including tolerance to downy mildew;
- resistance to spring and autumn frosts;
- wide area of regionalization;
- high productivity (up to 7 kg per 1 sq. m).
The disadvantages of the variety are:
- the need for timely pinching;
- pollination by bees;
- the loss of taste and marketability by Zelentsy in case of overgrowing.
Cucumber Finger - a variety of hybrid origin that is not afraid of downy mildew and bears fruit for 60 days. It can be grown both in open ground and in film conditions. Ripe fruits can be consumed fresh, and also used to prepare blanks for the winter.