Due to the popularity of cucumber as a vegetable crop, breeders are constantly working on the development of new varieties to meet the needs of consumers. In this variety, gardeners are often lost, not knowing which variety to prefer. Indeed, for them, the main thing is unpretentiousness and good crop productivity. The proven Grade Graceful meets these criteria. It will be discussed in the article.

Did you know? Americans proclaimed the city of Berrien Springs in Michigan the cucumber capital of the world. Every year, a parade is held here, the leader of which throws participants and onlookers with green fruits.

Grade characteristics

Bred more than 50 years ago. It is characterized by the following:

• on a bush male flowers prevail;
• pollination in the open ground is carried out by bees, in greenhouses - artificial;
• 5–6 lateral shoots are formed near the bush, the length of the lash is 2–3 m;
• fruits weigh 90–140 g with a length of 10–13 cm;
• elliptical in shape Zelentsy are covered with light green in a light strip of thin peel, dotted with small tubercles;
• cucumber flesh is sweetish, crispy, without voids;
• productivity - 5–7 kg / m².

Advantages and disadvantages

• The advantages of the variety include:
• resistance to cold;
• early fruiting;
• tasty fruits;
• unpretentiousness;
• can pollinate other varieties;
• resistant to disease.

• The disadvantages of the variety:
• many fruits with white spots on the peel, which spoils their presentation;
• during heat treatment, voids may occur inside the fetus;
• the peel, although thin, but rough, is not very pleasant to the taste;
• productivity is low.

Self-growing seedlings

Growing seedlings yourself is absolutely not difficult. It is only necessary to adhere to those recommendations that will be given below.

Sowing dates

Seed producers recommend planting seedlings in early May. More precisely, each gardener should determine the date independently, based on the weather conditions of his region, since by the time the seedlings land on a permanent place, the ground should warm up, and the air temperature will surely stay above + 10 ° С. And by the time of planting the seedlings should be 20-25 days old, a maximum of 30.

Important! Seed does not lose its ability to germinate 6–8 years. For planting, it is advisable to use two to three year old seeds.

The soil

Soil for seedlings is suitable purchased or prepared independently. It should consist of earth, rotted manure, sand (3: 6: 1). This mixture should be disinfected. To do this, it is calcined in the oven or irrigated with a solution of potassium permanganate. After mixing mineral fertilizers (6 g of urea, 6 g of potassium and magnesium sulfate, 10 g of superphosphate per bucket of earth). As a result, the soil mixture will be loose, moisture- and breathable.

Capacity for growing

Cucumber seedlings are conveniently grown in plastic glasses. Experts say that it is more profitable to use peat glasses for these purposes, since together with them it is possible to plant a seedling in open ground.

Seed preparation

Grade Elegant is not a hybrid, so you can harvest seeds yourself, the main thing to remember is that you do not need to use a one-year-old planting material to get a good harvest. Before planting, the seeds are checked for germination: soaked in water or a 3% saline solution. Varietal seed sown to the bottom is suitable for planting, the rest is not. Suitable material is calcined at + 50 ... + 60 ° C. After it is left in a warm moist environment for 24 hours. Seeds that have sprouted are sown immediately.

Sowing

Ready soil mixture is filled in glasses. They must have drainage holes. In the center of the tank, make a recess in the soil by 15 mm, into which the germinated seed is immersed. They gently sprinkle it with earth. The container is covered with a film and sent to a bright warm place with a temperature of + 20 ... + 30 ° С. After 3-7 days, shoots should appear. Then the film is removed, and the temperature is lowered to + 15 ... + 25 ° C.

Important! Graceful cucumbers are planted in a glass one at a time, since they do not tolerate a pick.

Seedling Care

Young plants are regularly watered as the topsoil dries. To ensure that the plant is strong and does not stretch, it is provided with a 12-hour light day. With the advent of the first true leaf, the first top dressing is carried out. Introduce complex fertilizers. To an aqueous solution of mullein, diluted in 10 l, 7 g of ammonium nitrate, 15 g of superphosphate and 8 g of potassium sulfate are added.

After 7 days, the procedure is repeated. Weeks and a half before the expected date of planting seedlings in the ground begin the procedure of hardening of seedlings. They are carried out into the open air, but so that the sun's rays do not fall on their delicate leaves.

Planting and growing cucumbers

Regardless of whether you grow cucumbers through seedlings or not, it is advisable to plant them on a bed in loamy or loamy fertile soil with an acidity of 6.5–7.2 pH. Organic bed fertilize in the fall. Re-application is carried out in the spring. Ash is also added. If necessary, then add ammonium nitrate, superphosphate.

Reduce acidity by liming. It is better that at the place where the garden is being prepared, earlier cultivation was made: tomatoes, onions, cabbage, potatoes. It is undesirable to plant cucumbers in the place where the pumpkin family cultures grew last year.

Did you know? According to European and American statistics, every year a person eats about 4 kg of cucumbers.

Seedling method

Seedlings are planted in a permanent place in early June. At this point, the soil should warm up to + 14 ° C, and the seedlings should be no more than 30 days old (ideally 20–25). At this age, they already have 4 real leaves. Perform the landing procedure on a cloudy day. Dig the soil on the site, and make holes so that there are no more than 5 plants per square meter.

If you plan to start the bushes on a trellis, you can thicken the planting (3-4 plants per 1 m²). Wells moisturize and in them, young plants, extracted from a glass with a lump of earth, gently immerse on cotyledon leaves. Sprinkle on top of the earth, ram. The earth around the plant is sprinkled with sawdust or straw.

In a reckless way

As described previously, the bed is prepared on the sunny side of the plot in a calm place. It’s better to have a hill. In spring, the land is cleaned of vegetable litter and the ground is dug up. After making organic matter with minerals form a hill (about 20 cm), which is well irrigated with warm water. Small recesses (15 mm) are made on it with an interval of 0.3 m. Between the rows leave 0.7 m. Two seeds are placed in the hole to increase the likelihood of seedlings. After germination, a weak plant is removed. Sprinkle with earth on top, cover with mulch and film.

Important! Seeds are planted in open ground only when the soil is warmed up to + 15 ... + 18 ° С.

Cucumber care after planting

The rules for caring for young seedlings and for mature plants planted in a permanent place are the same.

Top dressing and watering mode

Cucumbers love moisture. Water them 1-2 times in 7 days in the evening. To do this, use warm water and a drip irrigation system, since the plant does not like moisture to fall on the foliage. On 1 m², beds consume 5 liters of water. In cloudy or rainy weather, you can skip the watering planned on schedule. You can fertilize the culture with organics.They bring it under the root once every 10 days. The nutrient mixture will be a solution of mullein, chicken droppings or nettle infusion. Mineral fertilizers are applied in a foliar manner at the same frequency. To avoid the appearance of diseases on the plant, they should be sprayed weekly with a solution of potassium permanganate or copper sulfate.

Soil care

Loosening the soil and weed control is carried out after each watering. Loosen the soil carefully, as cucumbers have a superficial root system. If you are afraid that you might accidentally damage it, it is better to mulch the bed. A layer of mulch will retain moisture in the soil for longer and will not allow weeds to grow.

Pest and Disease Control

The main disease attacking the Graceful variety is powdery mildew. It manifests itself in conditions of low temperature and high humidity, as well as when using cold water for irrigation. To combat misfortune, biofungicides are used.A frequent pest of cucumber beds is aphid. Because of it, the leaves dry out and the ovary dies. Against an insect, an effective folk remedy is the daily garlic infusion. Before treating the plants, the affected leaves must be removed and burned.

Harvesting and storage

Harvest begins in 40–45 days after germination and is produced daily. This is done so that the fruits do not outgrow and do not lose taste. In addition, an overgrown cucumber takes a lot of strength from the bush, because of which the leaves begin to turn yellow and fall off the ovaries. The fruit should not be plucked, but carefully “twisted” or plucked so as not to injure the ovary.

Keep Zelentsy better in a cool cellar. If there is no such place, you can stack the crop on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator. At the same time, cucumbers do not need to be hermetically sealed, since without air access they lose their taste and begin to mold.

Cucumber Graceful - the grade checked over the years. It is appreciated for its unpretentiousness, extensive regionalization and a minimum of agricultural activities. For proper care, the plant rewards its owner with delicious, crisp fruits.