Cucumber variety Babushkin's secret (F1)

Another novelty in the family of bunch cucumbers is called Babushkin's Secret. The peculiarity of this variety is that it does not require pollination, is not afraid of cold weather and gives excellent yields. An application for registration of this variety in 2013 was received from Agrofirma Aelita LLC. In 2015, the novelty was entered into the State Register of Breeding Achievements of Russia with admission in all regions of the country. And although the plant has not yet had time to become widespread among ordinary gardeners, vegetable growers in cool regions have appreciated its characteristics. After variety trials, the cucumber is recommended for growing in open ground and under film shelters in personal subsidiary plots. It is a hybrid, therefore it is always labeled F1.

Description

The plant is indeterminate, the degree of branching is medium. Leaves are long-petiolate, dark green, angular-heart-shaped, whole, with a slightly wrinkled surface. The flowering type is female. The type of fruiting is bunchy, which significantly increases the overall yield. Grandma's secret in each leaf node lays 2 - 3 flowers, but some tomato growers say that up to 4 flowers in a node are obtained with good care.

Zelentsy of the variety is small, cylindrical, 10 - 12 cm in size, not thick. Fruit color is green with short light stripes. The surface of the cucumbers is slightly ribbed, covered with large frequent tubercles. The pubescence is complex, light. Some gardeners complain about the strong thorniness of the cucumber. The pulp is juicy, tender, crispy, dense. The taste is sweet, there is not even a trace of bitterness. The State Register describes the palatability as excellent. The seed chambers are small. The seeds are in the stage of milky ripeness and are practically not felt during consumption. The mass of greenery, according to the State Register, ranges from 80 to 105 grams. In other sources, the weight is indicated slightly lower - 80 - 90 grams. According to gardeners, the average weight of greens is slightly more than 60 grams.

Variety characteristics

• In terms of ripening, the State Register classifies the Babushkin's secret hybrid as medium early, that is, the beginning of fruiting occurs 45 - 50 days after the appearance of full shoots. But the originators declare the possibility of an earlier harvest, which can take place in 40 days. Such a scatter in terms can be explained by only one thing - the weather interferes with the ripening process;
• the fruiting period of a cucumber lasts until the onset of cold snaps, in the Arkhangelsk region the harvest in 2017 ended in mid-September;
• it is advisable to collect fruits every day, after a maximum of 2 days. Thus, the maturation of the forming ovary is not inhibited;
• according to the State Register, the marketable yield of Grandmother's secret under a film shelter is remarkable, it is 12.5 - 14.5 kg per 1 square meter. In open ground, the indicators may be slightly lower and, according to some information, amount to 6 kg from the same area;
• the culture is parthenocarpic. This means that the variety is capable of forming a crop independently, without the participation of pollinating insects. This feature is valuable for vegetable growers who grow cucumbers in greenhouses. And in open ground, where adverse weather conditions often interfere with normal pollination, this property will come in handy;
• gardeners, especially in the northern regions, have already noted the good resistance of the culture to sudden changes in temperature. Grandma's secret feels great during nighttime cold snaps. There is information that in the greenhouse the plants successfully endured the period of subzero temperatures outside, even if only for a short time;

• the hybrid has good immunity. After variety trials, the State Register concluded that the cucumber has a high resistance to cladosporiosis. Medium resistant to cucumber mosaic virus, powdery mildew and downy mildew. But there is information that in protected ground the variety can be affected by root rot;
• the transportability of the crop is good, dense cucumbers perfectly tolerate the hardships of long-term transportation.Subject to storage standards, keeping quality does not fail;
• the way of using the crop is universal. Sweet cucumbers go well in a salad with herbs and tomatoes. The surplus of the collected greens is used for canning.

Agrotechnics

You can grow Grandma's secret by seed and seedlings. Sowing seeds for seedlings is carried out in the 20th of April. Under film shelters, seedlings can be planted at the age of 20 - 25 days, when at least 3 - 4 leaves appear on young plants. Seedlings are planted on an open bed in late May - early June. Sowing with seeds in open ground is carried out as soon as return frosts have passed and the temperature does not fall below 10 ° C. Such weather is established in the last decade of May - early June. Seeds are planted to a depth of about 2 cm. Planting pattern: 50 cm between bushes, 50 cm row spacing. Planting density - 3 - 4 plants per 1 square meter. After transplanting, the seedlings are tied up on a trellis. A variety is formed into one stem according to the following scheme. At first, blinding is carried out by plucking out all the shoots, flowers and ovaries in the axils of 3 - 4 lower leaves. Then, in the next 3 - 4 leaf nodes, only shoots are removed, but the flowers and ovary are not touched. In the next 3 - 4 nodes, the ovary and lateral shoots are left, removing the growth point on them after the first leaf. In the leaf nodes located above, the growth of shoots is limited after the second leaf. When the central stem of the cucumber reaches the height of the greenhouse, it is wrapped several times around the supporting support and pinched as soon as it reaches the neighboring plant. Above, all side shoots are removed so as not to create thickening. The maintenance is carried out as usual for the culture as a whole.

The new hybrid Babushkin's Secret has already proven itself well in cold regions, as it is able to grow and bear fruit even with temperature changes, giving off the harvest early and quickly. Despite the fact that there are few reviews about the variety, from the available information it can be concluded that the disease-resistant, unpretentious and productive variety will be of interest not only to ordinary gardeners, but also to small farmers who grow vegetables for sale. The cucumber did not show significant drawbacks during cultivation. But one drawback, although controversial, still exists - the seeds cannot be collected on their own, they will have to be purchased annually.