Cucumber True friends F1: description of the variety of early gherkins and cultivation features

History of variety development

This hybrid was created by breeders O. N. Krylov and A. V. Borisov, who work in agriculture. When breeding the variety, experts tried to instill in it the following qualities - early ripening of fruits, bunch type of flowering, good yield. As a result, the new cucumber hybrid Faithful Friends meets all these requirements.

The True Friends cucumber is recommended for planting in most Russian regions and is intended for cultivation in private backyards and on an industrial scale.

Cucumber True friends F1: description of the variety

This cucumber hybrid is distinguished by the early ripening of greens - a little more than a month passes from the moment the shoots appear until the gherkins are harvested.

The vines of this variety are of medium size, about 2 m in height, well leafy, the number of side vines formed is average, so there is no need to form cucumber bushes. This makes caring for this variety of cucumbers easier.

Photo of cucumber True friends F1

The foliage is medium in size, slightly wrinkled and finely jagged along the edges, light emerald in color.

Bundles of ovaries are formed in short internodes, each of which produces up to 10 cucumbers.

Ripe cucumbers True friends - gherkin type,

their shape is cylindrical, thicker at the base and slightly tapering towards the tips of the fruit.
The sizes of the fruits are approximately the same - up to 10 cm in length and about 4 cm in diameter. The weight of True Friends cucumbers is up to 100 g
. The skin is compacted, crispy, with small tubercles, the pubescence is small, with small black spines. The color of the cucumbers is soft emerald, with short stripes of white; the base of the fruit is slightly lighter.

The pulp is slightly compacted, tender, has no bitterness, the aroma is typically cucumber.

Landing

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Not only farmers, but also ordinary summer residents of our country increasingly prefer hybrid varieties. They get sick less, produce a higher yield, and are easy to care for. The True Friends F1 cucumber can boast of all these qualities. It is very popular and grows throughout Russia.

True Friends F1 was created in and distributed by such companies as Gavrish and Siberian Garden. This is an early ripening hybrid with indeterminate bushes, the lashes of which can reach several meters in length. They do not branch very much, but need shaping. The leaves are medium. The hybrid is bee-pollinated and requires insect access when flowering. The fruits are tied in bunches - about 8 pieces in each node. They ripen 37-40 days after seed germination.

The fruits reach 8-10 cm in length, about 3-4 cm in diameter. Average weight is 100 g. The skin is dark green, sometimes with light stripes up to the middle of the green. On the surface there are a few small tubercles with black spines.

The pulp is tasty, juicy, there are no voids inside the fruit. They can be used for salads, fresh dishes, pickling and canning.

• early ripeness;
• the ability to grow in open ground;
• wonderful taste and aroma;
• universal use of fruits;
• resistance to a number of diseases.

It is recommended to grow the hybrid in open ground or under film, easily disassembled shelters. Planting in a greenhouse is allowed, but during the flowering period you need to remove its roof to give access to insects, or carry out forced pollination yourself, otherwise the fruits will not set.

In cold regions, the seedling method of cultivation is recommended. For open ground, seeds are sown for seedlings after April 20, for greenhouses - at the beginning of April. In the southern and some regions of the middle zone, seeds are sown in May directly into the ground.

Separate peat pots with a nutrient substrate are prepared for seedlings. One grain is sown in them, moistened and allowed to germinate in the warmth. Then the temperature is reduced to about 20 and the sprouts are transferred to the windowsill, where the sun's rays fall.

During the growth period, you can feed the seedlings once or twice with weak solutions of mineral fertilizers. A month later it is transferred to the beds.

Before planting in open ground, the soil is dug up in the spring and a bucket of compost or humus is added per 1 square meter. m. If the soil is depleted by constant cultivation of vegetables, add mineral fertilizers - 15 g each of superphosphate, urea and potassium nitrate.

For cucumbers, make 3-4 holes per 1 sq.m. The seeds are sprinkled with earth, mulched on top with a layer of peat or compost and covered with film. It is removed when sprouts appear.

Plants need plenty of moisture. They are watered 2-3 times a week, and in hot weather - daily or every other day in the morning or in the evenings. Warm water is used so that the plant does not lose its ovary due to stress. During the growth period you need up to 10 liters per 1 sq. m, during the period of fruiting and active ripening of the crop - up to 20 liters.

Natural products (bird droppings, manure, humus) or mineral preparations are used as fertilizers. It's best to alternate them.

The following compositions are useful:

1. Chicken droppings (1 liter per 2 buckets of water).
2. Mullein (1 liter per bucket of water).
3. Wood ash (about 300 g per bucket of water, you can also add 15 g of mineral fertilizers to it or simply sprinkle the soil with dry ash).
4. Baker's yeast (200 g infused in a liter of water, then diluted in a bucket of water and watered the bushes).

A total of 2-3 feedings per season are required.

To attract pollinating insects, bushes can be sprayed with sugar or honey syrup. The method has a drawback: the syrup can attract not only bees, but also various parasites.

Also 10% of pollinating varieties (self-pollinating) are planted in the beds, the seeds of which are sometimes given in the same bag with the hybrid. It is effective to plant honey plants - spicy herbs, strong-smelling flowers.

The hybrid is resistant to cucumber mosaic and olive spot, and has good resistance to common and downy mildew. For prevention, it is enough to follow the rules of care:

1. Avoid excess dampness.
2. Weed out weeds in a timely manner.
3. Maintain crop rotation - do not plant in areas after pumpkins, melons, and zucchini.

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It's good to have true friends in life. And growing them in the garden is even better. This hybrid will truly be a faithful assistant for all summer residents and gardeners. Lately it has been gaining more and more popularity. And this is not surprising. The combination of many positive qualities in one hybrid makes it truly the right choice.

A very early ripening hybrid from a well-known domestic one. It takes 35-40 days from germination to the start of harvesting.

“True Friends F1” is a bee-pollinated hybrid, this must be taken into account when growing. The plant has a powerful growth force with actively growing cucumber vines on all sides. The height of the bush can exceed 2 m. The plant is medium-leaved, with medium-sized leaves.

The fruits are cylindrical in shape with rounded ends. The length of the greens in the season is mainly 8-10 cm, and the weight does not exceed 80-100 grams. In cross section, the fruits are round, with a diameter of up to 4 cm. The skin is thin, but strong and elastic, with a rich dark green color. Lighter stripes may appear on the skin, reaching the middle of the fruit. The fruits are slightly tuberculate and slightly pubescent.

The hybrid has high yields. In open ground from 1 sq. m. it is possible to get 3-3.5 kg. And in protected conditions, while ensuring good pollination of plants, the yield increases to 8-10 kg per 1 sq. m. It is favorably distinguished by its very high taste characteristics; cucumbers are absolutely not bitter. Despite the dense structure of the greens, the pulp is juicy, with a pleasant cucumber aroma.

1. Suitability for cultivation in all regions of the country. In more northern regions, cultivation only in closed ground is desirable.
2. Very early start of fruiting, smooth ripening of fruits.
3. Powerful growth force of the bush with a large amount of ovary.
4. The hybrid has high and stable yields. In one node it is possible to form 6-8 ovaries.
5. They have good shelf life and transportability. They do not deteriorate when stored for a long time.
6. Resistance to major diseases and pests of cucumbers.
7. The possibility of growing a hybrid both by amateurs in their own plots and by farmers on large industrial plantations.
8. The versatility of fruit use. Suitability for sale in retail and wholesale markets.
9. Resistant to adverse weather conditions, in particular temperature changes.
10. When ripe, the greens do not outgrow their size for a long time, a high percentage of marketable fruits.

1. It is necessary to plant plants in places well lit by the sun. In particularly hot summer months, it is advisable to shade the plantings using a shade net or by whitewashing the greenhouse film.
2. The hybrid is not parthenocarpic, so pollination by insects is required. In greenhouses, at the time of flowering, it is necessary to open doors and windows to provide access to the plants for bees and bumblebees. Some farmers are now placing special beehives with insects directly in greenhouses.
3. The plant is characterized by high growth vigor and a tendency to thicken plantings. Therefore, there should be enough free space between them.
4. The recommended planting scheme is up to 4 plants per 1 sq.m.
5. When planting seeds for seedlings, you need to embed them into the soil 1-1.5 cm, not deeper. And when planting in open ground, no deeper than 2cm.
6. Soaking cucumber seeds for a day in a growth stimulator plus a fungicide. And water the plants with the same solution immediately after planting in the soil.
7. Regular, comprehensive protection of plants from pests and diseases. Use only compatible drugs in tank mixtures.
8. After flowering, spraying cucumbers only with biological products, and fertilizing with fertilizers is advisable only a week before harvest.
9. Regular, with a frequency of 7-10 days, complex fertilizing with fertilizer solutions. Moreover, it is advisable to combine leaf treatment with root application.
10. Watering cucumber seedlings with clean, settled, warm water and periodic spraying.
11. Regular inspections and sanitary cleaning of plantings. If a plant is severely damaged by diseases or pests, it is dug up along with the roots and destroyed. The place where it grows is well sprayed with fungicide.
12. Ensuring good lighting for seedlings. Otherwise, it may stretch out and even die.
13. The use of plant protection products when growing seedlings, as well as treatment with nitrogen fertilizers and growth stimulants.

• Anastasia Pospelova, 38 years old: These cucumbers have become my true friends. I don’t have a greenhouse, so I listened to the constant reproaches of my neighbors. That without a greenhouse it is impossible to get a good harvest of cucumbers. In the spring I bought “True Friends” cucumber seeds from our store. I grew it through seedlings and planted it in May, when it was already warm and the earth had warmed up. The bushes have grown very strong and tall. And when they bloomed, they literally “hummed”, they attracted so many bees. And how glad I was when the cucumbers began to ripen! I specially took my neighbors to see and try it. Everyone was delighted!
• Maria L., 43 years old: The Manulov hybrid “True Friends” was a real find for us. We plant in open ground, just on prepared beds. The care is standard, ordinary, but we get an excellent harvest! The cucumbers are beautiful, crispy, tasty. I am very pleased with them and proud.

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It is recommended to grow the hybrid in open ground or under film, easily disassembled shelters. Planting in a greenhouse is allowed, but during the flowering period you need to remove its roof to give access to insects, or carry out forced pollination yourself, otherwise the fruits will not set.

The soil should be no colder than 16. The air temperature should be set at an average daily level of 20 with night temperatures not lower than 8.

To make pollination more active, it is recommended to plant seeds of a pollinating variety together with the hybrid. Sometimes in a bag of seeds you can find several individual grains in a colored shell. These are pollinator seeds.

Diseases and pests

This cucumber hybrid is characterized by fairly high resistance to most diseases characteristic of other varieties of cucumbers, including brown spot and cucumber mosaic virus.

Among the pests, cucumbers of this variety can infect aphids and spider mites

. You can fight these “harmful” bugs using traditional methods - treating the foliage with a soap solution or infusion of pepper. If there are too many insects, then you have to spray the plants with appropriate insecticides. But the last treatment with such substances should be carried out 12-14 days before harvesting ripe gherkins.

Photo of aphids on cucumbers

Photo of spider mites on cucumbers

Advantages and disadvantages of the variety

The main advantages of the True Friends hybrid include:

• early fruit ripening;
• cucumbers – smooth, gherkin-type, with good taste;
• this hybrid calmly tolerates changes in weather conditions and is not afraid of short cold snaps;
• the harvested crop can be transported to any distance, and also stored in appropriate conditions for a long time;
• cucumber True Friends is highly resistant to major diseases characteristic of other varieties of cucumbers;
• cucumber lashes do not require shaping.

This hybrid has no particular disadvantages, but it should be remembered that the True Friends cucumber is bee-pollinated, so it should be grown in garden beds. And the seeds of this hybrid have to be purchased annually at specialized gardening outlets or via the Internet.

Harvesting and storage

Fruit harvesting begins after they reach technical ripeness. The latter occurs on the 40-45th day after emergence. Harvest greens early in the morning or in the evening, when they are most elastic. Cleaning is carried out using sharp scissors or a knife, so as not to damage the lashes, simply unscrewing the cucumbers. To ensure that the fruits continue to set, the crop is harvested systematically at intervals of 2 days.

Place the greens carefully. Use boxes that have been pre-treated with a manganese solution and well dried. Store fruits in cool conditions with high humidity. A deep cellar works well. If there are only a few greens, you can put them in the refrigerator - in the vegetable compartment. It is better to process a large amount of harvest.

For your information!

The hybrid has good transportability. The fruits can easily be transported over long distances for further sale.

Agrotechnics of cultivation

Cucumber seeds True Friends should be planted in greenhouses and film greenhouses in the second ten days of May, and in open ground - in early June. In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that the soil should warm up to 16-17 degrees Celsius by the time the seeds (or ready-made seedlings) are planted.

Agricultural technology for growing cucumbers - video

If the True Friends cucumber variety is grown by seedlings, then the seeds are sown in separate containers approximately 20-25 days before transplanting the plants to a permanent place.

Since this variety of cucumbers is bee-pollinated, several colored seeds of a pollinating cucumber are usually added to a bag of seeds of this hybrid so that these two varieties are grown in the same bed for further cross-pollination of the plants.

Growing cucumber seedlings

Sowing cucumber seed material True Friends for seedlings is carried out in the last ten days of April - the first ten days of May in such a way that in mid-May the grown seedlings are already transferred to unheated greenhouses or greenhouses, and in early June - to garden beds in open ground.

Cucumber seeds True Friends are purchased from well-known agricultural companies - manufacturers of seed material, where their pre-sowing preparation is carried out. As a result, before sowing, you only need to soak the seeds in growth stimulants for germination.

Photo of cucumber seeds True friends

Important!

Shoots of planted dry seed material appear 4-6 days later.

Cucumbers have a very delicate root system, which is easily damaged during transplantation; as a result, plants in a new place get sick for a long time, acclimatize worse, grow weakened, as a result, greens form more slowly, and productivity suffers. Therefore, to avoid picking, cucumber seeds are placed immediately in separate containers when planting.

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During cultivation, cucumber seedlings of the Faithful Friends variety are fed twice with any organic matter - infusion of mullein or chicken manure. 10-12 days before planting the seedlings in a permanent place, they should begin to be hardened off - taken out into the fresh air, first for 30 minutes, gradually increasing the time the growing seedlings spend outside.

Transplantation to a permanent place

The beds for planting tomato seedlings are prepared in advance - the remains of vegetation are removed, humus or compost is added, and they are dug up.

In greenhouses, it is advisable to remove the top layer of soil about the length of a spade and lay out a new nutrient substrate containing turf, humus, wood ash and river sand. Such soil is disinfected before planting - spilled with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. All greenhouse structures should also be disinfected.

Photos of transplanted cucumbers

Advice!

In greenhouses, two True Friends cucumber plants are planted in one square, and no more than 4 in open ground.

The seedlings are transferred into planting holes along with a clod of earth, sprinkled with soil, watered and mulched with straw or mown grass.

Diseases and parasites

The cucumber variety True Friends f1 is quite resistant to common diseases of vegetable crops - cucumber mosaic, olive spot, downy mildew. A description of some diseases and dangerous insects is given below.

Root rot

This disease develops on True Friends cucumber bushes due to excessive moisture. The roots of the plants become thinner, the stem turns yellow and then completely dries out, and fruiting stops.

The disease can be cured only in the early stages by treating the roots with a mixture of copper sulfate and ash (2 teaspoons of vitriol, 100 grams of ash, 10 liters of water).

To prevent the disease, you should carefully monitor the moisture content of cucumber plantings.

Ascochyta blight

A disease that affects not only adult plants of the True Friends variety, but also seedlings. This is a fungal infection that is carried by the wind and is sometimes found in untreated seeds. It first appears as small light spots on the leaves. The spots quickly enlarge and acquire a brown tint. The fungus moves to the stems, forming a black network of spots, and then to the fruits. Cucumbers affected by ascochyta blight become black and unsuitable for food.

To prevent infection, it is recommended to water cucumber bushes only with warm water, use seeds from trusted manufacturers, or treat the achenes you collected yourself. To treat the disease, use a solution consisting of copper sulfate and chalk (1:1), which is used to treat cucumber plantings.

Aphid

A dangerous parasite that affects cucumbers. True friends are aphids. The insect is difficult to notice, as it settles on the back of the leaves. Aphids pierce the foliage, sucking out the sap. The leaves curl, dry out, turn yellow, and fruiting decreases. If no action is taken, the vegetable crop will die.

To protect the True Friends variety from this pest, use a solution of mustard powder prepared as follows:

• pour in 100 gr. powder in 3 liters. boiling water;
• stand for 5-6 hours;
• pour in 5 tbsp. spoons of liquid laundry soap and 3 tbsp. spoons of sunflower oil;
• pour the solution into a 10-liter sprayer;
• add 7 liters. water.

Cucumber bushes are treated with this mixture.

Further care for cucumbers True friends

In the future, these cucumbers should be provided with regular watering, fertilizing, loosening the soil and removing weeds.

Interesting article:
Aphids on cucumbers

Irrigation regime

Cucumbers are demanding on soil moisture, so you need to water regularly as the soil dries out with warm, settled water. Water the cucumber vines strictly at the root, making sure that drops of moisture do not fall on the foliage and stems.

Important!

Moisture should not stagnate in the soil, otherwise the plants will begin to get sick.

In hot weather, cucumbers need to be watered more often, and during the rainy season, the amount of watering can be reduced to a minimum. During the growing season, cucumbers receive enough rainfall, but during the period of budding and ripening of cucumbers, this vegetable crop should be watered regularly.

Care

Cucumber plants of the True Friends variety do not require careful care. It is necessary to follow standard rules of agricultural technology, which include the following activities:

• watering;
• formation and garter of bushes;
• feeding;
• hilling.

Watering

Cucumber bushes of the True Friends variety should be watered depending on the weather. The optimal frequency of watering in hot weather is 3-4 times a week. Irrigation is carried out in the evening and only with warm water. Watering should be moderate. You should not over-water your cucumber plantings.

Garter and bush formation

Bushes of the True Friends variety do not have the ability to produce a large number of side shoots, so there is no need for careful formation of the bush.

To ensure that the fruits do not lie on the ground and grow at a height from the surface of the bed, the bushes are tied to specially designed trellises using fishing line or thin twine. The growth of cucumber bushes is directed upward along the trellises.

Top dressing

To obtain a good harvest, cucumber plants of the True Friends f1 variety need nutritional supplements. In total, it is recommended to feed the vegetable crop 2-3 times during the season. Infusions of chicken manure (1:25), mullein (1:10), and mineral fertilizer complexes are suitable.

Fertilizing with mullein and superphosphate is quite useful.

Description of the fertilizer mixture:

• 1 tbsp. spoon of superphosphate;
• 500 gr. mullein infusion;
• 10 l. water.

The mixture is infused for 2 hours, and then poured under the cucumber bushes. This fertilizer is enough for 2 square meters. meters of plantings.

Hilling

Periodic hilling of cucumber bushes of the True Friends variety must be carried out to protect the crop from pest invasion and ensure free access of oxygen to the root system.

Hilling is carried out with wet soil, after watering or rain. The earth is raked under the cucumber bushes, forming a small ridge 5-7 cm high.