Features and advantages of the hybrid variety of cucumbers “Petersburg Express f1”

The Petersburg Express f1 cucumber is perfect for growing in open-air gardens or in light film shelters. It requires minimal care, and its fruits have a pleasant taste and are suitable for any salads and preparations.

Features of the hybrid

St. Petersburg Express F1 belongs to the early ripening hybrids of the first generation; it bears fruit already 38-40 days after the appearance of the first shoots. It is resistant to cold weather and is not afraid of spring frosts. From 1 to 3 ovaries are formed in the bridle. The bush is not distinguished by strong branching and a large amount of foliage.

Note! Cucumbers have a female flowering pattern and require bees for pollination. Because of this, the variety is not suitable for growing in greenhouses, but the use of film covers is allowed.

A hybrid of indeterminate type, with great growth vigor, reaches a height of about 1.5 m, although with quality care it can grow up to 2 m. It has weak branching and an average amount of foliage.

Sheet plates:

• medium size;
• bright green color;
• without pronounced wrinkles.

The limited growth of side shoots greatly simplifies plant care, since pinching and blinding are needed much less frequently. The ovaries are arranged in bunches.

Fetal information

The fruits of the St. Petersburg Express F1 are cylindrical in shape and dark green in color with white stripes covering a quarter of the fruit. The green leaves have large but sparsely spaced tubercles and black spines. The fruits of the gherkin type are short, reaching about 8-10 cm in length, weighing about 80-90 g, and 3 cm in diameter.

Cucumber pulp:

• crispy;
• dense consistency;
• without pronounced bitterness.

The fruits of the St. Petersburg Express F1 throughout the entire fruiting period retain their shape and size, do not outgrow or overripe. Cucumbers have a wonderful taste and do not lose it when salted, pickled and heat treated. Suitable for fresh consumption. Harvesting begins 38 days after the appearance of the first shoots. This must be done at intervals of one day.

The small size of cucumbers allows them to be preserved. They can lie for a long time without losing their taste and physical properties. In this regard, it can be used in salads and eaten fresh.

Productivity is about 12.5 kg per m2. This depends on care, growing conditions, frequency of fertilizing and watering.

Main advantages of the variety:

• resistance to bacteriosis, powdery mildew and root rot;
• ease of cultivation.

The cost of the seeds is quite impressive, but against the backdrop of taste and other positive aspects, this minus does not seem significant.

Rules of care

Hybrid cucumbers are very responsive to proper care. Accurate adherence to cultivation techniques allows you to obtain not only a high yield, but also high-quality greens. It is as follows:

• The root system of cucumbers is superficial, which requires the presence of a fertile and optimally loose top layer on the ridges.
• The use of drip irrigation is optimal. It is advisable to water cucumbers at least three times a week, abundantly, using warm, settled water, in the evening. Cucumbers grown on sandy soil need to be watered more often, but in smaller quantities, and when grown on clay soil, watering is carried out less frequently, but in larger volumes. If the flowering of cucumbers is delayed, then it is necessary to reduce the number and volume of watering.

When the soil dries out and the temperature changes sharply, bitterness may form in the cucumber pulp; high-quality mulch can help maintain moisture and reduce the number of weeds. After the formation of the third true leaf, soil should be added to the cotyledons, which will strengthen the root system of the plants. When the fifth leaf appears, it is necessary to pinch the cucumbers, which redistributes the nutrients and allows you to increase the yield and extend the fruiting period. When feeding cucumbers grown under film cover, you should not get carried away with applying large amounts of nitrogen-containing fertilizers

Proper preparation of beds with the application of the optimal amount of fertilizers significantly reduces the need to use fertilizers. It is important to remember that bee-pollinated Petersburg Express cucumbers planted under film need pollinators. This hybrid form of cucumbers on trellises is best grown in one stem. Harvest should be done in a timely manner, collecting greens every other day

Harvest should be done in a timely manner, collecting greens every other day

This hybrid form of cucumbers on trellises is best grown in one stem. Harvesting should be done in a timely manner, collecting greens every other day.

We also invite you to familiarize yourself with the characteristics and rules for growing cucumbers of the Dolomite f1 variety.

Plant resistance to diseases

The greatest dangers of the variety are fusarium blight, rhizoctonia blight, ascochyta blight, and pythium blight. With ascochyta blight, gray spots appear on the leaves, which over time affect the entire leaf blade. Then a black fungus forms, which kills the fruits of the hybrid. The main measures to combat the disease are:

• soil disinsection;
• spraying cucumbers with Bordeaux mixture (5 g of product per 10 liters of water).

If the disease is detected at an early stage, the leaves can be treated with copper-chalk powder (1:1 ratio).

The appearance of diseases is possible if cultivation rules and preventive measures are not followed. For prevention, you can use Gamair and other biological preparations that help disinfect the soil.

When infected with rhizoctonia, the plant becomes covered with yellow spots, which gradually change their color to brown. The root collar begins to turn yellow and dry out.

Note!

Fusarium begins to affect the plant with yellow spots on the leaves. The greenery falls off, the root system rots.

It is difficult to cure fusarium, so the affected parts are simply destroyed. For prevention, the soil is disinfected.

Main pests:

• mole cricket;
• whitefly;
• aphid;
• slugs;
• ants
• spider mites.

You can get rid of slugs by sprinkling the beds with tobacco; rosemary and allspice also help. It is necessary to feed correctly - you cannot fertilize plants with pure animal manure. It needs to be diluted so that the root system of the plants does not rot and does not provoke the appearance of slugs. The finished beds are sprinkled with hard and fine material, for example, ash or crushed eggshells.

The whitefly multiplies quickly; when it appears, the leaves turn yellow and become covered with a characteristic coating. You can fight it with a decoction of onion or garlic.

Ants enrich the soil, destroy some parasites, loosen them, but at the same time they carry aphids and spoil seedlings. The method of fighting ants is a mixture of sugar and boric acid.

A soap solution helps with mole crickets. Tobacco and chamomile are used as a preventive measure against bedbugs. Aphids are destroyed by hot peppers, garlic and also tobacco. The pest lives in anthills or fallen leaves. It affects both the stem and leaves, sucking the juice from them.

Features of cultivation

In cool climates, St. Petersburg Express F1 is cultivated using the seedling method. Planting time is determined based on the climatic conditions of the region.

Usually sown for seedlings in early April. Seeds must be planted to a depth of about 1 cm. To do this, use small pots with a soil mixture, which includes:

• humus;
• river sand;
• turf land.

For seedlings to appear, it is necessary to maintain an air temperature of about +22 oC during the day and about +17 oC at night.

Interesting!

To protect seeds from diseases and to speed up germination, it is necessary to soak them in an aloe solution.

Before planting, the soil must be evenly moistened. After the appearance of the first shoots and during active growth, maintain the temperature above +14 °C. During the growth process, one or two fertilizings are applied with fertilizers that contain nitrogen. After the formation of the third leaf, it is necessary to add soil to the level of the cotyledons to strengthen the root system.

Seedlings are planted in the ground 15-20 days after spring frosts. The distance between plants should be about 30 cm, and between rows - 50. Cotyledons are placed at ground level. The soil should be loose and have neutral acidity (optimal - 5.5 pH, if there are any deviations, then add lime, chalk, gypsum, etc. to the soil).

The root system of the St. Petersburg Express F1 is close to the surface, so you need to loosen it very carefully so as not to damage the root system. This provides air access and regulates humidity.

Feed the plants once every 8-10 days:

• mineral;
• nitrogen;
• phosphorus;
• organic fertilizers.

The first feeding is done two weeks after planting. Plants must be weeded to remove weeds; wood fibers and sawdust can be used to prevent growth.

It is necessary to water with warm, settled water in the evening. The optimal method is drip irrigation from a watering can. The plant needs to be watered abundantly, at least 3 times a week. On sandy and clay soils, irrigate more often, but with less water. The number of waterings and their volume are reduced when flowering is delayed; when the air temperature rises, the volume of water, on the contrary, needs to be increased.

Care methods

The Skipper f1 variety requires constant care. The soil needs to be loosened and fertilized regularly. Constant ventilation will protect the plant from rotting and insects, and frequent regular watering will ensure good yield.

Watering

The Skipper variety needs to be watered daily, with warm water under each bush. The water should sit in the sun, and under no circumstances should it be watered with swan water from a well. Because of this, the root system of the cucumber may die. After the first flowers appear, watering should be reduced by 3 times. During the period of active fruiting, the Skipper cucumber needs to be watered 2 times a week.

Top dressing

The Skipper variety needs to be fertilized 3-4 times per season.

• during the active period of bush growth, nitrogen-potassium fertilizers, as well as succinic acid or growth stimulants (Stimul, Gulliver Stimul) must be applied;
• during the flowering period, the plant needs phosphorus;
• During the period of active fruiting of the cucumber, add all the minerals in the complex.