Tatyana Panasenko has been growing crops for 5 years
I planted Emerald Stream for the first time 5 years ago, without even knowing how to care for them. Out of curiosity, I stuck a couple of seeds into the greenhouse. After the shoots appeared, I installed a trellis.
The early harvest exceeded all expectations. The pulp is juicy, tender, a real salad variety. Since then, I have been planting these cucumbers in the greenhouse every year to get a late harvest. I advise you to try it.
general description
Unlike ordinary varieties, the Chinese bush grows up to 4 m. Their fruits reach 80-90 cm in length and 8 cm in diameter. Chinese cucumbers do not require special conditions for growing and take root in any soil. Able to withstand temperatures up to +40°C. At the same time, drought has little effect on yield, however, the fruits will be bitter if they really did not have enough water.
Attention! The bushes can cross-pollinate with other varieties growing nearby.
Cucumbers are grown both in greenhouses and in open ground.
They bear fruit abundantly; up to four fruits of the same size are formed on one plant, which ripen simultaneously. Vegetables are classified as high-yielding: up to 10 kg of fruits are collected from one bush. Their popularity has increased due to their early ripening: it occurs 30 days from the moment the first leaves appear from the ground. They are eaten mainly raw, and they must be eaten as soon as possible, otherwise they will wither and shrivel due to loss of water.
The fruits of the Chinese cucumber are also suitable for canning, but they are closed immediately or the next day after picking from the bush.
Chinese cucumbers
Chinese cucumbers are very similar to each other in their main characteristics:
- the fruits are long and grow quickly;
- the skin is tender and does not become rough for a long time;
- there are almost no seeds inside, they are underdeveloped;
- cucumbers are not hollow;
- the bushes are more powerful than those of ordinary cucumbers: the stems are thick, the leaves are large.
Almost all Chinese cucumbers are hybrids. More recently, they were prescribed or imported from China. There were no domestic analogues or they did not possess all of the above qualities. But today domestic companies, “Poisk”, “Siberian Garden”, “Aelita”, “Gavrish” also supply Chinese cucumber seeds to the market.
Popular varieties and hybrids
The bulk of the seeds are brought directly from China. Let's look at the most popular crops among consumers.
Emerald Stream
A variety of vigorous and weakly growing Chinese cucumbers. It is classified as an early ripening plant; it begins to bear fruit on the 48th day after the shoots emerge from the ground. Productivity per 1 sq. m averages 6 kg. These cucumbers are grown in any conditions, both in open beds and in greenhouses, as well as at home. The size of the fruit reaches up to 50 cm in length and weighs up to 200 g. The variety is resistant to diseases, even powdery mildew is not afraid of it. It is unpretentious in care, shade-tolerant and tolerates cold well.
Reference! This variety of Chinese cucumbers is capable of self-pollination: when flowering, predominantly female flowers are formed. But it can also reproduce with the help of bees, while the yield increases, and the fruits become deformed - this also happens as a result of growing a bush without support and garter.
Up to five cucumbers can form on a bush at once. The thin fruits have an elongated cylindrical shape and are dark green in color. The peel is thin, not hard, covered with tubercles and white pubescence. Juicy and crispy cucumbers with a small seed chamber, yet quite sweet in taste and with a pronounced aroma. Used mainly for salads.
They are collected at a length of 18-25 cm, because longer fruits become thicker and turn yellow, which leads to a deterioration in taste.
Chinese kite F1
It is classified as a mid-early culture. It has powerful branched bushes that grow very quickly and produce a fairly large harvest.
Reference! Parthenocarpic hybrid, self-pollinating. The fruits are arched and reach a length of up to 50 cm, like many Chinese varieties, they smell like melon or watermelon. They are eaten immediately after collection, otherwise the next day they will lose their taste and will be soft and watery.
Vegetables are dark green. They have virtually no seeds, are dense, fleshy, and have large, infrequent tubercles on the surface.
Important! The hybrid was bred specifically for growing in greenhouse conditions. It is planted in open ground only in one case, when the average daily air temperature does not fall below +25°C.
Chinese miracle
Cucumbers of this variety grow up to 4 m, have a powerful and fairly branched root system, and their vines must be tied up. Cucumbers are cross-pollinated or self-pollinated.
The fruits are up to 60 cm long, smooth cylindrical in shape, juicy green in color with infrequent tubercles. The weight of one cucumber can reach 650 g. The taste is not bitter, crispy and juicy with small seeds.
This variety is classified as late-ripening; vegetables will be ready for harvest 60-70 days after planting. They grow well and produce crops with good light and constant watering. However, they are easy to care for and resistant to disease.
Reference! Unlike other varieties, the Chinese miracle has an interesting feature. A piece of the required length is cut from a cucumber growing on a branch, and the remaining part will continue to grow on the vine as usual.
Cucumbers are used both for raw consumption and for preservation.
Chinese frost-resistant and heat-resistant F1
These hybrids are suitable for those gardeners who are just starting to get acquainted with exotic vegetables. The crops tolerate high and low temperatures, as their names indicate.
Farmer's heat-resistant cucumber is a mid-season cucumber. From the emergence of seedlings to the harvest of the first harvest, up to 54 days pass. The plants are powerful, branched with well-developed leaves. The harvest is harvested before frost. From one bush, from 15 to 20 kg of cucumbers are harvested, with a single fruit weighing up to 120 g and a length from 35 to 55 cm.
Cucumbers of both varieties have a cylindrical shape, large pimples, dark green color, and short white stripes at the top of the fruit. The pulp is tender, crispy, sweet and aromatic. They are eaten fresh or salted.
Reference! Hybrids bear fruit at high and low temperatures. Both crops have developed immunity to powdery mildew and Fusarium wilt. Cucumbers keep great in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
The frost-resistant hybrid is planted directly into the ground with seeds, but it also grows well in a greenhouse. It tolerates light frosts and is not afraid to grow in the shade.
White delicacy
This variety is considered one of the most delicious among Chinese cucumbers. It withstands adverse weather conditions and all diseases to which cucumbers are exposed. Not afraid of sudden changes in temperature and humidity.
The variety got its name because of the color of the peel - it is white, with a small, almost imperceptible yellow or green tint. It is thin, and the flesh is aromatic and tender.
Reference! The length of the fruit does not exceed 15 cm, and the shape is cone-shaped, unlike other varieties of Chinese cucumbers.
Alligator F1
Refers to early maturing hybrids of Chinese selection. Ripens in up to 50 days. From 1 sq. m harvest 14-16 kg of crop. The fruit reaches a length of up to 40 cm and a weight of up to 300 g. Fruits until mid-autumn.
Reference! The F1 alligator cannot self-pollinate and requires insect pollination.
Vigorous bushes require staking. 6-8 fruits ripen on one plant. The skin of the vegetable is similar to the skin of an alligator. Cucumbers are consumed fresh and used for preparations.
Shanghai fellow F1
It is an early ripening hybrid and grows excellently in a greenhouse, as it does not require pollination by insects. A few bushes are enough to reap a good harvest until October. The plant has unlimited stem growth, which is taken into account when planting.
Cucumbers are tasty and long, weighing up to 350 g. From 1 sq. m in a greenhouse, up to 13 kg of crop is harvested. Resistant to infection by peronospora and fusarium. It is mainly used for making salads.
Common cucumber Shanghai fellow F1
