The best cucumber varieties for open ground in the Moscow region

Every housewife with even a little bit of land tries to grow at least a couple of cucumber plants and a dozen tomatoes, plus some greens. If there's room, peppers, beets, potatoes, carrots, onions, and garlic are the most basic crops for the average gardener. Those fortunate enough to have a large plot eventually install greenhouses, install reliable irrigation, and grow large quantities of vegetables and a wide variety of species.

Now we'll find out the best cucumber varieties for open ground in the Moscow region and review the different types, choosing the earliest, tastiest, most bitter-free, productive, and easy-to-grow varieties so even a beginner can grow a good harvest. There are plenty of these cucumbers available now, including varietals and hybrids, both domestic and imported from the West.

Before you set out to buy cucumber seeds, you need to understand what you need to grow and where—in a greenhouse, under plastic, in the open ground, for salads, pickling, or simply for fresh consumption—and then proceed from there. So, if you need to grow cucumbers for eating and pickling in the Moscow region, planting them in the open ground, we'll now select the right varieties that, with proper care, will yield an excellent harvest. We'll also select varieties with good disease resistance, low-maintenance, cold-hardy, and early maturing, to ensure success. There are also universal varieties available; these are the most convenient when space is limited, as they can easily be used in salads and for canning.

There are also male and female cucumber varieties, bee-pollinated and self-pollinating. The latter are ideal for greenhouses, where bees don't always have access.
Useful information: Cucumbers in a polycarbonate greenhouse: planting and care.

Cucumbers for pickling

Pickled cucumbers have thin skins, allowing salt and spices to penetrate easily. They contain high levels of sugar, which in turn helps ferment the cucumbers and, consequently, give them a wonderful crunch and aroma when preserved. While greenhouse cucumbers are more productive, those grown in the open air are much tastier and richer in flavor.

• We recommend the wonderful hybrid Masha, very early, ripens in just 36 days, so it’s just right for the Moscow region - it has time to grow and pamper you with a harvest.
• Next comes Murashka, bred by our breeders, productive, up to 7 kilos can be collected from a bush and sent straight to a jar for preservation.
• Next came the hybrid German—large, bumpy, juicy, and delicious. After it, Moscow region gardeners planted the beloved Rodnichok. This one is a versatile variety—it's good in salads, and perfect for jars or barrels.
• Nezhinsky and Konkurent took the next steps in popularity, Izyashny followed them in the ranks of favorite cucumbers, then Monastyrsky was also appreciated by summer residents, and Muromsky.
• Business F1 is mid-early, the fruits are medium in size and weight – about 100g, very well protected from downy mildew, productive.

Salad cucumbers

These have their own characteristics: the skin is hard, dense, does not have a sugar content, is suitable for lightly salted and is good fresh.

April F1 is an excellent early ripening cucumber, pollinated by bees, moderately resistant to diseases, large fruits, up to 250g.
Emerald Stream is considered an excellent salad cucumber; it is also very resistant to diseases, cold-resistant, has a long fruiting period, and can even grow in the shade – such a miracle cucumber.
See also: planting cucumbers in 5-liter bottles.

Universal

• The Bush variety is early ripening, has excellent taste, cucumbers grow up to 120g.
• Libella F1 – German selection, bee-pollinated, mid-season, resistant to powdery mildew.
• Phoenix 640 is a late-ripening variety, so it's best planted alongside early and mid-season varieties to ensure a consistent harvest throughout the season. It's resistant to many cucumber diseases and has excellent flavor.
• Amur F1 – very productive, early maturing, resistant to many cucumber diseases.
• Pasalimo F1 – early, fruitful, crispy, disease-resistant – the joy of any gardener, a gherkin.
• Componist F1 is also an excellent gherkin, early, tasty, and disease-resistant.

Varieties such as Altayskiy ranniy, Erofey, Konkurent, VIR 505, Sovkhozny, and the early-ripening hybrid MOVIR are also noted for their good qualities in the Moscow region. The Vyaznikovskiy 37, German, and Eva varieties have also been noted for their excellent qualities for cultivation in the Moscow region.

Parthenocarpic varieties (those that don't require pollination) include Connie F1 (gherkin), suitable for canning and salads, and Nezhinsky 12, which is good for pickling and disease-resistant. Miranda F1, which is particularly productive and good for pickling, is noted for its disease-resistant properties. Also noted is the ultra-early Ira F1, which is crisp, productive, and disease-resistant.
Also check out: Tomato varieties with photos and descriptions for the Moscow region.