Cucumber 'Emerald Earrings f1': Growing from sowing to harvest

Among the abundance of cucumber crops, vegetable growers often prefer the Emerald Earrings F1 hybrid. It has many positive qualities, including high resistance to stress and the ability to withstand temperature fluctuations. This variety is popular, and seeds are available in many regions of the country. According to gardeners, this hybrid variety is easy to grow, as it is suitable for our climate conditions and produces fruit reliably.

Characteristics of the bush and fruit

Emerald Earrings is a hybrid cucumber variety bred by experts at the Gavrish agricultural firm (Moscow). In 2011, it was added to the State Register of the Russian Federation for all regions. It is suitable for growing in greenhouses, hotbeds, and vegetable gardens.

The hybrid variety "Emerald Earrings" recently appeared on Russian markets, but quickly became popular among gardeners and consumers. Considering that domestic breeders developed the "Emerald Earrings" variety, these cucumbers thrive in the Russian climate. Experienced vegetable growers advise against growing the plant in open gardens; it's more effective under plastic or in a greenhouse. However, if the weather permits, it can be grown without cover. This is precisely how the hybrid "Emerald Earrings" is cultivated in the southern regions of the country.

Early maturity and consistent fruiting make the plant easy to harvest. Another advantage of Emerald Earrings is their parthenocarpic nature. This characteristic means the plant is self-pollinating, making these cucumbers ideal for growing outdoors, under cover, without the need for bumblebees or honeybees.

The plant grows with medium branching. The bushes can be easily tied. The leaves of this hybrid variety are bright green, not overly dense. There's no need to trim the foliage. This hybrid is indeterminate, so it needs to be secured to a trellis. Otherwise, don't expect a bountiful harvest.

Tall bushes produce numerous ovaries. They have a cluster-like structure. Each node contains approximately three flowers. Almost all of them are female, meaning they are not empty. With favorable care and climate, each plant can produce up to 10 ovaries.

Fruit:

• cylindrical;
• silver-tuberous;
• neat size;
• weighing 100-120 g;
• length 90-110 mm;
• diameter 30-40 mm.

The skin is deep green, with short whitish stripes and medium spotting. The fur is dense. The spines are white and prickly, so picking the cucumbers requires wearing thick gloves.

One of the main advantages of gherkins is their delicious flavor, not bitter, and slightly sweet. There are no empty spaces inside the cucumbers, as the flesh is firm and crunchy. The emerald-colored catkins are immediately captivating, as the fruits have an incredibly fresh, cucumber-like aroma. Gherkins are versatile. Typically, the first few fruits at the beginning of the season are used for fresh consumption, in salads and summer appetizers, and as holiday table decorations. However, the majority of the fruit is used for canning, preserving, and storing for the winter.

Cucumbers can be pickled, marinated, and used as the base for winter salad masterpieces. The cucumbers are harvested at various stages of ripening. Some gardeners don't wait for the cucumbers to reach maturity and instead harvest the juicy and healthy gherkins.

Key indicators

The hybrid variety Emerald Earrings is distinguished by its very consistent fruit production. If you follow the recommendations, you can harvest from every meter.² garden up to 12 kg of cucumbers.

The advantage of this hybrid is its resistance to many diseases common to pumpkins. Furthermore, it's completely low-maintenance, requiring only basic cultivation guidelines. The only drawback is that the plant is a hybrid. Therefore, it's impossible to obtain seeds from the garden. Vegetable growers must order new seeds from the producer each year.

The variety is resistant to diseases and viruses:

1. Cucumber mosaic.
2. Brown spot.
3. Powdery mildew.

The plant is tolerant to downy mildew, rhizome rot, and bacterial blight. Pests are controlled through preventative measures and treatment with special preparations.

Agricultural technology

The Emerald Earrings cucumber is beyond praise in terms of fruiting and flavor, but it must be cultivated wisely. The plant's seeds do not require additional treatment such as soaking in stimulating preparations, as they undergo thorough pre-planting preparation by the manufacturer. The seedling period is virtually no different from cultivating other cucumber varieties. As usual, cucumber seedlings are grown in separate containers to avoid disturbing the roots during transplantation.

1.5-2 weeks before planting the seedlings, additional fertilizers should be added to the soil of the greenhouse:

• 12 kg of compost;
• 2 tbsp. complex minerals per m² landings.

Water the bed thoroughly 4 hours before planting. Cucumber seedlings are planted in a single row at least 400-500 mm apart. High humidity (up to 90%) is required to promote fruit formation at the nodes. The temperature should be approximately 28°C. ^OC for flowering, and about +30 for fruiting.

As soon as the weather outside becomes consistently warm, it is important to tie up the plants trellisTo do this, stretch two wires parallel to each other at a height of 2 meters, 300-400 mm apart. Attach a rope to one end of the wire and to the bottom of the seedlings on the other. Subsequent cucumber plants are tied in the same way, but to a different parallel wire, one at a time. Wrap the rope around the growing cucumber plant twice a week.

Formation

First, you should mentally divide the entire hybrid bush into four vertical zones. In the first zone, from the ground, which includes the first four leaves, you should remove all shoots and female flowers in the leaf axils. After the first bunch of plants forms in the subsequent second zone, pinch the shoots On the side, but leave two leaves on each. In the third zone, you need to pinch all the shoots on the side in the same way, leaving only three leaves on them.

At the time when the main shoot in the center grows up to the wire at the top:

• it is wrapped around her;
• After waiting for several leaves and a bunch to grow on top, the top of the main shoot should also be pinched.

The hybrid needs to be watered daily in hot weather, using only warm water. Fertilizing with organic matter is essential every 14 days.

During flowering, the cucumber hybrid Emerald Earrings will benefit from treatment with anti-stress compounds such as Epin, Zircon, and HB-101.

How to create a seedling feeding schedule

During the growing season, the hybrid requires specific vitamin and mineral supplements. Fertilizing schedule:

1. At the beginning of the growing season, cucumbers absorb nitrogenous substances more intensively.
2. During the growth of shoots, seedlings vitally need potassium elements.
3. With the new formation of shoots and the beginning of fruit production, an additional need for nitrogen preparations appears.

In total, the effective ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium substances in cucumbers is intended by nature to be as follows: 2:1:3.

During the flowering period, certain fertilizers are used. The following are particularly relevant:

1. A spoonful of potassium sulfate per bucket of water, superphosphate and urea.
2. 250 g of liquid manure.
3. 1 spoon of sodium humate per bucket of water.

Hybrids experience their greatest need for feeding and watering during fruiting. Both root and foliar mineral fertilization are important, while organic matter is applied directly to the rhizome. Therefore, during fruiting, they are fed three times:

1. 250 g of mushy chicken manure or one tablespoon of nitroammophoska per half a bucket of water.
2. A week and a half after the first fertilization, dilute half a liter of mullein in a bucket of water, or a spoonful of potassium sulfate for the same amount of water.
3. 12 days after the second feeding, add again half a liter of manure per bucket of water, or a spoonful of nitroammophoska, or 50 g of manure.

To ensure better cucumber growth, it's important to apply additional fertilizer, not just at the roots. Zircon or Epin work well. You can also find special fertilizers specifically for cucumber hybrids:

1. Ideal.
2. Giant.
3. Breadwinner.
4. Fertility.

In total, you need to take a spoon per bucket of water, and half a bucket of such fertilizer per 1 m².

Useful "grandmother's" tricks

One of the "grandmother's" methods for growing good, strong Emerald Earrings cucumbers is to add steamed peas to the planting holes. The secret is that the beans improve the soil quality and allow the seeds of other crops to germinate more easily and vigorously.

Nitrogen fertilizers will help increase yields. So, if a vegetable grower has mullein, they should:

• put a fresh flatbread into a bucket;
• pour in some water;
• Mix to make a dressing.

Dilute it 1:10 with water and add one liter under each plant. Finally, finish the feeding with a generous watering under each bush. Feeding with mullein should be done at least at midday and in the evening.

Reviews

Kristina, 45 years old, Penza

Last summer, I planted the Emerald Earrings hybrid—it had a beautiful name, and my mom recommended it. Sure enough, each plant produced 10 ovaries, and they developed into many full-fledged cucumbers, none of them drying out. I'll plant more next year, too. They're right about these cucumbers needing special care.

Vova, 30 years old, Yekaterinburg

My wife and I planted the Emerald Earrings cucumber hybrid from Gavrish in the greenhouse. Of the 20 seeds, only 15 sprouted. When the weather warmed up, we opened the greenhouse for ventilation. Of course, we watered regularly, as usual, but nothing else really mattered. Our beds are warm, with organic matter laid down in the fall, so we didn't even feed them anything. They grew so well that cucumbers were always on the table. And we have a large family. So, 15 plants lasted the entire season, and the harvest was a delight. The gherkins taste wonderful, and the fruit doesn't taste bitter at all. Everyone loves them, so we'll keep planting them.

Pavel, 53 years old, Volgograd

I also want to show off my cucumbers, they're called Emerald Catkins. The seller recommended them to me, and I don't regret planting them. They're early, produce fruit very well, and there really are a lot of them, they ripen and produce fruit constantly, there are no barren flowers, and they look beautiful. They're crunchy and slightly sweet. The only thing I don't like is that they're not very good pickled, but they're great fresh. I haven't tried making preserves yet, but I think they'll be delicious.

Growing the Emerald Earrings hybrid and getting an excellent and healthy harvest is entirely possible; you just need to remember the care instructions and follow them.