Content
Cucumber Khrustik F1 is an almost universal hybrid. This also applies to the methods of its cultivation, and the possibilities of using the crop, and the region of cultivation. Gardeners have been familiar with it for over ten years and continue to cultivate it, despite new varieties and hybrids appearing on the market every year. These cucumbers are also appreciated by "consumers" for their taste.
History of appearance
Khrustik F1 is a hybrid of cucumbers created by one of the most famous Russian agricultural firms Gavrish. This is the achievement of a whole team of breeders. The work was carried out on the basis and with the participation of the Moscow Research Institute of Vegetable Breeding, therefore both organizations are the originators. An application for admission for registration on the territory of the Russian Federation was filed in 2011. In the same year, the hybrid was included in the State Register.
Also, its prevalence is facilitated by the suitability for planting indoors and outdoors. Officially, it is considered a hybrid for unheated greenhouses, but the experience of gardeners shows that plants develop and bear fruit successfully in ordinary beds.
According to the official conclusion, the Khrustyk cucumber is suitable for cultivation in any Russian region.
Description of cucumbers Khrustyk F1
The hybrid belongs to the category of indeterminate. It does not have a "programmed" limit to the growth of shoots. If they are not cut off, cucumber lashes can stretch for 3-3.5 m. Growth rates are high enough, but the stems do not branch intensively. The foliage is medium, the leaves are not too large.
The flowers are predominantly "female". Each of them is a future fruit ovary. Bunch flowering. According to the originator, each "bunch" consists of 7-8 flowers, the State Register and the experience of gardeners indicate that most often there are 2-3 of them.
The shoots are powerful enough, but the Khrustik cucumber bushes still need support
Cucumbers Khrustik F1 are one-dimensional (weighing about 120 g and 10-12 cm long), regular cylindrical shape. The skin is thin, but strong, almost uniform in saturated green color, slightly "diluted" with lighter thin strokes and blurry spots. There are few large tubercles and white spines; the edge is light, relatively sparse.
The flesh of cucumbers is very dense, juicy, without voids, with a pronounced fresh cucumber aroma and small, almost imperceptible seeds when eaten. The sweetish taste is officially described as “excellent”. The lack of bitterness is genetically inherent.
The purpose of the fruit is universal. Cucumbers Khrustik are very good fresh (both by themselves and as a component for salad, okroshka) and in homemade preparations. Often, for pickling and pickling, "gherkins" weighing 60-80 g and 7-8 cm long are removed.
The characteristic crisp crunch and texture of the flesh are preserved even after salting and pickling.
Characteristics of cucumbers Khrustyk
In addition to the appearance of bushes and fruits, their taste, gardeners, when choosing a variety, take into account other indicators. You need to determine in advance for yourself the most important criteria and be guided by them.
The yield of cucumbers Khrustik
The originator in the description of the hybrid indicates its yield in the range of 10-11 kg / m². According to the State Register, the figures are higher - 14.4-15.3 kg / m². Cucumbers ripen en masse, in several "waves".
Regular harvest of cucumbers Khrustyk has a positive effect on the possibility of further fruiting of plants.
Ripening and flowering terms
Crunchy F1 is an early ripe hybrid of cucumbers. 44-48 days pass from the moment of emergence of seedlings to the collection of the first fruits. Sometimes gardeners indicate a longer period - 50-60 days. This variation is due to different cultivation methods, significantly different climatic and weather conditions.
The first flowers appear on plants in the 5-7 phase of the true leaf. It takes 14-17 days to form fruit ovaries and ripen Crustik cucumbers.
Disease and pest resistance
Breeders have provided Khrustyk cucumbers with an innate immunity against powdery mildew and cladosporiosis. The experience of gardeners shows that they are practically not susceptible to the mosaic virus and various types of rot. The most dangerous disease for a hybrid is peronosporosis (downy mildew).
Cucumbers Khrustyk have no protection against pests. Therefore, they are often attacked by aphids, whiteflies, spider mites.
Peronosporosis is easily recognized by yellow spots on the front of the leaf and a continuous layer of lilac-gray bloom on the wrong side.
Advantages and disadvantages
The official description of the Khrustik F1 cucumber hybrid and gardeners' reviews allow us to highlight the following advantages:
- early maturity and mass fruiting;
- the ability to adapt to a wide range of climatic and weather conditions;
- suitability for growing in open and closed ground;
- the presence of immunity from some diseases dangerous to culture;
- consistently high seed germination and productivity;
- fast growth rates of shoots;
- female type of flowering, the formation of fruit ovaries without the participation of pollen from male flowers and pollinating insects;
- external presentability, one-dimensionality;
- the versatility of cucumbers
- excellent taste and complete absence of bitterness;
- good transportability and keeping quality for an early variety (up to 10-12 days at room temperature, up to a month - in the basement or cellar).
The disadvantages of Khrustik cucumbers are much less significant than their advantages:
- the need for regular harvesting (if this is not done, the formation of new fruit ovaries slows down);
- exactingness to lighting and moisture-loving.
In the shade, the growth and development of the bushes slows down, the yield of Khrustik cucumbers decreases.
Planting cucumbers Khrustyk
Gardeners practice the cultivation of Khrustyk cucumbers in greenhouses, greenhouses, and in open beds. You can sow seeds directly into the soil or pre-grow seedlings at home. Depending on the chosen method, the harvest time differs by 7-15 days.
Seedling method
Saplings of cucumbers Khrustik develop quickly, so seeds for seedlings are planted during the last week of April. Like any hybrid, they undergo pre-planting treatment, so there is no need for germination, soaking in a solution of biostimulants, pickling with fungicides and other procedures.
Growing seedlings is a doable task even for a novice gardener:
- Plant the seeds, one at a time, in small pots filled with well-moistened All-Purpose Seedling Soil. They are buried by a maximum of 1 cm, sprinkled with soil, sprayed from a spray bottle.
- Turn containers into a "greenhouse" by tightening with cling film or covered with cut plastic bottles.
- Remove to a dark, warm place, ensuring a temperature of about 25 ° C. It is necessary to constantly monitor the level of soil moisture, not allowing it to dry out completely, and promptly get rid of the accumulating condensate.
- The emerging seedlings should be provided with 10-12 hours of daylight. There will not be enough natural light in most Russian regions; additional lighting will be required. Reduce the temperature after emergence to 20-22 ° C. Seedling care consists only in timely watering.
- 8-10 days before planting, start hardening the seedlings of Khrustik cucumbers, gradually increasing the time of their stay in the open air from 1.5-2 to 10-12 hours. Hardening should be abandoned if the outside temperature drops below 12 ° C, it rains heavily, and a sharp cold wind blows.
On the garden bed, seedlings of cucumbers Khrustik are planted 2.5-3 weeks after the emergence of shoots, in the phase 2-3 of a true leaf. The recommended planting pattern is 30-40 cm between bushes with a row spacing of 60-70 cm.
The depth of the seedling hole is about 10 cm, the seedlings should not be buried deeper than in the container
Sowing in open ground
Seeds are planted in the second half of May (gardeners in the Urals, Siberia, the Far East sometimes have to wait until the beginning of June) in well-moistened soil, deepening by 2-3 cm.The planting scheme is either the same as for seedlings, or 50x50 cm. For seedlings to appear faster, it is recommended to close the garden with Khrustik cucumbers with plastic wrap or black covering material on arcs.
The soil at the time of planting the seeds should warm up to 15-16 ° С
Planting cucumbers Khrustik in the greenhouse
Compared to planting in open ground, only the timing differs. Here they move to the very beginning of May, respectively, seeds for seedlings are planted in early April.
Crisp cucumbers are placed at intervals of 20-30 cm. Depending on the area of the greenhouse, 2-4 rows are formed, the bushes in each of them are staggered.
You can plant both seeds and seedlings of cucumbers Khrustyk in the greenhouse
Cucumber care Khrustyk
Cucumbers Khrustyk require the following agrotechnical measures:
- Watering. In the greenhouse and in the open field in the absence of precipitation - every day or every other day. When planting on ordinary beds, you need to take into account the frequency and abundance of precipitation.
- Garter and trim. In the open ground, you will need a trellis; in a greenhouse, bushes are usually tied to a wire stretched under the roof. Experienced gardeners recommend forming cucumbers Khrustik in one stem. When the shoot reaches the desired height, it is pinched. The lower drying leaves are regularly removed.
- Fertilization. Cucumbers Khrustyk are fed three times. In the phase 3-4 of a true leaf or 7-10 days after planting the seedlings, they are watered with a solution of any mineral nitrogen fertilizer. Immediately after flowering and the first mass fruiting, store dressings are used specifically for cucumbers.
- Prevention of diseases and pest attacks. To protect the Khrustyk hybrid from downy mildew, the bushes and the soil under them are sprayed with a biofungicide solution every 7-10 days. You can also use folk remedies - an infusion of colloidal sulfur, kefir diluted with water or yogurt with the addition of iodine. Pests are scared off by planting any flowers, herbs with a pungent aroma next to the garden bed or in the greenhouse. If the attack could not be avoided, they are treated with suitable insecticides (when a spider mite appears - acaricides).
The watering rate varies from 1-1.5 to 4-6 liters as the cucumber bushes Khrustyk grow
Conclusion
Cucumber Khrustik F1 is invariably popular among amateur gardeners due to early and massive fruiting, very good yield, excellent taste, the ability to use it both fresh and for homemade preparations. It can be cultivated in open or closed ground, planted in beds with seeds or seedlings. In any case, he does not make any special requirements for agricultural technology; even novice gardeners can cope with the cultivation of Khrustyk cucumbers.
Reviews of gardeners about cucumbers Khrustyk F1
