Cucumbers are a traditional vegetable of Russian cuisine, without which it is simply impossible to imagine. Fresh, salted and pickled - cucumbers have always been valued in Russia, and grown with their own hands, they have a unique aroma and taste, pleasing to the eye and instilling faith in their own strength. For gardeners, it is important to grow your favorite vegetable, so you need to seriously approach the choice of variety. One of the most productive domestic varieties is the Phoenix cucumber.
Culture features
An open-pollinated cucumber is considered a late ripening variety. It is possible to grow it with the temporary use of film shelters. Like a classic ground cucumber, Phoenix has an overwhelmingly female flowering type. Fruiting begins 55-65 days after the germination of seeds and usually yields from mid-July until the onset of cold weather.
Being a universal variety, Phoenix is excellently suited both for fresh consumption and for any kind of processing - salting, pickling or preparing salads for long-term storage. Fruits of regular elongated shape weighing up to 180 g., Reach a size of 15-16 cm, have a pimply surface of bright green color with light spots and the same light spikes. Cucumber "Phoenix" is characterized by excellent taste of delicate pulp with small grains and thin peel.
A strong, highly branched bush can reach a length of three meters on the main stem. The leaves are dark green, the ovaries in the sinuses are bundle. The main qualities of the culture are its high resistance to typical cucumber infections - powdery mildew and mosaic spotting. Pleased with the variety and good yield. With quality care, it is able to give from 7 to 10 kg per square meter.
Rules for planting cucumbers
Cucumber "Phoenix" prefers neutral fertile, organic fertilized soils without a close approach to groundwater. Constantly planting it in the same place is not recommended - productivity is reduced. The best predecessors of cucumbers are onions, tomatoes, potatoes. Landing is carried out in well-heated soil in sunny areas protected from drafts. Daytime temperatures for the normal development of this thermophilic plant should be at least 22 ° C, nighttime - 18 ° C. No more than 3-4 bushes are planted on one square meter, thickened crops will lead to oppression of each other by plants and, as a result, the emergence of various infections.
In addition to making humus for digging before planting, it is necessary to feed:
• nitrogen (2 gr. / 1m 2 ) after the appearance of the 3rd sheet;
• twice during the growing season - with nitrogen-potassium fertilizer (20 g / 1m 2 ).
Cucumber "Phoenix": reviews of gardeners
According to the responses and recommendations of experienced gardeners, this variety is very productive in both southern and moderate Russian latitudes.