Doubtful radiant is a unique herbaceous plant with perennial vines. For a long time, it grew only in southeast Asia, from where it was later imported to Europe. Today, this culture is spread over many countries of the world and has become known as the "red cucumber." What is the tladiant, why it has an unusual color, read the article.
Description
Red cucumbers are representatives of the genus pumpkin crops. Since these are pollinated plants, hybrids can be found in nature - the result of crossbreeding with a pumpkin, melon or cucumber of another variety. Tladianta is considered an unpretentious plant. The main condition for growth is the presence of support. With a minimum of care costs, you can get a good harvest.
The plant grows up to five meters in height. Numerous antennae are located on the hairy stem, thanks to which this plant clings to any blade of grass, if only to rise up. Why is this so important? Without supports, the stems spread along the ground, as a result of which the bush is thickened with scout shoots, which will throw out more and more antennae to search for a vertical support. The plant will not bloom until it is found.
For residents of the middle strip, a red cucumber is unusual for perception. A detailed description is evidence of this. The pubescent light green leaves are heart-shaped. Bright yellow flowers are very similar to tulips, and the fruits are like ordinary small cucumbers or red melons. Bright green strips are clearly visible on green vegetables. The combination of yellow flowers, red fruits and green leaves at the same time is an amazing sight! A ripe cucumber becomes soft and sweet in taste. Why is he red? If you cut it, you can see the dark orange flesh. Hence the name.
Pollination
This culture is dioecious, has male and female plants. With intensive pollination, red cucumbers bear fruit abundantly. In Japan, for example, symbiotic bee transfers pollen. Male flowers close at night, and the insects hide in them. In the morning they fly to females and feed on their nectar.
In Russia there is no such insect, and bees rarely participate in pollination. Therefore, this procedure is best carried out artificially, using a brush, or by applying flowers of different sexes to each other. The radiant is well pollinated by the pollen of other plants: pumpkins, common cucumbers, squash. Red cucumbers bloom all summer, until the frost.
Breeding
Autumn leaves die off, but the plant does not die. The fact is that at the ends of the shoots appear tubers that look like potatoes. Of these, plants will appear in the spring of next year. Tubers can be left in the ground for the winter. They tolerate frosts perfectly. Although they can be dug up and stored in a cool cellar, refrigerator or under the thickness of snow, pre-packed in plastic film, and planted in early spring, in April. For this, a single-row scheme is used with a distance between landings of 60-70 centimeters. Shoots can be expected in May. They will quickly grow. If the weather is sunny, the shoots grow 15 centimeters or more. Red cucumbers can not be transplanted to another place for several years if they are planted with tubers.
Propagated by the tladiant and seeds, which differ in very small sizes, black color and round shape. Planting material must be stratified, for which the seeds are soaked for a day in cold water. After the lapse of time, the liquid is drained, and the swollen seeds are placed in a wet cloth, wrapped and left in a dark place until the sprouts appear. After germination, they are sown in a pot or immediately on the bed in a few pieces, to then identify the female and male individuals.
The best time for sowing seeds is considered the beginning of March. Tladianta - red cucumber - grows well in low light, so the seedlings do not need additional illumination. They quietly develop in conditions of low temperature, but not less than zero degrees. Pots with seedlings can be carried to the insulated loggia. Seedlings are planted in the ground after spring frosts. If you plant the seeds in the garden in winter, then in the spring you can get a lot of plants. However, there will be no fruit in the first year, since all the effort is spent on the formation of numerous tubers.
Proper care
This crop does not tolerate heavy soils. The plant prefers fertile loose soil. When the seedlings planted in the ground take root, it should be fed with complex mineral fertilizer or nitrate. As soon as the first buds appear, fertilizer with phosphorus should be introduced into the soil. During the fruiting period, top dressing is carried out only with organic fertilizers: mullein or bird droppings. After planting and in dry weather, the plant needs watering.
Tladianta takes up little space and takes root well at the fence, the walls of the house or garage, which serve as its support. Some people prefer to plant exotic cucumbers under the crowns of trees. This does not require additional hassle and does not harm the plants, since they are calm about shading.
Practical advice on installing a support for cucumbers
At a distance of five meters from each other, vertical pipes 3-4 meters high are installed. A U-shaped arc is made of them. A slate with a flat surface is dug between the pipes so that its edge protrudes slightly above the ground. Grooves are made on both sides of the horizontal partition, into which tubers with a female and male origin are separately placed. Planting is sprinkled with soil and enclosed so that the plant does not entangle the entire garden.
Using
The flowers of the plant eventually form the ovaries, which in the process of growth turn into fruits. Until the red cucumber has ripened, vegetable dishes are prepared from fresh green vegetable. Salads with the addition of feather onions and oil are especially good. Such fruits are canned and salted. As soon as the color turns red, the tladianta acquires a sweet taste, and jam, jam, jam are cooked from it.
During processing, healing properties are preserved. It is the high sugar content that is the hallmark of red cucumber. This plant is widely used as a decorative hedge. For example: just two plants are enough to braid the garden gazebo from all sides in a short time.