The Chinese snake variety cucumber has excellent taste, is ideal for use both in salad and in fresh form, they are pleased to crunch. It also makes excellent preparations for the winter, it is successfully salted and pickled. The article will discuss the rules for growing cucumbers of this variety.

Characterization and description of the variety

The name of the cucumbers was due to its shape, which resembles a snake 45–80 cm long. The skin is elastic, with tubercles located on it. The variety is considered to be ripening, as the first cucumbers appear 30–35 days after seed germination. The stem height can reach up to 3.5 m, the number of side shoots is minimal.

Important! The variety requires pollination by bees, so the beds need to be placed so as to give the bees the opportunity to pollinate.

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Advantages and disadvantages

The Chinese snake variety, like other vegetable crops, has its advantages and disadvantages.

• Advantages:
• the fruits grow quickly;
• excellent taste, sweet, without bitterness, with a pleasant aroma;
• female flowering much more prevails over male flowering - it gives a lot of ovary;
• high productivity - from the bush you can get about 30 kg of fruit;
• high density of cucumbers on the bush;
• the variety is not moody and does not require special care;
• the variety is resistant to low and high temperatures, as well as to pests and diseases;
• fruiting for 5 months before the first frost;
• has a beautiful presentation;
• suitable for pickling and pickling;
• grows well in the shade;
• early ripeness.

• Disadvantages:
• there is no possibility of long storage;
• need to install a high trellis;
• incomplete germination of seeds.

Seed preparation and sowing

In order for the seeds to give healthy seedlings, they must first be prepared. To do this, they are kept in a solution of potassium permanganate for 10 minutes. At the same time, the potassium permanganate temperature should be at least + 35 ° С. Then the seeds must be treated with Trichodermin to prevent fungal diseases.

Capacity for growing

For sowing seeds, cups, pots or boxes for seedlings are suitable. It is better to sow in smaller containers, as the variety has low germination. And if you sow in a box, then it may turn out to be half empty, and it takes up more space than cups and pots. When shoots appear, they can be transplanted into a box larger. But it should be remembered that cucumbers do not like moving.

Did you know? In ancient Egypt, cucumbers were depicted on sacrificial tables, and they were also placed in the tombs of the pharaohs.

Sowing

Before sowing, disinfected seeds must be germinated. To do this, put a damp cotton or gauze cloth on a small plate or saucer, and carefully place the seeds on it. Be sure to put the seeds so that they are moist on both sides.

For quick germination, you need to put the plate in a warm place. The higher the ambient temperature, the faster they will grow. At a temperature of + 30 ° C, germination will occur in 1-2 days.Sprouted seeds need to be planted in pre-moistened grooves, then sprinkled with 3 mm of soil. Glasses with sown seeds should be covered with a film to create a favorable climate. It is recommended to place 2-3 seeds in glasses. When the sprouts emerge from the ground, the film can be removed. When maintaining the temperature in the room from + 20 ° C in 5-7 days, you can wait for the first leaves to appear. After seed germination in a glass, leave the strongest plant. You can’t take out the sprouts from the container, you can damage the sprout that was chosen for seedlings.

How to plant and grow a variety

The considered species of plants was developed by Chinese breeders for growing in greenhouse conditions. However, the variety turned out to be frost-resistant. The ideal temperature for favorable fruiting and growth is + 25 ° C. Such temperature conditions lead to a maximum yield.

Optimal time for landing

Planting cucumbers in the ground, like many other plants, is necessary after the soil warms up after winter, and the average air temperature is above + 18 ° С. For planting cucumber seeds in the soil, it is recommended to choose a time from the end of May to the beginning of June. If you plan to plant seeds under a film on a "hot bed", then the best time is the beginning of May. You can plant a greenhouse with cucumber seeds in mid-April.It is recommended to plant cucumber seedlings in open ground in early June. Landing under the film can be done earlier for 1-2 weeks than in open ground. In early May, seedlings will feel good in the greenhouse.

Important! Leaves that appear on the bush with traces of the disease or blackened from the sun's rays must be immediately cut off. This procedure should be carried out in the early morning so that the plant sections dry in a day.

The soil

Cucumbers love soil, which contains a large amount of organic matter, which has a neutral acidity - pH 7.0–7.1. The beds for planting cucumbers must first be prepared in the fall. You can choose a place where pumpkins, corn, legumes, and potatoes grew last season. It is not recommended to plant in the place where in the past season cucumbers were fruiting. This can cause epidemics of diseases and the invasion of harmful insects, as a result, productivity will greatly decrease.

The place for future planting must be well fertilized with manure, carefully dig and loosen.

Seedling method

To make the plants happy with the harvest in summer, you must first grow strong healthy seedlings. In order for the seedlings to have good immunity, it must first be tempered. This can be achieved by gradually lowering the temperature in the room in which the seedlings are located. The optimal time for transplanting into open ground is considered the time from the end of May to the beginning of June. At this time, the weather conditions have already stabilized and the needle of the thermometer does not fall below +19 ... + 22 ° С. If the temperature is lower, then the cucumbers will not stretch to growth.It is best to plant the plants in a checkerboard pattern, with a density of 3 bushes per 1 m².

Seedling planting scheme:

1. Dig a hole measuring 15 × 15 cm to a depth of about 20 cm.
2. Put some peat or sand at the bottom.
3. Pour the solution from a mixture of grass, mullein and water in a proportion of 1:10. Grass can be replaced with bird droppings, add 2 tablespoons of wood ash and about 5 g nitroammofoski.
4. The bush is replanted with an earthen lump, and if seedlings grew in peat pots, then with them.
5. Fill the plant so that the native lump together with the stem rose 0.5–1 cm above the cover of the earth.
6. Water the bush abundantly.
7. The area around the stem is mulched with peat, dry or freshly cut grass.

Open Seed

Planting seeds in open soil is a very risky business due to the fact that the plant does not give friendly shoots. However, some gardeners have successful experience.For planting, you need to choose a place where there is a light breeze in order to provide plants with pollination. Seeds are sown in pre-prepared and fertilized grooves to a depth of 1.5–2 cm. It is recommended to cover the sown area with plastic wrap and do not remove until seedlings appear. If plants are provided with ideal conditions, they will sprout faster.

Cucumber care after planting

Like any cucumber, this variety loves humidity and warm air. From this it follows that the ideal solution would be to provide drip irrigation or placement in areas where groundwater runs close.

Top dressing and watering

The most important substance for cucumbers is potassium. It is better to feed plants simultaneously with watering. It is necessary to prepare a solution of the ingredients:

• water - 1 l;
• potassium - 1 tablespoon;
• azofoska - 3 tablespoons;
• Uniflor-micro - 2 teaspoons.

It is very good to use wood ash for bushes. After watering, it is recommended to pour it on the soil where the plants grow, so as not to get on the stem. Mineral and organic fertilizing should be carried out alternately every week. The best options for organic fertilizers are a solution of bird droppings in a ratio of 1:20 and fresh manure in a ratio of 1:10. Cucumbers should be fed only with solutions, they do not like manure and litter in its purest form. Manure is also beautifully replaced by a solution of plucked weeds in a ratio of 1: 5.

Video: Feeding cucumbers with folk remedies

Although cucumbers love moisture, they should not be poured. In the swamp they cannot grow. The ideal solution is to use drip irrigation. Water for irrigation should be supplied warm. Watering in cool weather should be handled carefully. If transfused, the plant may begin to rot or be attacked by powdery mildew.

Did you know? The French emperor Napoleon promised a great reward to those who come up with how to preserve the freshness of cucumbers during long military campaigns.

Bush garter and shaping

Bushes of this variety are quite high, so as they grow, they must be tied to pre-installed supports. To do this, vertical supports are placed along the perimeter of the area where the fruits grow, they should be approximately 1.8–2 m in height. The first fixation is carried out a week after planting the seedlings, then the plant weaves along the supports independently.

Soil care

Previously, the ground on which the plants will grow needs to be watered and fed with humus. Depending on the size of the root system, holes are dug. Bushes are planted in rows, keeping a distance between them of 50 cm, rows should be from each other at a distance of not less than 1 m.Mulching should be done after planting. To do this, use sawdust, chopped weeds, straw to preserve soil moisture and reduce the number of weeds.

Diseases and pests of the variety

Chinese snake has a fairly strong immunity and is not amenable to many diseases. Such adversities as powdery mildew, false dew, mosaic, cladosporiosis, which destroy other varieties, are not afraid of him. But he is helpless to rust. It can be recognized by seeing red large spots on the leaves. Rust spreads very quickly and infects all plants that grow in the garden. The surest way to prevent infection is every day, and it is better to inspect the plants twice a day. Infected leaves must be immediately plucked and burned. The remaining bushes must be sprinkled with mustard powder. The sooner it is possible to diagnose a disease, the higher the likelihood of a quick cure.

Also, this variety can suffer from aphids, gall nematodes and spider mites. To combat these enemies, it is recommended to use an insecticide solution. These can be Actellik or Fitoverm drugs.

Harvesting and storage rules

You need to harvest daily and first you need to pick or cut those cucumbers that hang from the bottom of the bush. Before eating, and especially for salads, it is recommended to cut the skin from the fruit to prevent the appearance of a bitter taste. Overripe fruits may be bitter. And in order to increase the shelf life, pickles need to be cut with a small tail when harvested.

Thus, cucumbers of the Chinese snake variety are easily cultivated varieties. They will quickly please their fruits, give a rich harvest and are not picky in care. If you want cucumbers to grow in your garden, you need to patiently read the recommendations and follow them in the growing process. With the proper cultivation of seeds and seedlings, as well as the necessary care, a high yield will be guaranteed in the first year.