Cucumber Chinese Snakes, reviews of Chinese cucumbers, their advantages and disadvantages
Cucumber – a popular vegetable that is used for preparing salads, vegetable dishes and pickling. There are specimens of different shapes and sizes on the shelves. An inexperienced person may have a question: what are long cucumbers called? This group includes different varieties. A variety of a vegetable familiar to us is called Chinese cucumber.
Content:
- Features of cucumbers Chinese snakes
- Popular varieties of long cucumbers
- How to grow a bush in the garden
- What are the advantages and disadvantages of Chinese cucumbers?
Features of cucumbers Chinese snakes
Chinese cucumbers, like traditional ones, belong to the genus Pumpkin. However, they have significant differences. The fruits are much larger, elongated, the length of each can reach 80 cm. Chinese varieties have no bitterness, the flesh is denser, without voids. The skin tastes sweetish, vegetable has an aroma that is more reminiscent of watermelon or melon.
The Chinese Snake variety is very young, bred by breeders in 2015, and is famous for its long fruits (45-80 cm).
Cucumbers are early ripening, ripen a month after germination. You can enjoy the harvest at the end of spring.
Cucumbers are narrow (diameter no more than 7 cm), with dark green, bumpy skin and light stripes. The weight of each specimen is 300-400 g. Chinese cucumbers Perfect for pickling, canning (in pieces) and eating raw.When pickled, they taste like gherkins. Fresh vegetables do not last long and quickly fade.
The Chinese snake is traditionally raised in greenhouse conditions. Therefore, the fruits are easy to obtain in our latitudes.
Interestingly, the variety does not need pollination. Flowering is mixed; each node produces 1-2 female flowers that bear fruit.
Without shaping and pruning, the bush grows unlimitedly. Therefore, gardeners remove side shoots.
The variety is characterized by high productivity. From one bush it is possible to collect about 30 kg of vegetables. However, this volume can only be achieved by growing in greenhouse, in open ground the yield is lower.
The plant is resistant to lack of moisture and undemanding to lighting. High temperatures do not affect the condition of cucumbers, provided timely watering. The bushes are resistant to most common diseases.
Popular varieties of long cucumbers
Chinese cucumbers were developed relatively recently, but have already become a favorite among summer residents. Let's look at the popular varieties that are grown in our climatic zone.
Chinese miracle
The variety is characterized by unpretentiousness in care and external conditions. Tolerates hot days and cold snaps well. Ripening time is about 8 weeks. The fruits are of a standard color, slightly curved in shape. Length of each cucumber about 40 cm. The variety is considered universal.
Chinese cold-resistant F1
It is not for nothing that the hybrid received such a name; the plant has a high tolerance to cold. Thanks to this, cucumbers are easy to grow in open ground. The variety is mid-early, from the moment the sprouts appear until the harvest ripens, it takes 7-8 weeks.
The fruits are elongated, with pimples. From 1 sq.m. 8-10 kg of crop is harvested.
Chinese heat resistant F1
The variety is valued for its high yield and excellent fruit quality. The plant easily tolerates high temperatures (up to 35°C) and is adapted to heat. Ripening time is 6.5-8 weeks. The fruits are smooth, elongated cylindrical in shape.
cucumbers covered with a thin peel, inside there is juicy pulp. The bush is resistant to many diseases and pests.
Emerald Stream
Chinese cucumber The emerald stream is interesting because it is a product of Russian selection. Compared to its brothers, the bush is quite tall and weakly weaves. Seedlings are planted in the ground no earlier than mid-April, when the cold weather has passed.
Earlier planting is allowed in greenhouses. The weight of each fruit is 150-200 g, and the length is 40-50 cm. Productivity is 6-8 kg per 1 sq.m.
White delicacy
A variety unlike its fellows, characterized by a light, almost white skin color. The fruits of the White Delicacy are shorter and their shape is cone-shaped. The plant is resistant to temperature fluctuations, weather changes and humidity.
How to grow a bush in the garden
Chinese cultivation technology cucumbers similar to that used for traditional plants.
Sowing seeds
Chinese snake seeds can be immediately planted in the ground. In this case, half of the specimens may sprout, and the harvest will appear later. Therefore, experts recommend using the seedling method.
Seeds are planted in containers with a diameter of 25 cm filled with peat, to a depth of 2 cm. The most suitable temperature for the emergence of seedlings is about + 33 C. To create such conditions, the pot is covered with film.
A week after the sprouts appear, daily 3-hour ventilation is arranged, gradually adding time without film.
Landing in the ground
The sprouts are ready for transplantation to a permanent location three weeks after emergence. By this moment they reach a height of 16-20 cm.
Chinese cucumbers often weakly form side shoots; one stem develops. Therefore, plants are planted thicker than ordinary cucumbers. For 1 sq.m. place 3-4 bushes. The lashes are placed on trellises. This is how you get smooth fruits with a presentable appearance.
Immediately after transplantation, fertilizing is applied. Each bush will need 0.5 cups of ash and 25 g of saltpeter.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of Chinese cucumbers?
Like any exotic product, the product has supporters and opponents. Reviews of the Chinese snake cucumber agree that the variety is high-yielding, and the fruits grow in length very quickly. Some gardeners like the sweetish taste, while others consider this a disadvantage. Those who have grown the plant themselves claim that the bush is unpretentious and quickly takes root.
What other pros and cons have those who have encountered the Chinese Serpent found?
Advantages:
- high yield and long fruiting
- shade tolerance
- resistance to powdery mildew, furious wilt
- lack of bitterness
- thin peel
- fragrant dense pulp
- possibility of growing in open ground
- possibility of harvesting in a greenhouse before frost
- self-pollinating
Flaws:
- impossibility of canning whole cucumbers
- short shelf life of fresh fruits
- rapid loss of taste (within a day)
- the need to tie the lashes to the trellises
When growing a plant in your garden, you should take into account that the product deteriorates very quickly, loses its attractive taste and becomes soft.
The product should be consumed fresh or immediately begin preparation - salting, seaming.
Chinese snake - a recently developed variety cucumbers. The hybrid has new properties and taste. By planting a plant in his garden bed, the owner will receive a rich harvest of large vegetables with an exquisite taste.
You will learn more about the features of caring for Chinese varieties of cucumbers when watching the video:
Comments
We tried planting this type of cucumber at our dacha last year, and to be honest, I wasn’t impressed, although it was delicious. Still, we are for traditional cucumbers 12-15 centimeters long and with pimples.
These cucumbers may look unusual, but that’s all. They don’t have any more advantages, they don’t taste any different from regular ones, and maybe even regular ones are better. I like small cucumbers; they are easier to preserve.
But I really liked these cucumbers! Even if they are prickly, when you pick them and they sit for a while, the spines become soft. And they taste good, I never came across anything “bitter”.
The Chinese snake has an unusual appearance, if I understand correctly, it is not advisable to grow it in open ground, since in a greenhouse it gives greater and better yield. In open ground it is better to plant some other variety.