Cucumber Zozulya: characteristics and description of the variety, planting and care with a photo

Most recently, cucumber Zozulya F1 was a favorite among summer residents. Now the variety has lost its popularity a little due to the abundance of new hybrids, but it still remains one of the most reliable and productive. With a clear conscience, I can advise a novice gardener.

Characteristics and features of growing cucumber Zozulya

Creation of cucumber Zozulya F1 for indoor cultivation was carried out in the 70s of the last century. Today, the variety is still relevant as an early ripe crop for protected ground.

Zozula F1 - parthenocarpic plant that does not require pollination, the percentage of fruit set in protected ground is high.

Fruits

Description of the variety says that the medium-sized fruits of the Zozulya cucumber do not contain bitterness, their size is from 15 to 25 cm, respectively, the weight is from 140 to 300 g. The shape of the fruit is cylindrical, at the end there is a slight ribbing. There are few thorns, they are white, which indicates the salad purpose of the cucumber Zozulya.

Although if you read the reviews of summer residents on the forums, it becomes clear that the fruits are successfully used to prepare lightly s alted and pickled preparations for the winter. Zozulya cucumbers, when grown in a greenhouse, give 12 kg/m² in the initial period of fruiting, and 20 kg/m2 at the peak of fruiting.

Fruiting

Zozulya cucumber, according to the description, enters fruiting 45 - 50 days after germination. When growing cucumbers in seedlings, an early harvest in a polycarbonate greenhouse can be harvested from the first days of June.

A distinctive feature of the hybrid is a gradual increase in the number of fruits formed on the bushes by the end of the first month of fruiting. The average fruiting time is 2 months.

Growing cucumber seedlings from seeds

You can speed up the germination of Zozulya cucumber seeds in the old proven way. Take ordinary toilet paper, fold it in several layers, put it on a saucer with a little water. When the paper is completely saturated with moisture, spread the cucumber seeds on one half, and cover them with the other half. Put the saucer closer to the heater, preferably in a bag so that the toilet paper does not dry out. After 3 - 4 days, if the germination is good, the seeds will crack, the sprout will stick out.

Cucumbers Zozulya F1, like other varieties, do not like transplanting. To grow full-fledged seedlings, you need to take care of separate pots for each seedling. Many gardeners choose peat pots, not without reason believing that this is the most gentle way to grow cucumber seedlings.

Let's highlight the necessary conditions for obtaining he althy seedlings:

1. Loose, fertile soil containing the optimal amount of peat and humus.
2. Keeping the soil moist.
3. Watering only with warm (22 - 25 °), water that has settled during the day.
4. Artificial highlighting.
5. No drafts.
6. At least two top dressings with liquid fertilizer for seedlings of cucumbers.

Vegetable growers living in country houses prefer to grow seedlings in a greenhouse filled with fresh cow dung. The manure spilled with hot water begins to actively rot, so that the soil is ready in early April.

Transplant seedlings

Zozulya F1 cucumber variety is planted in the greenhouse from the end of April to the end of May, later in the ground - early-mid June. It is important to remember: cucumber seedlings are ready for transplanting at the age of 25 days. By this time, a full-fledged root system and 3-4 leaves are formed.The stem of he althy seedlings is short, strong, the leaves are bright green.

Description on a pack of Zozulya cucumbers contains all the necessary recommendations for planting seedlings in a greenhouse made of film or polycarbonate. When marking the landing rows, keep an interval of 50 cm between them. Place the holes in the rows no closer than 30 cm from each other. It is not forbidden to increase the distance upwards.

Planting seeds in the ground

Planting and caring for Zozulya cucumbers differ little from growing them in a greenhouse. The landing pattern is the same. From 3 to 5 dry cucumber seeds are planted in one hole well spilled with water. Wells with cucumber seeds are sprinkled with a layer of compost (humus) 2 - 2.5 cm thick. The entire ridge is covered with a layer of non-woven covering material and PVC film.

Shelter is removed after emergence. In cold weather, you can put arcs, pull covering material on them. In open ground, cucumber seeds are sown at the end of May, but in the conditions of the Urals and Siberia, frosts are possible even at the beginning of June.

Planting Care

How to pinch cucumbers is the first question that appears in the head of a novice vegetable grower. The question is reasonable, since only by correctly forming a cucumber bush, they get the fruit harvest declared by the manufacturer.

In the greenhouse, pinching the tops of the central stems of the cucumber can be omitted. The formation of lateral shoots in this variety is weak. In order not to thicken the space of the greenhouse, the side shoots that have appeared near the bush must be pinched over 2-3 leaves. Attach the central stem to the trellis.

For those who breed a hybrid in the open field, it is necessary to form bushes in a different way. Be sure to pinch the top of the central stem when the 5th leaf is formed. Such pinching will provoke the active growth of side shoots. Cucumbers can be grown outdoors without a trellis - the more side lashes, the greater the yield.

To pick the first cucumber from the garden, the summer resident needs to work hard:

1. Before fruiting, water at least once every 4 days.
2. Use only warm water (20 - 25 °C) for watering.
3. Carry out at least one root dressing with ammonium nitrate - a heaping tablespoon per 10-liter watering can.
4. During flowering, spray the cucumber ridge with an aqueous solution of boric acid: 2 g per 10 liters.
5. Sprinkle young plantings of cucumbers with onion or garlic extract from aphids and other pests, and powder the ground around the stems with sifted wood ash.

Zozulenok F1 - growing in a greenhouse

Cucumber new Zozulenok was bred specifically for film greenhouses and polycarbonate greenhouses. The hybrid has successfully passed the test, registered in the State Register in 2008. Fruiting occurs on the 40th day from the emergence of seedlings.Zozulyonok is an early ripe hybrid with a female type of flowering that does not require pollination. 3 female flowers are formed in the internodes.

Zozulenok F1 is a parthenocarpic hybrid, which is very good for greenhouses, you can not plant pollinating plants, the fruits are well tied in any case. Cucumbers are harvested when they reach a length of 16 - 20 cm. Cucumbers have few seeds, there is no taste of bitterness.

The shape of cucumbers is elongated-cylindrical with a slightly noticeable ribbing. Spikes rare, white. The color of the cucumber skin is dark green with separate, slightly pronounced stripes at one end.

Cucumber bushes grown in accordance with all the rules give up to 15 kg of high-quality salad greens per square meter. The yield of marketable products is high. About 90% of all collected cucumbers meet the quality requirements. In the open field, the yield of the hybrid is lower.

Opinions of summer residents about the Zozulya hybrid

Irina, Minusinsk:

“The Zozulya variety of cucumbers was my first successful experience in growing cucumbers. Dry seeds were sown 3-4 pieces in one hole, covered with a layer of humus 1-2 cm thick. The ridge was covered first with agrospan, then with a film, removed after shoots appeared. With good germination, I planted cucumbers in other holes. The growing lashes of cucumber were tied to a crossbar attached to two supports. Planted on May 26, began to collect cucumbers in the first decade of July. The description says that this is a salad variety, but this characteristic did not bother me. I pickled them: I cut large cucumbers across into several pieces. The jars have never exploded, pickles taste great.”

Marina, Saratov:

“I plant Zozulya in open ground. One ridge of cucumbers is enough for a family of four. Cucumbers are eaten fresh and pickled. The flesh of Zozulya is tender, fragrant, there is no bitterness. The skin is dark green, not coarse. From overgrown cucumbers I make a spicy appetizer “Korean-style cucumbers.”

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