Cucumber Claudia

Choosing a cucumber variety for cultivation, gardeners, summer residents and farmers prefer hybrid varieties, since they have improved properties, quick adaptation to the soil and climate, and give rich yields. These include the Claudius hybrid.

The Claudia cucumber has a complicated history. So, in the 1990s, this hybrid appeared in our country. It was brought from Holland, and our gardeners quickly liked the variety.

In 1999, the cucumber was included in the register approved for use on the territory of Russia. Vegetable culture is zoned in the Lower Volga and North Caucasian regions. You can grow a crop in a garden bed, in a film greenhouse, and in a heated greenhouse structure. But today Claudia has disappeared from the State Register of the Russian Federation, where she was entered in 1999. More recently, in 2015, a cucumber named Claudia Agro took its place in the lists. But this is a completely different variety.

Claudia cucumbers are strong indeterminate bushes (lash growth is not limited to flower clusters), which have a powerful central stem, moderate thickening with slightly wrinkled emerald green leaves and long, thickened lashes.

The type of flowering in the bushes is female, so there are practically no barren flowers. The laying of the ovaries is bunchy. In one leaf sinus, 3 or more ovaries can form. During the flowering period, large bright yellow flowers appear on the bushes. The plant does not need pollination by insects, since it is self-pollinated.

The cucumber represents a class of medium-sized vegetable crops. On average, the mass of greens is 65-90 grams. Vegetables grow even, neat, endowed with an attractive presentation. The cucumber is shortened in length - only 10-12 cm, and the diameter is 2-3 cm. The shape of the vegetable is correct - cylindrical or elongated-cylindrical.

Ripe green is evenly covered with a rich green color, diluted with weak, blurred specks and short light stripes. The peel of a cucumber is of medium density, covered with small tubercles, has a dense pubescence of a white tint. The small thorns of the cucumber are not prickly, not clearly pronounced.

The harvested crop is characterized by high keeping quality (20-40 days in the refrigerator) and the ability to tolerate long-distance transportation without loss.

The variety is characterized by excellent taste. The flesh of cucumbers is dense, fleshy, tender and juicy. The palate has a pleasant sweetness that goes well with the summer, refreshing aroma. A feature of the variety is a pleasant crunch, which not every cucumber species is endowed with. There is no bitterness in cucumbers, and the seeds inside the vegetable are very small, even if it is outgrown.

The variety has a universal purpose - vegetables are eaten fresh from the garden, added to salads, canned, pickled and salted. Due to their diminutive size, cucumbers can be preserved whole, even in small jars.

Claudia belongs to the early maturing varieties. From the moment of planting the seedlings to the ripening of cucumbers, it takes only 44-50 days. Cucumbers spice together, so the first wave of the harvest is the most plentiful, and then it is necessary to collect vegetables daily so that they do not outgrow or turn yellow. The more often you shoot cucumbers, the more they appear on the bushes.Due to this, the fruiting period is extended for several months.

The yield of this variety is high. Providing the plant with the necessary care and choosing the right area for growing, you can get an excellent harvest, which is enough for both canning and fresh eating. On average, from 1 m2, if the plant grows in a garden bed, you can collect about 10 kg of cucumbers. In greenhouse conditions, the yield is higher - an average of 20 kg of vegetables per 1 m2.

Initially, the culture was massively grown only in the North Caucasus and Lower Volga regions, but over time, the geography of growth has expanded. Now the early ripe cucumber of the Claudia variety is loved to grow in the Far East, in the Central region. In addition, gardeners in Ukraine and Moldova are also happy to plant an early hybrid.

When planting seedlings, it is important to keep the distance between the bushes, since the plants need air, light and heat. The optimal scheme is 70x30 cm. It is permissible to have 2-3 bushes per 1 m2.

Planting cucumbers is carried out in two ways - through sowing seeds and seedlings, which is more productive. It is necessary to plant bushes on a garden bed under appropriate weather conditions - the soil is well warmed up and the air temperature has stabilized up to + 12 ... 15 degrees. As a rule, seedlings are planted in the first decade of May. Seedlings with a strong stem 20-25 cm high and the presence of 4-6 true leaves are considered suitable for planting in the soil.

Plant care consists of standard activities: watering with warm water in the evening (water is applied at the root so as not to flood the foliage), the introduction of mineral and organic fertilizers (three times during the growing season), weeding and loosening of the soil, which clears the soil from weeds and improves air / moisture permeability, the formation of lashes (the main lash is pinched when it gains a length of 100-120 cm), using trellises, wooden structures, as well as the prevention of diseases and the invasion of insect pests.

The plant has no special requirements for the composition of the soil. The main thing is that the soil is well loosened, moisture and air permeable, and filled with nutrients. In addition, cucumbers do not like acidic soil, so the acidity level should be controlled.

Claudia cucumbers are a thermophilic crop that is comfortable to grow in a weed-free area, where there is a lot of light, sun, moderate moisture and there is good protection from cold winds and drafts. The culture can grow in light shade, since direct sunlight during the period of maximum activity should not hit the leaves of the cucumber bushes. Do not forget also that the flow of groundwater must be deep so that the roots do not start to rot.

Thanks to their good immunity, cucumbers are resistant to many fungal infections and common diseases inherent in vegetable crops. Pests can cause harm to bushes - bears, cucumber gnats, spider mites, sprout flies, slugs.You can fight insects that have appeared with the help of chemicals and folk remedies. Diseases such as powdery mildew, white and green mosaic can be a problem for cucumbers.