Cucumber Masha

Hybrid Masha is a super early ripening variety for planting on open beds and under film. It is considered a high-yielding crop resistant to the main diseases of cucumbers, it is cold-resistant and undemanding to watering. The culture is suitable for planting in the country and on small farm fields.

The hybrid was obtained by Dutch breeders on the basis of Seminis. Included in the State Register in 2000.

Masha is a great variety for beginners. It is undemanding to care for and gives good yields. Cylindrical sweet cucumbers are suitable for a wide variety of culinary dishes.

The hybrid is medium-sized: the whips grow up to 1.5 m long, the lateral shoots are distinguished by an average growth rate, a limited number of them are formed, the leafiness is average. Leaves are small to medium in size, bright or dark green, medium wrinkled. Flowers are formed only of the female type. They do not need pollination at all: the ovaries appear without outside participation. Recommended for open beds, greenhouses and film greenhouses.

Gherkin-type cucumbers reach 9 cm in length, have about 3.5 cm in circumference, weigh 90-100 g, resemble a cylinder in shape. Zelentsy are collected in bundles of 6-7 pcs. Their skin is dense, dark green, with spots and small stripes, from above it is covered with evenly large tubercles with thorns.

The pulp is firm, juicy, homogeneous, sweet, without bitterness. The seeds are underdeveloped and very soft. The fruits do not grow more than 10 cm, do not turn yellow and do not taste bitter, even if they are not removed from the lash in time, but they become not so tasty. Suitable for salads, slicing, canning and pickling. Fruits are leveled, of high presentation, are not damaged during transportation, they are characterized by high keeping quality. At room temperature, they do not become flabby for about 10 days, they are stored in the refrigerator for about 1 month.

The species is ultra-early in terms of ripening: 37-39 days pass from the emergence of seedlings to the beginning of fruiting. Ripening is amicable, the peak of fruiting in closed beds is in June, and in the garden the harvest appears in early July. Irregular removal of zelents has a bad effect on the subsequent harvest. Fruiting until early October.

More than 2 kg of fruits are obtained from one bush, from 1 sq. m remove 10-11 kg.

The variety is suitable for planting throughout Russia. In the south, it is permissible to grow completely without shelter, but with shading on hot days. In temperate climates, the bushes need shelter during a cold snap. The short ripening period allows harvesting even in the northern regions, but there the variety is grown only in a greenhouse.

Bushes are planted at intervals of 30x70, 60x15 or 50x40 cm. Per 1 sq. m with horizontal cultivation, no more than 4-5 bushes are placed, with vertical placement - 3-4.

Seeds for seedlings are planted in the last decade of April, on open beds - in the last days of May or in the first week of June. The seed is distinguished by 100% germination, it does not require soaking and additional disinfection. The soil should warm up to +20 degrees, the ground in the garden can be pre-covered with a film to warm it up. The seeds are planted in prepared and moistened grooves to a depth of 15 mm and at a distance of 10-15 cm from each other, a distance of 50 cm is left between the rows. After planting, they are mulched with humus, watered and covered with foil. When sprouts appear, they are thinned out according to any of the schemes.

Seeds are planted on seedlings in separate cups or in peat tablets: young sprouts do not tolerate picking well. The composition for them is prepared from a mixture of humus, garden soil and manure in a ratio of 7: 2: 1. Seedlings are planted in the last week of May or in early June with the appearance of 3-4 true leaves at the age of 23-25 ​​days.

A bed for planting is prepared in advance, it is dug up and brought into 1 sq. m 3 buckets of manure, 1 liter of wood ash and 100 g of nitrophosphate. The soil under the film must be disinfected with copper sulfate, "Fitosporin" or "Trichodermin". When planting in a greenhouse or film greenhouse, be sure to regularly ventilate the plantings.

Young plants are recommended to start hardening a week before planting, gradually lowering the temperature to natural. Cucumbers are grown in a vertical way, tying lashes to supports, or horizontally on a bed without tying. The bushes are fed every 2 weeks with manure diluted in water in a ratio of 1: 10, you can add wood ash to this composition - 1-2 glasses. Instead of manure, bird droppings or nettle infusion are sometimes used. These dressings are alternated with a urea solution. Pour 0.5 l of the solution under each plant after the main watering.

Irrigate with warm water under the root early in the morning or in the evening every 3 days, in dry hot weather it is watered daily. Cold water is not used, inflorescences can crumble from it. You can organize drip irrigation. With the onset of fruiting, watering is carried out 2-3 times in 7 days. After watering, the soil is carefully loosened and weeds are removed. Do this every week, then mulch with hay or straw. It is recommended to huddle the bushes from time to time, as the roots can gradually become bare.

To stimulate the formation of lateral stems, it is recommended to pinch the shoots below 5 leaves. It is also necessary to normalize the number of cucumbers on the lash: there should be no more than 15 of them together with the ovaries, the rest are cut off.

The soil should be fertile and light, slightly acidic or neutral. The best options are sandy loam or light loamy. A site with a close groundwater table is not suitable. In autumn, the soil for cucumbers is fertilized with organic compounds.

It is a thermophilic variety that tolerates fluctuations in day and night temperatures well. The hybrid is cold-resistant, but completely without shelter it is better to grow it only in warm regions.

The hybrid variety is immune to many diseases, including cucumber mosaic virus, cladosporiosis, powdery mildew and downy mildew. A greenhouse or greenhouse with cucumber bushes is recommended to be regularly ventilated.For the prevention of diseases, the branches are powdered with wood ash or sprayed with a pink solution of potassium permanganate. Insects sometimes attack aphids, thrips, spider mites. When the first signs of damage appear, the leaves and shoots are washed with a solution of laundry soap with the addition of wood ash.

The gardener likes this hybrid for its high yield and early fruiting. The lashes grow quite short, sometimes even the trellis is not completely closed. The harvest is obtained with the regular removal of gherkins, even more than expected. The main disadvantage of this variety is that the seeds cannot be harvested, and the next year you have to buy new ones. It is better to purchase from the manufacturer Seminis. The variety is distinguished by high drought tolerance, it grows well even on sandy soils.