Cucumber Prestige

Prestige is one of the famous cucumber varieties. Its small compact fruits with amazing taste have long delighted gardeners. But the list of the variety's advantages does not end there.

This parthenocarpic variety became a selection achievement of scientists Dubinin, Kirillov and Dubinina. All of them are employees of the Sedek agricultural firm. The variety they received was entered into the State Register in 2007. The plant can be grown both outdoors and in a film greenhouse. Those who are deprived of private plots often cultivate it on a glazed loggia.

Since the spread of the variety, gardeners have noted a number of features that are inherent in the culture, namely:

• belonging to the parthenocarpic (self-pollinated) type;

• the possibility of compact cultivation in a small area without loss of yield and taste;

• early ripening, allowing the plant to be planted several times per season;

• the ability for some time not to remove the cucumbers from the lashes, while they do not lose their taste and do not coarse;

• the ability to withstand cold, as well as disease;

• high commodity indicators, the possibility of transportation;

• lack of bitterness in the taste.

The cons are rather arbitrary and can be attributed to many other hybrid varieties:

• impossibility of self-procurement of seeds;

• the need for preventive spraying and treatments that increase disease resistance.

Prestige belongs to the group of varieties with an indeterminate growth type. This means that the height of the plant is not limited, it will constantly stretch upward and become simply huge if you do not pinch it. The lashes on the bushes are medium. The foliage also does not differ in size, it is compact, dark green. The flowering is female, so no additional pollinators are needed. Prestige is a bunchy variety of cucumbers. In one bunch, about 3-4 fruits are formed.

Zelentsy are short, up to 10 centimeters long. The average mass of cylindrical fruits is from 65 to 90 grams. The skin is thin, with large tubercles, from which white spines protrude. The greens are painted in a dark green color, the surface is also characterized by the presence of small stripes. When overripe and a long stay on the lash, the fruit does not begin to turn yellow.

Zelentsy are characterized by excellent taste and fresh cucumber aroma. Salad fruits can quickly induce appetite, so they are very often eaten just like that, or cut into a salad with other fresh vegetables. If we are talking about winter harvesting, then, due to their compactness, the fruits are suitable for whole-fruit canning. They are also very tasty in lightly salted form.

The early Prestige variety reaches its ripeness in 42-45 days. Despite the fact that the standard length of a mature cucumber is about 8-10 centimeters, it is recommended to remove them when they reach 6 centimeters in length. This way you can significantly extend the fruiting period. A new cucumber appears in the same place after 5 days. You need to cut the greens with scissors and always together with the stalk.

In the open field and in greenhouses, plants can produce different amounts of crops. In greenhouse conditions, the yield of fruits is always greater. Here it averages about 25 kg per square meter. On open soil, you can get from 15 to 17 kilograms of zelents.

Prestige is most often chosen for growing by gardeners from the Central Black Earth Region and Western Siberia. But the variety is widespread in other territories as well. Since it is permissible to grow it in a greenhouse, a summer resident from any region can choose a similar variety.

Cucumbers of this variety rarely take up much space, so the plantings always look compact. The proposed arrangement of the bushes is 50x30 centimeters.

In the southern regions, seeds of the Prestige variety are sown in a seedless way directly into open ground. Landing procedures are carried out in early June. In other areas, pre-seedling will be preferred. Grains for seedlings are sown in early April, and in a month the bushes will be ready to be moved into open ground. It is worth noting that Prestige reacts negatively to a pick. Therefore, it is better to choose your own pot for each seed.

Sowing of both sprouts and seeds is carried out only when the soil temperature reaches +15 degrees. The air must be at least +18 degrees. If sowing is carried out with seeds, then a protective film will need to be pulled over the beds. It is removed after sprouting.

Cucumbers Prestige need proper farming techniques. Particular attention is paid to the feeding regime. If the cucumbers look healthy, then the root method is the best choice. The first feeding should contain urea and superphosphate. Urea (20 grams) and superphosphate (60 g) are taken, diluted in a ten-liter bucket. The dosage per bush is 0.5 l, top dressing must be applied along with irrigation. When the bushes are covered with flowers, they are fed with superphosphate (40 grams), ammonium nitrate (30 g) and potassium salt (20 g). For the third time, they fertilize with mullein, and for the fourth time, they simply dilute a couple of tablespoons of soda in a bucket of water.

Prestige needs leaf feeding only in case of a visual lack of any element. An excellent option is wood ash, 100 grams of which can be diluted in water, and sprayed with this composition on foliage. For the appearance of a larger number of ovaries, a sweet solution is applied to the flowers, consisting of a liter of water, 0.1 kg of sugar and half a teaspoon of boric acid. Water should be at the time of dilution of sugar and boron in a state of boiling water. And to prolong fruiting, use an infusion of rotted hay. All foliar dressings are carried out in the evening.

Water the Prestige regularly, and for this it is best to get a watering can. Before and during flowering, the bushes are irrigated daily, a liter for each. When fruiting begins, watering should be done once every two days, while about 12 liters of water will go per square meter. And when the yield of the fruits begins to decline, watering once every 7 days will be enough, only half a liter per bush. Every couple of days, the substrate under the bushes is loosened. They begin to lay out mulch only when watering reaches once a week.

It is recommended to breed the Prestige variety in one stem. Side stepchildren are removed as they appear. However, this rule applies more to greenhouses. In the open field, it will be enough to pinch the top and remove the greens from the whips in time. But you need to tie up cucumbers of this variety both on open and closed soil.

Prestige bears fruit well on warm medium loamy soils. It can also grow on sandy loam and even sandy soils. Any soil is prepared in the fall by digging at the same time as fertilizing.

For plants of this variety, both sun and shade are suitable. It is better to arrange partial shading so that during some period of the day the cucumbers are not exposed to the scorching sun. The variety tolerates weather anomalies easily, it is not afraid of either heat or short-term cold snaps.