Even an experienced gardener is now difficult to navigate in the sea of the latest varieties and hybrids of cucumbers. And the inexperienced summer resident is simply lost at the counter with seeds. A practically win-win option is the choice of hybrids with a bunch type of fruiting. One of these hybrids is the F1 high-yield cucumber, suitable for planting both in the greenhouse and in unprotected soil.
Description of cucumber Courage F1, its characteristics, region of cultivation
Cucumber Courage F1, developed by the selection company Gavrish and registered in the State Register of Selection Achievements of the Russian Federation in 2002, is recommended for cultivation in all regions of our country. According to this official document, the main purpose of the hybrid is for small household plots of all types of ownership, for planting mainly under film shelters. However, Courage remarkably bears fruit both in greenhouses and in the unprotected soil of most climatic zones.
Competitive firms favor the cucumber produced by Gavrish.
Open-air courage cannot be planted only in regions with a particularly harsh climate. At the same time, regardless of location, it has increased resistance to most known diseases.
This hybrid is parthenocarpic: this means that for pollination of flowers there is no need for the presence of bees or other flying insects, pollination occurs without the help of a gardener. The bush grows very large, medium branching, with an average number of leaves and a well-developed root system. Cucumber leaves are of normal size and color, smooth, with slightly pronounced denticles along the edges. The type of flowering is female, the flowers are formed in groups, which means that the ovaries are grouped on the bushes in a beam-like manner. Each bunch can contain from 2 to 10 cucumbers.
According to the timing of the harvest, the hybrid is early: the first fruits are ready for harvesting 40-43 days after emergence, and a week later the mass picking of cucumbers begins. At the same time, on an adult bush, the whips of which can grow up to three meters in length, often there are up to three dozen fruits.
Zelentsy have a cylindrical shape, with weak ribs and short smeared whitish stripes along the cucumber, frequent medium-sized tubercles. The pubescence of cucumbers is weak, white. The skin is thin, the wax coating is barely noticeable. The length of the cucumbers is not more than 15 cm with a diameter of about 4 cm, weight 100-120 g. Productivity is very high: up to 18 kg / m2.
The purpose of the fruits is universal: in salads, and in various preparations, the taste is considered good or excellent, bitterness, provided that it is properly left, is completely absent. The flesh is light green, sweetish, tender. True, experts say that the fee for versatility is that the taste of fresh produce Courage inferior to the best salad varieties. After harvesting, it can be stored in a cool place for up to a week or more without loss of commercial quality.
Video: Cucumber Courage in the greenhouse
Appearance
Cucumber Kurazh F1 - a representative of varieties (hybrids) with a bunch arrangement of greenery, which in the "cucumber bouquet" can be up to ten copies.
Productivity is great because the fruits of this cucumber grow in bouquets.
Dark green cucumbers with medium size spikes have an almost perfect cylindrical shape. Size is one of the most convenient for using fresh fruits, as well as for clogging them in three-liter jars.
Zelentsy Courage - classic pimply cucumbers
Advantages and disadvantages, features, differences from other varieties
The number of cucumber varieties and hybrids known today is clearly large, and even specialists sometimes can not distinguish between similar varieties, and even more so give a clear comparison for certain characteristics. Cucumber Courage is a representative of universal vegetables both in terms of use and in terms of growing conditions. Therefore, of course, he cannot fail to have disadvantages, but the number of advantages is much higher. The obvious advantages of the hybrid include:
- high productivity;
- self-pollination;
- excellent presentation and taste of the fruit;
- crop transportability and storage duration;
- resistance to the main types of diseases (olive blotch, powdery mildew, mosaic, etc.);
- adaptability to growing conditions;
- precocity
- universality of use.
The pros of the hybrid experts consider:
- the need for competent bush formation;
- the need for skilled care, without which the yield drops sharply;
- high cost of seeds.
The main feature of the hybrid is the "bouquet", that is, the arrangement of cucumbers in bunches. True, there are more and more such varieties and hybrids, and it is difficult to clearly and unequivocally compare Courage with such well-known beam-type cucumbers, as, for example, Claudia, Boy with a finger, Robin Hood, Junior lieutenant, Kids on a branch, and many others.
In recent years, even a fashion for bunch cucumbers has arisen, but, frankly, the differences in the proposed options are so insignificant that experienced gardeners little by little cease to rush to each new name. In this sense, Courage is a stably well-established hybrid with its many fans.
Does it make sense to pay big money for the seeds of such hybrids? This question also arises more and more often. After all, the usual well-deserved varieties of cucumbers, such as Murom, Nezhinsky, Altai, Competitor, etc. have not gone away. And you can get your seeds from them! Yes, in most cases, hybrids are more productive, disease resistant, etc. But it is not a fact that a cheap Competitor will grow less tasty than an expensive Courage. Although, of course, the difference in the properties of the fruits is enormous, and it is not entirely fair to compare examples from different weight categories.
Features of growing cucumbers Courage
Like any variety of cucumbers, Courage is planted with seeds directly in the garden (in open ground or a greenhouse), and previously grown seedlings. In those regions where heat comes early, there is no point in sowing seeds for seedlings, except when you really want to bring the first crop closer. In the midland and more severe climatic regions, seedlings are pre-grown quite often.
Growing cucumber seedlings
Seeds are sown in cups about a month before the expected date of transplanting seedlings in the garden. By the time of transplantation, the ground in a greenhouse or open ground will have to warm up to about 15 aboutC, the air temperature should also become stably high (at 10 aboutWith even at night, cucumbers feel very bad, and the optimal conditions are about 25 aboutFROM). Such a situation, for example, in the middle lane develops only by the beginning of June, and therefore the timing of sowing seeds for seedlings for growing cucumbers in open ground is the last of April. When you can start growing seedlings for greenhouses depends on the quality of the greenhouse.
Since Courage F1 is a hybrid, its seeds have to be bought annually, and they go on sale mostly ready for planting. Therefore, no seed preparation is most often required, although, of course, it is worth calibrating them at least manually. If among a dozen seeds in a sachet 1-2 small ones are caught, it is better not to plant them. Most likely, the rest will be quite suitable, and from the point of view of economy, it will be possible to sow them one by one in glasses.
You can soak the seeds for a couple of days in the water and even sprout, but this "will not do the weather": it is easier to sow them as they are.
Glasses for seedlings of cucumbers are not the smallest: at least 250-300 ml, optimally it should be peat pots. It is better to purchase the soil in the store, but you can also compile it from what is at hand: turf land, peat, humus, sawdust, etc. The main thing is that it be nutritious, moisture- and breathable. True, it is advisable to pre-disinfect your soil by spilling it well with a slightly pink warm solution of potassium permanganate.
Sowing seeds for seedlings is simple.
- Moisturize the soil in cups and put a cucumber seed.
Reliable seeds can be sown one at a time
- Cover the seeds with soil, sprinkling a layer of about 1.5 cm.
- Spray the topsoil from the spray bottle and place the cups on a well-lit window sill, creating a temperature of 25-28 aboutC. You can cover them with glass on top so that the soil does not dry out.
If the windowsill is not looking south, it is advisable to add artificial lighting
The emergence of seedlings of cucumbers Courage is possible in 5-8 days, depending on conditions. Immediately lower the temperature to 17-18 aboutC, leaving it as such (and at night you can slightly lower) for five days. Failure to comply with this rule leads to elongation and weakening of seedlings. Subsequently, room temperature is required (optimally - about 24 aboutHappy and 18 aboutAt night), and the light is the maximum possible.
Care of seedlings of cucumbers Kurazh is simple and includes periodic watering, and in case of poor soil - and fertilizing with complex mineral fertilizers. Seedlings are planted in open ground or a greenhouse at the age of about a month, but shortly before this they are accustomed to less comfortable conditions, periodically taking them to the balcony.
Planting cucumbers Courage in the open ground
Courage, like all cucumbers, is very thermophilic. In addition to heat, any cucumber requires high doses of fertilizer, and especially organic. Even fresh manure is suitable for them, which most other crops can hardly tolerate, but good humus is much more valuable, since bushes can use it at first. For each square meter, 2-3 buckets of organic fertilizer are applied. Suitable for cucumbers and properly prepared compost, and peat-compost mixtures, but in any case, mineral fertilizers are also added under them, and a lot: up to 100 g of nitrophoska per 1 m2. The best previous crops are cabbage, legumes and potatoes.
In the open ground for cucumbers, so-called warm beds are often equipped. These are rather tall structures in which various wastes introduced from last year are located under the top layer of good soil: small twigs, fallen leaves, tops of harvested vegetables, all kinds of cleaning, garbage, etc., which, if available, are mixed with peat and manure. In the spring, wood ash is added, it is well watered and warmed up under a plastic wrap until the seeds are sown or cucumber seedlings are planted.
Planting seedlings without shelter in the middle lane is possible only at the beginning of summer, with earlier dates it is necessary to build a temporary shelter from film or non-woven materials. In warmer regions, dates are shifted to mid-May, in the Urals or Siberia, to mid-June. The planting technique is usual: seedlings in peat pots are planted with them, and try to remove the plantlet from plastic cups without destroying the earthen coma. When planting, cucumbers almost do not deepen, however, very elongated seedlings are buried in the soil almost by the most cotyledonous leaves. After planting, cucumbers well water the soil around them and mulch a little.
Cucumber seedlings need not have many leaves, but they must be strong and stocky.
Sowing seeds in open ground is possible about a week earlier than planting seedlings. Seeds are sown to a depth of 2.5-3 cm in pre-watered soil. Watering from above is not necessary, but it is advisable to cover the crops with a spanbond until emergence (and possibly for a longer period). If there are a lot of seeds, you can sow them every 10 cm, and then thin out. But this situation is becoming less common due to the high cost, so you must immediately decide on the cultivation scheme.
Cucumber Courage grows a powerful plant, so the bushes are quite rare. The plan for planting seedlings or sowing seeds depends on whether horizontal or vertical cultivation of cucumbers is assumed. With horizontal bushes practically do not form, they let the whips freely on the ground, so they require a lot of space. With a vertical, trellises are arranged, picking up lashes on them and tying them up, they remove the extra shoots. In this embodiment, a denser fit is possible.
When grown horizontally, the bushes of the Courage cucumber are left in a row at a distance of about 40 cm. Since it is convenient to use beds of normal width in small personal farms, there are only two rows, the distance between them is also about 40 cm.
Vertical cultivation allows you to reduce the distance in the row to 30-35 cm, while the situation with the rows may look different, depending on the design of the trellis. If only one row of cucumbers is erected on the trellis, between the rows (more precisely, between parallel trellises) a free passage is made, 80-100 cm wide. But you can also sow two rows of cucumbers by placing a trellis between them. Then between the rows there will be enough distance of about 30 cm.
In open ground, one of the standard schemes provides for distances of 30 x 30 cm; Courage can be planted a little freer
Planting in the greenhouse
In a greenhouse, the success of growing cucumbers depends on the degree of illumination, temperature conditions and skilled care. Since the place in the greenhouse is expensive, the Courage cucumber is grown in greenhouses exclusively in a vertical culture, therefore, planting is carried out densely. So that the bushes do not interfere with each other, they must be formed, removing excess shoots.
Sowing seeds in the greenhouse or planting the finished seedlings is carried out in terms determined by both the climate of the region and the quality of the greenhouse: at the time of planting, a comfortable temperature should be established in it. The beds, as in unprotected soil, are prepared in advance, introducing high doses of organic and mineral fertilizers into them. Once every few years, the soil in the greenhouse is completely changed, especially if obvious signs of plant diseases have been noticed.
If only a dozen bushes of cucumbers are planted, they are usually placed in the greenhouse near the wall
The technique of planting seedlings or sowing seeds does not differ from those for open ground. Planting pattern depends on the design of the greenhouse and the number of plants planted. Sometimes it’s convenient to put the trellis against the side wall (25-30 cm away from it) and plant cucumbers in one row every 30-35 cm, sometimes equip it directly opposite the entrance, planting cucumbers in two rows with a row spacing of about 30 cm and letting whip both rows on one support.
If many cucumbers are planted, one of the possible schemes provides for inter-furrow spaces and passages for courting the cucumbers
Care for cucumbers Courage
Regardless of whether Courage cucumbers are grown vertically or horizontally, with proper agricultural technology they yield approximately the same yield, but in a greenhouse it is usually higher. However, it is clear that the most delicious cucumbers grow in natural light and outdoors.
Any cucumber is a culture that requires constant attention. The main operations in their care are watering, top dressing, and tying. And, of course, timely harvesting. Pour cucumbers only with warm water (at least 25 aboutC), best of all - in the evening, on the entire surface of the bed. Sprinkling can sometimes be used to cool foliage on especially hot days. The frequency of irrigation depends on the weather, but the soil should be constantly moist, although waterlogging is also not necessary.
At first, after each watering, loosening with the removal of weeds is mandatory. However, soon the roots grow rapidly, and they are close to the surface, so you can only loosen to a very shallow depth, just to destroy the surface crust. In case of exposure of the roots, soil should be added to them. It is useful to add wood ash to it, at the rate of about a handful for each bush.
Cucumbers are fed cucumbers at least 3-4 times per season, and any fertilizer is suitable: both infusion of mullein or chicken droppings, and the so-called stink (infusion of mowed grass), and mineral fertilizers. The first top dressing is performed 2 weeks after transplanting seedlings or emergence, the second after the first flowers appear, and then, during fruiting, they are fed every 2-3 weeks. Before and after feeding, the garden bed must be watered.
You must be especially careful with bird droppings: if you do not dilute it well, you can burn plants
In order to fully realize the advantages of the "bunching" of the hybrid, it is necessary to correctly form a bush, especially if the vertical variant of growing is selected. As a rule, Courage is grown in one stalk, but do not forget that cucumbers are formed mainly on the side shoots. Therefore, this hybrid is not pinched over the fifth sheet, the situation looks a little more complicated.
Lateral shoots appearing from the sinuses of the first 4-5 leaves are removed immediately, and female flowers are not left in these locations. This operation allows you to strengthen the bush and grow roots. The ovaries that appear in the next 2-3 nodes are left, and the shoots growing on this place are also removed. The side shoots growing even higher are left for fruiting, pinching them after the appearance of flowers. The central shoot is allowed to grow to the top of the greenhouse or, when grown in the open ground, at a reasonable height, after which it is nipped.
The entire vegetative mass is evenly distributed over the support, tying the stems with soft twines (the main stem can simply be wrapped around a vertical support). In the case of abundant growth of foliage, some leaves covering the fruits from the sun can be cut periodically, leaving the petioles. It is not worth normalizing the crop, as in the case of grapes: with proper care, the bush is able to stretch all the ovaries formed.
Harvest is taken as cucumbers grow to the required size, but this must be done often, preferably once every two days. Overexposure of greenhouses on the bushes leads to a deterioration in their quality and inhibits the appearance of new ovaries. The very first fruits of Courage are undesirable to grow to a length of more than 10 cm. Harvesting is carried out early in the morning or late in the evening, when cucumbers are most juicy. It is advisable not to tear them off with your hands: it is better to use a pruner or scissors. The harvest of this hybrid is well stored: in the cellar - almost a month, but the most delicious cucumbers - right from the garden.
Video: Cucumber Courage in the open ground
Drop watering for cucumbers
The soil in the cucumber bed should always be moist. This is not easy to keep track of, even without leaving the site, and even more difficult if you visit the cottage only on weekends. Therefore, drip irrigation systems are popular, which constantly and gradually supply water directly to the roots. There are a huge number of proposals for such systems on sale, but drip irrigation can also be built from improvised means.
Everything for drip irrigation can be bought in the store.
Drop watering can be done both from the water supply system and from a large tank, from where the water will flow by gravity. Most summer house cooperatives do not have a constant supply of water through a collective water supply system, so enthusiasts try to accumulate water in large containers, and carry out the irrigation system for cucumbers from them. Yes, and it’s more difficult to use the possibilities of water supply for this purpose: the installation of various gearboxes and other auxiliary devices is required. And if you set the water tank high enough and on weekends make sure that it is full, the gravity system can satisfactorily water the cucumbers for a week.
The capacity can be of any shape, but its volume should be impressive: a 100-liter barrel is unlikely to cope with the task. It is better to make a crane not on the lower plane, but on the side wall, at a height of 6-8 cm from the base of the tank, so that various debris does not fall into the hoses. From the tank they lay pipes or simply rubber hoses with numerous holes with a diameter of 2-3 mm, which are laid out in shallow grooves dug along the rows of cucumbers. The intensity of the outflow of water is selected experimentally.
Drop watering for a short time can be done using small containers
Reviews
I’ve been planting courage for more than 5 years. The hybrid is very stable in terms of good yield, disease resistance and adverse weather conditions, and also has long fruiting. It grows very powerfully, stepchildren need to be nipped regularly, otherwise there will be a forest of leaves and few fruits. Good at workpieces. Fresh also goes well, but is inferior in taste to bee pollinated and salad varieties / hybrids. One of the earliest cucumbers on my site. The first fruits ripen in the greenhouse in early June. To form a bunch of ovaries, you need to "feed" it well.
Ilya
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I’ve been planting courage for about 5 years. I was struck by my productivity. I only watered it with water and did not feed anything.
Ira
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"Courage" from Gavrish planted only in the exhaust gas. At first it was very pleasing, then the heat started and it began to dry. I tore him up without much pity. To replace left "Finger". To taste: cucumbers like cucumbers. It quickly grows, turns yellow. Later, analyzing, carefully reading (!!!), I saw in the recommendations that it is for film greenhouses.
Natalia Fedorovna
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My favorite hybrid Courage planted for several years. I am a supporter of self-pollinated cucumbers, such cucumbers are not affected by the weather, although it will rain or if the ovaries are cold anyway. Therefore, such cucumbers can be grown both in open and in closed ground. Courage refers to self-pollinated. It gives a 100% harvest, there are a lot of cucumbers, thanks to a large bouquet of ovaries on the main shoot, it bears fruit from early summer to late autumn until the frost itself.
Foxy
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Cucumber Kurazh is a good representative of the currently popular varieties with a bunch or bunch arrangement of ovaries. It is characterized by excellent productivity, which is great both in greenhouses and in open ground. Since the hybrid has increased resistance to most diseases, its popularity is high, including among inexperienced gardeners. However, to obtain high yields, Courage requires skilled care.
