Holland never ceases to amaze vegetable growers with super-productive new products; one of the “hits” of 2015 from the Enza Zaden company was the Bjorn f1 cucumber. Breeders have “polished” the hybrid to ideal characteristics:
- early ripening (39–42 days);
- bush medium branched, indeterminate;
- yield up to 13.4 kg/m2;
- universal (open and protected ground);
- parthenocarpic;
- cucumbers do not overgrow, do not become bitter, and do not “barrel”;
- shade-tolerant and stress-resistant;
- The fruits are tasty, small (10–12 cm), smooth, spiky.
- suitable for salads and canning;
- excellent presentation and transportability.
The variety is unpretentious, but an experienced vegetable grower can achieve maximum yield.“Sprinter” Björn f1 is very demanding on the continuous supply of nutrients. Without proper feeding, the plant does not realize the productivity intended by the breeders.
Reviews
Reviews from professional vegetable growers about the Bjorn cucumber are enthusiastic. The hybrid is recognized as promising and the most successful over the past 3 years. Many vegetable growers switched to large-scale cultivation of Bjorn f1 cucumbers after first trial season. Care is noted for the ease of plant formation. The breeders included short stepsons and a small leaf in the Bjorn f1 variety, which greatly simplifies maintenance of the plantings.
Seedling
Bjorn cucumber seeds are quite expensive, but their high quality and future harvest cover all costs. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to collect your own planting material. The “f1” marking indicates that the variety is hybrid and bears its characteristics only in the first generation.
Seedlings are sown without pre-treatment of seeds, directly into pots. Choose dishes with a volume of at least 0.5 liters; the root of this variety is powerful enough for a cucumber. The soil for the Bjorn hybrid needs to be loose and nutritious.
Garden soil from the future garden bed is supplemented with humus, compost, peat, and sawdust.
This variety forms a powerful bush, so it is better to plant one seed in each pot. Cucumber germination temperature 24–26 ⁰C. Then it is reduced to 20–21 ⁰C. The seedlings are regularly watered with settled water at room temperature.
Advice! Too warm water for watering cucumbers and temperature above 22 ⁰C can provoke stretching of seedlings.
8–10 days before the planned transplant into the ground, Bjorn f1 seedlings are taken out into the fresh air during the day. Provided that the outside temperature is above 16–18 ⁰C.
Care
Hybrid Bjorn requires a mandatory garter.The bush belongs to the interdeterminate type and needs a large area for full growth. At 1m2 It is better not to place more than 3-4 bushes. The plant is medium-climbing, the side shoots are small and do not require pinching. When the cucumber stems grow to the top of the trellis, let the plants form another 5-6 leaves, wrap them around the top rail and pinch off the growing points. Yellow and dry leaves are constantly removed.
Water the cucumbers as needed, monitoring the condition of the soil. On cool, damp days, waterlogging harms the heat-loving crop. And on hot days it may be necessary to water up to twice a day.
Root system of cucumbers located in the top layer of soil. For normal aeration, the soil is mulched with a thick layer of scalded sawdust or peat.
Every 10–14 days, complex mineral fertilizers are applied to the cucumber beds.
Harvest
Description of Bjorn f1 cucumbers and reviews promise the first harvest of juicy pimply cucumbers in 40 days. Cucumber bouquets of 3–5 pieces are poured together, after 2–2.5 months of fruiting the main amount of the ovary has already ripened, and this is up to 12–13 kg/m2. All set fruits ripen even in stressful situations and bad weather conditions.
Dark green spiked greens delight with the same shape and excellent taste. If the Bjorn cucumber is not picked on time, it will wait in the wings without “barreling”. The pulp is juicy, aromatic, without bitterness at all.
The harvested cucumbers tolerate transportation well and retain their presentation.
