The Marinda f1 cucumber was the successful brainchild of Dutch breeders from Monsanto. In 1994, the variety went on sale and fell into the hands of our vegetable growers. The hybrid quickly became widespread and received the most positive reviews, having the following characteristics:
- early ripening;
- universal (for indoor and outdoor ground);
- parthenocarpic;
- high-yielding;
- gherkin;
- disease resistant;
- tasty, without bitterness.
Growing
Crispy Marinda cucumbers win more and more hearts of housewives and vegetable growers every year. The amazing yield of the hybrid (25-28 kg/m²) is combined with the excellent quality of the gherkins themselves.The variety is universal, shows good results in greenhouses and unprotected soil.
The bush grows quite powerful, but when properly formed, all the fruits receive enough light.
A place for the garden bed is selected that is sunny, but sufficiently sheltered from the wind. It’s good if legumes, greens, root vegetables, and cabbage grew there the previous year. It is not allowed to plant cucumbers after any melons; they have common diseases and pests.
Organic and mineral components are added to the dug up soil: peat, rotted manure, compost, sawdust, ash, complex mineral fertilizers in granules (according to the instructions). The result should be a light humus soil mixture, saturated with minerals, to a depth of 25-30 cm. Before planting the seedlings, the soil should be watered generously with hot water.
Seedling
The seedling method of growing cucumbers has proven itself to be the most productive. Compared to planting seeds directly in open ground, plants have more warm time of year to bear fruit.
Cucumber seeds two or three years ago show better germination than last year's. It is useful to first soak the seeds in a growth stimulant and germinate.
Marinda f1 cucumbers need a light soil mixture rich in organic matter. Compost, humus, rotted sawdust and crushed peat are the favorite components of this culture.
Each bush is grown in a separate glass with a volume of 400-500 ml. Cucumbers germinate at a temperature of 24-25 ℃. Then the temperature is reduced slightly, to 19-20 ℃ during the day and 17-18 ℃ at night. Water the plants quite often with warm water, not allowing the earthen ball to dry out. 10 days before the planned planting in open ground, seedlings begin to be taken out into the open air during the day, gradually increasing the hardening time.
At the age of 20-30 days, cucumbers produce 3-4 true leaves, and are ready to be transplanted into a garden bed or an unheated greenhouse.
Bush formation
Seedlings are planted at 3-4 bushes per 1 m². The Marinda hybrid is formed into one stem, pinching off the side shoots after 2-4 leaves. After planting the Marinda cucumber seedlings in the ground, you need to let the bush get stronger and take root. Therefore, the first inflorescences and shoots up to 5-6 leaves are removed, preventing the plant from wasting energy on setting the ovary too early.
The established bush is tied to the trellises. For a weak cucumber root system, it is useful to carry out high hilling several times a season. Yellowed leaves are regularly trimmed, thereby renewing the bush.
The Marinda hybrid is a genetically bred parthenocarpic, so the flowers do not need pollination, and cucumbers can be grown indoors. In the axils of the leaves, the inflorescences form the ovary in large bunches, often 5-7 pieces. With proper care, all cucumbers grow successfully, delighting gardeners with the harvest.
Feeding
Description of the Marinda f1 variety promises a yield of up to 28 kg/m². To obtain such results, the most important condition for hybrid agricultural technology is timely feeding.
The active growth of the bush and the filling of so many cucumbers requires a large amount of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus, which even the most nutritious soil is not able to provide.
Every 10-15 days, plants need root feeding. You can alternate organic (infusion of bird droppings or mullein) and complex mineral fertilizers (for example, Mortar, Zdraven). Nutrient solutions are poured into the beds while they are warm.
Watering
Cucumbers came to us from the tropics, so the culture itself is quite moisture-loving and heat-loving.Thanks to the work of breeders, hybrids are acquiring increasing productivity and early maturity. Such properties increase the plants' watering requirements. Cucumber roots grow in the surface layer, and they tolerate a lack of water very poorly.
For the Marinda cucumber variety, frequent watering with warm water is one of the main conditions for good fruiting. In hot weather, moisture should be supplied daily.
It is advisable to mulch the soil of the beds with sawdust, peat, dry grass, and straw. This will help maintain the moisture of the surface layer and create a favorable environment for earthworms to colonize.
Diseases and pests
The description of the Marinda f1 cucumber says that the variety is genetically resistant to serious cucumber diseases:
- olive spot;
- cladosporiosis;
- scab;
- spotted mosaic;
Seed treatment, proper crop rotation and the formation of unthickened plantings reduce the likelihood of Marinda diseases to almost zero.
Plant remains are removed from the site after the end of the season. In greenhouses, every year it is necessary to completely replace the soil and treat all structures with antiseptics.
The following diseases were rarely seen in the Marind f1 hybrid:
- angular spotting (treatment with Kuproxat or Abiga-Pik);
- anthracnose (treatment with Metaxil, Gamair, Abiga-Peak);
- downy mildew (treatment with Orvego, Alirin-B, Acrobat MC).
If crop rotation is disrupted, weeding is untimely and other assumptions are made, cucumbers can be attacked by pests:
- aphids (treatment with Fitoverm, Actofit);
- spider mite (treatment with Fitoverm);
- greenhouse whitefly (“Vertimek”, “Aktellik”, “Fitoverm”, “Commander”);
- slugs (mechanical collection of pests).
Harvest
Marinda begins to bear fruit after 45-50 days. Many vegetable growers note the similarity of fruits and plants with cucumbers of the domestic variety Amur f1.
The greens are large-tubercular, dark green with white spines and light stripes. The gherkin size is 8-10 cm, but it needs to be harvested regularly. Cucumbers quickly become barreled and lose their taste.
Important!
The Marinda hybrid requires frequent harvesting. Cucumbers quickly overripe and interfere with the growth of new fruits.
Reviews from vegetable growers about the Marinda variety are most often positive. The pulp is pleasant, aromatic, with small seed chambers, without bitterness. Crispy Marinda cucumbers perform well when pickled and preserved.
The hybrid quickly adapts to weather conditions and is able to withstand slight cold snaps without ceasing to please with the harvest. Cucumbers are quite dense and tolerate transportation well.
