Cucumber Libelle

The Libelle variety is a proven crop that has earned the trust of gardeners. The hybrid has been planted in vegetable gardens for more than a dozen years, it is appreciated for its resistance to diseases, high productivity and undemanding care. Suitable for private plot and for industrial cultivation.

The hybrid was bred in Germany by the breeder Friedrich Kampé on the basis of the Satimex Quedlinburg company. Included in the State Register in 1967.

Libelle is a medium early versatile variety. The bee-pollinated culture is grown in open ground and in temporary greenhouses.

The bush has long branches with highly developed lateral shoots. The leaves are large, bright green. The root system is poorly developed, located shallow from the surface of the earth. The variety differs in the mixed type of flowering, but forms more female flowers. Male ones are formed at the tops of the shoots. For better pollination, it is recommended to plant another hybrid variety next to it: Zhuravlenok, Farmer, Rodnichok, Nezhinsky.

Libelle is characterized by higher yields at the end of summer. Unripe greens are much healthier and tastier than overripe, they are better suited for conservation. Fruits outgrow very quickly, their skin coarsens. When grown without a garter, there can be many fruits with white sides in the garden, since the sun falls on them only from one side. Cucumbers harvested at any stage of growth are well transported and stored. They can be filmed in the gherkin stage.

Cucumbers grow up to 12-14 cm in length, weigh 100-150 g, have an elliptical shape and a diameter of 4-5 cm.The skin is thin, light or dark green, the surface is slightly ribbed, with small tubercles and thin colorless thorns

The pulp is white, crispy, juicy, sweetish and with a cucumber aroma. The seeds are small. Cucumbers are suitable for salads, slicing, pickling, pickling.

The species is medium early in terms of ripening: 49-52 days pass from the appearance of sprouts to the removal of the first cucumbers. Fruiting lasts about 2 months, from about the beginning of July to the end of August.

On average, they remove from 5-10 kg per sq. m, under favorable conditions - up to 19 kg.

The hybrid is recommended for planting in the North-West and Central regions. But it is successfully grown in greenhouses throughout Russia.

The bushes are planted according to the scheme 40x50 cm, another option is 70x30 cm. For 1 sq. m planted no more than 2-3 pieces. You can plant several bushes in one hole with a diameter of 50 cm and a depth of 7 cm, with this method of planting it is more convenient to water.

Libelle is an undemanding culture to care for. Seeds are planted on seedlings in April-May, seeds are sown in open ground in May-June. Before planting, the seeds are placed in a saline solution: 200 ml of water per 10 g of salt and left for 2 hours. The floating seeds are thrown away, and the ones that have settled at the bottom are washed and soaked for 1 hour in a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. The seed can also be treated with a growth stimulant.

Then it is placed in cheesecloth and laid out on a saucer, filled with water so that the fabric is saturated with moisture. The gauze should not dry out; water can be added every day. Seeds usually germinate for 3 to 5 days.The sprouts are hardened: they are placed in a plastic container and wrapped in a plastic bag, placed in a refrigerator at a temperature of 1-3 degrees and kept for about 16 hours, then removed and allowed to warm up for 3-4 hours in a room. They are planted in separate containers to a depth of 1.5 cm and moistened.

For seedlings, take standard cucumber soil. The soil is watered as it dries. Seeds planted in the garden are recommended to be covered with foil until sprouts appear. Seedlings are also planted in May-June, when 2-4 true leaves appear. It is also better to cover it for the first week.

Libelle loves the sun, humidity and warmth, such cucumbers are contraindicated in drought and drafts. During the period of growth of the ovaries, the plant requires abundant watering, otherwise the fruits will taste bitter. When growing under a film or in a greenhouse, it is recommended to open the beds to provide bees with access to flowers.

The bed for planting is pre-dug up and humus or compost (1 bucket per 1 sq. M) is added with the addition of wood ash, then loosened. Small holes are dug for seedlings, a handful of rotted compost is added to each. Cucumber bushes are transferred together with a lump of earth, carefully placed in a depression and sprinkled with soil, then watered (1 liter per plant). The grown bushes are recommended to be tied to a special crossbar, trellis or net, otherwise cucumbers will have to be looked for among the interweaving of stems and leaves on the ground.

Before flowering, watered as it dries, then carefully loosened, the soil can be mulched. When ovaries appear, the bushes are moistened several times a week, you can daily. Watering is carried out in the evening after the heat subsides. It is better to water with lukewarm, settled water - about 5 liters per bush.

They are fed 2 times a week until the buds appear with organic fertilizers in liquid form: wood ash or infusion of cow dung. During the fruiting period, you can feed once a week with organic and mineral compounds: 1 glass of ash and 2 tbsp. l. nitrofoski per 1 sq. m.

The hybrid variety grows well on any soil: loamy, sandy loam and black earth. Substrates with a high level of acidity and heavy clay are not recommended. A mixture of sand and peat is added to the heavy ones, and the very acidified ones are deoxidized with dolomite flour, lime or chalk. Organic fertilizers and fertile soil are added to the poor formulations. The soil is preferable loose, with good air and water permeability. An excess of nitrogen negatively affects the yield, as the plant is prone to overgrowing.

For good growth and development of cucumber lashes, an air temperature of + 25 to + 27 degrees is required, soil temperatures - from +20 to +22. With a decrease in the temperature regime, the plant slows down its growth and development, but with an increase to +35, the cucumber will not be able to pollinate.

The species is resistant to many diseases and most pests. It has good immunity to downy mildew and root rot. Well protected against powdery mildew and olive brown spot.In the event of powdery mildew, the lashes are sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate. With the formation of ovaries, processing is not carried out, and the affected leaves and shoots are cut and destroyed. Regular airing of the greenhouse and removal of affected shoots helps well against brown olive spot. Of the pests, aphids can attack, they are sprayed with an infusion of wood ash or garlic.

Gardeners really like this variety, because cucumbers are suitable for pickling and salads. However, with insufficient watering, the fruits may begin to taste bitter, and if not harvested in time, they become large. Someone is not satisfied that the variety can produce fruits with a bitter taste, and someone does not like that white spots appear on the leaves from the sun. And yet Libelle is considered one of the most delicious and productive varieties for growing in the open field: he has never let the summer residents down.