Dutch breeders love to give sonorous names to their cucumber hybrids using the names of ancient Greek gods and heroes. Athena and Hercules, Hector and Hephaestus, Ajax - this is not Avoska or Red Mullet. With the namesake of the war heroes with the legendary Troy - Ajax F1 hybrid and get to know each other better.
Description of Ajax F1 Cucumber Hybrid
The Ajax F1 cucumber variety, included in the State Register of Breeding Achievements in 2000 and recommended for cultivation in all regions of Russia, was one of the first Dutch hybrids that began to enter our market.
Strictly speaking, it is wrong to call a hybrid a variety, since varietal cucumbers can propagate by seeds, but a hybrid cannot. Its genetic feature is that the best characteristics of the parent plants of the hybrid are transmitted only to the first generation (F1), but from the seeds of the hybrid, if they still exist, or nothing will grow, or cucumbers with unpredictable characteristics will grow.
Ajax's coarse-pickled cucumbers grow dark green with noticeable light streaks. When green, their size is 9-12 cm, the diameter of cucumbers is 3-4 cm. Up to 5 kg of cucumbers are collected per square meter, the mass of one cucumber is about 100 g. Flowers (mainly female type) grow in leaf axils of 1-3 pieces, require pollination, so Ajax is grown only in open ground.
Ajax cucumbers with bright stripes
The seminal cavity of the fetus, like many hybrids, is small.
Of the underdeveloped seeds of Ajax, the next crop does not get
The plant is indeterminate (has unlimited growth of the main stem), climbing - genetically prone to branching, therefore, it is recommended for cultivation on trellises.
Features planting and care for cucumbers Ajax
Although the Ajax F1 is recommended for cultivation throughout Russia in the Rosreestr of plants, practice has established that the best places for it to grow are steppes and forest-steppes, i.e., the southern regions of the country. It is not for nothing that many experts note that this hybrid is an excellent choice for Ukrainian farmers, with its steppes and chernozems. In addition, the hybrid has sufficient heat resistance for these conditions.
Landing time
In the southern regions it is planted in open ground usually in early May, in the middle zone of Russia it is necessary to focus on the soil temperature, it should warm up to 18-200. Even from high-quality seeds planted in cold ground, weak and unproductive plants will grow.
To grow cucumbers through seedlings or sowing seeds in open ground, everyone decides for himself. It should only be taken into account that the root system of cucumbers is gentle and hard to transfer the transplant from the seedling tank to the ground. Using peat pots also does not always give a good result - it is difficult for the roots to pass through their walls. Often, cucumbers sown in open ground overtake seedlings in their development. According to the author, it is better to organize a "warm bed" for cucumbers and plant seeds on it.
Land preparation for planting
Ajax does not like acidic soils; they have a great chance to get the black rot of a cucumber. Therefore, if necessary, deoxidation is carried out using dolomite flour, slaked lime, ash or embedding siderates in the ground. This should be done not during planting, but in advance, for example, the previous fall.
Directly before planting, organic matter is distributed (humus, compost, peat) - 1-2 buckets / m2 or mineral fertilizers (ammonium nitrate and potassium sulfate - 1 kg each, superphosphate 1.2 kg), also per square meter, and the bed is dug up.
Sowing and organization of trellises
The seeds of cucumber hybrids undergo pre-sowing treatment, often including not only coating them with fungicides, but also with mineral fertilizers, and their germination rate is close to 100%. Therefore, preliminary soaking and disinfection of seeds is not necessary.
The distance between the holes for seeds is about 20 cm, the depth of placement is 2 cm. After planting, it is necessary to water the bed well (1.5-2 buckets per m2) and mulch it.
The main stalk of the cucumber will need to be directed upward as it grows, so when planting, you must take care to create trellises. But how this will be done depends on your imagination and local conditions.
Variety of trellis for Ajax lash garter - photo gallery
- The easiest option - use the surface of the fence
- In this version, the garter is very convenient
- The distance between the rows of cucumbers should be about 1 meter
- Over time, the cover of this hut will become edible.
One way to garter cucumbers - video
Top dressing
Regular top dressing for Ajax is a prerequisite for getting the most out of your fruit. A week after the start of active harvesting, the plant is fed with nitrogen fertilizers - organic (manure solution), or nitrate (ammonia, calcium).
When active stepson formation begins, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are introduced to accelerate the generative growth of shoots.
If it is possible to organize drip irrigation, then fertilizers are conveniently applied with watering.
Formation
In order to prevent the plant from thickening and get a good harvest, it is necessary to pinch the side shoots of the cucumber. Its outline is simple.
- Two or three of the lowest stepson are removed altogether.
- The remaining stepsons at a height of up to 1 meter pinch after the formation of 2-3 leaves on them.
- Over 1 meter, the same operation is performed after the appearance of 4-5 leaves on the side shoots.
- At a convenient height, the main stem is pinched.
The central stem and lateral shoots periodically gently tied to the trellis.
Cucumber stepsoning - video
Watering
It is known that cucumber contains about 95% water and the plant should be regularly watered. Watering with an interval of 3 days in normal weather should be carried out starting with the appearance of the first flowers on the bushes. The irrigation rate is 7-10 liters of warm water per bush. It is convenient to water cucumbers in the evening with water heated during the day.
Harvesting
The first cucumbers in favorable weather will appear in 42-45 days, it is very early, and they can be collected almost 3 months. The main collection wave will occur for a period starting from 60 days after germination and will last a month, then the intensity of cucumber growth decreases further.
Ajax hybrid has good yield
It is noted that in order to obtain the maximum yield and preserve the presentation of cucumbers, it is advisable to collect them daily.
When lowering night temperatures to 4-50 new ovaries will not be formed.
Collected cucumbers without loss of presentation and taste will be stored for at least a week at a temperature of +150 and at least three - in industrial-type refrigerators. They are distinguished by excellent transportability.
Diseases
Ajax's valuable quality is its resistance to major cucumber diseases:
- powdery mildew
- mosaic
- olive spotting.
Advantages and disadvantages of the Ajax variety
Summarizing the above information about the Ajax F1 cucumber, we note both the positive and negative properties of this cucumber variety.
Table: Ajax strengths and weaknesses
| Grade Advantages | Variety disadvantages |
| Early ripeness and friendly formation of an early harvest. | Lack of self-pollination, grade is suitable only for open ground |
| Good transportability | The need for trellis |
| Heat resistance | Daily harvest required |
| Marketable condition | |
| Resistance to major diseases of cucumbers |
It’s not clear that the advantages or disadvantages include the taste of cucumbers of this variety. Even in the State Register of Plants, on the one hand, “high palatability of fresh and canned fruits” is noted, and on the other, the direction of use is marked as “canning”.
The same discord about taste sensations and in reviews about this variety.
Reviews gardeners about cucumbers Ajax
The vast majority of reviews about cucumbers of this variety belong to gardeners in the south of Russia and Ukraine, which indicates its popularity in these regions.
This cucumber combines everything that I need from a cucumber: early, good germination of seeds (of the planted, the very first and every seed came out), fruitful, gives smooth beautiful cucumbers that are good for canning and not bitter. Due to early maturity, I managed to grow 2 crops of this cucumber, and, as it turned out, he was not afraid of small cold weather, continued to bear fruit even in October in open ground. Of all the cucumbers I planted, Ajax was the most resistant to diseases and pests. He has a powerful, well-branched bush, which is best grown on trellises or nets.
tanya-cherry, Voronezh
//otzovik.com/review_1973291.html
I have been planting this variety for 10-12 years! It is impeccable both for salting and for fresh consumption. Fruits by the end of September in open ground.
Anonymous1679596, Volgograd
//otzovik.com/review_6202237.html
They tried to plant Ajax F1 cucumbers for two seasons. Both times are not entirely successful. It should be noted that the “Ajax” sprouts very well, really one hundred percent germination. The seedlings are strong, you will not be overjoyed, by the way, one of the few cucumbers whose seedlings are not pulled much by lack of light. However, when landing in open ground or under a film shelter (small greenhouse), problems begin. Cucumber "Ajax F1" is quite whimsical to both soil and temperature. “Sick” during transplantation (we plant many varieties) for quite a long time in comparison with other hybrids. I will not recommend it, although the growing region may not be suitable (Northeast of the European part of the Russian Federation).
Trastus, Lipetsk
//otzovik.com/review_2026113.html
What attracts me the most about it is its edibility, because even a large cucumber growing under the sun does not lose its taste and freshness, even being like a palm in size. These all factors give me the maximum yield of a suitable crop from the bush, which rarely happens with other varieties, because I can’t collect them every day, they outgrow and are thrown away, and I appreciate every picked cucumber from an ajax.
VinogradarKV, Kiev region
//forum.vinograd.info/showthread.php?p=668941
Ajax gherkins, we grow them for about ten years. We appreciated the excellent qualities of this vegetable a long time ago, so we always have them. Harvest stable. We plant cucumbers when days are warmer and there is no threat of cooling. We plant in moist, loose soil, planting depth of 2 - 3 centimeters. I ram the soil a little with my hands so that the seeds are in good contact with the soil and give us friendly shoots. Pay attention to this, it is important. This is a very early variety. Forty to fifty days after planting, we can pluck beautiful cucumbers from our garden. They are small, neat, ranging in size from five to 12 centimeters. Juicy, peel thin, soft. These cucumbers are not bitter.
tatvit, Ukraine, Dnipro
//otzovik.com/review_6380986.html
Cucumber Ajax F1 will be an excellent choice for gardeners and farmers living south of central Russia. An early and friendly harvest, characteristic of this variety, will allow you to please yourself, and to farmers - and bring profit. And for central Russia it is worth looking for varieties more suitable for its climatic conditions, since there are plenty to choose from.
