Cucumber Ant F1: description, reviews, planting and care

The early ripening cucumber Ant F1 was included in the State Register in 2003 and during this time has won many fans. According to experts, it attracts vegetable growers with its excellent taste, early ripening, and stable immunity to disease.

Planting and caring for the hybrid is quite simple, and the appearance corresponds to the description and photo.Ant F1 cucumber can be grown in many climatic zones, located from the Northern region to the North Caucasus.

 Characteristics of the variety

The characteristics of the Ant F1 hybrid are attractive to gardeners:

• early ripening, self-pollinating;
• yield 10-12 kg/sq. m;
• fruit length 8-11 cm;
• weight of greens 100-110 g;
• resistance to cucumber mosaic virus, cladosporiosis, powdery and downy mildew;
• unpretentiousness in cultivation;
• Possibility of growing on a balcony or windowsill.
  

  These cucumbers can be grown not only in greenhouses and soil, but also on balconies and even on window sills in winter.

   

These excellent qualities, according to reviews from vegetable growers, allow them to choose this particular variety.

Lara Ekaterinburg

For two years in a row I grew the Ant variety on the southern balcony: it was cold in the greenhouse, the cucumbers grew poorly, and on the balcony they just managed to harvest.

 Description of the Ant F1 variety

Due to its indeterminate nature, Ant F1 is capable of growing up to 2 m and higher. The growth of side shoots is limited, which simplifies plant care.
The early maturity of the crop allows harvesting 37-38 days after the appearance of the first shoots. The ovary is bunched, the number of flowers in a node is more than three, and all of them are formed due to the female type of flowering.

The fruits are oval-shaped, large-tubercular, with stripes of medium length. The ribs are slightly pronounced, the pubescence is white, the flesh is of medium density. The leaves are ordinary, medium in size. The taste is sweetish, the flesh is juicy and without bitterness.

The seeds are sterile and small and are not suitable for subsequent sowing.
The declared yield is 10-12 kg/sq.m.m can be achieved by following planting rules.

Agatha

Ant sowed cucumbers this year, they sprouted very well and bore fruit before everyone else. I think that they are very good as the first spring ones, and I always sow without seedlings, with dry seeds.

Features of growing Ant cucumber

Ant F1 cucumber can be grown through seedlings or by sowing seeds directly into the ground:

• Seeds are sown for seedlings at the end of April. The seedling method is effective in those regions where the likelihood of return frosts remains. The harvest yield when grown by seedlings occurs faster.
• Seeds are planted in greenhouse soil in early May.
• Seeds are sown in unprotected soil at the end of May or beginning of June, when the soil warms up to 15°C and above. The shoots must be covered with film.

The seedlings are moved to the garden bed after 3-4 leaves appear on the seedlings. In greenhouses per 1 sq. m, no more than 3 plants are placed, and in open ground they are planted at a density of 4 - 5 pcs. per 1 sq. m.

Caring for cucumber plantings is traditional:

• It is preferable to grow cucumbers in light and as fertile soil as possible.
• Watering cucumbers should be regular, in the morning or evening. The optimal water temperature for irrigation is +24…26°C. Drip irrigation is preferred.
• Loosening and weeding help supply oxygen to the roots. You can loosen the soil around the plant no deeper than 3 cm, so as not to disturb the root system located close to the surface. At the same time, weeds are removed. To increase the interval between loosening and weeding, the soil around the plants is mulched with compost, peat or sawdust.
• Feeding is necessary 3-4 times per season. 2 weeks after the emergence of sprouts or planting of seedlings, use nitrogen-containing fertilizers. The next two feedings, nitroammophoska, are appropriate during the flowering and fruiting period. The last feeding can be foliar. In the middle of fruiting, the cucumbers are sprayed with an infusion of wood ash on the leaves.
• The central stem is periodically straightened and tied so that each lash is illuminated as much as possible. The axils of the first four leaves are blinded, removing all the ovaries and stepsons. The next three axils are partially blinded, leaving one ovary and one leaf on a side shoot. Subsequent side shoots do not need to be pinched or pinched.

Reviews

Message from KOD

And I like Ant, early (38-45 days), bouquet type, without bitterness. True, in the second half of summer there are often “hooks/commas”, but I forgive him for that.

Posted by masleno

This year I grew Dragonfly and Ant hybrids for the first time. We were pleased with the harvest, but the taste... Kanalya and Makar grew nearby - no complaints about the yield and taste. And these are like grass...

natik Russia, Voronezh region, p. Shitty

I planted an Ant from the Manul company. We grow cucumbers on trellises; these varieties produce a lot of fruits but few leaves. Everything is visible, and it is impossible for a cucumber to become overripe (as happened, for example, when vines spread across the ground). The stated descriptions are fully consistent. I planted 2 packs of seeds, collected cucumbers every other day in 10 liter buckets.

Moskaleva Yulia dacha in the village. Preobrazhenovka, Lipetsk region.

I have an Ant growing on my window right now. I sowed it on January 31st, I already have a pretty decent cucumber, like in the photo, about 8cm, and so plump. It was recommended to me in the store as being very unpretentious to light.

Valentina

I have been planting the Ant variety from Manul for 3 years now, both in the garden and at home in the winter for my daughter. I really like it, there are a lot of small, sweet cucumbers on the bush and, what’s most interesting, when the central vine grows 60-70 cm, the cucumbers on it begin to gain mass. This is the first time I’ve encountered this, usually cucumbers grow bushes, and then wait for the cucumbers, but this one of all of them behaved like this.

Arabesque

Last year I tried to grow the Ant variety on windowsills and reaped a bountiful harvest. In addition, the nice thing is that the vines grow very quickly, and all the windows were green. What was also great was that this abundant greenery provided shade from the sun. You can plant directly in a bag of cucumber soil. You cut the bag crosswise (a small hole) and plant the sprouted seed in it, that’s all. The only difficulty of care? water every day and tie up the vines.