Many varieties of cucumbers were specially bred as pickling. When buying seeds, be sure to pay attention to the notes on the seed bags: for canning and pickling. But even if you use such varieties for winter harvesting, no one can guarantee you the great taste of a strong, crispy pickled cucumber if you do not follow some rules of agricultural cultivation and salting technology. So how to grow pickles for pickling?
What varieties of cucumbers to salt
The fruits of salting varieties, hybrids differ in morphology and cell structure. Ovary pubescence is one of the most important varietal signs of cucumbers for pickling. Spikes, spikes (they look like hairs on the ovaries) are white, black or brown, simple or complex. Basically, they serve for plants as organs that regulate the return of moisture, performing an evaporative function. At the same time, holes in the epidermis of the fruit contribute to a more rapid penetration of the brine during salting or canning.
The quality of pickles for salting is closely related to the spikes, their size and color. Fruits with large tubercles and black spikes have high pickling qualities. Blackening of spines (black spikes) occurs due to the fact that moisture evaporates through them, along with which a pigment, a fleon, acts on the surface of the tubercle. Its accumulation is gradual. The liquid stained with pigment dries, becomes first brown, then black. As a result of this process, we see black spikes on the tops of the tubercles.
In some pickling varieties, such as, for example, Vyaznikovsky 37, pubescence can be from densely arranged simple (sitting directly on the surface) and complex spines, which are smaller, are more rarely located.
The crunch of the pulp of pickled fruit depends on the special structure of the cells and the space between them. The fact is that cells stop dividing already at the stage of ovary. Cucumber does not grow due to an increase in the number of cells, but due to their stretching.
So, in gherkins, pickles between cells there is practically no space. The cells fit tightly together. That is why gherkins and pickles never have voids during salting. All their varieties are pickling.
I will introduce you to new varieties with pickling qualities that can be grown in open ground or in a greenhouse.
A good grade for salting Mamenkin favorite F1. Fruits with black spikes. It grows well, bears fruit abundantly, both in the greenhouse and in the open ground.
Separately, I want to say about the new variety of Garland F1. This is a unique hybrid on which 30 to 40 fruits are tied and ripened simultaneously. In the period of greatest strength, he, like a tree with toys, is hung with cucumbers.
Hybrid Barrel pickling - designed for barrel pickling without preservatives (vinegar).
Hybrid Liliput F1 has the smallest fruits measuring 6-8 cm. This hybrid is suitable for summer residents who rarely come to their plots. Cucumbers grow slowly, even for a week-long absence in the country, their length will not increase. Well, perhaps, they will become a little thicker, but even, the speed of thickening of the fruits of this hybrid is minimal.
Hybrids Avans F1, Khazbulat F1, Cappuccino F1 were specially created for the canning industry. Grown on a summer cottage or personal plot, great for pickling. Feature - cucumbers do not outgrow, have slow growth.
Currently, hybrid varieties with excellent pickling qualities have been created, which, when grown, perfectly tolerate shading. Better than the F1 Athlete is hard to find for these purposes. This is the most shade-tolerant hybrid. It can also be safely recommended to be grown in winter on a windowsill or balcony.
Good shade tolerance in hybrids - Berendey F1, Courage F1, Razgulay F1, Valdai F1.
Courage F1 is generally a unique hybrid with high pickling qualities, with a classic cucumber strong aroma. It is good for gardeners in that it requires a minimum of attention when growing. I must say, this is a very "tenacious" hybrid. I read that in one of the farms mistakenly treated him with a drug for the destruction of weeds - Roundup, and he not only survived, but gave an excellent harvest.
Agricultural Technology for Growing Cucumbers for Salting
The quality of pickles depends on the cultivation technology. With rare watering, emptiness often appears inside the fruit, they can be bitter. The quality of the crop is significantly reduced.
For cucumbers grown with regular, uniform watering, the quality of the fruit is much higher. It is very important to maintain air and soil humidity within 80%. In hot weather, refreshing irrigation is useful. Try not to pour water under the root. Firstly, with such watering the roots are exposed, and secondly, plants can get root rot.
Cucumbers do not like cold water. Warm water (not lower than 20-22 degrees) from a barrel standing in the sun is what is needed for this heat-loving vegetable.
The culture of the cucumber has a peculiarity: the crop will be higher, the more often they pick. When collecting, try not to turn over the cucumber lashes - they are very fragile, can easily break, in addition, the infection gets into the wounds, cracks.
It is better to pick cucumbers in the morning until they heat up. And with frequent watering, you need to feed more often. The root system of cucumbers is characterized by a small removal of nutrients from the soil, but a high intensity of their consumption.
Cucumber plants do not withstand high concentrations of soil solution, and they should be fed in small doses every 10-12 days. Salting varieties, as well as salad varieties, too, respond well to organic top dressing: mullein solution (1: 5), chicken droppings (1:10). In these solutions it is not superfluous to add an ash solution - 1 glass of ash (100-150 g) per bucket.
How to prepare cucumbers for pickling
In addition to agricultural technology, the quality of pickles depends on the correctness of their preparation for salting.
Firstly, the day before picking fruits for pickling, it is recommended to water them well. Secondly, it is better to collect them early in the morning, before they are warmed up in the sun. In this case, cucumbers can immediately be pickled or salted. If it does not work out right away, then they must be kept for 2-3 hours in cold water. The fruits will freshen up, become hard, do not wrinkle during salting. Then sort them by size: large, medium, small. Each batch should be poured separately.
The peel of pickling fruits contains more fat-like substances, which, when salted, absorb essential oils of spices. Spices, seasonings give pickles taste, aroma, crunch. All seasonings (leaf currants, cherries, sprigs of parsley or dill) should be freshly picked. Only in this case they will transfer their strong bactericidal properties to the brine. Garlic, horseradish leaf, tarragon will protect against softening.
When pouring cucumbers in jars, barrels or pans with brine, it should be cold. With warm or hot brine, the fermentation rate increases. This leads to the formation of emptiness in pickles, in addition, they can wrinkle. Sometimes brine mucus is marked due to the development of slug-forming bacteria. The optimal concentration of salt is 5-6%.
Water for pickling cucumbers
Of course, water quality is a very important factor. It is better to use hard water, such as spring water. It contains calcium salts. If you use tap water, you must at least defend it in order to reduce the chlorine content. Soft water is also not suitable for salting. Do not use iodized or fluorinated salt for salting.
Soft water can be improved artificially. The experiments of the Ukrainian Research Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing proved that the addition of calcium chloride to water (it is sold in ampoules in pharmacies) improves the quality of pickling products. Calcium chloride is added to the brine - 5-7 drops per three-liter jar.