The favorite of many summer residents is the White Angel cucumber variety with an unusual appearance and pleasant taste.

White angel is a hybrid of a mid-season cucumber, bred in 2002 by specialists from the Moscow agricultural company Gavrish, and has become popular because of its unusual color. But is this only its peculiarity?

Why has the hybrid become popular for cultivation in large and small farms, in household plots and summer cottages? How tasty is it and is it suitable for canning? How to grow and what kind of harvest to expect? Answers to all questions about the White Angel are in our article.

Description of cucumbers

White angel suitable for cultivation in open ground and greenhouse conditions throughout the country. It is unpretentious, but maintaining the parameters recommended by breeders (temperature, humidity, soil composition) is necessary.

On average, 44–50 days pass from sowing to the first fruits. The hybrid is parthenocarpic, the ovaries are arranged in bunches. It branches strongly and forms powerful lashes.

Distinctive features

Non-standard color is a distinctive feature of the hybrid, otherwise it is an ordinary cucumber, suitable for fresh salads and pickles.

Interesting fact. Housewives claim that it is best to add this hybrid to assorted dishes. It looks impressive in jars along with traditional green cucumbers and tomatoes.

In addition to the unusual white color, the fruits of this hybrid are characterized by:

• thin peel;
• small, non-prickly tubercles;
• juiciness and aroma;
• lack of pubescence on the fruit;
• cylindrical shape.

Despite the thin skin, White Angel cucumber withstands transportation and storage perfectly.

Composition and properties

White angel, like all cucumbers, is 95% water. Contains fiber and vitamins A, B1, B2, C, PP. It is useful for its high content of minerals, which makes it popular for dietary nutrition. The composition contains potassium, magnesium, zinc, copper, manganese, iron, chlorine, iodine, chromium, phosphorus, sodium, folic acid.

Regular consumption of vegetables helps remove waste and toxins from the body, gently cleanse the intestines, and activate metabolic processes.

The white angel is a constant assistant to all those who are losing weight: it contains only 15 kcal per 100 g.

Green cucumbers rarely cause allergic reactions, and white cucumbers are absolutely safe in this sense. The absence of a coloring pigment reduces the risk of allergies to zero.

Characteristics

The growth of the central vine of a cucumber bush is not limited, the bush independently forms numerous side shoots. The type of flowering is mixed, with a predominance of female flowers. It does not require pollination to set fruit.

The leaves are irregularly shaped, dark green in color, and 1-2 ovaries are formed in the leaf axils.

Reference. The hybrid is high-yielding - up to 4 kg of cucumbers (approximately 20 pieces) can be harvested from one bush.

ripe fruit 6–8 cm long, with loose, juicy pulp. If the cucumber has grown to 10 cm, then its flesh becomes thin, the fruit itself becomes coarser and loses its taste. White cucumbers outgrow quickly.

The young white cucumber tastes sweetish. The bitterness inherent in some varieties of green cucumbers is practically absent. Has a pleasant fresh aroma.

The fruits are collected after they acquire a slight greenish tint.. The more often the harvest is carried out, the higher the percentage of new ovaries.

How to grow a hybrid yourself

White angel is grown in two standard ways for this crop: seed or seedlings.

The hybrid is not picky about conditions, but requires sufficient humidity and heat.. It performs best on loamy, breathable soil.

Reference. The best predecessors for this hybrid are cabbage, peppers, potatoes, and onions.

Planting by seeds and seedlings

When planting cucumbers with seeds, it is advisable to soak them in a solution of potassium permanganate for 2–2.5 hours to protect them from possible pests.

Features of planting seeds in open ground:

1. Choose a place that is moderately sunny, but warm and protected from the wind.
2. Seeds are sown when the soil temperature reaches +14–15°C.
3. The grooves are placed at a distance of 20–25 cm from each other.
4. The depth of each is 6–8 cm, the distance between the seeds is at least 3 cm.

Features of the seedling method:

1. The distance between rows is 16–20 cm.
2. The depth of the holes is 10–12 cm.
3. Before planting, add a mixture of peat or humus and superphosphate (5–10 g) to each hole.
4. 0.5–1 liters of water are poured into the holes, after which the sprout is placed and covered with soil.

When planting seedlings for the White Angel, the “rule of three” applies: seedlings are at least three weeks old and at least three leaves must be formed on the stem.

Growing in stages and care

Growing a hybrid White Angel can be roughly divided into three main periods.

Planting and waiting for the first shoots

Actions: planting in the ground and maintaining the required level of humidity. The area with the planted seeds is covered with film and is not removed until germination. When using seedlings, it is important to mulch the plants.This will help retain moisture and make it difficult for weeds to germinate.

Caring for young shoots

Actions: it is necessary to monitor the soil moisture and prevent it from drying out. It is important to control weeds near bushes and between rows, inspect plantings for pests, and control them.

Caring for flowering bushes and harvesting

Actions: maintaining the required humidity and periodically collecting fruits. Cucumbers that have grown to a size of 5-7 cm should be removed from the vines; those that are overgrown become thin in flesh and have a rougher skin.

General recommendations for growing

White Angel Care identical to caring for other varieties familiar to gardeners – watering, weeding and fertilizing the soil are necessary.

Watering the plants warm, settled water under the root. To refresh the leaves, it is recommended to spray with water once a week. Watering is done in the evening, after sunset. The regularity of soil moisture depends on the degree of drying out of the soil. On hot days, daily, in cloudy weather, the amount of watering is reduced.

During the growing season to stimulate bush growth to improve the taste, the fruits are fed 2-3 times. For this purpose, organic and mineral fertilizers are used in combination. “Nitrophoska” and mullein and bird droppings work well. The solution is prepared in the following proportions:

• 1 tbsp. l. “Nitrofoski” for 10 liters of water;
• 500 ml of organic matter (infusion of mullein or chicken droppings) per 10 liters of water.

Let the infusion stand for two hours and use for watering at the root. This amount of solution is enough for two square meters of soil.

Reference. Using Nitrophoska for feeding can increase the yield of cucumbers by 15%.

Cucumbers are fertilized for the first time when the plants take root well and begin to grow..

The second feeding is carried out during the mass beginning of flowering.

The third time should be fertilized when the fruits begin to swell and gain weight. Stop fertilizing two to three weeks before the start of harvest.

Features of cultivation and possible difficulties

Hybrid White Angel has low resistance to diseases and pests. To protect future plants, before planting, check the selected area for the presence of harmful insects (in particular, ants that carry aphids).

When the leaves form on the bushes, it is necessary to regularly inspect the plantings for appearance of small pests. If detected, treatment is carried out immediately, otherwise the entire harvest may be lost.

Overmoistening of the soil negatively affects on the bushes and causes rotting of the root system. Moderation of watering is an important stage in caring for White Angel cucumbers.

Hybrid does not tolerate cold. If the air temperature drops below +15°C, the plants are covered with film.

Typical diseases and pests

Hybrid such diseases affect:

1. Brown spot – appears on leaves and fruits in the form of grayish-olive spots. To get rid of it, greenhouses are fumigated with sulfur dioxide, and open spaces are sprayed with 1% Bordeaux mixture.
2. Mosaic virus – leaves become mottled, deformed and curled. All weeds around the bush should be eliminated, their remains should be deeply plowed, and infected bushes should be removed.
3. Powdery mildew – the plant becomes covered with a white coating. If the fight is not started in time, the bush dries out.At the first signs of disease, plants are treated with fungicides - these can be purchased at a gardening store.

Pests that can cause great damage to the crop - aphids and spider mites.

Aphids are easily recognized by the appearance of small green or black insects on the bushes, wilting of leaves, falling of flowers.

Reference. Experienced gardeners say: if there are colonies of ants on the site, then there are aphids. Plantings should be especially carefully checked, especially near anthills.

In the fight with aphids efficient processing strong tobacco infusion with the addition of laundry soap. You can use ammonia (50 g per 10 liters of water) and soap.

The first warning sign spider mite – on the leaves of cucumbers they find a thin, dense milky web and damage to the marble pattern. To get rid of the insect, the bushes are generously treated with soapy water and sprayed with Actellik.

Attention! If you find pests during the formation of the ovary, it is better to use safe (non-chemical) treatment methods.

Harvesting and application

Harvest begins in July-early August. It is recommended to collect fruits without waiting for them to outgrow - when they reach a length of 5–7 centimeters. A 10-centimeter cucumber is already considered overgrown.

Harvest ripe fruits daily or every other day, in the evening or morning hours. Correct harvesting is not to pick the cucumber from the bush, but to carefully cut it with pruning shears, leaving the stalk on the stem.

Picked cucumbers put in a cool room, protected from direct sunlight and cover with burlap or other light natural fabric.

The harvested crop is stored fresh for two weeks.if you use one of these methods:

1. Wrap the cucumbers in plastic wrap and leave in a cool place.
2. Place the fruits, legs down, in a bowl of cold water (change the water periodically).
3. Wash the cucumbers, dry them and coat each one with egg white.

Fresh White Angel Fruits look original in colorful salads. In color and taste they go well with tomatoes, sweet peppers, dark olives and green cucumbers.

Often housewives use an unusual cucumber for pickles And pickling.

Reference. The recipe for pickling White Angel cucumbers is standard - the same as for green cucumbers: for a three-liter jar: 100 g of salt, 100 g of sugar, 50 g of vinegar. The versatility of the recipe allows you to create beautiful and original “compositions in jars” from cucumbers of different colors.

Since the taste of the fruits does not differ from other cucumbers, they are used in any other preparations.

Advantages and disadvantages

The white angel has both disadvantages and advantages.

Advantages of a hybrid:

• excellent taste;
• original type of fruit;
• unpretentiousness to growing conditions;
• possibility of long-term storage.

Minuses:

• instability to diseases and pests;
• rapid outgrowth of fruits;
• a decrease in the quality of fruits during the second wave of harvest (lumpy, thick-skinned, watery pulp, loss of the correct cylindrical shape).

Reviews of White Angel cucumbers

Most gardeners and farmers speak positively about the White Angel hybrid.

Julia, Voronezh: “I grew a hybrid for testing. Now I can say with confidence that White Angel are the best cucumbers I have ever tried and grown. I harvest every day. They don't taste bitter.They look exclusive, but in color they are rather light green. Although in comparison with other cucumbers, they really look white. Among the shortcomings, I can only note the thorniness of the fruits; it’s difficult to pick them with bare hands.”.

Larisa, Orel: “The white angel is only suitable for the exotic - to surprise neighbors and acquaintances. Half of the seeds did not germinate, there were few ovaries - as a result, the yield was lower than expected. I didn’t notice any differences from a regular cucumber, except for the color - the taste and smell are the same.”.

Ivan, Tula: “I’ve been farming for several years now, and I tried the White Angel hybrid. Disappointed with the second wave of the harvest: the fruits quickly became deformed and could not be sold. Therefore, I will no longer risk growing white cucumbers - farmers have other priorities, and the exclusivity of the fruit is not on their list.”

Conclusion

Despite all the existing shortcomings, the White Angel is a promising hybrid for cultivation. It is popular among gardeners and summer residents. To reap a good harvest, it is enough to follow the basic rules of care and monitor the plantings.

High-quality fruits are collected during the first wave of the harvest and kept fresh for two weeks. White cucumbers are suitable for pickling and pickling, as well as for fresh consumption.