How to grow a large crop of cucumbers at home on the windowsill. Cucumbers on the windowsill growing. Technology how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill How to grow cucumbers at home on the window

Indoor cucumbers have long been to the taste of residents of urban high-rise buildings. This is not surprising, since even in winter you can grow crispy, fragrant cucumbers. Caring for them is so simple that even a beginner can harvest a good harvest. Today we’ll talk about how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill so that you don’t have to buy overseas analogues without taste and smell.

When it is worth carrying out work on planting indoor cucumbers

You can grow cucumbers on a balcony or windowsill all year round, and the result does not depend on the season. You can determine the time when to sow the seeds and plan the harvest time in advance. For example:

If you want crispy cucumbers for the New Year, then you need to plant from mid-October;
Pimply babies sown in January will ripen by March 8.
From the moment the leaves are formed to the first harvest, it often takes about 45-50 days.

What variety of cucumbers to choose for planting in an apartment?

Growing indoor cucumbers in winter on a balcony is a little different from planting in open ground. It is necessary to choose and buy only certain varieties of indoor cucumbers:

Farm-pollination can be carried out with a simple brush, transferring male stamens to female pistils. They have high taste qualities, and cucumbers with black "thorns" grow about 10 cm. They are suitable for both pickling and simple "raw" eating.

Shchedryk - the yield is about 20 pieces of 12 cm each for 1 collection period. Refers to early ripening, since the ripening period is less than 1.5 months. 5-8 fruits grow on one ovary.

Khrustik - sings for 1.5-2 months, self-pollinates, gives bountiful harvest. On 1 ovary from 5 to 7 fruits.

Important! The peculiarity is the wide growth of the bush, so prepare more space and support for the grown lashes.

Onega f1 is a self-pollinating hybrid. The first fruits can please already in the first week of the second month. Cucumbers are slightly below average in size, but you can eat them in any form.

Buyan. Ripens 50 days after planting. Of the minuses, the need for additional lighting in the winter.

Emelya is resistant to cold, which gives him certain advantages. It was originally intended for "raw" use, but cucumbers can be rolled up and salted.

Ant - maturation 38-40 days, and it belongs to the parthenocarpic species, which means the exclusion of manual pollination. Please note that the bush grows strongly in width.

Babylon - flowers are more often female, from 1 to 3 flowers in a knot. Cucumber up to 28 cm long, and weighing 240 g. More often the ovary is formed by a bunch.
Baba Masha - requires special care during the appearance of ovaries. There are 7 cucumbers in one ovary, it depends small size fruits that have a dark skin and high tuberosity.

The miracle is the maximum length of the fruit - 8 cm, but, despite the diminutiveness, the little cucumbers are very pleasant to the taste. You can collect already 45 days after landing.

How to process and germinate cucumber seeds

Store-bought seeds must pass special treatment before sowing them, which consists of certain stages:

Check for freshness and germination. To do this, cucumber seeds are poured into a container and poured with saline (half a teaspoon of salt per glass of water). It is better to throw away the pacifiers that float up, and the full-bodied pot-bellied ones pass on.

Disinfection - soak the material for sowing in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for 20 minutes, then rinse them thoroughly.
Sprouting - Wrap the treated and washed seeds in a wet rag or napkin, place in a bowl, and leave in a warm place for germination.

Wait until it cools down.

Algorithm for sowing seeds of indoor cucumbers

Provided that all preparations are completed, you can proceed to sowing. To make indoor cucumber on the windowsill pleasing to the eye in winter, do the following manipulations:

Make a hole 1 cm deep in the center of the plastic cup.
Put 1 seed in the hole and sprinkle with soil a little.

Place the cups in a common deep tray, cover with cling film or glass.
Keep the tray in the dark and warm until germination. The appearance of sprouts is a signal to that. that you need to move the tray to a bright place.

For rapid and effective development, favorable conditions should be created for seedlings:

When the surface of the soil dries up, pour it with settled, warm water. Water with a spray bottle so as not to wash out the roots.

In cloudy or nighttime, add light. To do this, equip the place with special phytolamps and fluorescent lamps.

The optimum temperature is +15 +17 during the day, and at night +13 +15.
To humidify the air, spray the plants with water from a spray bottle or periodically hang wet towels on the batteries.
Cucumbers grow normally room conditions even on a cool windowsill. To prevent hypothermia of the roots, place the box on a piece of foam.

Transplanting indoor cucumber seedlings

With the development of the root system, cucumber seedlings, as well as, require a larger area, therefore, when the cucumbers form 2 true leaves, they can be transplanted into flower pots with a volume of 4-5 liters. Picking is best done in cloudy weather. The procedure is:

Half-fill the containers for planting with the substrate, initially lay the drainage on the bottom.
Water, make a hole.

Carefully remove the seedlings and move them into the hole without disturbing the earthen ball.
Immersion is necessary before the cotyledon leaves of the cucumber.
After finishing, cover the plants for 2-3 days with thin paper or cloth so that they adapt.

Forming a bush of indoor cucumber

In order to grow an indoor cucumber large and developed, it is customary to form it into 1-2 large lashes, so all processes that develop to the sides on the central shoot must be pinched.

It is better to tie up already grown bushes. For this, a construction mesh with large cells stretched over the window is suitable. On it, clinging with antennae, whips will grow. Such a cucumber curtain will look fresh and spring-like.

Watering mode for cucumbers

To stimulate flowering, watering is necessary 2-3 times a week.
As soon as the bush blooms, watering is intensified.
The procedure is best done in the morning or late in the evening with water +28 +30 degrees.
Waterlogging threatens with diseases, and a lack of moisture will cause the fruits to become bitter.

Top dressing of indoor cucumbers

Top dressing of indoor cucumbers begins from the time when the first fruit ovaries appear on them. For 1 l hot water dissolve 100 g wood ash. Water the soil.
Dry yeast can significantly increase the yield of cucumbers. 100 g yeast + 2 tbsp. sugar + 10 liters of water. Let it brew for a couple of hours, and after that the sourdough is diluted in 50 liters of water. This composition should be watered around the seedlings.

Harvesting is easy. Ripe fruits do not overexpose on the whip, pluck carefully, trying not to damage the stem. Crooked, underdeveloped, spoiled copies also delete.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on the windowsill is quite simple. If you have any life hacks or procedure secrets, be sure to share them in the comments.

Video: Simple ways to grow indoor cucumbers

October 12, 2016
Specialization: philological education. Experience as a builder - 20 years. Of these, for the last 15 years he led a brigade as a foreman. I know everything about construction - from design and the zero cycle to interior design. Hobbies: Vocal, psychology, quail breeding.

Greetings, my dear readers!

In urban conditions, we eat only those vegetables that we buy in the market and in the store. However, those who have a persistent desire to treat themselves and their households with fresh produce “just from the garden”, and in the metropolis will find the opportunity to grow cucumbers on the window with their own hands.

They can also be planted on the loggia / balcony. At the same time, in material terms, you will get a good harvest of vegetables, and spiritually, the joy of interacting with living plants.

Term No. 1: optimal conditions for the success of the enterprise

In order for your attempt at gardening to be successful, you must take into account the special conditions that develop on the balcony.

Location of the garden

Not every loggia or balcony is suitable for growing cucumbers.

The most important condition for this crop to develop, grow and bear fruit without problems is a constant temperature regime. During the day - over +18 degrees, at night - over +15 degrees.
Cucumbers do not tolerate drafts. With a high degree of probability, you will not collect a more or less decent crop on a balcony that is not protected from the wind.
This southern culture is very fond of light. Even having equipped an additional one, you are unlikely to achieve acceptable fruiting, in the case when the loggia (balcony) is located on the north or west side of the building.

Based on the foregoing, cucumbers should be grown with your own hands for sure. glazed balcony. In addition, it should be well lit by the rays of the sun and located on the south, southeast or east side of the house.

If you manage to make the most of the loggia sunlight and warm, you can safely proceed to the selection of seeds.

What varieties are suitable

Loggia and balcony have a very limited volume.

Based on this, hybrid cucumbers with a compact habit are optimal for growing on them: short internodes and small leaves.
Branching of plants does not matter: it can be both strong and weak.
It is best to choose non-bush, that is, tall varieties of vegetables.
With reduced soil and air humidity, as well as insufficient lighting, shade-tolerant and drought-resistant cucumbers with a powerful root system grow better than others.

Now on sale there are many varieties of seeds that are specifically designed for sprouting on the balcony.

When choosing seeds, carefully read their label. It should be written there that the variety is hybrid, shade-tolerant, has small fruits, does not need pollination and can be grown in a balcony.

So, at the moment, agrotechnical breeders have bred a group of special varieties of cucumbers, they bear the common name "Balcony". It includes the following hybrids:

F-1 "City Gherkin";
F-1 "Balcony";
F-1 "Berendey";
F-1 "Swallowtail";
F-1 "Calendar";
F-1 "Balagan";
F-1 "Courage";
F-1 "Hummingbird", etc.

In addition to these analogues, there are other varieties of cucumbers for the balcony, well adapted to closed ground, not capricious and stable. For planting indoors, it is best to choose parthenocarpic hybrids (which do not require pollination), For example: Barnaulets, Balcony Miracle, Dragonfly, Matrix, Sail, Dubrovsky.

Analogues "Zozulya", "Kukaracha" and "April" can bear fruit without pollination by bees. However, nothing terrible will happen if insects take part in their fertilization.

If you prefer pollinated window-balcony varieties of cucumbers, choose the Ladoga, Olimpiada, Frigate, Gribovsky hybrids. Please note that you will have to take care of artificial pollination when they bloom.
For male flowers, plant the Ermine or Hercules varieties. They have mixed colors. Because of this, they can be used as pollinators and independent hybrids.
For fertilization, the instruction prescribes to cut off the male flower (with stamens) and attach it to the female counterpart (with pestle). In this case, the pollen from the stamens will fall into the pistil. If you do not do this, then the female color does not form an ovary, but simply disappears.

I want to separately mention for you the mysterious labeling of varieties "F-1". It means that these are the seeds of hybrid cucumbers. To grow such a crop, agricultural technicians cross 2 different varieties vegetables.

The seeds collected in the end are hybrids in the first generation. This is indicated by the marking “F-1” (the letter “F” is an abbreviation for the Italian word “filli”, that is, “children”, and the number “1” means the first generation).

I want to warn you right away that the main drawback of such hybrid cucumbers is the fact that it is useless to collect seeds from them. They are not viable and simply will not germinate.

What to grow

Cucumber seeds are planted from the second half of April to the beginning of May. If you do this earlier, then the buds will appear prematurely - before the cucumbers can be placed on the balcony. Here there is a risk of falling off the ovaries. In addition, due to insufficient light, the lashes of vines will grow too actively.

You can use a variety of containers for growing cucumbers: plastic containers for flowers, pots, flowerpots, and even double plastic bags (tucking the edges on the “bottom”). The best option if the containers will have a double bottom. In the upper one there will be drainage holes for draining excess water, and the lower one will play the role of a pallet.

I warn you that cucumbers love water, therefore, they should be watered in excess. As the lashes grow, their roots will reach through the holes in the top bottom to the bottom bottom. From there, on hot days, they will actively “drink” water.

The soil will not be waterlogged. This is important because the roots of cucumbers do not tolerate excess soil water, it interferes with their breathing.

Soil composition

Before planting the seeds, fill the containers for them with soil. Do this without adding about 5 cm to their top. During the growing season, the soil will begin to settle, and you will add it to the desired level.

The volume of soil per plant should be at least 5 liters. Otherwise, it will dry out during fruiting.

Any well-structured and loose soil is suitable for cucumbers, but not dense clay or podzolic-soddy soil. Compost, lowland or highland peat, as well as various soil-peat mixtures are also suitable.
The acidity of the substrate should be 6.6-6.8 pH (from its aqueous extract). This indicator can be found using a pH meter. You can buy it at a hardware store.
If the soil is acidic, it should be limed. To do this, you need to add dolomite flour, lime or finely ground chalk. Cost rates of dolomite powder per 10 liters of peat: if it is lowland, then 10 grams, transitional - 15-20, riding - 20-30.
Soil substrates, which contain only a fraction of peat or it is completely absent, have different levels of acidity.

When the acidity of the water extract is 6.2-6.5 pH per 10 liters of soil, 5-10 grams of dolomite powder should be added. The norms for adding lime and chalk are 3-7 grams.

The best option for a beginner balcony gardener is to use a ready-made soil substrate. Such soil is sold in stores already filled with fertilizers and limed. The price of such a substrate is low. Moisture-retaining additives (for example, agricultural gel) can be added to it.

Term number 2: agricultural cultivation

When growing cucumbers at home, carefully follow all agrotechnical requirements. Little things should not be here.

Seed preparation

If the seeds you purchased have a colored shell, then they can not be processed from harmful microorganisms.
Otherwise, they should be disinfected in order to prevent various diseases. Dip the seeds for 15-20 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate (1 g of potassium permanganate per 100 ml of water). Then rinse them with running water.

In the photo - germinated seeds.

Then you can start germinating the seeds. Wrap them in cheesecloth and keep it slightly damp. After two days, the seeds will hatch.

I want to warn you about one of my curious agrotechnical experiments: sprouted seeds were placed in 5 cups for seedlings, and unsprouted seeds were placed in 5 other containers. The result of the experiment was that in cups with unsprouted seeds, the sprouts hatched a day later than with germinated seeds.

And one more important circumstance that I understood: do not neglect germination when preparing cucumber seeds. You can run into an unsimilar "embryo" (for example, an F-1 hybrid) and then waste time in vain. It happened to me - out of five seeds, two were not viable.

How to grow seedlings

Prepared seeds can be planted in a container for flowers. Make holes along its midline (2 cm deep and 40 cm apart). For insurance, you can plant two seeds in each hole.

Cover the sowing with plastic wrap and put it in a well-lit place. The best option is if it is a warm window sill.

The best volume of seedling containers is 200-300 milliliters. If it is larger, a clod of soil when transplanting cucumbers to permanent place crumble. In other words, the roots of the soil will not be able to braid tightly. With smaller dimensions, the soil will dry out quickly.

Therefore, it is convenient to plant seeds for seedlings in disposable cups. Popular and growing in plastic bottles with cut necks.
As I already wrote, the soil substrate can be bought at the store or prepared on your own. For example, mixing wood dust, peat, humus and earth in equal proportions.
Fill the soil with fertilizer: add a glass of ash (200 g), two teaspoons of nitrophosphate and a teaspoon of urea to its bucket (10 l).
Disinfect containers before planting seeds: rinse with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or hold over steam.
Make holes in the bottoms of the cups so that the water does not stagnate in them. Then fill them with a substrate and plant a seed in each container to a depth of 1.5-2 cm.

The optimal temperature regime for germinating cucumber seeds is +24/+26˚.

When the weather is stable and warm in spring, on open balconies / loggias, you can apply both the seedless method (direct sowing of germinated or dry seeds into permanent containers) and seedlings.
If the weather is cool and unstable, seedlings should be planted.
IN middle lane RF cucumber seedlings are planted on open loggias / balconies from about May 10, if they are glazed - from the end of April. Landing must be completed before the second decade of June.
The best home seedling- having two or three true leaves and not yet elongated hypocotyl (stem area from ground level to cotyledons). Older plants will take root worse.

When sprouts hatch in the containers, they should be provided with sufficient lighting. From their appearance to the formation of two or three true leaves in ordinary varieties of cucumbers, it takes from 10 to 20 days.

Growing seedlings of the varietal group of hybrids "Balkonny" has its own characteristics.

In ordinary cucumbers, seedlings begin to outgrow and lie on their side in the phase of 5-6 true leaves (then the first tendril is formed).
Balcony hybrids have small leaves and strong stems. Thanks to this, "teenagers" stand upright even at the age of 6-8 true leaves.

Therefore, you can plant older cucumbers of the Balkonny varietal group in a permanent place without compromising their survival rate. So you will contribute to a stronger run of seedlings in development and speed up the start of fruiting.
So, keep in mind - if there is a protracted cool weather, then the age of the hybrid seedlings can be safely brought up to 6 true leaves (this is 25-30 days).

About temperature

Temperature during seed germination environment should be + 24-26 degrees.
When sprouts appear, maintain the air temperature: during the day + 20-24 degrees, at night 18-19, and the soil temperature + 20-24. A hotter ambient temperature will cause the seedlings to stretch too much.
After 4-5 days, you can increase the air temperature during the day in sunny weather to + 24-26 degrees, if it is cloudy - up to + 20-24 degrees. At night, bring it to + 19-21 degrees.
The temperature of the seedling soil should not be less than + 18-20 degrees. Otherwise, cucumbers will grow slowly and be weak. Another reason why seedlings do not grow is that the leaves of neighboring sprouts should not shade each other.

Regulating the temperature regime on the balcony is quite difficult. As a result, it will be easier for you to move the sprouts from it to the room and back. So you can achieve the required temperature. For example, picking up the most illuminated area during the day.

We feed and water the sprouts

In addition to the main fertilization of the seedling substrate, the sprouts should be fed. This is done 2 times.

The first dressing is done a couple of weeks after the emergence of sprouts (the phase of two true leaves).
The second is carried out after another seven days (the age of three true sheets).

About how to feed seedlings of cucumbers on the window.

For this, you can take any complex mineral fertilizer that is soluble in water (concentration 2-3 g per 1 liter of water).
The nutrient mixture can be prepared by mixing about a tablespoon of urea in 6 liters of water.
Feed the seedlings under the roots with it until the seedling container is completely moistened (about one glass of nutrient solution).

Cucumbers love water. Their sprouts should be watered every day. In this case, the water should be separated and have room temperature. When the seedlings are additionally illuminated, they should be watered 2 times a day.

Term number 3: transplant to a permanent place

The signal for transplanting sprouts to a permanent place is the formation of 3-6 (depending on the variety) of true leaves in them.

Containers for growing vegetables should have a volume of 5-8 liters. You can use 5-liter plastic water bottles with a cut-off neck, flower containers and boxes, pots and vases made of ceramic or plastic bags. Containers should be equipped with holes for moisture drainage.
Pour drainage from fine expanded clay, brick chips or crushed stone onto the bottoms of the container.
Fill the containers with the same potting soil that was used for the seedlings. Do it not to the top. Leave 4-5 cm on top of the container free. When the roots become bare during the growth of cucumbers, you can add soil.
Immediately before planting seedlings, disinfect the substrate by watering it with a solution of potassium permanganate.
Remove the seedlings from the cups along with the soil clod and, in this form, plant them in "adult" pots.

plant care

Now about how to care for growing cucumbers. This task mainly consists in their timely watering. Your wards should not experience a lack of water.

Moisturize not only the soil, but also the air.
To this end, place a container of water (bucket, basin) on the loggia / balcony and top it up regularly.
In the evening, give the plants a "shower" - spray them with water from a spray bottle.
In addition, add moisture to the bottom tray. From there, the roots that have sprouted through the drainage holes will drink it.
At high humidity air cucumbers can be watered two to three times a week. In dry climates - daily.
Water must be used room temperature and previously settled.

In case of excessively hot weather outside (more than + 30˚), protect cucumber leaves from direct sunlight, otherwise they will burn.

At night in August it is already cool for southern plants. Wrap containers with them with burlap in the evening. So you save the roots from hypothermia.

And finally - in the process of growing cucumber vines, change the points of their tying.

Whip tying

Before you grow cucumbers, keep in mind that they are, in fact, a vine. Based on this, her whips should be tied up:

Each liana, in the process of its growth, wraps around a vertically stretched twine, fixed on top to a stationary support (trellis). It is usually a rigid horizontally stretched wire.
Stationary supports are stretched along the wall or along the sides of the loggia / balcony. In small rooms, the trellis wire is placed at the level of the hand raised up - this is 2.1-2.2 meters.

When containers with growing cucumbers are placed not on the floor of the balcony, but on stands (for example, on pedestals), the distance from the soil level to the trellis is reduced. This will negatively affect your harvest, because. the number of stem nodes will be less.

Based on this, when the lashes of vines in the process of growth closely "crawl" to the support wire, carry out the technique of agricultural technicians "twine allowance". Untie all the twine from the trellis, lower it from the pedestals to the floor of the room, lengthen the twine and tie it back to the support wire.

You may have difficulty with the arrangement of stationary balcony trellises. Then you can use a different method of growing, providing for mobile supports for cucumber vines. Then, in each container, fix a vertically located rigid support. Creepers of cucumbers will curl along it.
The third method of growing cucumber lashes on a loggia / balcony is to use flower pots. That is, in baskets or pots suspended from the ceiling.

pinching vines

Most of the hybrid cucumbers of the Balcony varietal type have abundant branching and do not grow much in length. Therefore they are ampelous plants. That is, you can not pinch them or pinch only the growing tips of the shoots. Fruit set with this method remains high.

But when the lashes unnecessarily hit the growth, at the age of 10-12 leaves they should be pinched.
Form, if possible, creepers of cucumbers in one lash (stem). To this end, regularly cut off the antennae on them.
About when to pinch. The main lash should be shortened when it has grown to its full height, which the conditions of the balcony allow. For example, it will reach the trellis.
The shoots on the sides must be cut off so that the excessive amount of green mass is not taken away vitality at the vine. They will be needed for the formation and ripening of fruits.
Tear off other shoots or cut off above the ovary. Leave one sheet behind.

Top dressing of adult plants

Growing cucumbers on the window provides for their regular feeding. This is especially necessary for plants when they begin to bear fruit. Once every 7-10 days, feed the cucumbers with mineral fertilizers.

Start feeding cucumbers after 2 weeks, as sprouts appear. For them, use the following nutrient solution: per 10 liters pure water 15 g potassium, 5 g ammonium nitrate, 3 g superphosphate and 5 g magnesium. Water the plants with fertilizer, so that it does not fall on the leaves.
For adult plants, use another fertilizer: take an aqueous solution of mullein (proportion 1:10) and stir 15 g of potassium sulfate and 20 g of superphosphate in it.
Cucumbers also love natural nourishment: infusion of tea or egg shells, wood ash.

About pests and their destruction

Not only we love fresh cucumbers. Prepare for the fact that they will be attacked by a variety of pests. Having identified the enemy, start fighting with him. In this case, it is better not to use chemicals.

Here are the most common cucumber lovers and how to deal with them.

Aphid. Tobacco decoction will help get rid of it. Gut 20 cigarettes and fill them with one liter of water, put on fire. Bring the product to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. Next, add another 1 liter of water to the composition. When it cools down, put it in a spray bottle and spray cucumber leaves with it.
Whitefly. The same tobacco decoction can destroy it, however, it is stronger (30 cigarettes per 1 liter of water). You can collect the pest from the leaves and a vacuum cleaner running at low power.
Spider mite. Garlic tincture will help to destroy it. Chop a head of garlic in 1 liter of water. Infuse the mixture for 1.5-2 hours. Then strain the tincture and dissolve in it 15 g laundry soap. Next, fill the composition into a spray bottle and spray the affected plants with it.

What to do in winter

Growing cucumbers on a loggia / balcony in winter is also possible. However, keep a few things in mind here.

Heating dries out the air, which is harmful to plants. Based on this, you will have to additionally humidify the air in winter.

Place pallets filled with gravel under the creepers and moisten it periodically.
Use a humidifier.
Put wet gauze on the radiator, moisten it regularly.

In the winter season, cucumbers can be grown on a loggia / balcony only if they are glazed, heated and well insulated. A water heating radiator or an installed electric heater will help to ensure a constant temperature of + 24-26˚ there. Do not forget balcony windows insulate for the winter, and tighten the vents with polyethylene.

Indoors, cucumbers often lack natural light, especially during the winter months. This can be seen from the fact that their leaves turn yellow.

Therefore, when the seedlings hatch, so that it does not weaken, it should be additionally highlighted from 8 am to 4 pm.
The best solution is to use special phyto-lamps for this. However, conventional luminescent counterparts can also be used.
Hang the lamps above the seedlings at a distance of about 15 cm from them. Having transplanted the sprouts to a permanent place, move the lamps as they grow, maintaining the sounded distance.
Starting in March, 4 hours of additional illumination will be enough for cucumbers.

About the cycle of cucumbers in nature

The fruiting period for balcony hybrids lasts about 3 months. When it is over, cut the lashes of the vines and dig up the roots of the plants.

Shake out the remaining soil substrate from the containers into plastic bags. You can use this soil next year as a base, supplementing it with the same volume of new substrate.

Do not throw away containers for cucumbers, as well as twine and trellis. All this will come in handy next season.

Conclusion

Cucumbers are a product that you want to enjoy all year round without buying it in the store. There are certain varieties and growing technologies that allow you to harvest this healthy vegetable right on the windowsill. Even a beginner who has never seen this culture grow can cope with this task. So, how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill?

There are three terms for sowing seeds in an apartment or house:

December- already in February, you can collect the first cucumbers.

January- cucumbers will bring the harvest in early March.

February- in early April, the first harvest.

But it should be noted that there are optimal timing sowing seeds, this is January-February. When planting in December, the crop will have to be provided with long-term illumination - do not forget that the cucumber is very photophilous.

Some lovers of this vegetable plant cucumbers in October while constructing a backlight, since in the conditions of decreasing daylight hours it is impossible to get a good harvest without it.

Who doesn't have suburban area, and at the same time a person does not want to mess with the backlight, we grow cucumbers on the windowsill! There is an option to get an early harvest by planting seeds in March-April.

Have you tried growing cucumbers on a windowsill?

YesNo

Indoor cucumbers: varieties

For getting good harvest on the windowsill you need to choose the right variety of culture. These should be parthenocarpic hybrids that do not require pollination. Consider the most popular varieties that can please a good harvest in an apartment:

Shchedryk

It was bred by breeders for growing on the windowsill. After a month and a half, the first cucumbers 15 cm long may appear on the table. It is not picky about lighting, so it can be grown even on northern windows. With proper care, one bush will bring 20 fruits during the growing season.

Rytov

One of the best varieties for growing at home. Bushy, high-yielding, does not require lighting and garters. The variety loves abundant watering and responds well to mineral dressings.

Zozulya

Young hybrid, widely used by gardeners, as it has the following positive traits:

high yield;
self-pollination;
disease resistance;
suitable for salads and pickling.

Among the shortcomings, a strong love for light can be noted, therefore, it requires additional illumination when grown on a windowsill.

Russian winter

Variety introduced to the market in 2013. Culture has distinctive positive qualities:

resistance to lack of light;
excellent taste qualities and presentation with small pimples and white stripes.

Brownie Kuzya

The variety is selected for growing on the windowsill. This culture has certain positive qualities for which it is appreciated:

shade tolerance;
resistance to temperature instability in the room;
high yield, from 3 bushes you can get up to 10 kg of fruit;
excellent taste without bitterness.

This hybrid loves abundant moisture with warm water and light sandy soil.

Masha

An early ripe hybrid, in a month it will please with the first harvest in the amount of 5 cucumbers. There are advantages:

overgrowth resistance;
rapid fruiting under growing conditions on the windowsill;
not susceptible to disease.

Flaws:

very photophilous culture, when grown in winter time requires backlighting;
needs constant feeding;
requires the formation of a bush.

crunchy

A high yielding hybrid that is suitable for growing on a windowsill. In this plant, breeders have removed the natural bitterness at the genetic level, which makes it the most attractive for planting. The lack of culture is in its tall stature, so you will have to properly form a bush so that the room does not completely shade.

city cucumber

Gherkin with an average ripening period, calmly enduring the lack of lighting in winter. The variety is high-yielding, resistant to diseases.

Moscow greenhouse F1

An old hybrid bred by Soviet breeders. A distinctive feature of the culture is the large size of the fruit. The variety is resistant to diseases and pests. One plant bush can produce up to 15 kg of cucumbers per season.

Growing technology

How to grow a cucumber on a windowsill? For rapid growth and good fruiting of cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to follow a certain technology for growing crops:

Prepare good soil. You can buy land in a store or prepare it yourself. cucumbers love light, fertile soils consisting of: garden soil, humus, peat, wood ash and sand. To improve the quality of the soil, you need to add the right amount of mineral fertilizers.
Prepare containers for planting - flower pots with a capacity of 8 liters per plant. It is worth remembering that cucumbers do not tolerate stagnant water, so you need to prepare drainage, it can be shallow. broken brick, perlite or crushed stone.
Prepare planting material, for this they produce:

calibration;
disinfection;
germination.

Seeds are selected, then soaked for 1 day in a weak solution of potassium permanganate and washed in running water. Germinate on wet gauze or cotton pad.

Sowing seeds

Planting material can be planted in small cups of peat, or immediately in pots. Sow two seeds in each cup with a recess of 2.5 cm. Before planting, the soil should be well moistened. Until the seeds hatch, the pots are covered with glass or film and placed in a warm place with an air temperature of +25 degrees. As soon as the seeds hatch, the covering material is removed and the pots are transferred to a sunny windowsill.

Expert opinion

Filatov Ivan Yurievich, private farmer for over 30 years

If the seedlings were planted in small cups, then you should be careful when transplanting so as not to damage the delicate roots and leaves. Plants are transplanted as soon as a second true leaf has formed on them.

Bush formation

When growing cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to form a lush bush that does not require a high garter. To do this, pinch the growing point at the height of the fifth true leaf. Will start to form side shoots- leave only three pieces. they will need to be pinched after 10 sheets. From each shoot we also form three layers. All tendrils should be removed, as they take on the nutrients necessary for the plant.

top dressing

Cucumber is a fast growing, strong crop that requires good nutrition, otherwise don't expect a good harvest. You need to feed the crop regularly, while fertilizers must be properly selected and balanced. Feeding is carried out in three stages:

First Fertilization is carried out on the 14th day after transplantation. At this time, emphasis is placed on organic supplements rich in nitrogen and calcium for a rapid growth of greenery.
Second top dressing occurs at the beginning of flowering, potassium-phosphorus compounds are used. This is to prevent voiding.
Third once cucumbers are approved by infusion of ashes, for good fruiting.

Cucumbers respond very well to feeding, so do not neglect it.

Video

You can also watch a video where experienced gardener will tell you how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill and advise varieties that are easiest to grow in an apartment.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on the windowsill is not complicated by anything, the main thing is to adhere to the technology offered by experienced gardeners.

To get cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, you need to have good land, seeds of hybrids and arrange the possibility of sufficient lighting, not only natural, but also with the help of phytolamps. A month and a half after proper care, cucumbers can give a good harvest.

Growing cucumbers at home

We can not enjoy cucumbers for long, as their season ends quickly, especially if the summer was dry. Therefore, many who like to eat this vegetable fresh try to get cucumbers on the windowsill in winter. The lifespan of cucumbers grown in this way is about two months after the first harvest - this is quite enough to enjoy the vegetable to its fullest.

It is known that the cucumber reproduces only by seeds, since it cannot be obtained by cuttings. They absolutely cannot stand dry air and lack of moisture - this is worth remembering when growing cucumbers on the balcony. As soon as such homemade cucumbers bloom, the ground should always be moderately moist. Under the pots you will need to put saucers with water, which will help to avoid drying out of the earth. Also, indoor cucumbers, in addition to watering, require spraying, at least twice a day. And when flowering begins, the bush needs to be shaken once a day for better pollination.

Growing cucumbers on the window, do not forget about pinching, which is done after the appearance of 3-5 leaves - this will add splendor and density to the plant. Pinching the shoots not only reduces the length by half, but also makes the bush twice as magnificent - that is, instead of one lash, two short ones are obtained. Before the pinching point, the ovary is removed, and only the one that is above the pinching point is left.

In order for the cucumbers on the windowsill to please you with their harvest for as long as possible, it is better to collect the fruits as they ripen and not wait until all the cucumbers become large - this contributes to less depletion of the bush and saves the loss of excess juices from the plant.

Cucumbers on the windowsill - what do you need?

Initially, you need to start choosing seeds - these should be self-pollinating hybrids, from which it is better to choose early-ripening varieties. give preference bush varieties if you are going to grow cucumbers in an apartment. In general, you need to prepare:

special seeds;
biohumus and coconut substrate;
pots of 3-4 liters, depending on the number of seeds;
sprayer for daily plant refreshment;
lamp to create additional light.

So, how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill and where to start? Prepare a good substrate of biohumus and coconut fibers: mix one part of biohumus with two parts of coconut fiber. Filling containers can be standard three-liter pots. You can plant seeds both immediately in permanent containers, and with the help of a pick, transplanting the plants later into large pots. Everyone chooses individually how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, but with the help of a pick, you can transplant stronger and more tenacious plants into pots, thus providing yourself with a reliable harvest.

Seeds of hybrid cucumbers need to be well prepared for planting, for which they are dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate at room temperature for a couple of hours, and then removed. It is worth paying attention that those seeds that have sunk to the bottom are good, and those that have surfaced are better thrown away, since their germination is low. Let the seeds drain, and later you can plant them (dry only).

When planting with a pick, they are initially planted in small cups with a capacity of 100 ml, filled with a special earthen mixture. You need to lay out 5 seeds in a glass, and then, after tamping the ground, water it. After a week or two, shoots can be observed, which must be thinned out, leaving two of the most powerful plants each. A week later, the final thinning is carried out, and one strong sprout remains in the cup.

A few secrets of a good harvest

When transplanting plants into large pots with a capacity of 3-4 liters, the earth is not filled to the brim by about 4 cm. Transplantation is done 3 or 4 weeks after germination. The seedling in the cup is turned over on the palm, gently passing it between the fingers. A sprout with a lump of soil is inserted into a prepared permanent pot, sprinkled with soil on top to the cotyledon leaves.

In large pots, pickled sprouts require constant watering. In the first month of life, cucumbers at home are watered constantly, but moderately. On initial stage it is important not to overwater the seedlings, as they can start to hurt. In winter, there is little sun and heat, so there is not much moisture required for plants. From the end of March, more moisture is required if the cucumbers are still able to bear fruit.
The cucumber also needs a support, which can be in the form of a grid or any other support.
The following procedure will also be useful: once a day, turn the pot with seedlings around its axis by 180 degrees so that the plants receive light and heat not only from one side.
And for a long life of the entire bush, once every two weeks, you can feed: upper layer soil, add a teaspoon of agrolife or pour fresh biohumus into the pot once a month.
They require cucumbers and the proper amount of light - at least 12 hours, which can be provided with artificial lighting.

If you are thinking about how to grow cucumbers at home in winter without picking, then plant the seeds in large pots without filling the ground 5 cm to the edge. After laying out the seeds, pour a layer of 1.5 cm of earth, and add the remaining soil in about a month - this will replace the dive.

Proper pollination of hybrid cucumbers

How to grow cucumbers at home, because there is no one to carry out pollination, unless, of course, you breed flying insects at home? Without proper pollination, the ovaries will simply fall off. Try on the role of a bee!

In order for the fruits to set for sure, you need to separate the female and male flowers. Females have a pistil, consisting of an ovary and a stigma, while males do not have a pistil.

It is desirable to carry out pollination in the morning, when the pollen is sticky - pick male flower, cutting off the corolla, and put it in the female one so that the pollen gets on the stigma. This is how bees pollinate plants. But it is better to use self-pollinated varieties, they do not require pollination at all.

Having grown cucumbers correctly, you can collect up to 15 medium-sized fruits from a bush. At the same time, they will have a real taste, incomparable to store ones. The windows or balcony on which the plants are located should be warm, and it is desirable that they face south or southeast.

Protect homemade cucumbers from drafts and enjoy their crispy fruits!

Cucumbers are the most popular among lovers of home gardening. Almost anyone can do this. If you have homemade flowers in pots on the windowsills, then this experience is quite enough for working with cucumber. Special skills are not needed here. The main thing is to know the basic requirements of culture and some features.

Conditions for growing cucumbers at home

For cucumbers, the main requirements for indoor cultivation are a sufficient amount of heat, light and moisture, both in the soil and in the surrounding air. This is very important to learn so that efforts are not wasted in vain.

To achieve the fulfillment of all the necessary conditions, it is necessary to equip a balcony, loggia or window sill with intelligence and love.

Wash the windows, insulate and seal the cracks, because. cucumbers do not tolerate drafts and cold air. So the rooms with cucumbers are not ventilated.
Pots with cucumber plants are placed on window sills, on balconies, loggias, preferably east, south or southeast.
If the light is still not enough, then worry about additional lighting.

Varieties of cucumbers for growing at home

The next condition for the success of work in obtaining delicious crispy greens is right choice varieties. The main thing here is not to make a mistake, otherwise you can be left without a harvest or try just a couple of fruits. When buying seeds, carefully read the description on the bag.

Requirements for varieties of cucumbers for home cultivation:

designed specifically for closed ground: in a room (balcony, window sill) or in a greenhouse,
capable of long, at least 5-6 months, fruiting,
cross-pollinated varieties require manual pollination (this process is quite laborious),
parthenocarpic form fruits without pollination of flowers by pollen. In such varieties, there are almost only female flowers on the stem, from which cucumbers are formed. So don't worry about the lack of male specimens. These fruits do not contain seeds.

If you only have seeds for open ground, then remember that at home you can get a little bit of a crop only with very late sowing - April-May and artificial pollination.

Parthenocarpic cucumbers for home growing:

Room Rytov - well adapted to the lack of lighting and other factors, for which we are very fond of our gardeners.
Regatta, Photon - early maturing;
Moscow greenhouse,
Tandem,
Voyage,
Window-balcony F1;

Such old varieties, which are recommended to be sown in February - March, have not lost their relevance.

April,
Cucaracha,
Marinda.

Shade-tolerant cucumbers for home growing

For rooms with insufficient light, shade-tolerant varieties and F1 hybrids are suitable:

Serezha,
Legend,
Tatiana,
Zozulya,
Babylon,
Claudia;

Light-loving cucumbers for home cultivation

Among the light-loving varieties can be called:

Stella,
Thumb boy
Mazay.

Photo: cucumber variety Window-balcony F1

Planting cucumbers at home

For successful landing cucumbers at home, you need to select seeds, set suitable dates, prepare nutritious soil and choose convenient containers. Cucumbers can be grown under picture conditions in the usual way through seedlings, and it is possible in a seedless way. In any case, you need to grow seedlings without picking - young cucumber plants are very tender and cannot stand transplanting.

Planting dates for cucumbers

Establish optimum landing times

If everything is provided in the apartment the necessary conditions so you can start planting at any time.
In the absence of additional lighting, it is better to start sowing at the end of February, when there is sufficient daylight hours.
If you sow at the end of January, then by March 8 you can surprise guests with fresh fruits from your home garden.

Soil for planting cucumbers

Getting homemade cucumbers largely depends on what kind of soil to prepare for them.

The easiest way out is to buy ready-made land for cucumber and other pumpkins in the store,
Use pre-harvested garden soil, evenly mixed with rotted manure and humus,
Mix peat and sand in a ratio of 1:1.

It should be noted that the earth must be disinfected before use by any means suitable for this procedure. Very often, various insects, harmful and not so, are found in the harvested land, which thaw along with the soil in warmth. Then you can not wait for green sprouts.

To make young cucumber seedlings feel better, add a little top dressing when preparing the soil: 1 tbsp. superphosphate and ground chalk, and a glass of ash.

Containers for planting cucumbers

Take seriously the choice of containers that will house your cucumber plants. Not the last role in the choice of pots and tubs is played by design and fitting them into your interior.

A prerequisite for them is the presence of drainage holes.
Cucumber creepers will feel great in buckets, tubs, pots with a volume of at least 8-10 liters.
Drainage of about 3 cm must be poured at the bottom: coarse gravel, expanded clay or broken brick, which prevent stagnation of water in the soil and provide air access to the roots.

Seed preparation before planting cucumber

If there is confidence in the high quality of the seeds, then there is no need to carry out any additional treatments. You can soak the seeds in a saturated solution of potassium permanganate or Epin. The necessary measures for this are no different from similar preliminary work when growing cucumbers in open field.

You can grow good strong cucumbers by immediately sowing the seeds in a ready-made container with soil, bypassing the seedling period. To be sure of the result, you can pre-germinate the seeds.

Growing cucumber at home in a seedless way

Seeds (preferably 2-3 pieces) are sown on the ground previously spilled with warm, preferably settled, water. The soil level should be 5 cm below the top edge of the pot. Seeds are sprinkled on top with dry earth by 1.5-2 cm and lightly slammed by hand.
To create the most favorable conditions it is advisable to cover the container with glass or film from above, because. for successful seed germination, a temperature of at least 22-26 ° C is recommended.
It is important that the top soil layer does not dry out.
As soon as you see green leaves on the surface of the soil, the pots should be opened and placed in the most well-lit place.
If several seeds sprouted at once in one small container, select the most powerful sprout, carefully cut or break off the rest.

For the normal development of plants and the formation of a good harvest, it is necessary to provide them with a sufficient amount of soil, at least a bucket. If the plants start to overgrow quickly, move them to a darker area for a while.

Young shoots are contraindicated in direct sunlight. Laying foil under the plant pot will help increase the intensity of the sunlight.
After germination, the temperature should immediately be reduced to 16-18 ° C during the day and not higher than 12 ° C at night.
Watering is necessary daily if the room temperature is high, and every other day at a lower one.
Watch the temperature of the water for irrigation, do not use cold water to avoid root rot and disease.

Growing cucumber at home through seedlings

If you decide to grow cucumbers through seedlings, then planting in large pots should be carried out in the phase of 2-3 true leaves (about 20-25 days after germination).

Rinse the seedlings well with warm water. At the same time, try to act as carefully as possible, do not destroy the clod of earth at the roots.
Make the powder up to the cotyledon leaves, i.e. slightly higher than in seedling pots.
Up to the top edge of the pot, there should be room for gradual pouring of soil during the growth of the plant. This will contribute to the formation of additional roots.

Cucumber care at home

The principles of care are the same as in the greenhouse and in the open field. Cucumbers love moisture, need garter and shaping. You can not neglect top dressing at home and be sure to alternate between different types and types of fertilizers. special care will be required by plants during the fruiting period. Care and attention will help cucumbers to give a big and tasty harvest.

Cucumber dressing

After transplantation and engraftment, after 5-6 days, cucumbers must be fed.

Use comprehensive mineral fertilizers recommended for cucumber.
Stir 2 tsp. fertilizer in 3 liters of water.
Until you see cucumber ovaries, water with this solution 1-2 scans a week.
As soon as fruiting begins, immediately increase the nutrient watering by 2 times.

The development of plants will tell you when to feed it. Alternate fertilizing with mineral and organic fertilizers twice a month. So the "diet" will ensure a regular vitamin harvest of cucumbers. Good results gives spraying of leaves: 15 g of urea/10 l of water.

cucumber highlight

Particular attention should be paid to additional lighting.

In order for the bush to grow well and bear fruit, it needs light for 12-14 hours a day.
Lights should be switched on from 6 am until 8 pm, when daylight is already fading.
In cloudy weather, additional light should be on all day.
If it is not possible to provide home garden full lighting, grow mainly shade-tolerant varieties.
In the summer, when the day is much longer than in winter, light-loving varieties can also be used.

Now there are many fixtures and lamps for installing the necessary additional lighting. Usually fluorescent lamps are used, as they are more affordable.

Alternative lighting methods successfully used by the population in their home "beds":

reflective film,
foil,
mirrors installed in a special way opposite the plants.

Formation of cucumbers

Very an important factor good luck on the window garden with cucumbers is the formation of plants. It is similar to this process in greenhouse and soil plants. The main thing is to indicate the direction that is needed. The cucumber will do the rest by itself, stretching up to the required height. There are several various ways how to form a cucumber.

Formation should begin as soon as you count 5 good full-fledged leaves on the stem.
First of all, pinch off all the whiskers, flowers and shoots at the level of the 2nd-3rd leaf on the plant. This will allow the stem to grow stronger without wasting its strength.
The vine prepared in this way must be tied up to a rope stretched upwards or wrapped around a stick stuck in advance into the pot.
Next, let the vine branch, pinching each shoot as it grows upwards after the 5th node.
Then pinch off the very top at the level you set or at the height of the window block.

Modern breeding hybrids do not always need to form a vine. They grow upward with little or no side shoots. It will be enough to pinch such plants at a level limited only by the possibilities and height of your window.

Care during fruiting

Don't forget cucumbers love moisture. Spray your "pets" regularly. This procedure will stimulate additional fruit formation on your plants.

To create the required humidity regime, you can use the following technique:

place a container of water next to the pot,
dip a homemade “wick” there (you can use gauze),
lay the free end in a circle around the stem in a pot and sprinkle with soil,
make sure that there is always water in the vessel.

Plant pots should be watered daily with warm, settled water. Do not allow the soil to dry out and water to stagnate in containers.

picking cucumbers

You should make regular collections of young fruits, without waiting for their strong overgrowth. The most delicious young sweet cucumbers 4-5 days old.