Growing cucumbers on the windowsill at home is possible. Being plants that like a light shadow, they feel good on windows and balconies, actively blossom and bear fruit. This is a very interesting process and even on New Year's holiday you can eat a vegetable grown on your own at home. To obtain a crop, a number of conditions must be observed.
What cucumbers to grow on the windowsill?
Seed selection is an important component in vegetable growing. When growing cucumbers on a windowsill from a variety depends largely on the abundance of fruiting. To produce a crop you need self-pollinating, early ripening species. The most famous varieties for domestic breeding:
- Schedrik is a ripe cucumber. Ripens on day 45, from the bush you can get 20 pieces in length of 12-14 cm .;
- Masha F1 - ripens in 40 days. The cultivar is yielding, on the branch it ripens 5-7 vegetables;
- Prestige - early-ripening cucumber, fructifies for a long time;
- Khrustik - will soon sing, a fruitful variety, fruits ripen 7 pieces per branch, with good care, you can collect up to 40 vegetables. The liana is long, can be opened all over the window.
How to grow cucumbers on a windowsill?
There are no time limits for sowing seeds to grow cucumbers on a windowsill or balcony. But for rich fruiting, from November to February, they are provided with additional lighting, as it is cloudy outside. Growing cucumbers at home on the windowsill is good if they have a duration of 12 hours. Lamps are better to be fixed so that they move up and down as the seedlings grow. Plants are installed on the windowsill or balcony, it is not recommended to use the northern openings for vegetable growing - the branches will be stretched up and will be weak.
How to plant cucumbers at home on the windowsill?
Seeds are planted before sowing, so that shoots soon appear. To do this, they are wrapped in cheesecloth and periodically sprayed. At a temperature of 25-30 degrees in 2-3 days on them the white roots are pecked. Planting cucumbers on the windowsill:
- You can use plastic cups for sowing seeds. By deepening the seeds in them by 2 cm and covering them with a film, it is easy to get seedlings for subsequent planting into a more voluminous container;
- Seedlings appear after 2-3 days. After 3-4 leaves are formed on the shoots, they can be planted in a large vessel;
- For further cultivation, pots with drainage holes will be needed. At the bottom laid brick crumb or gravel with a layer of 2 cm, then the soil mixture. One plant requires 5 kg. substrate;
- Earth day before planting is well hydrated;
- The seedlings are neatly piled into the pot with the earthen lump;
- It is allowed to immediately place the seeds on a permanent place in large boxes or pots and cover them with a film. Cellophane is removed after emergence. It is better to install the box on a pallet, put two slats under it for good air circulation;
- It is important to take into account that cucumbers on the windowsill do not tolerate drafts - they are fatal for them;
- Pegs 70 cm in height are poked into the ground, or ropes pointing upwards, then growing branches will be attached to them. Supports will help increase the area of the plant's light. Weaving will increase the yield and beautifully decorate the window.
Cultivation of cucumbers on the windowsill - soil
Particular attention is paid to the composition of the soil. It's easy to cook by yourself. There are several options for the mixture:
- Fertile land, peat and humus are mixed in equal parts. You can add 1 tablespoon. superphosphate , 1 tbsp. chalk, a glass of wood ash. The proportions are given for 5 kg. soil.
- Peat, sawdust (or sand), humus, fertile land are taken in equal parts. Add a tablespoon of nitrofoski and tea - urea .
- It is believed that using this mixture, cucumbers are grown on the windowsill in winter. She allows vegetable growing without further fertilizing. For cooking, take the ground, small sawdust, small sand, fallen foliage, a store substrate for seedlings. Fertile soil requires 2 parts, the remaining components - one by one. Half a glass of chicken manure, 2 cups of dry manure, a glass of chalk, eggshell and wood ash are also put there. All ingredients are finely crushed.
How to feed cucumbers on the windowsill?
If the substrate is not fertilized initially, the proper top dressing of cucumbers on the windowsill will give positive results. A few recipes:
- A teaspoon of urea is used for 3 liters of water. It is applied 1-2 glasses of fertilizer under a plant two times with an interval in a week, since 14 days after occurrence of shoots.
- The same amount of water and 2 tsp. nitrofoski. It is given on a glass of solution under the bush every two weeks with the appearance of the first fruits.
How to water cucumbers on the windowsill?
The plant is hygrophilous, the amount of water is determined by an experimental method. Cucumbers on the windowsill need watering daily, but not strong. Moisten the bush better in the morning. Watering is normal, if the soil is slightly moist, but not wet. If the water is not enough, cucumbers on the windowsill will dry, an overabundance threatens the decay of the root system. Yellow foliage is a sign of inadequate watering.
How to pinch the cucumbers on the windowsill?
Lighting the question of how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in an apartment, experienced vegetable growers pay special attention to pinching plants. The first time it is held at the level of 3-4 leaves on the stem. This allows new side shoots to appear from the sinuses of the base of the plate on the vine, so the bush is formed. Leave 2-3 skeletons, which once again pinch over the 10 leaves. Here it is necessary to observe the measure that the stem has enough nutrients to form fruit.
Cucumber diseases on the windowsill
If the gardener noticed that something is amiss with the bush, you need to find out the reason and conduct the treatment. Possible causes of ailments:
- watering with cool water;
- depleted soil.
Cucumbers on the windowsill are the main diseases:
- powdery mildew , it causes fungus. The foliage is covered with a white bloom. Affected plates are removed, the soil is disinfected with fungicides Fundazol , Topsin;
- (anthracnose), the causative agent is the fungus, it affects the leaves and fruits, they are covered with brown spots. Such a plant can not be cured, it is thrown away. The remaining bushes are sprayed with a Bordeaux mixture to prevent contamination;
- white rot, stems and leaves protrude plaque, then mucus. Infected parts should be sprinkled with copper sulfate or lime.
In order not to develop a disease, it is possible to carry out prophylaxis. Before planting in the soil, it is useful to soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate. This mixture is also used for moistening directly the substrate itself before planting seeds or seedlings. During the growing season, the fruit can be sprayed with the "Fitosporin" preparation. Of great importance is the creation of a good microclimate and the lack of high soil moisture.