In the heat we always want coolness, and in the winter of bright sunny heat. Here's a fresh crispy cucumber you want just in the freezing cold. In supermarkets today cucumbers and other vegetables can be bought all year round. That's just the benefits of these vegetables can not speak. If you really want to pamper your household with fresh vegetables in the winter, you will have to learn the science of growing cucumbers on the windowsill. It is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance, but it will still have to be tinkered.
How to grow cucumbers on a windowsill?
In order to grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, it is necessary to choose the right kind of vegetable. It is clear that in the cold season bees can not pollinate your cucumbers, so there are two ways to solve the problem. You can pollinate the plant yourself or buy special self-pollinating varieties. Now consider useful tips and rules on how to grow cucumbers at home:
- The plant is thermophilic and requires a lot of light. Before you start growing cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to choose the right place for this. It is best to arrange cucumbers on the south or south-west window. Be sure to prepare a window: it should be insulated and thoroughly examine all cracks for drafts. Cover the window with polyethylene or other insulating material, when you are airing the room, cucumbers should not be under a stream of cold air.
- In winter, a small window can grow at least 5-6 plants, so that the harvest of cucumbers will last for the family.
- In the cold season (winter-spring period), daylight is not enough and cucumbers need to be illuminated with fluorescent lights. On one small window sill up to one and a half meters is enough two lamps.
- To grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, you can use both ordinary flower pots and special boxes. It all depends on the area you can allocate to the plant. The main thing is not to forget about the drainage holes. Choose dishes at the rate of 5 liters of soil per plant.
- In order to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, use components such as soil mixture, peat and humus. You can add a little wood ash. At the bottom lay drainage (broken brick or expanded clay), fill the prepared soil mixture and pour it with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. Now the soil is ready for planting.
- If you really want to speed up the growth of cucumbers on the windowsill, you can resort to a little trick. Lay several layers of toilet paper on the bottom of a flat plate. Top the seeds from above. Seeds cover with two or three layers of paper. Pour it all with warm water. Now the main thing is to prevent the seeds from drying out and maintain a temperature of at least 30 ° C. After two days, the seeds are ready for planting.
- Now plant the seeds in prepared dishes with soil. Cover everything with plastic wrap and turn on fluorescent lights. The first shoots will appear, you can remove the film.
- Now that seeds have sprouted, they need to be taken care of properly. It is necessary to feed the plant. Dilute 3 liters of water a couple of teaspoons of mineral fertilizer. For each plant there are 1-2 glasses of such feeding. Fertilize cucumbers this way you need to constantly, until the appearance of the crop. When fruiting begins, we increase the norm to 3-4 glasses.
- Now let's stop pinching the plant. When 11-12 leaves appeared, you need to cut off the top of the plant. This is necessary for fruiting, but do not rush it too soon. If you do not wait for the 10th leaf, the harvest will be scarce.