How to grow cucumbers at home?

Technologies for year-round cultivation of cucumbers at home have been tested for a long time, are not particularly difficult and are successfully used by thousands of amateurs.

Cucumbers are grown on the windowsill, on the balcony, loggia and even in the basement.

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Growing cucumbers in an apartment: seeds, varieties, place, containers

Let's describe in detail all the stages of how to grow cucumbers at home in winter?

The right seeds

For growing cucumbers in the winter at home, the seeds must meet stringent requirements. Homemade cucumber should be:

• Short-fruited, with a length of zelents from 6 cm to 25 cm.
• Shade tolerant, not afraid of temperature changes.
• Early or mid-season, with a fruiting period of 4 to 6 months.
• Harvest.

Parthenocarpic F1 hybrids are preferred... These self-pollinating plants only have female flowers. Early and ultra-early are the most popular for growing cucumbers at home:

• April;
• Benefit;
• Zozulya;
• Carmen;
• Goosebump;
• Sail;
• Regina;
• Shchedryk;
• Crunch.

Of the mid-early varieties of cucumbers for growing at home, the following are preferable:

• Athlete;
• Full house;
• Balagan;
• Bianca;
• Berendey;
• Urban;
• Far Eastern;
• Claudia;
• Courage;
• Marinade;
• Masha;
• Pallas' cat;
• Romance;
• Solar.

IMPORTANT! Late ripening cucumber hybrids are not suitable for home cultivation.

Bee-pollinated cucumber hybrids, in indoor and greenhouse cultivation, require manual pollination.

The process requires certain skills and additional investment of time.

But despite this, vegetable growers grow at home bee-pollinated cucumber hybrids:

• Gribovsky 2;
• Zarya;
• Pallas' cat;
• Surprise;
• Khutorok;
• Relay race.

Grow and bee-pollinated varieties of cucumbers:

• Room Rytov;
• Marfinsky.

Advice! Manual pollination of cucumbers is carried out in the morning... With a cotton swab, a soft brush, they transfer pollen from a male barren flower to flowers with an ovary (female). You can touch the pistil of a woman with a male flower with torn petals.

Female single flowers grow separately. The males form groups in the leaf axils.

Pollination of cucumbers continues throughout the entire flowering period, up to the appearance of the first ovaries. To increase the yield of cucumbers experienced amateurs advise pollinating female flowers with pollen of different varieties.

Seat selection

It's better to grow cucumbers in an apartment on warm bright balconies, loggias, verandas, windows oriented to the south, east, west.

The north side is not suitable for cultivation. There should be no drafts in the room.

What to grow?

There are many options: hanging baskets, buckets, containers, boxes, flower pots, tubs. The main thing is that the volume of the container is at least 5 liters.... Drainage is laid out on the bottom - small pebbles, pieces of expanded clay, large sawdust. Holes are made to remove excess water.

Advice! To save money, they cut off large plastic bottles, use double cellophane garbage bags.

How to grow cucumbers in an apartment: step by step instructions

Landing dates

Timing depend on the selected variety of cucumbers, growing conditions. They take into account the area of ​​the room, the ability to provide optimal temperature and light conditions, air humidity, and climatic zone.

Cucumbers planted at the end of October will ripen to the New Year's table. From January plantings, they begin to harvest in March. The average time for the onset of fruiting from the appearance of the first shoots is 40-50 days... February saplings ripen by the May holidays.

Soil preparation

In the store they buy universal soil or mixture for growing pumpkin crops.

They prepare themselves according to proven recipes:

1. Equal shares of peat, humus. A glass of wood ash on a bucket of mixture.
2. 1/3 of the turf, garden soil, compost with the addition of a small amount of calcined river sand, ash, rotten sawdust.

The earth is disinfected in one of the following ways:

• Steamed.
• Spill hot (+ 90 ° C) solution of potassium permanganate of dark pink color.
• Warm up in the oven.
• Process special industrial preparations.
• Apply nitrophosphate or complete complex fertilizer. Poured into containers, spilled abundantly, left for a day to seal.

Sowing

1. Cucumber seeds etched for 20-30 minutes in a weak solution of potassium permanganate... Washed out. Dry. Leave for 2-3 days to swell in a saucer with warm water, wrap in wet gauze, spread on cotton pads. Learn more about preparing seeds before planting.
2. Hatching cucumber seeds sow to a depth of about a centimeter... Plant 1-2 seeds per liter volume at a distance of 2-3 cm from each other. Watering.
3. Exposed to a bright place... Maintain a temperature of + 22-25 ° С during the day, + 16-18 ° С at night.
4. To maintain the required humidity covered with foil, glass.
5. When cucumber shoots appear, the shelter is removed. A weak sprout is removed. Additional lighting is started.

Advice! To eliminate the danger of hypothermia of the root system of cucumbers, a sheet of foam plastic, drywall, thick plywood is placed under the containers with plantings.

Lighting

It is impossible to grow cucumbers at home in winter without lighting.... Daylight hours should last 12-14 hours. In the central zone of Russia, in the Urals, in Siberia, from December to February, supplementary lighting is carried out from 16 to 20 hours.

Lighting devices for supplementary lighting (energy-saving, luminescent, LED) are fixed at a distance of 30-40 cm.

To enhance the effect, light-reflecting foil sheets and mirrors are installed.

Temperature

Until the plants form lashes, the temperature is maintained not higher than + 16 ° С... After the formation of lashes, the temperature on sunny days is maintained at + 24-26 ° С, in cloudy weather and at night + 18-20 ° С.

Watering

Water in sunny weather every day, in cloudy - every other day... Water must be defended, brought to room temperature. Several times a season they are watered with a weak pinkish solution of potassium permanganate.

It is useful to spray the plants twice a day, but the leaves should dry out by night. Watering cucumbers is carried out at the root or water is poured into trays.

Advice! To increase the humidity in the room, cover the heating batteries with wet towels. They put dishes with water next to the cucumber bushes. Includes humidifiers.

Support

Home-grown lashes reach heights of up to two meters and require a garter... The garter is made with a sliding loop. Use twine or nylon cord.

Bush formation

After the appearance of the fifth true leaf, pinch the top to form a bush in two stems. When the next five leaves grow, the procedure is repeated.

The pinching of the lateral lashes is carried out in the lateral lower nodes above the 1-2-3 sheet.

Top dressing

The first feeding is carried out after the appearance of two true leaves... They are fed with a solution of 3-4 g of nitrophoska per liter of water. The consumption rate for a plant is a glass.

Can be used solution of one teaspoon of urea in 5 liters of water... Feed once every 2 weeks.

With the advent of zelents, the plant is fed every week, alternating mineral and organic fertilizers. As organic additives, 20% solutions of chicken manure or superphosphate are used. For mineral water, dissolve 30-40 g of nitrophoska in a bucket of water, add a teaspoon of Agrolife or 2 caps of the Growth preparation together with watering.

Alternatively, after a week, feeding cucumbers with biohumus agents... The bushes are sprayed twice with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.

Advice! Excellent organic matter is a solution of fermented chopped banana peels and rye bread.

Diseases

Cucumbers grown in the apartment suffer from spider mites and whiteflies. Spraying with soapy water helps, it is dangerous to use insecticides in the apartment.

Harvesting

Zelentsy harvested every day, preventing them from overgrowing... This promotes the formation of new ovaries, lightens the load on the lashes, prevents plant depletion, deterioration of the palatability of cucumbers.

Growing in a private house

Does not differ in agricultural technology from growing cucumbers in an apartment. However, villagers and cottage owners have more opportunities to successfully grow cucumbers in heated greenhouses all year round.

Features of greenhouse agricultural technology

• Stop choosing greenhouse varieties cucumbers.
• When planting seedlings, be sure to add at least a bucket of well-rotted compost or manure to the hole, with the addition of 10 g of phosphorus, 5 g of nitrogen, 15 g of potassium per 1 m².
• When landing place seedlings of cucumbers at a distance of 40 cm from each otherleaving a meter between the rows. Water abundantly.
• Equip trellises, supports.
• The cucumber bush is formed as if grown at home.
• Remove yellowed and deformed leaves.
• First feeding after 4 weeks. For each plant, 1-2 liters of 0.3% aqueous phosphorus-potassium solution are consumed. During the fruiting period, feeding is carried out every week.
• At the optimum air temperature, watering is carried out at the rate of 2-3 liters of water per bush.

Disease prevention and control

• Should change the soil annually... Develop beneficial microflora. Introduce preparations such as Fitosporin M, rotted manure, nettle infusion.
• Observe the ventilation mode.
• To combat spider mites, whiteflies, ants, the soil is disinfected. Once every 5 days, the bushes are sprayed with karbofos.
• Dill, mustard, coriander, garlic, basil, tobacco are planted between rows.... They repel pests of cucumbers.
• Aphids and whiteflies are washed off with a stream of cold water. Wipe the cucumber leaves with soapy water.

Can you grow in a basement?

In an equipped basement, up to 200 kg of cucumbers are removed from 1 m².

The main costs are for ensuring optimal light and thermal conditions.

Requirements for the basement for growing cucumbers

• Temperature should not drop to minus indicators throughout the year.
• Absence of rodents, mold, fungus.
• Tightness, protection from drafts, penetration of groundwater.

Basement equipment

• Insulate the floor and walls insulating materials.
• Install heaters, thermal and lighting devices.Mercury arc lamps or incandescent lamps are the most suitable luminaires. For convenience, a time relay is used.
• Organize a ventilation system.
• Choose a growing medium: hydroponics or soil.
• The soil requirements are the same as for growing cucumbers at home and in greenhouses.

Hydroponics is more effective for basement gardening. Use quartz, granite granules with a diameter of 50-20 mm and a nutrient solution with a high content of nitrogen, potassium, calcium, phosphorus. The nutrient solution can be purchased at a store or prepared by yourself.

Growing features

• The seedling method is cultivated.
• Seedlings of cucumbers planted at any time of the year.
• They comply with the general requirements of cucumber agricultural technology.
• To combat insects, rodents, dust, smoke bombs, traps with poisoned bait, special paints with insecticides are changed.
• From fungal diseases, mold, moss primed walls with compounds with antifungal additives.

Advantages and disadvantages of basement growing

The undoubted advantages include high yield, obtaining cucumbers regardless of the season, weather conditions... Reduced time from emergence of cucumber seedlings to harvest. Already two months after planting the seedlings, the first greens ripen.

The main disadvantage is the high cost of cucumbers.

Is it possible to grow cucumbers at home in winter? If you wish, you can grow cucumbers all year round. From a home-grown bush, enthusiasts get 35-40 cucumbers.

Useful materials

Explore other helpful articles on caring for cucumber seedlings:

• Tips for growing in various containers, in particular in peat pots and tablets.
• The reasons why the seedlings are pulled out and the leaves turn yellow?
• All the secrets of picking young shoots and planting them in open ground.

Useful video

Personal experience of how cucumbers were grown in 50 days on the northern balcony:

Cucumbers are one of the most popular vegetable crops. And it seems like an unpretentious plant, simple, but no, and to grow it you need to know a few secrets. Just considering them, you get healthy, seasoned seedlings, and then - a rich harvest of crispy, sweet cucumbers. So, read on about growing cucumber seedlings at home.

Features of growing seedlings

Cucumbers can be successfully sown in open ground, but still the highest and earlier harvest can be achieved if ready-made seedlings are planted in the soil. Moreover, seedlings can be grown in different ways, which we will discuss below in the article. The main principles are correct preparation of seeds, soil and good care.

Seed preparation

Purchased seeds are pre-processed well, so they are easy to prepare for sowing. It's another matter if the gardener decided to reproduce in the beds the same variety of cucumbers that grew with him in the previous year.

Here it is already more difficult with the preparation of seeds: they need to be disinfected by soaking in a solution of potassium permanganate (1%) in order to protect future seedlings from diseases. Further steps will be the same for both your own and purchased material.

Selection

Seed preparation begins with the selection of empty seeds. To do this, carry out the following procedure: dissolve 1 teaspoon of salt in a glass of water, dip the seeds in this solution: good seeds will sink to the bottom, and hollow ones will float.

Hardening

First place the moistened and swollen seeds in the refrigerator for 10 hours, then warm them up by the battery for 6-8 hours: this increases their endurance.

Soak

In order for the seeds to germinate earlier, they need to be soaked. To do this, spread the seeds on the fabric, cover it with it, then immerse the fabric in water. It is necessary that the fabric remains moist, but the seeds do not float in the water. Germination of seeds ends their preparation.

Note! At home, the easiest way to germinate seeds is three years ago.Germination is facilitated by a procedure called bubbling, when a bag of seeds is first placed in the aquarium and the compressor is turned on, and then soaked.

Sowing dates

Sowing times vary by region. In the southern regions of the Russian Federation, sowing of cucumbers for seedlings begins in April, in more northern parts of Russia - in May. Seedlings are planted in open ground after 3-4 weeks, when the ground warms up to 18 ° C.

Soil selection

It is better to buy soil for seedlings in the store, but you can prepare it yourself. The composition is as follows:

• sod land - 40%;
• low-lying peat - 40%;
• sawdust - 10%;
• manure -10%.

Another version of the composition:

• rotted manure - 60%;
• sod land - 30%;
• sand - 10%.

Fertilizers must first be applied to the soil. For 5 liters of soil, a mixture of:

• superphosphate - 7 g;
• potassium sulfate - 4 g;
• urea - 3 g;
• magnesium sulfate - 1 g.

Landing

Seeds pre-soaked in a damp cloth germinate rather quickly. As a rule, after 3 days you can already see a sprout half a centimeter long. This is enough to start planting seeds for seedlings. It is better to plant germinated seeds in a container with a diameter of about 7 cm. The most popular and traditional method is planting in plastic cups.

Beforehand, a hole must be made in each cup to drain excess water. Then pour drainage on the bottom, then fill the glass with prepared soil, leaving a fifth empty. As the sprouts mature, the earth will have to be filled up a little.

Make a 2 mm depression in the ground with your finger and place the seeds in them, then sprinkle with soil on top. This completes the sowing of cucumber seeds for seedlings.

After, they need to be watered and covered with polyethylene. This will create a greenhouse effect. Keep the cups under the plastic for 3 days at a temperature of about 25 ° C. As soon as the cotyledons open, lower the temperature by 5 ° C and ensure proper care.

Cucumber seedling care

The right temperature, proper lighting and proper watering are 3 basic principles on which good care of seedlings at home is based.

Temperature

Create the required temperature regime for the cucumber seedlings within 20-23 ° C. If the temperature values ​​are slightly higher, then spray the seedlings more often, and ventilate the room during the day. If the temperature is below normal, then the phytolamp will save the situation.

They will also help ensure a good level of illumination. With a lack of light at home, the seedlings are strongly stretched, then it is inconvenient to plant, you have to do this only under a slope, while the survival rate decreases. That is why it is so important to have a lot of light.

In cloudy weather, you can use a 60-watt lamp for additional lighting, but on a sunny day, there should be enough natural light.

Watering

Water the seedlings correctly, only with warm water, striving for its temperature to be about 25 ° C. The soil must always remain moist, and the seedlings must not be poured, otherwise the roots will rot and it will die.

Advice from experienced gardeners: Take a small lump of soil, roll a ball out of it with your fingers. If it turns out a ball - good moisture, if the soil crumbles - there is not enough moisture, but if it spreads - it is excess moisture.

Fertilizer

As the sprouts mature, add earth to the cups. It is recommended to do this 2 times after the sprout is noticeably extended. In addition, little plants need feeding, without which care for seedlings is unthinkable.

Fertilize seedlings 2-3 times. The very first feeding is introduced when the first leaf appears. If a second leaf appears, it's time for secondary fertilization. The third time the cucumber seedlings are fed 12-15 days after the second fertilization.

Finished fertilizers are sold in specialized stores, but they can be prepared at home.

Preparation of the composition:

• liquid - 5 l;
• bird droppings - 100 g;
• superphosphates - 7 g;
• ammonium nitrate - 3 g;
• potassium sulfate - 4 g.

This composition is ideal for the first feeding. For subsequent applications, the concentration of the listed components is doubled.

Alternative cultivation methods

Inventive gardeners have developed many other ways to grow cucumber seedlings. At the same time, the costs of funds and efforts will be minimal.

Peat tablets

You can grow seedlings at home not only in plastic cups, but also in peat tablets. Recently, this method has become widespread.

For cucumber seedlings, tablets with a thickness of 5-8 mm are suitable. Water them and, after waiting for swelling, plant seeds in them. It is best to place the tablets in a plastic container at a minimum distance from each other.

Sawdust

To plant seedlings in sawdust, you will need a container, a plastic bottle cut lengthwise, or a shallow flower pot. Lay polyethylene at the bottom, and pour sawdust on it, previously scalded with boiling water. The layer thickness should be 6 cm.

Make grooves in the sawdust at a distance of 5 cm from each other. Place the seeds in them every 2-3 cm. Water the sawdust periodically to keep them moist. Feed the seedlings with a mullein diluted with water 1:10. After 2-3 weeks, transplant the seedlings into the ground.

Seedlings "in swaddling clothes"

Cellophane, cut into squares, acts as a diaper. Pour a small amount of soil into the upper left part. Place the seeds on it. Fold the bottom of the film up.

Then fold the left edge and roll the film into a roll. This "swaddling" ends with the fastening of the film with a thin elastic band. Moisten the substrate in the diapers a little and place the rolls in a plastic container, leaving no distance between them. Seedling rolls are easy to care for.

Landless way

This will require toilet paper and polyethylene. On pieces of polyethylene cut to the width of the paper, the seedlings are laid in 2 layers and well moistened with a spray bottle. Seeds are laid out along the top edge at a distance of 4 cm from each other.

From above they are covered with another layer of toilet paper. Then everything is rolled into rolls, which are fixed with elastic bands. The rolls are placed in a container filled with water. Its level should be a maximum of 2 cm.

Growing seedlings in shell

This method is not much different from growing seedlings in plastic cups, but it has one important advantage: before planting, you will not need to remove the seedlings from the shell, you just need to split it. True, this must be done carefully, without damaging the roots.

So, growing cucumber seedlings at home is within the power of everyone. However, the result will be only if the seed is properly prepared and the sowing is carried out at the right time.

After that, it remains only to carefully take care of her. Grow cucumber seedlings in traditional and creative ways. The main thing is to get a wonderful harvest, with which every seed will thank you for good care.

Indoor plants on the windowsill look great, give comfort and coziness to housing, give a particle of warmth in the cold season, but over time they still become boring. There is an idea - to remove home flowers and grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter.

Think you can't do it? Growing cucumbers at home is within the power of even those who have never had a summer residence and have still seen cucumbers in the wildest conditions only at the bazaar and in stores. The good idea is that it can become a real hobby for all family members.

It is so interesting to observe the growth of plants, to celebrate every day new changes in the growing seedlings and how great it is to eat fresh cucumber grown on your own for the New Year's holiday in winter.

Which apartment will be able to harvest cucumbers?

For growing cucumbers in winter, a number of conditions are necessary that can be practically met in any city apartment. It is important to adhere to certain rules when building a home garden:

• Placement - to grow cucumbers in an apartment, window sills are suitable, but only on the south side, the plants are very sensitive to heat and light. If there is a heated loggia or an insulated balcony, you can safely place boxes with cucumbers there.
• Light - it is necessary in the autumn-winter months to increase the illumination of plants using fluorescent lamps up to 15-16 hours a day. The maximum amount can also be obtained using light reflectors, mirrors or plain foil. Stick reflectors on the glass or position it so that as much light as possible hits the seedlings. You can expand the lighting area by tying whips, which will make the windowsill green and aesthetically attractive.
• Heat - cucumbers are heat-loving plants, therefore, when germinating their seedlings, a temperature of up to 25 ° C is required. After germination, the temperature must be reduced and kept within 20 ° C during cultivation, but not lower.

It is important to know if you decide to grow seedlings at home! Plant roots on a cold windowsill can slow down their growth rate. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to put insulation under the boxes or pots. As insulation, you can take a board or foam rubber, or any other insulation material.

The best varieties of cucumbers for growing at home

Seed selection is one of the most important things to consider when planting cucumbers on a windowsill. The quality of the crop and the abundance of fruiting will largely depend on the correctly selected variety.

To grow cucumbers at home on a windowsill, it is better to use self-pollinating, early ripening and preferably fruitful varieties. Some gardeners use bee-pollinated varieties, but they will need to be artificially pollinated with cotton wool.

Now various agricultural firms offer a large list of varieties that can be used for growing at home. Here are just a few of them:

• Shchedryk is an early ripening variety. Juicy green fruits ripen in 40-45 days. From a bush, you can collect up to 20 pieces 12-14 cm long.
• Masha F1 - ripening period 35-40 days. The variety has a high yield; 5-7 cucumbers can be harvested from each branch.
• Prestige F1 is an early ripening variety, a feature of long-term fruiting.
• Marinda - pleases with an abundance of fruits that ripen together at the same time.

Each gardener has his own favorite seed varieties that he wants to try indoors. Are varieties that bear fruit well in the country suitable for a garden on a windowsill? Everything is individual, you just need to carefully read the instructions on each specific package.

Dishes for growing cucumbers on the windowsill

To grow cucumber seedlings at home, you must use small cups for seedlings and special soil for its germination or peat pots. From available tools, you can take dishes from yoghurts, sour cream and the like.

For growing cucumber bushes, special deep containers, which can be bought in stores, are suitable. There is no desire to spend money on factory boxes, homemade boxes, plastic buckets and even pots will do.

The main thing is that for each bush there is at least 5 kg of land. At the bottom of each container there should be holes so that the soil breathes, the roots do not rot, and excess water flows down.

Particular attention should be paid to the composition of the soil. Now the primer can be bought in the store. If there is no possibility or desire to purchase store-bought soil, we make a soil mixture for cucumber seedlings on our own:

• 2/3 the volume of a bucket of forest or garden land;
• 1/3 fertilizer;
• 1 cup of chalk;
• 2 glasses of ash;
• 4 cups of ripe leaves of garden trees.

At the bottom of the container, place a drainage of small pebbles or expanded clay up to 5 cm thick, then a well-mixed mixture goes. We fill it in a prepared container, not adding 3-4 cm to the edge.

Take advantage of the advice of experienced gardeners. It is desirable to spill the mixture prepared at home with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. It must be watered several times with water so that the water is well absorbed.

How to grow healthy cucumber seedlings

Healthy seedlings are a good start and provide many prerequisites for a good harvest. First, you need to check the seeds for similarity by placing them in a warm place on a damp cloth for 1-2 days.

If the seeds have sprouted well, you can hope that the seedlings will be good. You can germinate all the seeds and choose the strongest ones for planting:

1. Now we plant the sprouted seeds in the soil for germinating seedlings, in cups, pour and cover them with foil.
2. Place the cups in a warm, dark place with a temperature of 25 ° C. Shoots will appear in 2-3 days.
3. Then we transfer them to the windowsills in a cooler place - bright and with a temperature of 20 ° C.
4. When the seedlings of indoor cucumbers grow up to 3-4 leaves, we transplant them into boxes. First, water the soil abundantly in a glass and in a box. We carefully take a glass and knead it with our fingers so that the earth loosened up. Carefully transfer the plant from the cup to the box, being careful not to damage the roots and leaves.

Note! Indoor cucumbers are very delicate plants, so it is good to plant them right away in boxes and not subject to transshipment.

Secrets and rules of care

After the appearance of 4-5 leaves, pinch the top well, which will allow new shoots to form and form a bush. The next time you can pinch the plants at the level of the next 5-6 leaves - then new shoots will form. Here, you should observe the measure so that the plant has enough nutrients and strength for the formation of fruits.

Rules for caring for indoor cucumbers:

• To increase the area of ​​the received light, as well as to support the plants, you should stretch the ropes or arrange other holders along which the whips will climb, this will increase the yield and decorate the window.
• Cucumbers are moisture-loving plants, they should be once a week, and if the air in the apartment is dry, then more often sprayed with plain clean water from a spray bottle.
• It is better to pick fruits 10-12 cm in size, so the plant will have the opportunity to bloom again, and as a result, the yield will increase.
• Fertilize the soil regularly, at least once every 10 days. It is good for this to use ready-made fertilizer mixtures available on the market.

One of the main problems faced by exotic lovers who dream of growing cucumbers on the windowsill is their great dislike for drafts and cold.

Growing problems and how to solve them:

• Before arranging the boxes, it is imperative to close up all the cracks, eliminate all possible sources of drafts.
• It is better to put boxes on insulation, board or foam.
• Plants and leaves are very delicate, they break easily - it is better not to transfer or transplant them. Care very carefully.

The first experience with homemade cucumbers may be unsuccessful, but this is not a reason to abandon such a wonderful idea. Think about the mistakes you made and start over. So what if we dreamed of eating fresh vegetables for the New Year, but did not have time. There are still many favorite holidays ahead to please loved ones with self-grown cucumbers. Good luck!

What plants need to be grown on the windowsill so that the flowers are beautiful, and the leaves refresh the air with oxygen, and the fruits can be used for making salads? And, all this to have all year round? This wonderful plant is called a cucumber. In order to have the expected effect, you need theoretical knowledge, a little practical experience in growing any indoor plants and a great desire.The proposed article is designed for those readers who, after receiving new information, do not forget it, but try to use the theory in practice. What do you need to know to have cucumbers on the windowsill all winter?

Cucumbers on the windowsill

Cucumber varieties

Let's start with pure theory. To obtain fruit, the vast majority of flowers must be pollinated by insects; this natural process has many features and differences. In the rooms, as you might guess, flies, bees, butterflies and other insects do not fly in swarms. Especially in winter.

For the windowsill, you need to choose parthenocarpic varieties

Conclusion. For growing on a windowsill, you need to take only special hybrid varieties of cucumbers that do not require natural pollination. Such plants are scientifically called parthenocarpic, they do not need pollination. This is a very important factor, do not even try to plant ordinary cucumbers on the windowsill, intended for growing in the beds. Whatever yield you are promised on a package of seeds, you will have zero yield in your apartment.

In stores you can find quite a few varieties of cucumbers intended for indoor cultivation, it is not worth listing them. Pay attention to this feature when buying.

Parthenocarpic cucumbers: popular hybrids

When to sow seeds

This issue should be discussed in more detail. The fact is that you want to have cucumbers all winter, and not just a few days. And for this, theoretical knowledge will be useful again.

When to sow seeds

From germination to the beginning of fruiting takes about 45-50 days, the period of fruiting of one plant is about a month and a half. This means that one-time sowing of cucumbers is not enough. If you want to have fresh fruits for 4–5 months, you will have to deal with plant seedlings at least four times. The gap between crops is a month and a half. As soon as the first wave ceases to bear fruit, the fruiting of the "second stage" begins, and so on.

It should take about two weeks between sowing.

With time and the frequency of sowing, we figured it out, excellent. But now you need to take into account the "number of windowsills" for the placement of cucumbers. If you have enough for each "queue" one bush, then there should be no problems. You can always place 5-6 cucumber bushes in an apartment. And if you want to collect a relatively large number of cucumbers, then one bush for each "queue" is not enough. Here you will have to choose between the amount of short-term picking of cucumbers and the duration.

Practical advice. In one standard box for indoor plants with a length of 70 centimeters, you can place no more than 6 cucumber bushes. Keep this in mind when calculating the total number of bushes and seeding periods.

You can sow seeds from September. In this case, the first fruits will be already at the end of October and beginning of December. Then, after one and a half two months, plant new plants again. At the same time, you need to know that daylight hours for cucumbers should last at least 14-15 hours; in winter, artificial lighting is indispensable.

In winter, cucumbers need additional lighting

Temperature and watering during cultivation

The temperature in the room during the day should be within + 21–24 ° С, at night + 18–19 ° С. In most apartments, this is the temperature that is maintained during the winter. If not, the plants need to be slightly warmed up with any devices, including incandescent lamps. They will illuminate and warm at the same time. As for energy losses, there are no problems here. Less energy is always required to heat a window sill with cucumbers than for the entire room. Of course, it is advisable to place the plants on the south side.

For good fruiting, you need to observe the temperature regime.

Soil moisture has a significant impact not only on yield, but also on plant health. Not enough moisture - there are few cucumbers and their appearance is poor.A lot of moisture, and even at insufficient temperatures, will certainly lead to decay of the horse system and the death of cucumbers. The plant should be watered in a timely manner, but without excessive fanaticism. It should also be borne in mind that on the windowsills, the earth quickly loses moisture, this is unacceptable for cucumbers. Experienced growers strongly recommend sprinkling the leaves with clean, warm water daily. And so that the roots do not rot, all containers must have an effective drainage system.

Spray cucumbers with warm water additionally

Land requirements

The best option is to purchase a ready-made universal mixture in specialized stores. This is a clean land, excellent for cucumbers in terms of fertility.

Soil for cucumbers

You can also prepare the mixture yourself.

We recommend the following formulations:

• two parts of coconut fiber and one part of vermicompost. The land is quite fashionable today, although it does not have any particular advantages. Expensive coconut fiber can be successfully replaced with overripe sawdust of deciduous trees, and purchased vermicompost with humus;

  Biohumus and coconut flakes

• mix two parts of garden land with one part of river sand and one part of humus. If the soil is too "greasy", then sawdust can be added.

  Add sand and humus to the garden soil

Self-prepared soil must be decontaminated. This can be done by heating in an oven up to + 120 ° С for 30–40 minutes or using liquid solutions. A weak solution of potassium permanganate or any commercial chemicals will do. Some gardeners recommend spilling the ground with boiling water, but the effectiveness of this method is insufficient, and cucumbers are very afraid of pests and diseases in the ground.

Calcining the soil in the oven

Seed preparation and sowing

If you bought expensive seeds, then they have special shells of nutrients, have been treated and stimulated growth. They can be sown immediately, no additional preparation is required. If the seeds are ordinary, then they should be prepared for germination. The preparation consists of several stages.

1. Disinfection. You can use a solution of pink potassium permanganate. The seeds are soaked in it for 2-3 hours. No potassium permanganate - use hydrogen peroxide or boric acid. A solution of 3-4% concentration is made of them, the soaking time is up to thirty minutes. In stores, compositions for disinfection are sold, you can also use them. During the procedure, the seeds are washed with clean running water.

   Disinfection of cucumber seeds

2. Stimulating growth. You can buy a special composition in the store, or you can make it yourself from aloe juice. To do this, dilute 20 ml of juice in 100 ml of water. The seeds should remain in the solution for approximately 4-5 hours.

   Soaking cucumber seeds in a nutrient solution

3. Soak... Experienced growers recommend not to skip this operation. It will take a little time, and the result will be very positive. Thanks to soaking, it is possible to select the strongest shoots, completely exclude the sowing of non-viable seeds. In addition, soaking avoids diving, which the plants have a negative attitude towards. Diving significantly slows down growth, small roots are necessarily damaged.

   Soaking cucumber seeds

Sowing seeds

You can sow both germinated after soaking, and ordinary seeds. First, consider the technology of sowing germinated seeds.

After small roots have appeared on the seeds, they can be transplanted into the ground. In the ground, make small holes about two centimeters deep, lower the seeds with the root down and sprinkle them gently. It goes without saying that the soil should be damp and after sowing it should be watered with a sprinkler. Cover the container with a plastic wrap or thick cloth and place in a warm place for germination.

Sowing cucumber seeds

Without soaking, the seeds are sown in this way, only in one hole you need at least two sweets. Nobody knows how many seeds will eventually viable, you should not risk time and, in case of problems, re-sowing.

After two real leaves have appeared, the soil in the pots is poured two or three centimeters. This operation improves the conditions for the development of the root system.

Healthy seedlings of cucumber seeds in the soil

Growing cucumbers

In the early stages of growth, it is recommended to light the plants evenly from all directions. To do this, it is enough to wrap the pots around the perimeter with foil, secure it with tape or rope. Over time, it is removed.

At the 5-6 leaf stage, you need to think about the supports for the stems. To do this, you can use the semblance of wooden stairs, tie up ropes, or use any material at hand.

An example of using a grid for garter cucumbers

How they are made:

• wooden ladder... Prepare small blocks of about 5 × 5 mm, up to one meter long. Stick two vertical racks along the edges of the pot or container, fix the horizontal steps at a distance of up to 10 cm. They can be attached with wire, tape, or rope. To increase stability, the uprights should expand upward. Instead of wooden slats, you can take a wire Ø 2-3 mm, preferably galvanized or coated with polymer protective materials. Ordinary steel will oxidize, the appearance will be very "sad";

  Bamboo ladder

• emphasis on the ropes... Making it much easier. At the top of the window, horizontally along the entire width, fasten a wooden batten or a metal pipe of a small diameter. Tie ropes to it, it is better to use natural ones, but polymer ones are also suitable. The number of ropes should be equal to the number of cucumber bushes, the length is slightly longer than the distance to the pots. The bottom end of each rope is neatly tied to the shoots.

  An example of tying cucumbers with a rope

Very important. Do not under any circumstances tighten the knot on the stem, the distance between the rope and the plant should allow it to grow unhindered.

Cucumbers are sprayed twice a day with clean, settled water. When the plants bloom, it is recommended to shake the bushes a little to improve pollination.

Blooming cucumbers on the windowsill

One more nuance. A cucumber can have a stem up to two meters long. Such a plant cannot be placed on the window, and this negatively affects the yield. To give the bush density and regulate the length of the shoots, the cucumbers need to be pinched, this should be done after the appearance of the first five leaves. By pinching, it will be possible to approximately halve the length of the shoots and double the number of fruiting shoots, the bush becomes lush. Instead of one long lash, two grow much shorter. During pinching, the ovary is removed to the pinching point, everything above is left.

Forming cucumber lashes when pinching

Features of watering and feeding

During the growing season, plants require moisture to varying degrees and respond to irrigation irregularities. The first months of growth, cucumbers need a constant amount of moisture, but they react extremely negatively to its excess. If the seedlings are poured, then various diseases may appear, the most dangerous of which is the black leg. This disease always stops the development of cucumbers, and in many cases becomes the cause of their death.

Cucumbers on the windowsill. Pallet watering

When the vegetation speed slows down slightly, the watering intensity should be reduced. During this period, you need to use the rule: it is better to underfill than to pour. Of course, underfilling should not cause the plant to die. With the appearance of flowers, watering increases slightly, and the appearance of an ovary becomes a signal for a sharp increase in the amount of moisture.Fruits significantly increase the consumption of water, its lack has a negative impact on their development, appearance and quantity. In extreme cases, the ovary can crumble, experienced gardeners never bring cucumbers to such a sad state.

Yeast as a top dressing

To increase the time of fruiting, cucumbers need to be fed. It is better to buy top dressing in specialized stores, at the price it is available to absolutely all consumers, and in terms of the quality and balance of nutrients, it is fully suitable for cucumbers. The methods and frequency of feeding are indicated by the manufacturer on the packaging, you don't need to invent anything, you need to follow the instructions exactly. If you try to independently feed the plants with various organic and mineral fertilizers, it is very difficult to calculate the dose. An excess of mineral fertilizers impairs the quality of the fruit.

Video - Cucumbers on the windowsill