Grow plants at home

Try growing one of these exotic plants from seeds at home on your own. Moreover, it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

Buying delicious vegetables and fruits (including exotic ones) in the store, we get planting material for free. So why not use it rationally? After all, it is quite simple to grow a fruit-bearing tree or shrub from seeds.

1. Citrus fruits

With proper planting and care, citrus plants develop quite quickly, but fruiting does not come soon. Therefore, in order to enjoy homemade lemon or orange, you have to be patient: the first fruits will appear no earlier than in 5-7 years.

Lemon and tangerine

To grow citrus fruits from seeds, rinse the seeds with warm water, dry for 1-2 hours, and sow in a pot of soil that is designed for growing a specific type of citrus plant.

The pot in which you place the seed should be at least 2 liters, since it is not recommended to replant the plant for the first few years. Do not forget to put drainage on the bottom.

Immediately after sowing, it is necessary to make a greenhouse from a thin plastic bag. This will help maintain the required humidity level. When drying, the soil must be moistened in a timely manner.

For different types of citrus fruits, the seed germination time is not the same: from 3 to 8 weeks. Mandarins grow slower than others.

Citrus fruits grown from seeds at home reach no more than 90 cm in height.

2. Avocado

This is an unpretentious plant, so even a beginner can easily grow it. Peel the brown skin of a ripe avocado, plant it with the blunt end down so that the sharp end protrudes from the ground, and water regularly.

You can land in another way: lower the bone with the blunt end down into a container of water so that it is half immersed in the liquid. Secure the bone with a thread or a toothpick, place the container on the windowsill and add water as needed.

Avocado

The bone should hatch after 3-12 weeks. Germination time depends on many factors: proper watering, seed maturity, etc.

When the seed cracks and a sprout emerges from the crack, plant it in a small pot of any fertile soil, half buried. Water the plant in time - and after 3 months it will grow up to half a meter high.

3. Feijoa

Growing a feijoa from a stone at home is also not difficult. Separate the seeds of the ripe fruit from the pulp, rinse in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, dry and sow in a medium-sized pot with a mixture of leafy soil, peat and river sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm. It is best to do this in February.

Feijoa blooms beautifully

Then moisten the soil with a spray bottle and place the pot on a well-lit windowsill. Water the crops in a timely manner - and in a month the seeds will germinate. The first fruits will appear after 5-6 years.

At home, it is recommended to grow self-pollinated feijoa varieties (for example, Crimean early or Nikitsky aromatic).

4. Passion fruit (passionflower)

This tropical vine loves to grow in a warm and ventilated place, but not in a draft, with good lighting and high humidity.

If you nevertheless decide to grow a passion fruit from a stone, find a spacious place for it in advance: the vine grows strongly, so a narrow window sill will not work for this exotic plant. You will also need support to support the shoots.

Passion fruit

Passion fruit seeds are easy to plant. The most suitable time for this is mid-spring.

Remove the seeds from ripe fruits, spread them on a clean towel and rub gently. When the juice bags open, rinse the seeds with water and dry in a dark place.

Sow the seeds into a container with a mixture of compost, topsoil, and river sand in equal proportions. Sowing is best done in small grooves located at a distance of 5 cm from each other.

You do not need to deepen the seeds, just sprinkle them with a thin layer of soil and immediately moisten them with a spray bottle. With proper care, passion fruit will bloom 2-4 years after sowing.

5. Pomegranate

Pomegranate grown from the seed blooms for 3-4 years, but its fruits ripen at home for a very long time. Therefore, these plants are grown more out of interest than for the purpose of feasting on delicious pomegranates (as the fruits of this culture are called in botany).

Pomegranate and its seedlings

The most suitable time for sowing pomegranate is winter. From a fully ripe bright red fruit, remove the seeds and, without waiting for them to dry, plant them in fertile soil to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.

Water the crops in a timely manner. Shoots will appear in 1-2 months. Once they are strong, transplant them into separate pots.

Keep in mind that the pomegranate should be dormant throughout the winter, so move it to a cool place every year in late autumn.

6. Pepino

Pepino, or melon pear

This plant is often called the melon pear, because its fruit looks like a pear, and tastes like a melon. To grow pepino at home, remove the seeds from the fruit, put them in a shallow container, wrap them in damp toilet paper, cover with plastic wrap and place in a dark place with a temperature of about 25 ° C.

Moisten the seeds with a spray bottle every 2-3 days. When they hatch, move the container to a well-lit area. When the cotyledons appear, dive the seedlings and plant them in a pot with fertile soil. Please note that pepino is very demanding on light.

7. Date

A date palm grown from a seed at home develops quite quickly and after 5-7 years it can turn into a full-fledged tree. But, unfortunately, you should not expect fruits from such a plant: dates do not bear fruit at home.

Date fruit and date palm

Soak the freshly removed seeds in a glass of room temperature water for two days, then peel them of the pulp.Plant vertically in lightly damp palm soil and lightly dampen the soil occasionally. Shoots should appear after 2-3 weeks.

Do not forget that the date palm does not tolerate excess moisture, but it also does not like completely dry soil. The date does not like transplants and quickly dies if the roots are damaged, so it is better to immediately sow seeds in a container of sufficient volume.

8. Kiwi

Kiwi seedlings

To grow kiwi from seeds at home, you need to choose a ripe fruit with an intact skin, extract the seeds from it and peel the pulp. At the same time, try not to damage the integrity of the small seeds.

Rinse the seeds thoroughly with water several times, dry on a napkin, and then place in a glass of water at room temperature. Place it in a warm place (for example, on a windowsill above the radiator).

After 7-10 days, when the seeds have opened, spread them on damp gauze, place on a saucer and cover with plastic. When the seeds hatch (usually after 2-3 days), sow them in separate containers with a pre-moistened mixture of black soil, peat and sand.

Kiwi should grow in constantly moist soil, but it is important to avoid stagnant water. Therefore, drainage (expanded clay) should be placed on the bottom of the container and the seedlings should be sprayed with a spray bottle. It is better to choose a warm and sunny place for the plant: a windowsill located on the south side is suitable.

Try growing these exotic plants from seeds. They will decorate your home, dilute the usual flower garden with their unusual look. And they will also give the joy of the experiment, the results of which, perhaps, will be a real surprise for you!

Hydroponics - a modern way of growing plants in special solutions. Translated from Greek, the term hydroponics literally means "working solution". When using this method, plants do without soil, are in a substrate that serves as a support for the root system and receive the necessary nutrients from the solution. It is selected individually for each plant, depending on the species.

The soilless method of growing plants began to be used in ancient times. The Hanging Gardens in Babylon are the first successful attempt at hydroponics. The Aztec Floating Gardens in Central America used the same technology. When warlike neighbors drove out the nomadic Indians living on the shores of Lake Tenochitlan in Mexico, they invented their own method of growing vegetables and fruits. The Aztecs built cane rafts and covered them with silt from the bottom of the lake, growing fruit trees and vegetables.

Before hydroponics was introduced, scientists were researching how the plant feeds. In the course of growing plants in water, they determined what nutrients the root was extracting. It has been found that the plant needs minerals for normal growth and development. Potassium promotes plant growth. Thanks to calcium, the root system is formed. Magnesium and iron are involved in the formation of chlorophyll. Sulfur and phosphorus serve to form the nucleus and protoplasm.

Advantages

Hydroponics has several advantages over the traditional method of growing plants.

1. The plant receives its entire supply of nutrients in the required quantity. This contributes to its rapid growth and development. Plants grown in this way are in good health. Fruit trees give a good harvest, and ornamental plants delight with abundant and long flowering.
2. .When growing plants without soil, you can forget about such a problem as drying out and waterlogging of the soil.
3. Thanks to water flow control the number of waterings is reduced... You can forget about daily watering by choosing the necessary capacity and growing system. Depending on the size of the hydroponic vessel, watering is reduced from twice a week to once a month.
4. The plant receives the exact amount of fertilizer... No need to worry about how much you need to deposit.
5. No need to use pesticides... A hydroponically grown plant is not afraid of soil pests, root rot and fungal diseases.
6. Transplanting a plant is easy and simple... The roots are not injured during transplantation, they do not need to be freed from the ground. It is enough to transfer the plant into another container by adding a solution.
7. Hydroponics is an economical way to grow indoor plants... They do not need an earthen substrate that needs to be changed annually. Formulas and specialty equipment are affordable for most people.
8. The earth tends to accumulate harmful substances that threaten human life (radionuclides, nitrates, heavy metals, poisons). In a soilless growing method, the plant assimilates only what it needs. Fruit plants will be environmentally friendly and safe... In terms of taste, they are in no way inferior to plants grown in the traditional way.
9. Growing plants using the hydroponic method is not only economical, but also pleasant... Do not get your hands dirty, as when working with the ground. In addition, hydroponic vessels are lightweight and compact. The green corner in the house will look neat, there will be no extraneous odors and debris.

Do not pay attention to the stereotypes that have developed over the centuries that a plant can only be grown in the ground. This is not an artificial method using pesticides. The hydroponics method is completely safe.

Hydroponics made easy

Having mastered the basic concepts, you can start growing plants. This method does not require much labor. It will be much easier to take care of indoor flowers. Especially if you use automated circulation systems, which in some cases can be assembled by yourself. You can make your life easier by reducing the amount of watering and fertilizing.

Hydroponics is inexpensive

To make a hydroponic vessel, you will need an ordinary plastic pot and any suitable larger container. The main thing is that it does not allow light to pass through, contains a certain amount of water and is chemically inert. A regular paper bag for milk or juice, intended for long-term storage, will do. From the side of the seam, a hole is cut in it for the pot. The container is turned on its side. The pot with the substrate is immersed in the solution for 1-2 centimeters.

The composition of the substrate should include vermiculite, perlite, expanded clay, mineral wool, coconut fiber. We should not forget about the inert chemical fiber, which can be used as foam rubber, nylon, nylon or polypropylene threads. These materials will cost no more than potting soil. If the soil needs to be changed every year when transplanting, then the hydroponic substrate will last for several years.

To grow one small plant, you need to prepare one liter of nutrient solution. The concentrate is designed for 50 liters of hydroponic solution. Thanks to it, you can take care of 50 plants per year or stretch the liquid for 50 years.

What plants can be grown hydroponically?

The hydroponic method can be applied to most plants grown by seed or cuttings. When transplanting adult specimens, it is better to take plants with thick and coarse roots. They should be well cleared of the ground. Hydroponics is not carried out if the plants have a delicate root system.

Plant transplant rules

To transplant a plant into hydroponics, it must be removed from the pot and soaked with an earthen ball in a bucket of water at room temperature. After several hours, the soil is carefully separated from the roots. Then the roots are washed under a light stream of water. The peeled roots are straightened down and covered with a special substrate, holding the plant. It should not touch the roots of the water layer.The solution will rise through the capillaries of the substrate, so the roots will reach the required depth. After transplanting, the hydroponic substrate is watered with plain water, the vessel is filled. In order for the plant to adapt to the new conditions of detention, it is left for a week. When it comes to an end, the water is replaced with a solution. You cannot fill it right away.

Basic concepts of hydroponics

Solution concentration

The concentration of the solution is selected according to the manufacturer's recommendations. The volume of the solution in the hydroponic vessel must be kept at the same level. This can be done by regularly adding plain water to it. It is very important that it is soft (settled or filtered). According to the manufacturer's instructions, the solution is completely replaced every three months. For insectivorous plants and epiphytes, a solution with a lower concentration of 2-4 times is prepared. Fast-growing plants need to increase the concentration of the nutrient solution by 1.5 times. Annual vegetable crops prefer a concentration that is 1.25 times higher than the average. In the cold season, the concentration of the solution is reduced by 2-3 times. It is equally important to lower the water level.

Solution acidity (pH)

5.6 is the optimal pH for most plants. As a rule, all hydroponic formulations are close to this figure. Depending on the type of plant, the required size is selected. PH 5.6 is not suitable for all plants. Gardenias and azaleas prefer a more acidic environment (pH = 5). An alkaline environment (pH = 7) is suitable for palms. An electronic pH meter is used to determine the pH. This device shows accurate values, but not everyone can handle it. Moreover, it is very expensive. Better to use special acidity tests that are designed for aquariums. They can be purchased at specialized zoological stores. They are accurate and easy to use. Universal indicator strips are not worth buying. They have a large margin of error.

How to prepare a hydroponic solution

A hydroponic solution consists of two ingredients. A medical five-cubic syringe is used to determine the exact dosage. The first component of the solution is a complex fertilizer (1.67 ml). Two types of fertilizers can be used. "Uniflor Bud" is suitable for fruit crops and flowering plants. For other species, it is better to take "Uniflor Growth", which promotes the growth of the green part of the plant. Fertilizer is diluted in one liter of water.

The second ingredient for preparing a hydroponic solution is a 25% calcium nitrate solution (2 ml). He prepares simply. 250 grams of calcium nitrate tetrahydrate is diluted in a liter of water. This amount of nitrate is used for soft water. For example, distilled or tap Petersburg with a concentration of 100 mg / l. If the water is hard, the amount of calcium nitrate is selected differently.

Just two simple ingredients and you get a solution of normal concentration (1 liter).

How to prepare a solution - Video

Hydroponics from scrap materials - Video

A more complex option for more plants - Video

Try growing one of these exotic plants from seeds at home on your own. Moreover, it is not as difficult as it seems at first glance.

Buying delicious vegetables and fruits (including exotic ones) in the store, we get planting material for free. So why not use it rationally? After all, it is quite simple to grow a fruit-bearing tree or shrub from seeds.

1. Citrus fruits

With proper planting and care, citrus plants develop quite quickly, but fruiting does not come soon. Therefore, in order to enjoy homemade lemon or orange, you have to be patient: the first fruits will appear no earlier than in 5-7 years.

Lemon and tangerine

To grow citrus fruits from seeds, rinse the seeds with warm water, dry for 1-2 hours, and sow in a pot of soil that is designed to grow a specific type of citrus plant.

The pot in which you place the seed should be at least 2 liters, since it is not recommended to replant the plant for the first few years. Do not forget to put drainage on the bottom.

Immediately after sowing, it is necessary to make a greenhouse from a thin plastic bag. This will help maintain the required humidity level. When drying, the soil must be moistened in a timely manner.

Different types of citrus fruits have different germination times: from 3 to 8 weeks. Mandarins grow slower than others.

Citrus fruits grown from a stone at home reach a height of no more than 90 cm.

2. Avocado

This is an unpretentious plant, so even a beginner can easily grow it. Peel the brown skin of a ripe avocado, plant it with the blunt end down so that the sharp end protrudes from the ground, and water regularly.

You can land in another way: lower the bone with the blunt end down into a container of water so that it is half immersed in the liquid. Secure the bone with a thread or a toothpick, place the container on the windowsill and add water as needed.

Avocado

The bone should hatch after 3-12 weeks. Germination time depends on many factors: proper watering, seed maturity, etc.

When the seed cracks and a sprout emerges from the crack, plant it in a small pot of any fertile soil, half buried. Water the plant in time - and after 3 months it will grow up to half a meter high.

3. Feijoa

Growing a feijoa from a stone at home is also not difficult. Separate the seeds of the ripe fruit from the pulp, rinse in a weak solution of potassium permanganate, dry and sow in a medium-sized pot with a mixture of leafy soil, peat and river sand in a ratio of 2: 2: 1 to a depth of no more than 0.5 cm. It is best to do this in February.

Feijoa blooms beautifully

Then moisten the soil with a spray bottle and place the pot on a well-lit windowsill. Water the crops in a timely manner - and in a month the seeds will germinate. The first fruits will appear after 5-6 years.

At home, it is recommended to grow self-pollinated feijoa varieties (for example, Crimean early or Nikitsky aromatic).

4. Passion fruit (passionflower)

This tropical vine loves to grow in a warm and ventilated place, but not in a draft, with good lighting and high humidity.

If you nevertheless decide to grow a passion fruit from a stone, find a spacious place for it in advance: the vine grows strongly, so a narrow window sill will not work for this exotic plant. You will also need support to support the shoots.

Passion fruit

Passion fruit seeds are easy to plant. The most suitable time for this is mid-spring.

Remove the seeds from ripe fruits, spread them on a clean towel and rub gently. When the juice bags open, rinse the seeds with water and dry in a dark place.

Sow the seeds into a container with a mixture of compost, topsoil, and river sand in equal proportions. Sowing is best done in small grooves located at a distance of 5 cm from each other.

You do not need to deepen the seeds, just sprinkle them with a thin layer of soil and immediately moisten them with a spray bottle. With proper care, passion fruit will bloom 2-4 years after sowing.

5. Pomegranate

Pomegranate grown from the seed blooms for 3-4 years, but its fruits ripen at home for a very long time. Therefore, these plants are grown more out of interest than to feast on delicious pomegranates (as the fruits of this culture are called in botany).

Pomegranate and its seedlings

The most suitable time for sowing pomegranate is winter.From a fully ripe bright red fruit, remove the seeds and, without waiting for them to dry, plant them in fertile soil to a depth of 1-1.5 cm.

Water the crops in a timely manner. Shoots will appear in 1-2 months. Once they have matured, transplant them into separate pots.

Keep in mind that the pomegranate should be dormant all winter, so move it to a cool place every year in late fall.

6. Pepino

Pepino, or melon pear

This plant is often called the melon pear, because its fruit looks like a pear, and tastes like a melon. To grow pepino at home, remove the seeds from the fruit, put them in a shallow container, wrap them in damp toilet paper, cover with plastic wrap and place in a dark place with a temperature of about 25 ° C.

Moisten the seeds with a spray bottle every 2-3 days. When they hatch, move the container to a well-lit area. When the cotyledons appear, dive the seedlings and plant them in a pot with fertile soil. Please note that pepino is very demanding on light.

7. Date

A date palm grown from a seed at home develops quite quickly and after 5-7 years it can turn into a full-fledged tree. But, unfortunately, you should not expect fruits from such a plant: dates do not bear fruit at home.

Date fruit and date palm

Soak the freshly removed seeds in a glass of room temperature water for two days, then peel them of the pulp. Plant vertically in lightly damp palm soil and lightly dampen the soil occasionally. Shoots should appear after 2-3 weeks.

Do not forget that the date palm does not tolerate excess moisture, but it also does not like completely dry soil. The date does not like transplants and quickly dies if the roots are damaged, so it is better to immediately sow seeds in a container of sufficient volume.

8. Kiwi

Kiwi seedlings

To grow kiwi from seeds at home, you need to select a ripe fruit with an intact skin, extract the seeds from it and peel the pulp. At the same time, try not to damage the integrity of the small seeds.

Rinse the seeds thoroughly with water several times, dry on a napkin, and then place in a glass of water at room temperature. Place it in a warm place (for example, on a windowsill above the radiator).

After 7-10 days, when the seeds have opened, spread them out on damp gauze, place on a saucer and cover with plastic. When the seeds hatch (usually after 2-3 days), sow them in separate containers with a pre-moistened mixture of black soil, peat and sand.

Kiwi should grow in constantly moist soil, but it is important to avoid stagnant water. Therefore, drainage (expanded clay) should be placed on the bottom of the container and the seedlings should be sprayed with a spray bottle. It is better to choose a place for a plant that is warm and sunny: a windowsill located on the south side is suitable.

Try growing these exotic plants from seeds. They will decorate your home, dilute the usual flower garden with their unusual look. And they will also give the joy of the experiment, the results of which, perhaps, will be a real surprise for you!

Sometimes I want to go out onto the balcony, like Jamie Oliver, pick up my own grown vegetables and herbs and stir up something stunning from them. And the balcony, by the way, looks much nicer if it is not old pieces of iron that are stored there, which it is time to send to the landfill, but aromatic herbs and vegetables.

I chose several interesting plants that take root well on the windowsill or on the balcony.

Pepper

On the windowsill, you can grow a hot pepper for diablo pizza. It will require a warm, bright place and varieties suitable for home cultivation: "Carmen", "Flint", "Ogonyok", "Ryabinushka", "Bride", "Indian Summer", etc.

The bushes are very cute and do not require large pots. Up to 50 fruits can be set on one plant.The optimum temperature is 25-27 degrees Celsius.

Carrot

For growing carrots at home, it is better to take mini-varieties such as "Parmex", "Sophie", "Vnuchka". They grow in 80-90 days and do not require a lot of space - a pot or container is fine. You can also take a funny round variety "Round baby".

The soil for the carrots should be light and well-drained. The vegetable can be grown in cut plastic bottles. The optimum temperature is in the range of 13-24 degrees Celsius.

Mint

Mint is a non-capricious and undemanding plant. It can grow on your windowsill or balcony, even in winter, if you arrange additional lighting. It can be grown from cuttings and seeds. If there is an opportunity to dig up a stalk in the country at home or from friends, it is better to use this method. Mint, grown from seeds, is not taken as actively, and it will take longer to wait for the harvest.

It is important to remember that the plant loves well-moisturized soil. And, when choosing a place for it, keep in mind that the lighting should be good, but it is better to avoid direct sunlight. The optimum temperature for mint is 20-25 degrees with a plus sign.

Green onions

Growing green onions at home does not require any special dexterity. But nevertheless, it is worth considering some nuances: the bulb that you will plant should be round, dense to the touch and free from rotting marks, the root cup should be well-formed.

Immediately after planting, it is worth putting the onion in a cool, dark place so that the root system is better formed, and only then the feather will need a lot of light. The optimum temperature is 18-20 degrees, you should not overheat, because then the growth of greenery will stop.

Basil

Any kind of basil grows well in flower pots and boxes. It is better for him to allocate a sunny place, water well, keep warm and provide good drainage. For planting, you can use both cuttings and seeds. At the same time, the cuttings will quickly give the first harvest, but they will not last long, since they will bloom quickly. You will have to wait longer to harvest from seeds, but such a bush will also last longer.

The optimum temperature for basil is 20-25 degrees Celsius. In winter, backlighting is required for about 3-4 hours to increase daylight hours.

Cucumbers

To grow cucumbers on a windowsill or on a balcony, you should take a closer look at the hybrid varieties that are marked with the F1 icon. If all conditions are created for a plant, it can give 3-4 dozen fruits. Here you will have to tinker a little with the seedlings, but after transplanting into boxes, you will only need to water and cut the antennae.

Plants are planted in containers with a volume of at least 5 liters. It is important to remember that cucumbers are large water loaves and the ground should always be moist. The optimum temperature is 21-24 degrees Celsius.

Tomatoes

Dwarf varieties are usually chosen as home-grown tomatoes: Minibel, Florida Petit, Balcony Miracle, etc. You will have to take the most illuminated place in the apartment for this miracle. You will need to start with seedlings, then plant them in containers, tie them up, feed them and protect them from the cold. This is one of the most troublesome balcony crops, but pride in the work done and gardening talent is attached to the crop.

It is important to remember that tomatoes, like all plants, love water, but they can be easily poured over. Therefore, water should be done carefully. The optimum temperature is 23-25 ​​degrees Celsius.

Sorrel

Sorrel, in addition to its wonderful taste, is distinguished by the fact that it calmly tolerates shaded places. It can be grown from rhizomes of 2-4-year-old plants with buds or from seeds of such varieties as "Maikop", "Altai", "Odessa broadleaf".

It can grow at 5 and 20 degrees Celsius and even withstands small frosts. So on the balcony it can be kept until the last, and if the balcony keeps heat well, then it should not be cleaned for the winter. The leaves are cut at a height of 8-10 cm, this must be done carefully so as not to damage the growth buds.

Ginger

Ginger is not only a delicious seasoning, but also a beautiful plant. If you plant it at home, the shoots can grow up to a meter in height. Pieces of ginger root are planted, consisting of at least a couple of sections with live buds. If the root is dry, you can hold it in warm water for several hours to wake up the kidneys.

The root should not be planted very deeply, and until the first shoots appear, it should be watered very sparingly. Keep ginger in the light, but away from direct sunlight. The optimum temperature is 20-25 degrees Celsius.

A pineapple

To grow pineapple at home, you need to be patient and find a suitable fruit - purchased in the warm season and with an intact tail. The tail is cut with a knife, preferably without pulp, dried for 3-4 days in the light, and then germinated in clean river sand. When the roots appear, after about a month, it can be transplanted into a pot of soil.

Pineapple loves light, warmth and spraying. The fruit will appear about 2 years after planting. The optimum temperature is 23-30 degrees Celsius.

Strawberry

Strawberries can be grown at home all year round, in winter you will need to arrange lighting. To do this, you should choose remontant strawberry varieties that bear fruit more than once a season, but constantly, for example: "Yellow Miracle", "Queen Elizabeth", "Mount Everest". You can grow strawberries from seeds, but the easiest way is to buy ready-made seedlings. After 3-4 months, a couple of bushes will give new rosettes, and your plantation will increase by 3 times. Meanwhile, as with the germination of seeds, you will have to tinker.

Strawberries are afraid of the cold, so they should be taken out to the balcony only when the weather is warm. The optimum temperature is 18-24 degrees Celsius. It is important to remember that since there are no insects at home, you will have to pollinate the flowers yourself with a brush.

Thyme

Thyme is a wonderful herb. It is very fragrant, tasty and extremely unpretentious. Thyme naturally grows in dry areas with poor soil. Therefore, ruining it at home is not easy. The most important thing he loves is light. It is not afraid of direct sunlight, and it can be placed even where other plants will die. The only difficulty is watering: in the sun, the soil in a small volume of the pot dries quickly, and the thyme itself does not like waterlogging.

It also makes no sense to overdo it with fertilizers - thyme will not appreciate it. It can be grown both from cuttings and seeds.

What goodies grow in your home?

As you know, self-grown food products are much healthier than their store counterparts. Fortunately, you don't need to be a farmer or even live near a village to enjoy these benefits. If you have a sunny window in your home and you have a little free time, you can grow many food items yourself. Read our roundup for 16 healthy plants to grow at home.

General Tips

Before you get started, check out a few tips that are relevant no matter which plant you choose from the list.

1. All of these plants require well-drained soil, which means you will need to use a pot with holes in the bottom or place a few rocks on the bottom before adding soil. This will allow water to drain through the stones. If you decide to use a pot with holes, be sure to place the drainage container so that no water can spill onto the windowsill or floor.
2. For each of these plants, you can buy special fertilizers at the garden center or make your own.
3. Many of these plants grow best in areas that get enough sunlight and remain fairly warm throughout the day.

Avocado

An avocado tree can be grown from seed, but it will not produce edible fruit. If you want to eat what you grow, it is best to purchase a dwarf avocado plant. It can produce green or black fruits.To plant an avocado, add some sand to the bottom of a large, well-drained pot. Then you should fill it with soil and plant a tree. The avocado should be watered regularly, but the soil should not be too wet. Place the seedling in a room with high ceilings, as even dwarf trees can grow taller than three meters.

Carrot

Buy carrot seeds and a box or pot that is at least half a meter high with drainage holes in the bottom. Fill the container with humus-rich soil. Before planting seeds, the soil must be watered. They must be covered with a thin layer of soil after planting. The container should be placed in an area that is well lit throughout the day. The soil should be moist, but not too moist. Seedlings will appear in about two weeks.

Green garlic

Growing heads of garlic indoors is much more difficult, but you can easily grow herbs that are used in the same way as chives. Buy a few small cloves of garlic. Also choose a pot with drainage holes in the bottom, and a small bag of fertilizer. Divide the head of garlic into cloves and plant them in the soil with the pointed end up. Water the soil and place the container in a sunny location. Water the seedlings regularly and make sure the soil stays moist, but not soggy. Green shoots should appear in about a month.

Lemon

If you want to be able to harvest immediately, you can buy a one- or two-year-old tree. The pot for it should be made of ceramic, clay or plastic. The size of the pot should only slightly exceed the volume of the roots of the tree. Make sure the pot has multiple holes at the bottom. It is advisable to fill the drainage container with stones, this will allow the air to circulate. You can choose the soil that has been specially formulated for citrus trees. Lemon needs moist air, so spraying the leaves regularly will help keep them fresh.

Mandarin

As with lemon, it is best to buy a dwarf tangerine tree. It will grow best in a spacious pot with drainage at the bottom and in rich soil. Also mandarin requires sunlight. It must be rotated regularly so that the light falls evenly from all directions. Water the plant regularly, although you can allow it to dry out a little between waterings. The tree can grow up to one and a half meters, and the root system along with it. When roots begin to show through the drainage holes, it's time to transplant the tangerine into a larger pot.

Microgreen

Purchase seeds from a variety of plants, such as radishes, cabbage, beets, basil, and dill. Microgreening requires a shallow tray with drainage holes. The soil should be moistened with water, but it should not be too wet. Sow the seeds evenly into the soil, they should be close to each other, but not touching. To close them, you need to sift through a thin layer of soil. Then use a spray bottle to create a light mist. Place the tray in a sunny location. The greens can be consumed three weeks after sowing.

Mushrooms

The easiest way to grow mushrooms indoors is to use a laundry basket. You can also purchase a special kit for growing them.

Salad

Purchase seeds or seedlings. It must be planted in a box that has drainage holes. The seeds must be pushed into the soil and watered.

Green onions

No seeds are required to grow it. To grow your own crop, just buy a bunch of green onions, fasten the bulbs together with an elastic band and place them in a glass of water. When new green shoots appear and roots begin to grow in the water, the onions can be transplanted into a shallow container. Plants need to be watered regularly and kept in the sun.

Tomatoes

To grow tomatoes, you need a large pot with drainage holes.To harvest regularly, you need to plant new plants every few weeks. The seeds are immersed in the soil and watered. The soil should be moist, but not soggy. Seeds germinate in 5-10 days. After the new plants have risen a few centimeters, they must be transplanted into fresh soil. About two weeks after planting the seedlings, organic fertilizers and mixtures can be added.

Basil

For a bountiful harvest of basil, it is very important to choose a container with good drainage holes. Basil loves warm temperatures and lots of sunshine for at least six hours every day. You can fertilize the soil once a month. If the room temperature is very high, water the basil every day. If the temperature is acceptable, then every other day. Pruning can also help you maximize your basil yield. In addition, you need to remove the flowers when they start to appear.

Chivis

The pot for this type of onion must be filled almost to the top with soil. After sowing, the seeds should be covered with a thin layer of soil. The container should be in a partially shaded area. Water regularly, the soil should not dry out.

Coriander

The seeds of this plant must be sown into the soil, covered with a thin layer, and then watered. Cover the container immediately with plastic wrap, securing it with rubber bands. You need to remove it when the seedlings have already appeared and have reached the level of the film. This may take several days. Water your seedlings every day and keep them in a place that gets enough sunlight.

Ginger

It is easy to grow it. Just buy ginger root from the grocery store and cover it with soil in a container. In this case, the prospective buds should be directed face up. The container must be placed in a place that receives scattered sunlight, and you can wait for seedlings. The soil should be watered regularly and should not be dry.

Mint

Plant the seeds of the plant in a large, deep pot as mint tends to thrive. The pot should be left in a place that receives sufficient heat and sunlight. Water the mint regularly to keep the soil from drying out.

Rosemary

Start by planting the seeds in a container with holes in the bottom for drainage. It is best to use soil mixed with coarse sand. You can also add a teaspoon of lime to make the soil alkaline. The container should be placed on the sunny side. Rosemary will grow best if it is exposed to sunlight for at least six hours a day. Watering is necessary if the topsoil is dry to the touch.

In winter, you really want fresh herbs, fragrant berries, fruits and vegetables. I would like to, but my hand unconsciously puts back the just taken package with Turkish tomatoes and cucumbers ... Just know how much real-life there is ...

And imagine: cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, and greens in the midst of winter you can grow yourself without leaving your home - on your two or three windowsills! And along the way, create a summer cottage landscape right in your apartment. No, no, no kidding, if you decide today, and tomorrow you go to the store for seeds, then on March 8, the first cucumbers may already appear on your bushes, and the grown bushes of tomatoes, peppers and beans will make your windowsill green and joyful in summer !

And let us convince you that it is interesting, exciting, important, necessary and not difficult at all! We can grow at home cucumbers, tomatoes, sweet and bitter peppers, carrots, beans, garlic, celery, herbs ... oh-oh-oh, how many things!

Well, let's get it in order?

Cucumbers

Growing cucumbers at home is a very tempting idea. Just imagine: you wake up in mid-March, go to the window, pick a couple of young cucumbers from a green bush, and five minutes later there is a healthy vegetable salad on the table ... And what a smell all over the apartment!

If a thought flashed through you now: "Maybe I should try?" - here are some arguments to help you decide:

• Cucumbers grow very quickly: literally 7-9 weeks after planting, you can cut a salad from your greens!
• It is quite possible to grow cucumbers at home not only for a summer resident who has already "eaten a dog" in vegetable growing, but even for an inexperienced city dweller.
• And a control shot: just imagine how delighted your friends, colleagues and neighbors will be with young cucumbers on your windowsill! You will become an object of ah and ah for a long time))

Want to see how it might look? And here's how in this video:

Stop, stop, do not urgently run after the seeds that you have prepared for summer cottages! Everything is in order. First, we carefully read what you need to know and take into account when growing cucumbers at home.
 

Suitable varieties

Not all cucumber varieties are suitable for indoor cultivation. You need to choose

self-pollinated

hybrids ... It's best if they will

early maturing ... Even better - if they are also

bush ... And then -

shade-tolerant ))

Excellent proven themselves hybrids:

• ‘Marinda F1’
• ‘Onega F1’
• 'Masha F1'
• ‘Connie F1’
• ‘Legend F1’
• 'Claudia F1'
• ‘Tatiana F1’
• ‘Seryozha F1’

Good reviews are also about varieties:

• ‘Gribovchanka’
• 'Debut'
• ‘Zozulya’
• ‘Ragtime’
• 'Babylon'
• 'April'
• 'Flight'
• ‘Boyfriend’
• 'Athlete'
• ‘Kinglet’
• ‘NIIOH-412’
• ‘Cucaracha’

If you are just starting to grow cucumbers at home, choose from these varieties, you will not go wrong.

The necessary conditions

Cucumbers, like any other plant, have their own preferences. They are:

• photophilous, therefore, the eastern or southern side of the apartment (house) is best suited for growing them. If there is not enough light (and most often this is exactly the case), it will be necessary to organize additional lighting with fluorescent lamps.
• thermophilic, they need a temperature above + 20 ° C (at least + 22 ... + 24 ° C during the day).
• hygrophilous, therefore, the soil should always be moist (moderately, not overfilled).

Tomatoes

A red tomato is clearly not a winter or spring vegetable. Therefore, fresh tomatoes from your garden in April and May are an indescribable pleasure (and pride, whatever you say!).

Many do not dare to grow tomatoes in an apartment, fearing that they simply will not succeed. You know, the bushes strewn with red fruits on the windowsill are just at first glance, "how difficult it is to be horrified." Anyone can grow tomatoes at home. Almost everyone grows flowers in their apartments, and this process is no less complicated 🙂

If you are eager to try your hand at growing homemade tomatoes, heed the advice of our experienced summer residents.

Suitable varieties

Suitable for a home garden self-pollinated hybrids... Do not mess with tall varieties - you will suffer. Better to chooseundersized (or even dwarf ones). It is also worth sacrificing love for large tomatoes, it is better to plant small-fruited varieties - they ripen faster and easier.

There are a lot of tomato seeds on sale today of those varieties and hybrids that are specially designed for home cultivation:

• ‘Balcony miracle’
• ‘Room surprise’
• ‘Balcony Red F1’
• 'Alaska'
• ‘Betta’
• ‘Pearl red’
• ‘Pearl yellow’
• ‘Bonsai’
• ‘Japanese room’
• ‘News of Canada’

They enjoy special love

dwarf:

• ‘Minibel’

• 'Bonsai micro F1'
• ‘Pinocchio’
• ‘Florida petite’
• ‘Cherry Pigmy’
• ‘Lisa F1’
• 'Greenfinch F1'

Ampel varieties that look great in hanging pots are wonderful - such as:

• ‘Cherry’
• ‘Talisma’
• ‘Yellow pear’
• ‘Peruvian home’
• ‘Ildi’

Advice

: the store will offer you a lot of varieties of tomatoes, assuring that they are great for home growing.Listening to this and believing the seller, you still carefully read what is written on the packaging: the bags we need have special marks “Home garden”, “Harvest series on the window” or “Recommended for pot growing”. Now, if you saw such an inscription - feel free to pay money)

The necessary conditions

Caring for "home" tomatoes is not much different from caring for them in the country or in a personal plot.

• Tomatoes - plants light-loving, therefore, it is advisable for them to choose the south, southeast or east side. In winter, in an apartment, they need illumination (you can read more about lighting in the article 10 secrets of a home garden).
• They do not like stagnant air, they are afraid damp rooms. 
• And here are not afraid of drafts, so feel free to ventilate the room where the tomatoes "live".
• Optimal daytime temperature for growing: before flowering and fruiting - + 22 ... + 25 ° C (night - about + 17 ° C), and then - preferably 2-3 ° C higher.
• Watering, as in the open field, requires rare but abundant.

Advice:

if you want the tomato bush to be symmetrically developed and beautiful, turn it 180 ° daily in relation to the light from the window - then it will build up the green mass evenly from all sides (some owners rotate the pots with bushes 90 °, considering what will be even more evenly))

Sweet pepper (bulgarian)

This southern juicy vegetable is quite suitable for "domestication", it is unpretentious, beautiful and very useful. Although you will have to be patient - you will be able to taste the first sweet peppers only 5-6 months after germination.

Growing it at home is interesting, to say the least. Yes, and profitable as well. How is it profitable? Yes, because pepper is a perennial plant, and the bushes planted today will delight you with their harvest for 2-3 years. Tempting? And then! If you decide to add bell peppers to your windowsill, get acquainted with the secrets of growing it.

Suitable varieties

As in the case of cucumbers and tomatoes, for a home garden you need to select early maturing self-pollinated hybrids... In home culture, varieties have proven themselves best. universal purpose, used both for planting in open ground and in protected:

• indoor pepper 'Patio-Ivo', which pleases with its bright yellow fruits at any time of the year on the windowsill or balcony;
• thick-walled peppers of the improved selection ‘California Miracle’ - up to 75 cm high, with beautiful bright red fruits with a ribbed surface;
• medium-early high-yielding hybrid of Dutch selection 'Jupiter F1' with very large fleshy fruits that change color from green to red;
• very sweet pepper of the 'Oda' variety - purple in color, undersized (35-50 cm) and very productive.

Good reviews received medium early varieties:

• 'Martin'
• ‘Bulgarian-79’
• ‘Gift of Moldova’
• ‘Novogoshary’
• 'Winnie the Pooh'

The necessary conditions

Bell pepper will not be "capricious" and will thank you with a good harvest, if you observe several important conditions for it:

• This plant is southern, so it must be placed in the sunniest room, where there is most of the light. If there is not enough light, it will be necessary to artificially illuminate it.
• Sweet pepper is a sissy, he does not like drafts.
• The optimum air temperature for its maintenance is + 20 ... + 26 ° C (at night + 18 ... + 20 ° C).
• Regular soil loosening necessarily.
• Pepper needs pest protection (aphids and spider mites).
• During the fruiting period, pepper is needed tie up to the trellis.

Advice: it is categorically not recommended to grow sweet and bitter peppers on the same windowsill (and in the same room) - as a result of cross-pollination, all your peppers will turn out to be bitter (a distance of 2-3 m to the next window sill is not an obstacle, you can not check it))

Bitter pepper

I think that bitter pepper lovers will never give up the opportunity to always have a bush with burning pointed fruits at hand ... for for them any dish with hot pepper becomes immeasurably tastier))

But to grow such a miracle on the windowsill is not difficult at all. To do this, you only need the presence of the sun in the window for 3-4 hours a day, a pot of soil, and the necessary seeds. And in 2-3 months you will have a gorgeous treasured bush, strewn with medium-sized fruits. And it can bear fruit in one place up to 5 years!

By the way, it is especially worth emphasizing that all representatives of "bitter peppers" are highly decorative and will certainly become a decoration of your home garden!

I don't think I had to persuade you)) It remains only to skim through a few lines of the necessary information.

Suitable varieties

For home cultivation, seeds of early-maturing self-pollinated varieties and hybrids are best suited. To the delight of hot pepper lovers, almost all varieties of hot pepper fully meet their purpose)

These are varieties and hybrids:

• ‘Astrakhansky 147’
• ‘Elephant trunk’
• ‘Ukrainian bitter’
• 'Indian summer'
• ‘Fire’
• ‘The Queen of Spades’
• 'Sweeties'
• ‘Carmen’
• ‘Superchile F1’
• ‘Curiosity’

Special feedback received two varieties of pepper:

• ‘Serpent Gorynych’ is a high-yielding, very spicy burning taste.
• The 'Elephant's trunk' is the largest-fruited of all hot peppers, reaching 27 cm in length.

The necessary conditions

In order for hot pepper bushes to grow and develop without problems, several basic conditions must be met from the very beginning.

• Prepare a quality soil substrate.
• Plants are best placed on south, southeast and southwest windows where most of the world... If there is a lack of lighting in winter, it is imperative to carry out additional lighting.
• To not allow drying out soil.
• Do not pinch, then the bush will be voluminous and "rich".
• During fruiting feedas it tends to be abundant and quickly depletes the soil.

Beans

Everyone can grow beans on the windowsill. Moreover, it is unpretentious, rises and grows quickly, does not require special care. It is a self-pollinating plant; in a month and a half it will bloom, and in two you will be removing young pods. They are extraordinarily tasty in vegetable stews, soups, in an omelette and simply stewed.

Believe me, you will not regret it if you decide to "get" a couple of bean bushes).

Suitable varieties

Practice has shown that it is most profitable to grow at home early maturing varieties of asparagus bush beans... But also curly varieties shouldn't be written off. At the very least, they are very decorative - long bright green vines with large flowers of pink, purple or white look amazing. And you won't be left without a crop either.

Which beans to choose?

• has proven itself well black Eyed Peas ‘Fatima’.
• good reviews of summer residents received varieties bush beans ‘Triumph Sugar 764’, ‘Sachs Without Fiber 615’, ‘Mask’ and ‘Green Pod 517’.
• from curly beans it is recommended to choose either ‘Golden Neck’ or ‘Violetta’.

The necessary conditions

It is easy to take care of the beans, it is enough to provide them with regular watering, loosening and feeding and fulfill a few simple requirements:

• The container for growing bush varieties should be at least 2 liters in volume, and for climbing varieties - 30-35 liters.
• Bush beans more photophilous, it is best placed on the windows of the south and southeast side, curly can "live" on either side. Beans, as a rule, do not need additional lighting.
• Curly beans need ropes (wire, mesh) to supports.
• The yield of beans is increased feeding superphosphate and potassium chloride.

Carrot

Have you ever heard that carrots are grown on a windowsill? In a simple flowerpot or container, you can get a very decent harvest.Most varieties will allow you to start picking fresh carrots as early as 3.5 months after planting: when the majority of summer residents just start sowing carrots, you will already be eating them!

Carrots, of course, are capricious, but the main thing is to know a few secrets, and then you will "make friends" with it for a long time:

Suitable varieties

Carrots are remarkable in that the root crop, even when it has just been born, is already suitable for consumption. Therefore, growing it is a win-win business))

• For growing at home, it is best suited mini carrot of the Parisian Carotel variety - these are the ‘Parmex’, ‘Sophie’, ‘Grandfather’ varieties. It grows in 80-90 days and does not require much space - a pot or container is fine.
• You can also opt for early maturity sort ‘Amsterdam’.
• And kids will love the Round Baby round little roots.

The necessary conditions

You need to start with preparation lightweight and well-drained soil. This is extremely important: the easier it is to penetrate oxygen into the soil, the juicier and healthier the roots will be.

• Tank depth (container, pot, flowerpot) must be large enough for the roots to develop normally.
• Temperature the environment must be kept within the range of + 13… + 24 ° C.
• Carrot does not like direct sunlight.
• Watering requires regular (more often than in the open field). In this case, the presence of drainage holes is mandatory!
• To retain moisture in the soil, you need to carry out mulching.
• Do not get carried away nitrogen fertilizers, you risk getting a lot of tops, not carrots.

Advice

: Carrots can be grown in cut plastic bottles. And cheap, and convenient, and mobile))

Home garden with herbs

Well, what kind of vegetable garden is without greenery? Onions, parsley, dill, salads, basil, mint ...

If you are a fan of greenery on the window, we advise you to read the articles on our website:

• 5 types of greenery that are easy to grow on a windowsill
• Growing green onions in a plastic bottle
• How to grow parsley on a windowsill
• How to grow delicious onions on a windowsill - secrets and subtleties
• How to quickly and easily grow watercress on a windowsill
• 10 secrets of the home garden

And finally, we suggest admiring the home garden of Nadezhda Shcherbinina. Any of us can make the same branch of a summer residence ... you just want to.

The more snow outside the window, the whiter the landscapes, the more we miss the bright colors of the past summer, the fresh biting sound of a jet from a hose, the whisper of herbs - at our dacha. Hands have long missed the ground, and oh, how long to beloved beds ...

But it is in our power to reclaim a piece of summer and a summer residence. There is everything for this - desire and ... a window sill! Let me remind myself once again: if we start right now, then by March 8 we may already have our own cucumbers! Let's start?

Cucumbers, peppers, carrots and even strawberries! All this can be grown on a balcony or windowsill and there is fresh, eco-friendly, and most importantly, free vegetables and fruits all year round. Right now, we will tell you how to set up a mini-vegetable garden in a city apartment.

Growing food in a city is popular all over the world. So, Britta Riley lives in a tiny apartment in New York. She came up with a vertical hydroponic vegetable garden. It takes up little space and produces a good harvest. Britta talked about her innovation at TED.

In the West, if a product is labeled eco, bio or organic, it means two things. Firstly, these products are grown, harvested and processed in accordance with environmental standards, that is, without pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, growth stimulants and other "nasty". They have been certified, and serious organizations have guaranteed their quality. Secondly, organic products are much more expensive than conventional ones.

In Russia, the “clean food” market is just emerging. Biocertification and control systems have not yet been formed.And the difference in prices between organic products and ordinary vegetables and fruits sometimes reaches 1,000%! Therefore, for us, the most eco, bio and organic are products grown by our own hands.

But not everyone has dachas and relatives in the village. What should urban children do, who are accustomed to seeing potatoes washed and in nets, and greens in vacuum packages? Grow vegetables and fruits directly on the balcony or windowsill.

6 reasons to arrange a mini-vegetable garden at home

1. You can pamper yourself with fresh vegetables and herbs full of vitamins all year round.
2. Saving. Vegetables and fruits are expensive, especially in winter. With a home garden, you no longer have to adjust to the season (we eat plenty of tomatoes only in July, and apples in September).
3. You yourself can grow a plant from a tiny seed with your own hands, you can collect fruits. This is a creative activity that charges with positive energy.
4. You can improve your knowledge of biology, gain useful skills and acquire an exciting hobby.
5. Your children will see how tomatoes, cucumbers and other vegetables grow, and they will understand that they do not materialize miraculously in the refrigerator, their cultivation is a serious work.
6. You can surprise your friends and acquaintances. Imagine showing off your harvest by showing your window beds. 😉

What you need to grow vegetables and herbs at home

• A place... This is usually a windowsill or balcony. Better if they face the sunny side. If not, lamps will be required for additional lighting. If necessary, the window sill can be expanded or racks for "beds" can be built (the minimum distance between shelves is 50 cm).
• Capacities... Clay or plastic pots, wooden boxes can serve as beds for a home garden. The main thing is that there are holes in the bottom for draining water. It is recommended to place containers on pallets.
• Priming... There are many potting mixes available for indoor gardens. As a rule, several layers are made: peat, compost, turf. You can prepare the soil yourself, or you can buy it in a specialized store.
• Seeds... Some varieties of tomatoes or cucumbers grow well at home, while others do not even sprout. Therefore, before you start indoor gardening, you need to sit on the forums, read articles on the Internet and find out which seeds to buy.

In addition, you may need fertilizers, top dressing, a thermometer and a vessel for settling water (house plants are watered with water at room temperature, separated from chlorine).

We have the inventory, now we need to decide what to plant. The life hacker has already written about some vegetables that grow well on the windowsill.

16 foods you can grow at home

Today we will tell you about ten such plants.

Carrot

Variety: "Amsterdam".
Temperature: from 15 to 25 ºС.
Harvest: in ≈70 days.

To grow at home, you need to take miniature carrots. You can plant in boxes, pots or just cut plastic bottles with holes in the bottom. Drainage soil should be taken.

The seeds are placed in the ground to a depth of about 7 cm. When the carrots have sprouted and germinated a few centimeters, they must be thinned out, leaving the strongest shoots at a distance of about 2 cm from each other. It is not recommended to keep the beds in direct sunlight.

You need to water the carrots at home often, but you need to make sure that there is not too much moisture, otherwise the root crop will rot. From time to time, you can feed fertilizers with a low nitrogen content (if there is a lot of it, all the growth will go to the tops). It is also very useful to loosen the soil sometimes.

Pepper

Balcony-Grown Peppers

Varieties: "Treasure island", "dwarf", "watercolor", "swallow" and others.
Temperature: from 25 to 27 ºС.
Harvest: after 100-130 days.

For growing peppers in an apartment, it is recommended to use a special soil enriched with trace elements. It is sold in shops for gardeners. The primer can be supplemented with hydrogels for greater friability.

The seeds are first planted in small pots, which are covered with cling film and placed in a warm place. When the first shoots appear (after one to two weeks), several small punctures need to be made in the film. After a while, the pepper will get stronger, then it can be transplanted into large pots or buckets. This must be done carefully so as not to damage the spine. The plant is rooted by a third, after which it is watered with warm (30 ºС) water.

In the future, the pepper can be watered every day. This plant loves light, so white light bulbs are recommended in addition to natural light. It is necessary to protect home-grown peppers from drafts and direct sunlight.

You can fertilize with nitrogen fertilizers, but potassium salt and potassium chloride will destroy the roots of the plant. With proper care, peppers on the windowsill can delight with fruits up to two years.

Cherry tomatoes

Varieties: "Pygmy", "bonsai", "bead" and others.
Temperature: from 23 to 25 ºС.
Harvest: after 90-100 days (depending on the variety).

The soil, as in the case of pepper, is more convenient to buy ready-made. It is recommended to take a cylindrical container: it is better filled with the root system.

First, the seeds are germinated in small pots: they are buried to a depth of 1.5 cm, covered with cling film and left in a warm place until the first shoots. When the tomatoes have risen, they are dived into a larger and deeper dish.

It is important that the plant receives uniform lighting. To do this, over the "beds" you can hang fluorescent lamps or regularly turn the containers to the window.

Watering should be done carefully: cherry is easy to pour. When the plant grows, it is recommended to loosen the soil from time to time and feed it with mineral fertilizers. If necessary, the stem of the tomato can be tied to a support (wooden skewer or pencil). It is also important to ensure that pests do not appear on the tomatoes.

By the way, not only cherry tomatoes grow well in home gardens, but also ordinary tomatoes.

Cucumbers

Cucumbers grown on the window

Varieties: "Rytov's room", "miracle on the window", "ant" and others.
Temperature: from 21 to 24 ºС.
Harvest: after 35–45 days.

For cucumbers, rather large containers are needed, with a volume of at least 6 liters. The soil should be loose, with peat or compost.

Self-pollinating cucumber varieties grow well at home. First you need to prepare the seeds: they are poured into a weak saline solution, those that have surfaced are thrown away. Then, suitable seeds are soaked for 20 minutes in a solution of potassium permanganate, after which they are washed on damp gauze and planted in the ground (under a film). When the seedlings sprout and grow, they can be planted in large containers.

Home cucumbers are poured with warm water every day, but with caution. Leaves can also be sprayed with a spray bottle. Potassium nitrate is recommended as a top dressing.

When the cucumber lashes form and grow, props should be built for them so that the plant can weave.

Radish

Homegrown radish

Varieties: "Carmen", "white fang", "celeste F1" and others.
Temperature: from 18 to 20 ºС.
Harvest: after ≈40 days.

It is recommended to plant radishes in wooden or clay containers, but ordinary plastic cups can also be used. You need a loose, well-drained soil. Seeds can be tested for germination before planting, like cucumbers. Then they need to be buried to a depth of 1-3 cm.

After planting, the soil must be watered and covered with foil. When shoots appear, the "greenhouse" is removed. Radishes are generally not dived. But sometimes it is placed for two or three days in a lower temperature regime - about 15 ° C. This hardens the plant and promotes a better harvest.

Five days after the appearance of the first shoots, organic feeding is carried out, and two weeks later - mineral. Water the radish abundantly as it dries. It is also important that the air in the room where it grows is not dry.

Spinach

Homemade spinach

Varieties: "Virofle", "godry", "gigantic" and others.
Temperature: 15 ºС.
Harvest: after ≈40 days.

Spinach is a green vegetable and is considered very healthy. To grow it at home, you need containers 15–20 cm high. You can use ready-made potting mixes. The main thing is that they include peat.

It is recommended to soak the seeds in water for a day before planting. Sowing is carried out to a depth of 1–2 cm. To accelerate germination, you can cover the containers with foil. Spinach emerges about a week after planting, then it can be dived.

In winter, when the apartment is heated and when there is a short daylight hours, it is recommended to illuminate the plant with lamps and spray from a spray bottle (in addition to watering).

You can harvest when the spinach is 7-10 cm tall.

Basil

Varieties: "Marquis", "lemon", "Baku" and others.
Temperature: from 22 to 24 ° C.
Harvest: after 50–55 days.

Basil is one of the most aromatic and favorite seasonings of housewives. At the same time, it is quite unpretentious and grows well on the windowsill.

Basil is planted immediately in large containers (with a volume of at least 1.5 liters). First you need to prepare the soil for planting: water it twice with mineral fertilizers at intervals of five days. The seeds are deepened by 1–1.5 cm. Until the plant sprouts, it must be watered every two days. Further watering is carried out daily, preferably in the morning.

Basil loves the sun. Therefore, it is recommended to extend the period of insolation up to 15-17 hours a day using fluorescent lamps. Also, once every two weeks, you can loosen the soil to enrich it with oxygen.

Green garlic

Varieties: "Kharkiv", "Jubilee" and others.
Temperature: from 18 to 25 ° C.
Harvest: after 15–20 days.

Typically, garlic bulbs are used in cooking. But green shoots (arrows) are also suitable for gastronomy: they are suitable for making marinades and sauces.

Garlic varieties are divided into two groups: winter and spring. The latter usually do not produce arrows, so they are not suitable for growing at home.

For those who have ever grown onions on a windowsill, garlic will not be difficult to cope with. You need to take cloves of winter garlic, preferably with sprouted sprouts. You can take any soil mixture. Each clove is planted at a depth of 2-3 cm and at a distance of 1-2 cm from each other. After planting, be sure to water.

The container with garlic should be kept on the lightest window in the house. Water as the soil dries up. From time to time, you can feed with nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Mint

Temperature: from 20 to 25 ° C.
Harvest: after ≈60 days.

Mint has a rather branched root system, so a deep and wide container should be taken for planting it. It is recommended to use peat soil, any varieties.

There are two ways to plant mint: seeds and cuttings. The latter is shown in the video below.

To grow mint from seeds, you need to plant them in the ground to a depth of about 5 mm and water. To create a greenhouse effect, you can use a film. Before germination (after about two weeks), the soil should be sprayed with water every day. After germination, the mint must be planted.

Mint is unpretentious. In summer, it must be protected from direct sunlight, and in winter from lack of light and excessive watering. From time to time, the plant can be fed with organic mixtures.

Mature plants can be up to a meter in height. As a rule, they have a lot of leaves - there will be mint for tea or homemade mojito almost always.

Strawberry

Varieties: "Autumn fun", "home delicacy", "garland" and others.
Temperature: from 18 to 20 ° C.
Harvest: in ≈30 days.

For a home garden, ampelous remontant varieties of strawberries are suitable. They bear fruit all year round and are not too demanding on light. You can plant strawberries in any soil mixture. But first, drainage (expanded clay, small pebbles) should be poured onto the bottom to protect strawberries from stagnant water.

Strawberries can be grown from seedlings or seeds. Both are sold in shops for gardeners.

The seeds are planted in small containers (for example, plastic glasses), watered abundantly and covered with cling film. After the first shoots appear, the film is removed and the seedlings are placed in a well-lit place. When three to four leaves are formed, the strawberries are dived into larger containers.

This plant loves light. When days are shorter than nights, artificial lighting should be used. Watering and spraying is carried out as the soil dries up. Strawberries are easy to pour.

As a top dressing, solutions with a significant iron content are used. During active growth, strawberries grow overgrown with mustaches, they need to be tied to supports.

As you can see, growing vegetables, herbs and even berries in a city apartment is not difficult and even exciting.

If you have experience in home gardening, tell us about it. Write in the comments, what and how did you happen to grow on your windowsill.