What greens can be grown on a windowsill in winter?

In winter, there is a lack of fresh greens and vegetables from the garden. What can be grown on a windowsill to enjoy natural products? The list of crops suitable for apartment conditions is wide enough - from parsley and lettuce to tomatoes and cucumbers.

You can grow greens on the windowsill in winter or summer the same way as in the garden. But it should be borne in mind that some plants are quite demanding. In this article, we'll look at easy-to-care crops.

If you are a novice gardener, and therefore do not know what can be grown on the windowsill, then it is better to start with green onions, watercress, parsley. And spicy herbs - basil and rosemary - not only come in handy in the kitchen, but also spread their aroma throughout the apartment. More experienced hobbyists can start right away by growing cucumbers, tomatoes, and peppers.

Children will also like the winter garden. Even a toddler can grow green onions on a windowsill. Caring for plants will not only captivate the child and give him a new and useful experience, but also provide vitamins.

Training

After you have decided what to grow on the windowsill, you need to prepare the pots, soil, seeds. The set is the same for most cultures. Experienced summer residents who know how to grow seedlings on the windowsill already have almost everything they need.

To arrange a vegetable garden on a windowsill, you will need deep boxes or wide flower pots for planting plants. They can be fitted with plastic covers to create a greenhouse effect. For these purposes, you can also use ordinary plastic bags.

The pots should be filled with soil from a flower shop or a self-prepared substrate. It is better to refuse to use the land from the garden or vegetable garden, since insect larvae and weed seeds can remain in it. If the ground from the street is not prepared and ignited, then there is a high probability that one weeds can be grown on the windowsill.

You also need to prepare a container for settling water - delicate young plants should not be watered directly from the tap. You will also need a spray bottle or a small watering can.

Foil placed behind the plants to reflect sunlight will also be helpful. If the foil is not used, then the boxes and pots with plants must be turned 180 degrees daily, otherwise they will tilt towards the window and grow crooked.

If the plants are grown in spring and summer (planting in February-March), then they will have enough sunlight from the street. But a winter garden planted in the fall will require additional lighting. Fluorescent lamps are suitable for this.

It should be understood that only undemanding herbs can be grown on a windowsill in winter without backlighting, but you will not be able to get a good harvest of tomatoes without using phytolamps. In winter, on sunny days, you will need additional lighting in the evening, but in cloudy weather, the lamp will have to be turned on for the whole day.

Green onions

How to grow onions on a windowsill is shown to children in kindergarten.This is the easiest crop to grow at home, it does not require much maintenance, grows quickly and is very useful.

For forcing a feather, you can use both large onion sets (samples) and ordinary turnip onions. The feathers from the small bulb are more delicate, but the small head depletes quickly. A large onion produces abundant greens for a longer period.

Not only self-grown onions are suitable, you can also use those purchased in a supermarket or a store for summer residents. The easiest way to plant onions for forcing is in water. To do this, you need to take a small glass and fill it with plain water or nutrient solution. The bulb must be installed so that only the tip touches the surface of the liquid. You need to change the water every day.

When planted in water, the bulb can start to rot and give off an unpleasant odor. This can be avoided, since it is possible to grow onions on the windowsill with planting in the ground. Place the substrate in a shallow plastic box. If there are no drainage holes at the bottom of the container, then it is reasonable to pour a small drainage layer of expanded clay, pebbles, broken bricks, etc. to prevent root decay.

You do not need to deepen the heads, plant it tightly, the bulbs are not afraid of close proximity. Planting must be watered frequently, preventing the soil from drying out. Do not use all the seed material at once, it is better to split it into several portions and plant it with a difference of 2-3 weeks, then there will be enough fresh onions for the whole winter.

Green onions can be grown not only in crates. Forcing onions can be planted vertically. To do this, you can purchase a special flowerpot in a store for summer residents or make holes yourself in a plastic bottle filled with soil.

Watercress

What can a beginner grow on a windowsill? Another simple crop to grow on a windowsill is watercress. It is known for its beneficial properties, and its simplicity makes it one of the most common home-grown salads. Watercress is ready for use in 2-3 weeks after planting. The seeds can be purchased at the gardener's shop.

You don't need a deep container to grow lettuce; a regular tray will do. As a substrate, you can use a thin (about 3 cm) layer of clay or peat soil, folded several times cloth, cotton wool or paper towels.

You need to plant watercress densely so that the young plants support each other. Press the seeds a little into a damp substrate. The plant does not require additional lighting, it is enough to place it on the windowsill.

How to grow salad on a windowsill? The main thing is to prevent the soil from drying out, although you shouldn't pour the salad either. Does not like the plant and heat. The optimum temperature is not higher than 18 degrees Celsius. To avoid overheating in winter, it is enough to move the container with the salad closer to the window.

In order for the green watercress to be present on the table all the time, you need to plant it according to a scheme convenient for you. You can sow a new container every week or two, or add a small amount of seeds every 3-4 days.

Leaf salad

Growing lettuce is already a little more difficult. To know how to grow a salad on a windowsill, you need to take into account the variety of the plant being grown. The varieties Lollo Rossa, Lollo Bionda, Odessa, Vitamin, New Year, Red Credo show themselves best in an apartment.

In the fall and winter, lettuce will need additional lighting. If the room is hot and dry, the plant does not receive enough moisture, then the leaves will become bitter, coarse, and flower stalks form quickly. Lettuce loves moisture, coolness, feels good on a glassed-in balcony until late autumn.

Lettuce is planted in the ground quite tightly, at a distance of 1-2 cm. Before the first shoots, the container is covered to create a greenhouse effect. Over time, thinning will be needed at a distance of 4-5 cm.The plant needs watering and good light.

After the bushes begin to release arrows, they become unusable. They can be removed and new seeds can be planted in their place.

Parsley

Many housewives are wondering how to grow parsley on the windowsill. After all, it often takes only a few leaves of this plant, and you don't want to buy a whole package in the store. In spring and summer, parsley can be grown from seed. The plant is light-requiring, so in the winter it will need additional lighting. Seeds germinate rather slowly, but the bush will also serve for a long time. Parsley is not demanding at temperature, it grows well on the windowsill or on the balcony. The plant is hygrophilous, watering is abundant. In winter, water the parsley less often.

It will be possible to cut the first greens only after a month and a half, but it will be possible to do this for a whole year. Before planting, it is better to soak the seeds in a solution of potassium permanganate. You can plant parsley in small containers, in peat cups or directly in flowerpots.

How to grow parsley on a windowsill in autumn and winter, because growing from seeds at this time is too long and laborious process? There is another way - forcing from the rhizome. This method is somewhat simpler and better suited for the autumn-winter period. Planting material can be prepared independently on a personal plot or bought at a regular grocery store.

The rhizome should be healthy, without signs of wilting, and the apical bud should be intact. The root crop must be placed in a pot and sprinkled with moist soil. Roots that are too long can be planted obliquely.

The first green shoots will appear within a few days after planting, and the leaves can be cut off in a couple of weeks. Greens will appear on the rhizome within six months.

Basil

What can be grown on the windowsill besides the usual onions, parsley, lettuce? Something more exotic like basil or rosemary.

The type of basil doesn't matter, either green or purple will do. Basil can be propagated using both seeds and cuttings. The plant is thermophilic - the optimum temperature is 20-25 degrees, and it is hygrophilous - good drainage and abundant watering are required.

Cutting is a quick way to grow basil. You can just buy a few twigs from the store, put them in water and after one to two weeks move the seedling with roots into a pot. Young shoots will be ready for cutting in a couple of weeks. It is better to cut side shoots.

Basil, planted with a cut, grows quickly, but blooms quickly too. As you know, after the beginning of flowering, the plant is unsuitable for food. To have fresh basil on your table all the time, you need to update the planting every 3-4 months.

Planting basil with seeds will take more effort. But such a bush will not bloom for about a year. Seeds need to be soaked, covered, sprouts must be transplanted into pots. It is better to grow basil using seeds in spring, since additional lighting will be needed in winter.

Rosemary

Rosemary in a clay pot on the windowsill will not only decorate the kitchen, but also come in handy when cooking. This plant can be grown in the summer in the country, and in the winter it will feel great at home.

You will need a wide pot in which a thick drainage layer is poured. Rosemary is picky about light and air. He prefers the south side, and in summer, the pot with the plant must be planted in the open ground, taken out on the balcony or out the window, otherwise the leaves will not accumulate enough essential oils.

For planting rosemary, both seeds and cuttings are suitable. The seeds of the plant have poor germination. They need to be soaked for 2 days, then put on the ground, without sprinkling on top, covered with a film and sprayed every day from a spray bottle. If seedlings do not appear after 4 weeks, new seeds are planted.When the seedlings release three or more leaves, they are planted in spacious pots.

The easiest way to grow rosemary is by cuttings. This requires a stiff plant shoot. It is placed in a container with water or wet sand, and after rooting, it is transplanted into a pot.

Rosemary loves frequent but moderate watering. It is better to overdry the soil than to fill it. With a lack of moisture, the lower leaves of the plant will begin to turn yellow, and with an excess, the roots will rot, which will lead to the death of the plant.

If in winter the plant is provided with a low temperature (up to 5 degrees), then in spring the rosemary will bloom. An adult plant needs to be constantly trimmed to form a bush.

Cucumbers

Growing cucumbers on a windowsill in winter is a pretty tempting prospect. This can be done not only by an experienced gardener, but also by a beginner. Cucumbers grow quite quickly, you can get the first harvest in a month and a half.

Not every variety of cucumbers is suitable for growing on a windowsill. First, it must be self-pollinated. During flowering, the bush must be shaken daily for pollination to occur. Secondly, it will be much more convenient if the plant is bushy. Thirdly, an early variety is better suited for home cultivation. Finally, a shade-loving plant is ideal. You can grow cucumbers on the windowsill in the winter of the varieties Connie, Masha, Legend, Debut, Flight, Babylon. Knowing the necessary parameters, you can choose another variety.

Growing cucumbers at home has its own subtleties. After all, providing all the necessary conditions can be difficult. Cucumbers are photophilous, so windows on the south and east sides are suitable for growing them. If there is still not enough light, then additional lighting with fluorescent lamps will be needed.

The temperature in the room should not be lower than 20 degrees, so you should not move the flowerpots too close to the cold window. Cucumbers are very fond of moisture, so you need to make sure that the soil does not dry out. The pot with the plant can be placed in a bowl of water. Leaves need to be sprayed with a spray bottle twice a day.

Tomatoes

It seems to many that growing tomatoes on a windowsill is very difficult and inaccessible to a beginner. But this is not at all true! Moreover, there are special varieties for indoor cultivation.

When visiting a gardener shop, note that some of the seed packages say “Recommended for pot growing”, “Harvest on the window”, “Home garden”. And the names of the varieties themselves are speaking - Room surprise, Balcony miracle, Japanese room. There are also ampelous varieties that will look great in pots - Peruvian home, Cherry, Talisman.

Even if you don't find special indoor varieties, regular ones will do. Please note that these tomatoes should be determinant (undersized, or better dwarf), self-pollinated (for pollination, the bushes are shaken during flowering) and small-fruited. For example, Alaska, Bonsai, Bonsai micro, Pearl (red and yellow), Canada News, Minibel, Pinocchio, etc.

Tomatoes can be planted directly in large pots or pick the strongest sprouts. During flowering and fruit setting, tomatoes need to be watered abundantly and sprayed on the leaves.

The room where tomatoes grow must be regularly ventilated - plants do not like stagnant air. In winter, they need additional lighting. The plant needs to be fed periodically. The first fruits can be obtained in 3-4 months.

Tomato is a perennial plant. At home, with good care, it will bear fruit for several years. After a period of active fruiting, the bush needs to be transplanted into a larger pot and updated by pruning the branches. In addition, the tomato can be propagated by cuttings. A plant grown from a cuttings will begin to bloom within a few weeks.

Sweet pepper

How to grow pepper on a windowsill? This is no more difficult than growing tomatoes.True, it will take longer to wait for the harvest - 5-6 months. But pepper is a perennial plant, with good care, annual transplantation and pruning, it will bear fruit for several years. The plant can be propagated not only by seeds, but also by cuttings. Caring for a pepper is also similar to caring for a tomato, but with one significant difference - if the tomato does not tolerate stagnant air, then the pepper is afraid of drafts, so it is better not to settle them on the same window.

Self-pollinated early-maturing varieties are best suited for growing in an apartment - California Miracle, Oda, Jupiter, Patio-Ivo.

Pepper needs good illumination, warmth, loose soil (it is necessary to regularly loosen the soil). This plant is not capricious, and will delight you with its fruits for a long time. Hot peppers can also be grown at home, but these plants should not be in the same room, otherwise cross-pollination will occur.

Many grow green onions on the windowsill. In addition to it, other greens are also suitable for winter cultivation. We will give you recommendations on how to grow watercress, mustard leaves, parsley, celery and basil on the windowsill in winter.

The main feature of these crops is that they calmly tolerate a lack of sunlight and grow very quickly: after 2-3 weeks they can delight you with juicy greens. At the same time, watercress and mustard grow well from seeds in winter, but parsley, celery and onions can be obtained faster in the forcing process. As for basil, it propagates well by cuttings.

Watercress on the windowsill

This is not only unpretentious fast-growing greens, but also a very useful product for the human body, since it normalizes blood pressure and relieves insomnia.

When choosing seeds for winter sowing, preference should be given to early ripening varieties. Dansky, Dukat and Vesti are well suited.

Watercress grows well even without soil. Place a layer of porous paper, cotton wool, or hydrogel on the bottom of the growth container. Moisten the base well and sow the seeds.

It is necessary to sow watercress densely, in this case the seedlings "support" each other in the process of growth and form a green mass pleasant to the eye.

For the first few days, before germination, cover the container with the planted seeds with cling film and place in a warm, shaded place. When the seeds germinate together, remove the film and place the container on the windowsill. Don't forget to turn, water and spray your crops: Watercress loves moisture very much. After a few weeks, the first crop can be cut. The leaves are considered ready for cutting when they grow up to 6-10 cm.

Sarepta leaf mustard on the windowsill

The leafy Sarepta mustard is grown in the same way as watercress. Keep in mind that this culture grows well at a temperature of 10-20 ° C, so place a container with seedlings on a glazed insulated loggia. In an apartment, it is better to choose the coolest windowsill for greenery. For growing indoors, varieties such as Freckle, Volnushka, Mustang are suitable.

A rosette of leaves that grows 20-25 days after germination is suitable for eating. Mustard leaf will enrich your diet with vitamins B1, B2, PP, ascorbic acid, carotene, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and other useful substances.

For early germination, the seeds can be soaked in a solution of trace elements for 12 hours, and then dried until they flow. After sowing, place the container with seeds in a warm, shaded place. When the seeds have germinated, transfer the mustard to a cool, light place. Mustard mustard is undemanding to the soil, just like watercress, its seeds can be sown on cotton wool, porous paper, in a hydrogel, or in a universal fertile soil.

Harvesting mustard leaves should be done either by pulling out the entire rosette of leaves from the ground, or by carefully cutting off individual leaves and maintaining the growth point.

If you want to get fresh greens throughout the winter, then new batches of watercress and Sarepta mustard should be sown every 20-25 days.

Forcing onions on a feather

An onion in a jar - a familiar plant for Soviet window sills - is no longer so often pleasing to the eye and stomach with a sharp little taste.

For forcing onions on a feather, choose solid, medium-sized bulbs. To make the feather germinate faster, cut off the top of the bulb. And if you find the bulbs that have already been turned on, then you do not need to cut anything. A large onion will produce more greenery, but will take up a lot of space. It is better to plant such specimens separately, lowering the bottom with germinating roots into a container of water.

If you plant onions in soil, you can add a hydrogel soaked in a nutrient solution to it. It will prevent the soil from drying out, which often happens in indoor conditions.

For planting, you can use containers of any size. If there are no holes in them for the drain of excess liquid, pour expanded clay on the bottom, and then about half of the volume - soil with or without hydrogel. After slightly compacting the mixture, plant the bulbs in it close to each other, without burying them in the soil. Water abundantly and expect harvest.

Parsley and celery on the windowsill in winter

Growing parsley and celery from seeds is not easy in winter. But if in the fall you have the roots of these plants in the bins, the greens can be obtained by forcing. Pick up small, undried roots and immerse them in water for several hours. Then plant in a pot with soil along the "shoulders" so that the soil does not fall on the growing point of the greenery.

Place the containers with roots in a shaded place first. After the first leaves appear, the pots must be transferred to the lightest windowsill, because parsley and celery are very light sensitive. Water the plantings no more than twice a week.

You need to carefully cut off the grown greens, leaving a three-centimeter petiole on the root crop. Fresh greens grow back in about a month.

Growing basil on a windowsill in winter

Cutting is one of the easiest ways to get basil greens in winter. The main difficulty is to find a growing specimen in order to cut cuttings from it, in this case you can try to root even branches bought in a store.

Cuttings 10-15 cm long are placed in water until roots appear.

Basil cuttings should be planted in separate pots filled with universal soil. Basil loves light, nutritious loose soil, so pay special attention to drainage. In addition, basil is very light-requiring. Find the lightest window sill for him and, if possible, on cloudy days, supplement the crops with special LED or fluorescent lamps.

Read more about the use of phytolamps in our material "Lighting for seedlings at home".

Caring for rooted shoots is the same as for adult plants: water them regularly with warm (30⁰C) water, periodically loosen the soil and fertilize. The harvest of green basil can be obtained within a month after planting the cuttings in the ground.

As you can see, organizing a vegetable garden on the windowsill in winter and growing fragrant fresh herbs in it is not at all difficult. The main thing is to choose the right crops and follow our instructions.

Home mini-gardens

on window sills are now very popular. We talked about the most important rules that allow you to grow almost any vegetables in such conditions in the article

"10 secrets of the home garden"

... And this time I propose to discuss the best crops for home "beds" - those that do not require special cares, but at the same time they invariably delight with the harvest in the shortest possible time. I present my list and look forward to your comments.

Home garden. Photo by the author

one.Green onions

Topping my "hit parade", of course, green onions. Probably, at least once in his life, everyone grew it on the windowsill, even if only in childhood - out of curiosity. This is an ideal plant for a home garden: fast growing, unpretentious, useful.

As planting material you can use both onion sets (large fraction - samples), and ordinary onion-turnip. I've tried both; from the seed (or small turnip), the yield, of course, is less - the bulb is depleted faster. But the feather - for my taste - is softer and more tender. In addition, the small onion takes up less space when planting. A large bulb produces more greenery, its feather is usually larger, and it takes longer to harvest.

Small bulbs can also be used as planting material. Photo by the author If you do not have enough of your own turnip onions to use it for forcing, you can specially buy it in the autumn of samples - in supermarkets and specialized country shops they sell it at the end of the season with good discounts. I would not recommend purchasing such planting material for a turnip, but for distillation - just right.

You can plant onions for distillation in small containers with water or nutrient solution (so that the onion does not fall into the water, but only touches it) or into the ground. I personally like the second option more: the bulbs on the water often begin to rot, exuding a specific aroma; with unpaved I have never had such an incident.

In the soil for planting, I certainly add a hydrogel soaked in a solution of Gumi (this biological product strengthens plants, additionally nourishes them, and increases resistance to diseases). In room conditions, the soil substrate dries out quickly, and the hydrogel prevents the bulbs from suffering from moisture deficiency.

To always be with the harvest, it is best to plant an onion regularly - every 10-14 days... Then, by the time the crop is fully harvested from the first "bed", the greens will ripen on the next - and so on until spring.

A box with green onions. Photo by the author I use small plastic boxes for planting. I pour expanded clay at the bottom (there are no holes for the drain of excess moisture in the boxes, so drainage is necessary), on top - soil with hydrogel up to about half of the box. Having slightly compacted the mixture, I plant the bulbs in it close to each other, without burying them in the soil. I water it abundantly - that's all.

Since I plant usually already sprouted bulbs, the harvest does not have to wait long. I do not carry out any specific procedures (pruning, soaking, etc.), which are often recommended to be performed when forcing onions on a feather, - I do not see a special need, and there is always not enough time. But if you, friends, have such an experience, and you see the benefits of such processing, be sure to share your opinion in the comments - the recommendations of practitioners are always invaluable!

You can also read our publications:

How to grow delicious onions on a windowsill - secrets and subtleties
A vegetable garden on the windowsill: we grow onions, garlic and carrots for greens
Forcing onions in special boxes: the experience of Yulia Minyaeva
Growing green onions in a plastic bottle

2. Watercress

I will say right away: I myself have grown this plant only once - I was not impressed by its gastronomic properties. Personally, I liked mustard leaf more - it is also a very undemanding cruciferous plant. But taste, as you know, is a purely individual thing, and I still take the liberty of recommending watercress as one of the best crops for home gardens. Why?

Firstly, he - like the bow - is extremely unassuming. Those who do not have the opportunity or desire to spend time on laborious care of the "beds" on the windowsill will certainly appreciate it, I suppose.
Secondly, it is very early ripening: already in 2-3 weeks after the emergence of shoots (and they will not be long in coming) you will be pleased with young vitamin greens.
Thirdlynature has endowed watercress with many beneficial properties: regular consumption of this culture helps to normalize blood pressure, improve digestion and sleep. It was used as a remedy for scurvy, and anemia and vitamin deficiencies were treated with juice.

Watercress - Harvest in Two Weeks If you have children, try sowing watercress with them - at least for the sake of experiment. This plant is one of those with which it is worth starting familiarizing with gardening, because failure is almost impossible!

Watercress grows successfully on windowsills even in winter - it is very cold-resistant (the ideal temperature for it is from +15 to +18 degrees) and is not picky about light. The only thing he needs is regular moistening of the soil and air, since this plant does not like drought. To keep the greens on the table constantly, it is recommended to sow the next portion of watercress every 7-10 days.

I recommend reading more about growing watercress in the article How to quickly and easily grow watercress on a windowsill.

3. Lettuce

As a big salad lover, I could not, of course, ignore it. This culture is a little more demanding than green onions and watercress, but for the juicy greens it is worth the effort. What do you need to consider?

Firstly, lettuce at home needs additional lighting - this is a light-loving culture. Lack of lighting will lead to early peduncle formation. The problem is partially solved by the choice of varieties. Lollo Rossa and Lollo Bionda (my favorites) proved to be quite good for me; recommend for home gardens also varieties New Year, Vitamin, Emerald lace.
Secondly, lettuce reacts painfully to drought and heat: the leaves become coarse and bitter, flower stalks form quickly.
Thirdly, lettuce shoots need to be thinned. It is recommended to do this twice: a week after the emergence of seedlings at a distance of 1-2 cm between seedlings, and in the phase of 2-3 true leaves - at a distance of 4-5 cm.If you thicken the crops, the plants will elongate, weaken, and you are most likely to harvest , you will not see.

Young lettuce plants. Photo by the author From growing head lettuce at home, it is better to refuse until there is enough experience: they are more demanding and need more careful care than their leafy cousins, and their growing season, as a rule, is longer. To be honest, I did not even try to grow lettuce at home to the standard sizes that it reaches in the garden - tender young leaves were enough for me. But, if space permits, and there are conditions suitable for a salad, it is quite possible to get large outlets.

4. Parsley

You can get parsley greens at home in two ways: sowing seeds in the ground and forcing from prepared roots. The second method, although it requires some preliminary preparation, is generally simpler. Even if you have not prepared planting material since autumn, you can look for high-quality root crops for distillation in the vegetable departments of stores.

For our purposes, absolutely healthy parsley roots of medium size (30-60 g in weight) without signs of wilting are suitable. They must have an apical bud - heavily trimmed plants will not produce greenery.

Having well moistened the soil in a box or flower pot, we plant root crops, covering their tops with soil. Too long can be cut (cut with charcoal to avoid rot) or planted obliquely. The latter option is considered even more preferable than the regular fit.

Parsley from seeds at home. Photo by the author If you grow parsley from seeds, you need to take into account two nuances: the plant is photophilous, and its seeds germinate rather slowly. When sowing, the containers with parsley were not very well located relative to the light source, and the seedlings immediately began to stretch out.And it was possible to accelerate germination thanks to preliminary soaking of the seeds in a solution of Gumi (I will certainly tell you more about this wonderful preparation somehow).

Parsley is not afraid of cold weather, so it feels great on the windowsill. The plant also does not impose special requirements for moisture - we water it as needed, depending on the conditions in the room. I already traditionally add hydrogel for all such plantings, so I usually do not have problems with watering my home garden at all.

Read more about growing this plant at home in the article How to grow parsley on a windowsill.

5. Chive bow

This crop will require a little preliminary preparation: in order to get a harvest all winter, it is necessary to prepare planting material for forcing... Small chunks of chives are dug up and, having cut off the feather, are planted in boxes or pots, which are stored in the basement or on the balcony.

In winter, they are brought into a warm room as needed and placed closer to the light. The feather grows quickly on chives; it can be plucked from the bush selectively or cut off completely. I love the taste - it is softer and softer than regular green onions, so (given the ease of growing) I have no hesitation in putting chives on my list of the best crops for home gardening.

As my experience has shown, at home, a crop from one plant can be obtained twice, after which it is depleted, even with good care and feeding. Therefore, it is wise to prepare several containers of planting material in order to grow greens throughout the winter. Well, in early spring, chives are one of the first to sprout in the garden.

Chives greens - a crop from a home garden. Photo by the author It is advisable to take planting material for forcing from those plantings that you intend to thin out or completely remove - the plants used for forcing are no longer restored, and after the final harvest they are removed.

An important nuance: chives are very sensitive to moisture - with a lack of moisture, the feather coarsens and begins to noticeably bitter, flower stalks form quickly. I set up an experiment: I planted the same cuttings in the same containers; one - in a regular soil, the second - in a mixture of soil with hydrogel. Differences in the growth and development of plants, visible, as they say, with the naked eye, confirmed the hypothesis about the benefits of using a hydrogel in this case as well.

Let's summarize

Here's a list. I tried to grow radishes, and dill, and cilantro at home; in childhood, she planted beans and peas. I drove out the greens of beets and carrots, tried to preserve the basil transplanted from the garden ... In a word, there were many different experiments, and the listed crops were among my favorites.

Decisive when choosing there were factors such as ease of cultivation and undemanding conditions. I will repeat what I have already said more than once: almost any garden culture can be grown at home, but not everyone has the opportunity for this. Therefore, the best plants for a home garden are those that anyone can easily grow.

Let me remind you: A vegetable garden on a balcony or windowsill: features of home gardening are the topic of another lesson in our Academy of the gardener. The recommendations of the specialists of the Agrofirm Search, together with whom we organized this project, will help beginners quickly master the wisdom of gardening, and experienced gardeners - to systematize and deepen their knowledge.

What do you grow on the windowsills? What do you agree with in my story, and what could you argue with based on your own experience? Share your opinion in the comments, tell us about your favorite plants!

A winter garden on the windowsill is perhaps the little that unites an uncompromising resident of the city, an amateur gardener and an experienced summer resident.Indeed, in order to break a small bed on the window, there can only be arguments "for", and it is absolutely impossible to come up with something against.

A vegetable garden on the windowsill in winter is easy!

Aesthetics.

It is not for nothing that the green color is considered soothing, and in summer, when the foliage on the trees and the grass on the lawn are in the juice itself, no one would think of complaining about its abundance and annoyance. So a few bushes of greenery, or even better - flowering and fruiting plants, at least, will delight the eye.

Practicality.

Rationalists and skeptics, when choosing between geraniums and parsley, will certainly prefer the latter - not only beautiful, but also delicious.

Saving.

Greens and fresh vegetables, which are also quite realistic to grow on your own window in February, are expensive in winter, and the quality and taste, nevertheless, leave much to be desired. Whether it's the fruits of their own labors - both tasty and free, and pleasure in the process and in the result.

Great pastime.

How often, especially among women, hands itch on cold winter days from the desire to do something or make something. Someone knows how to knit, someone can sew, and someone may well find in themselves an outstanding gardener-experimenter, who no, no, and will move, as soon as it gets warmer, from the windowsill into a real vegetable garden.

No complications.

No matter how it may seem to a novice gardener that growing plants, and even more food, is the lot of the elite, there is really nothing difficult in regularly harvesting the same green onion. On the contrary, it may be easier and more interesting than growing even the most unpretentious indoor plants.

In order to start breaking a vegetable garden on the windowsill, you will need the following:

Containers.

Most reliable are plastic or clay. Each type of plant must have its own capacity.

Priming.

It is easier and better for those who decide to start gardening for the first time, to buy soil in a specialized store.

Drainage.

As drainage, there can be purchased gravel, or, say, broken brick or small pebbles from the nearest reservoir.

Fluorescent lamps of the white spectrum.

It is absolutely necessary, especially for the northern winter, to extend the daylight hours for plants at least up to 13-15 hours.

With the listed minimum of adaptations and a great desire to get the result and enjoy the process, the winter harvest will be inevitable.

Fresh greens all year round

The easiest way to grow greens is not only in summer beds, but also on the windowsill.

The undisputed leader here is the green onion, but there are other tasty plants that are easier to grow on a window:

parsley and dill;
cilantro and basil:
thyme and mint;
lemon balm and spinach;
sorrel and rosemary;
lavender and tarragon;
celery and salad, etc.

The cultivation of each of them has its own nuances, but in general, the process is not difficult.

Onion

Oddly enough, in the first place in the composition of both onions and its green feathers, nothing more than sugar! It is present in the plant in the form of fructose, inulin, maltose and polysaccharide. On the second and third place in the composition of the beloved plant and part-time food are proteins and ascorbic acid. But the specific flavor of the onion is given by the essential oil, which is contained in it in negligible quantities, but nevertheless creates the whole reputation.

Green onions can be grown in two ways:

in small containers of water
in shallow boxes with earth.

In the first case, only the lower part of the onion purchased in the regular vegetable department should be in the water, and it is necessary to change the water once or twice a day.

In the second case, only the lower part of the bulb and roots are in the ground.

As soon as a few sufficiently long green feathers have appeared, you can cut the first crop and enjoy the fresh herbs in the salad.

In exactly the same way as onions, you can grow garlic from cloves in which a green sprout has hatched.

Seed greens

When planting dill, parsley or, say, cilantro, you need to be patient, because the first harvest will not be earlier than in a month if you choose an early ripening variety, and almost two months later if you choose a late ripening variety. Experienced gardeners recommend not to bother with a choice at all and plant several varieties of your favorite greens that ripen at different rates, because each of them has its own taste characteristics, each looks different, which will help to decorate your salads on the festive table in an unusual way.

So, early ripe dill varieties "Grenadier" and "Gribovsky" are quite unpretentious and resistant to various kinds of diseases, mid-season varieties "Aelita" and "Richelieu" give more fragrant greens, and late-ripe "Kibray" and "Salut" are distinguished by yield and higher content vitamins and other nutrients. The same goes for parsley, cilantro (coriander) and other types of greens.

How to grow dill from seeds:

Soak the seeds in warm, unboiled water for about a day, remembering to change the water every 6-7 hours.
After a day, dry the seeds and plant them in a well-moistened ground. You can sow in beds, sprinkling with earth to a height of a couple of centimeters.
Next, cover the pot with plastic and send it to a dark, warm place for about a week.
After the first shoots appear, gradually reduce the temperature, first for a short time, and then leaving it on the windowsill longer and longer.

The dill should be watered abundantly and the temperature should be kept at 18-20 degrees Celsius. If you add new seeds every 3-4 weeks, then you can provide yourself with fresh dill for several months.

To grow parsley from seeds, you need:

The seeds, wrapped in damp gauze, should be kept in a cool, dark place for a week, not forgetting to constantly moisten the gauze.
After a week, the seeds must be sown to a depth of half a centimeter.
Then cover with a wet cloth and water once every 2 days while waiting for the shoots.
When sprouts appear, you need to transfer the box to the windowsill.

Parsley does not like dry soil or waterlogged soil, so it is worth watering it once every 3-4 days and maintaining the temperature at 22-24 degrees Celsius.

Parsley, celery and root vegetable salad

It is even easier and faster to start getting a crop, after waiting a minimum of time and spending a minimum of effort, if you use purchased greens in a pot.

In winter, lettuce, parsley and celery are often sold in pots, which most buyers throw away after eating the greens. But if you choose a pot with a good intact rhizome a couple of centimeters wide for parsley and about five for celery, plant them, leaving cuttings on the surface, then very soon you can get a new crop of greens.

How to grow vegetables in the winter on the window

Despite the fact that the apartment, it would seem, is the same greenhouse in which tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers bear fruit in northern latitudes, there is one significant feature due to which the cultivation of vegetables in winter (in addition to a short sunny day) is significantly difficult, namely limited area of the pot. Due to the small amount of land provided to the plant, it needs noticeably more attention and care, as well as time in order to start bearing fruit.

When choosing vegetable seeds for the future vegetable garden on the windowsill, you should prefer those that combine all the signs listed below:

self-pollinated hybrids (among them there will be no barren flowers guaranteed);
undersized (so that there is enough window height);
small-fruited varieties (because they ripen faster).

For those who want to grow tomatoes on a windowsill, it makes sense to consider the cherry variety. The well-known tomatoes measuring 2-3 cm in diameter have been cultivated for a little over 200 years and were first brought from Peru and northern Chile.Caring for them does not differ from other varieties of tomatoes, but the fruits ripen much faster due to their size.

To grow vegetables you will need:

a pot with a volume of 3-4 liters for each individual bush;
land purchased from a specialized store;
drainage.

The process of growing a fruiting plant is as follows:

We disinfect the seeds in a pale pink two percent solution of potassium permanganate for 2-3 hours.
After a couple of hours, we take out only the seeds that are at the bottom, and put them on a dry cloth or cotton pad to dry.
We plant the seeds in disposable cups. To do this, put up to 5 seeds in the rammed earth, and then sprinkle it with earth with a layer of 1.5-2 cm.
After germination, we thin out the plants, leaving the strongest ones until one bush remains.

After about a month, we transplant the seedlings into large pots. To do this, we overturn the glass, holding the plant with our fingers, and then we put the seedling in a large pot and fill up the earth.

The first time you need to water the plants regularly, but in no case overmoisten. In winter, it is better to leave the ground a little dry than too moist, and with the arrival of spring, on the contrary, increase watering.

Daylight hours for plants, regardless of the real sun, should be at least 10-12 hours due to artificial lighting, and the temperature should be at least 20 degrees. Also, the plant must be turned 180 degrees once a day so that it grows evenly, without bending too much towards the sun.

Is it possible to grow exotic plants at home in winter?

There are two opposing opinions about growing exotic plants at home: some believe that it is almost impossible, others do not see anything complicated in this and even demonstrate lemons and grapefruits grown with their own hands.

The fact is that citrus trees traditionally grow in Russian houses, despite the unsuitable climate, and there are both successful and negative experiences here. And all because someone is content with a beautiful tree with fleshy leaves that never fall and saturate the room with the cleanest air, and someone certainly wants to see ripe fruits and considers their absence an unsatisfactory result.

In fact an unprocessed lemon or orange seed purchased from a regular store has a 90% chance of growing a beautiful citrus tree... But in order to refine your plant into a so-called cultivated tree and subsequently get a harvest, you need to take into account many nuances and even take advice, or even the help of a specialist.

Nevertheless, nothing is impossible, and if you take into account how long an exotic tree develops, then its seed can be planted at any time, and what to do then - be content with little or do everything in order for it to start bearing fruit - decide over time as its development.

How to grow lemon at home from seeds (video)

In order to enjoy greens all year round, both on the window and in the salad, there are absolutely no obstacles. It will take more effort to grow vegetables on your windowsill, but it's easier to do than it might seem at first. But it will be a little more difficult to become a real gardener, able to boast of your own lemons, at least because of the greater amount of time that will need to be spent, but there is nothing impossible here either.

Date of publication:Growing