Not many people grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter - for beginners who like to cultivate green beds in apartment conditions, this is generally some kind of “special ritual”, as a result of which delicious greens appear almost out of nowhere. But, there are rules of agricultural technology and not everything is as complicated as it seems at first glance ...

Cucumbers on the windowsill in winter - the best varieties

If you are going to get a delicious harvest of greens in the winter in an apartment or at home, then first of all, pay attention to the best varieties of cucumbers for growing on a windowsill or suitable for cultivation at home.

But, before opening the list of recommended varieties, consider a couple more points: when you want to get a crop, in the autumn-winter period, or in the winter-spring turnover, also pay attention to additional lighting - is there one? Indeed, without it, it is very, very difficult to grow cucumbers in winter.

It is important to note that in closed conditions it is necessary to grow parthenocarpic self-pollinating varieties in order to harvest. This condition is a pledge of harvest on the windowsill. The opinions of summer residents and experienced gardeners about the inscription on the seed bags “for balcony growing” were divided, some believe that it is necessary to plant only such hybrids and varieties, while the other part of the experienced consider it sufficient that the cucumbers are parthenocarpic and do not have to be marked for the balcony garden.

If there are lamps for lighting, we have decided on the period, then we look and choose the best varieties of cucumbers and hybrids for growing on the windowsill - for beginners it is recommended to start with them so that there are fewer problems: F1 Window and Balcony, F1 Athlete, F1 Home Miracle, Balcony miracle F1, Berendey F1 and others. For example, it is not suitable for growing on a windowsill, as it is too bushy and will require too much care and time to get a crop.

When buying seeds for growing on a windowsill, pay attention to the branching of cucumber lashes (the smaller, the better; if it grows strongly, then there will not be enough nutrients for the fruit), look at the height of the plants, whether you need to pinch and shape them in any special way. You can make it easier for yourself to grow already at the stage of buying seeds by making the right choice.

For those beginners who are going to grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, you need to master several important points of agricultural technology or in another way, the rules:

1. Prepare containers in which cucumbers will grow on the windowsill - choose a container with a volume of at least 5 liters, preferably 7 or 10. Be sure to have holes in it for draining water so that there is no stagnation of excess liquid. Many summer residents advise growing cucumbers in high-density plastic bags - the minus of such an undertaking is that there are no holes for the liquid to drain and it is necessary to look for a pallet, plus the bag does not stand very steadily;
2. The second point is good ground. The soil mixture should be loose and nutritious, you can cook it yourself. Take part of the sod land and humus, the same amount of leafy land, add a little sand, mix thoroughly. Instead of sand, some summer residents use vermiculite, which prevents soil compaction, caking, hardening, makes the soil breathable, porous and loose;
3. or immediately into a container where the culture will constantly grow - there is no fundamental difference where the seeds will be planted. If there is no additional lighting, and on the street it is October or November, even through seedlings to grow, even immediately into the ground, sprouts will still stretch. If you plant seeds immediately in a flowerpot, then it is better to put cucumber seeds for germination before hatching, for one and check germination. If you want to grow cucumbers on the windowsill for the New Year, then sowing will need to be done at the beginning of October, but by March 8 - sow in mid-January and remember, take early ripening varieties of cucumbers;
4. Planting cucumber seeds- make a small depression on the surface of the soil (you can just push it with your finger) to a depth of 1-2 cm, spill the hole with water and plant the seeds that have sprung. It is desirable to plant one seed in one pot, two can be used, but then the weaker sprout will need to be removed or transplanted. From above, just sprinkle with earth without watering, otherwise the seeds will go deep;
5. Put a container of cucumbers on the windowsill, closer to the light, but it is better to put a plank or a piece of foam under the bottom so that the cold window sill does not allow the soil mixture to cool. Be sure to cover the container with cling film or polyethylene to form a "greenhouse" and do not open it until the cucumbers appear from the ground. Not everyone succeeds in cucumbers on the windowsill - for beginners it can be problematic to achieve the germination of plants, but, as a rule, cucumbers are the least troublesome when cultivating at home;
6. It remains to be seen as the crop grows and harvest the long-awaited harvest. Well, of course, questions about how to form, what to feed will not go away, so we explain. It is best to keep cucumbers on the windowsill in one stem and you need to form it like this - up to 4-5 real leaves you blind all internodes, i.e. remove everything that appeared between the stem and leaf. Next, form into one stem. A cucumber appeared, grew, you plucked it, removed the antennae, pinched off the stepchildren there so that your culture would not grow anywhere;
7. Garter of cucumbers on the windowsill- you will have to build a “trellis” on the window, or rather, fix the rope twine in such a way that the plant has the opportunity to grow and stretch upwards, as a rule, a carnation is nailed at the top of the window, a rope is fixed on it and lowered to the windowsill where the cucumber sits, wrapped around a couple of times. By tomorrow evening, the plant will already curl on its own;
8. How to feed cucumbers on the windowsill? You can make an extract from humus or rotted compost, and it will be natural and nutritious. Pour into a bucket on 1/4 of the rotted compost, fill it with hot water (+60 ֯С) and let it brew for a day, after which you can use the infused solution as top dressing (0.5-1 l per bush). Another fertilizer for cucumbers on the windowsill is Orgavit or Sodium Humate, which you can purchase for feeding (dilute according to the instructions);
9. Diseases of cucumbers on the windowsill- well, this happens, especially if they filled it in or chose the wrong container, the cucumbers start to hurt. To prevent the appearance of rot, use Fitosporin-M, dilute according to the instructions and spill the ground. When growing on a window, the main diseases are associated with malnutrition, but this is more likely not a disease, but a lack of space for the growth of the root system and nutrition, so keep an eye on top dressing and fertilize your balcony cucumbers at least 1 time per week. Water as needed, quite often you will have to, but do not flood.

As you can see, growing cucumbers on the windowsill in winter, even for beginners, is not such a difficult thing, you just need to understand a little and approach the process correctly, and then a delicious harvest will definitely be on your table by the New Year or March 8!

Reading time ≈ 12 minutes

Selection and preparation of seeds

The criteria for selecting seeds for planting in open ground do not work for those in an apartment. For example, when growing in a house, we choose exactly hybrid varieties, and here such a nuance emerges:

Seeds collected from hybrid varieties do not pass on their characteristics to the next generations. In other words, it is simply impossible to get the same harvest from the collected seeds as it was.

That is, you need to use purchased products. Ready seeds are usually already disinfected, so it is not necessary to soak them in potassium permanganate.

Soaking seeds for germination.

Landing: soil preparation

What can seeds be planted in?

• peat cups;
• peat tablets (from 4 cm);
• em-trays;
• improvised containers: from yogurts and other products.

Important! Often picking affects cucumber seedlings in the most detrimental way - most seedlings get sick, take root poorly or die altogether. Therefore, many gardeners are ambivalent about this procedure.

Cucumbers in peat cups.

The soil for cucumbers must meet the following requirements: lightness, nutritional value, moisture capacity, breathability. You can prepare the following mixture: take 1 part of sand, peat and sod and add 2 parts of compost. Do not forget to fertilize the soil - for 10 kg of the mixture you need to add 1 cup of wood ash, 3 tbsp. l. phosphate fertilizers and 2 tbsp. l. potassium sulfate.

If you use peat tablets, you need to do the following:

1. Find a suitable size plastic cup or other container.
2. Cut out the bottom and place a peat tablet in the container.
3. Pour over the tablet and wait until it swells.
4. You can plant cucumber seeds.

Planting seeds.

Step by step disembarkation process:

1. Fill the container 2/3 or almost completely with soil, after placing drainage material on the bottom.
2. Place the containers in the tray and moisten with a spray bottle.
3. Make a 1 cm depression in the center of each container and put in 1-2 seeds.
4. Sprinkle dry soil on top and tamp a little.
5. The soil can be slightly moistened again and covered with a film.

Planted seeds must be provided with optimal conditions - the pallet must be placed in a warm place without drafts with a temperature of at least 26 ° C. Every day it is worth lifting the film for ventilation. At the same time, it is worth slightly moistening the soil with a spray bottle (do not water in the usual way!). Within a few days, the first shoots will hatch.

seedling care

When the seeds begin to massively sprout, you need to completely remove the film. Further, it is important to adhere to such requirements:

• • Temperature regime. After the emergence of seedlings, it is necessary to reduce the temperature - it is optimal to maintain 18-22 ° C during the day, and not lower than 15 ° C at night. The soil temperature should not fall below 18°C.
  • Light. The length of the daylight hours is not as critical as the brightness of the lighting. To ensure a high-quality light regime, you will have to install phytolamps or other suitable lighting devices. It is very important not to allow the seedlings to thicken! To do this, keep the containers not tightly, but at some distance from each other.

Seedling of cucumbers.

• Irrigation mode. The first full watering should be carried out on the 5th day after germination. Water should be warm, not less than 24°C. Before that, it is only allowed to spray the soil. The best option is to moisten the soil through the pallet. Mulching should be a mandatory procedure after each watering!
• The introduction of fertilizers. This condition is not necessary if you applied top dressing to the soil for seedlings. If not, it is worth adding substances based on the appearance of the plants. Each deficiency has specific manifestations (see photo below).

Important! Violation of any of these requirements can lead to inferiority of seedlings. For example, lack of light leads to stretching, weakness and illness. Waterlogging - to rotting of the roots and mass death.

Diseases of cucumbers.

Transfer

Plants should be transplanted into permanent pots in about a month. By this period, the seedlings already have several full-fledged leaves, sometimes antennae.

Important! Since the transplantation process for the roots of cucumbers is very traumatic, it is worth using the transshipment method - it does not disturb the earthen lump, and, accordingly, the root system of the plant.

Soil mix options for permanent pots:

• in equal proportions turf, sand and humus / peat;
• 3 parts of humus, turf and leafy soil + 1 part of sand;
• in equal parts humus and sod, add 200 g of wood ash to 1 bucket of soil.

The following components may also be present in the composition for cucumbers: eggshell, husk, perlite and vermiculite.

Step by step process:

1. Prepare containers of 3-4 liters for one plant. They must have drainage holes! The height of the pots can be no more than 30 cm, since the root system of cucumbers does not reach to a great depth.
2. Lay a layer of expanded clay on the bottom, fill with soil. In the middle, make a hole with a diameter of 3-4 cm and the same depth.
3. Moisten the seedlings to soften the soil.
4. Gently walk with any gardening tool along the edges of the cup, then gently push through the cut bottom - the seedling should freely fall out of the cup with an intact clod of earth.
5. Carefully, without destroying the earthen clod, place the seedling in a recess, sprinkle with soil and compact a little.
6. Water the transplanted cucumbers with warm water.

Idea: instead of purchased cucumber pots, you can use improvised items that are no longer used in everyday life: eggplants and large bottles, pots, plastic containers, cake lids, plastic boxes and boxes.

Seedling transplant.

But all containers without exception must have holes for water to drain! If you have a large enough container (from 6 liters or more), you can place as many as 3 cucumber bushes in it. Also, experts recommend, if possible, choose containers of light shades that protect the plant from overheating.

Further care

It is impossible to understand how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill in an apartment in winter without knowing the basic rules for caring for plants. It is imperative to carry out the formation of bushes, correctly adjust the mode of watering and top dressing.

• Location. For growing cucumbers, the east and southeast sides of the apartment are best suited. But the northern and western sides are less suitable for this. It is very important to protect the culture from direct sunlight - the windows on which the cucumbers stand must be covered with tulle or a translucent curtain, or create shading in another way.
• Formation (pinching). There is nothing complicated in this process - the first pinching is carried out as soon as 3-4 true leaves appear on the main shoot. Next, lateral shoots are pinched when 5 sheets are formed on them.
• Watering. The right amount of moisture is critical for cucumbers - too much will lead to root rot, and too little will reduce the yield. It is important not only to moisten the roots, but also to maintain the correct air humidity - spray the leaves with a spray gun 1-2 times a day, put wide containers of water in the room.
• Top dressing. Produced every 1-1.5 weeks. Preparation of fertilizer: 10 g of saltpeter and double superphosphate, + 8 g of magnesium sulfate. Stir in a bucket of water and use 0.5 liters per bush.
• Garter. A garter is a must for a weaving plant. It provides light access to all leaves, improves air exchange between the bushes. In addition, the bushes acquire a more accurate and decorative look. The tie also makes it easier to access the plants for watering and harvesting.

Important! The room should not be drafts and strong temperature fluctuations. If the cucumbers stand directly on the window, the window sill must be insulated with a plank or foam.

For a garter, you can use metal rods or trellises with a length of at least 70-80 cm (see photo below).

Greetings to all readers!

I will be happy to tell you about growing cucumbers on the windowsill. Recently I planted several tomatoes on the window, which I talked about in the article "". I also wanted to please myself with cucumbers in the winter. I'm telling you

How to grow cucumbers at home in winter

Cucumbers have been grown at home and on balconies for a long time and with success. And if you have a heated loggia or a glazed balcony, then cucumbers and much more will grow well. Many varieties are specially adapted for home fruiting. Basically, these are hybrids that do not need pollination by bees. Parthenocarpic hybrid - this terrible word that you can break your tongue about is called female-type flowering cucumbers that set fruits without pollination.

Varieties

1. Hybrid Shchedryk- early ripening (45 days before fruit). Cucumbers grow in a bunch of 5-8 pieces. Dark green greens up to 12 cm long. On the windowsill, you can collect up to 20 cucumbers from it.
2. Khutorok- super fast (first cucumbers in 30 days!) Bee-pollinated hybrid with mostly female flowers. Green small cucumbers 10 cm with black spikes. At home, it can be pollinated by hand. We tear off the male flower (barren flower) and gently touch the stamens on the female flowers (with ovaries) with the pistil. You can transfer pollen with a soft brush.
3. crunchy- just fast (fruits 50 days after germination). Self pollinating hybrid. Cucumbers grow in a bouquet of up to 7 pieces. A very productive variety. With good care at home, you can collect up to 40 fruits from a plant. Vigorous, it can be let in a vine along the window!

All these varieties can then be sown both in open ground and in a greenhouse. There are many more suitable varieties of cucumbers. It is better for the window sill to choose parthenocarpic self-pollinated F1 hybrids.

Approximately 45-50 days pass from germination to the beginning of fruiting, the period of fruiting of one plant is about a month and a half. This means that one-time sowing of cucumbers is not enough. If you want to have fresh fruits for 4–5 months, then you will have to deal with seedlings of plants at least four times. The gap between crops is a month and a half. As soon as the first wave ceases to bear fruit, the fruiting of the “second stage” begins, and so on. You can sow cucumbers every 2-3 weeks.

The temperature in the room during the day should be within + 21–24 ° С, at night + 18–19 ° С. In most apartments, this is the temperature maintained in the winter. If not, you need to heat the plants a little with any devices, including incandescent lamps. They will both illuminate and warm at the same time.

As for energy losses, there are no problems here. It will always take less energy to heat a window sill with cucumbers than for the entire room. Of course, it is desirable to place plants on the south side.

Daylight hours for cucumbers should last at least 14–15 hours; in winter, artificial lighting is indispensable.

We choose a bright place for cucumbers. The southern window sill is the most suitable. You can increase the lighting of the plant by installing mirrors, foil, reflective materials on the windowsill.

Cucumbers love loose fertile soil. For domestic plants, you need at least 5 liters of soil per plant, no less. So that they develop well, and the roots have enough nutrition. The composition of the soil can be made independently by mixing in equal parts:

• Ogorodnaya
• Or forest land
• Humus
• Sand
• Rotten sawdust (black)

The mixture must be heated in the oven for disinfection. Because young shoots love different midges-flies that are present in the ground. And houses always thaw, even if the ground is brought in from frost.

If it’s easier for you to buy ready-made soil in the store, then take a universal one or for pumpkin plants. Cucumbers can be grown in boxes or individual pots. In the box, you can plant plants a little more often and then put them on the southern windowsill. In a month or two you will have an openwork green curtain on the window.

In a seedling box 60-70 cm long, 5-6 bushes can be planted. The dishes must have holes and drainage. To allow excess moisture to drain freely. We pour the earth in a container in advance, let it settle and water it abundantly a day before sowing the seeds.

Seed preparation

One way to organize a vertical garter

Dry seeds of cucumbers germinate in 2-3 days, but since in winter at home we will not be able to plant a lot of surpluses, we can germinate the seeds and sow them into the ground already in a row. For disinfection, you can hold a little in pink potassium permanganate.

You can use small cups or sow directly into the box. Germinated or dry seeds are placed in a 1.5 cm depression in moist soil and covered with moist soil. Before germination, we close the containers with film or glass and put them in a warm place + 25ºС, at least. Here the shoots appeared, then we remove the film and rearrange it on a bright window sill cooler, about 20 ° C.

If you sowed the seeds in small containers, then transplant them carefully, the leaves of cucumbers are fragile. Pour the container well before transplanting, crush from all sides and the young cucumber will calmly fall out with the ground and intact roots. He will endure such a transshipment calmly. Next, you need to form plants to get a crop on the windowsill.

The formation of "home" cucumbers

Pinching the top of a cucumber

After the fourth or fifth leaf, we pinch the growth point of our seedlings. Let the side lashes grow on which there are always more greens. Leave 2-3 lashes, which are pinched over the 10th sheet. They will begin to grow their lashes from the axils of the leaves. Form the plant further without overloading. After all, we don't have enough land.

You need to organize a garter for cucumber lashes so that they get more sunlight. With all these operations, do not damage the leaves, they must be protected. The leaves are essential for the plant to eat properly. Excess tendrils can be carefully trimmed.

Watering

Soil moisture has a significant impact not only on yield, but also on plant health. Not enough moisture - there are few cucumbers and their appearance leaves much to be desired. A lot of moisture, and even at insufficient temperatures, will certainly lead to decay of the horse system and the death of cucumbers. Water the plant should be timely, but without excessive fanaticism.

It should also be borne in mind that on the windowsills the earth quickly loses moisture, this is unacceptable for cucumbers. Experienced growers strongly recommend spraying the leaves daily with clean, warm water. And so that the roots do not rot, all containers must have an effective drainage system.

When the vegetation speed slows down a little, the watering intensity should be reduced. During this period, you need to use the rule: it is better to underfill than overfill. Of course, underfilling should not cause the death of the plant.

With the advent of flowers, watering increases slightly, and the appearance of the ovary becomes a signal for a sharp increase in the amount of moisture. Fruits significantly increase water consumption, its lack has a negative impact on their development, appearance and quantity.

In extreme cases, the ovary can crumble; experienced gardeners never bring cucumbers to such a sad state.

Under the box, it is advisable to put foam or a plank so that the roots do not freeze. Remember that cucumbers are very thermophilic plants. Also, in all possible ways, you need to increase the humidity of the air near the cucumbers. Place a container of water next to it, spray or even cover with a film to create high humidity!

It is clear that without them a home harvest in the winter will not work. Use organic fertilizer. In winter, you can water the fermented infusion of banana peels. It is diluted ten times with water. You need to water often with warm water, but you can not fill it.

2 weeks after seed germination, the cucumber must be fertilized. To do this, you can use a mixture of ammonium nitrate, sodium sulfate and double superphosphate. You can also use ready-made mixtures for feeding cucumbers or organic matter. 2 weeks after the first top dressing and at the entire stage of fruiting cucumbers, top dressing should be repeated.

Harvesting

And a little about the most pleasant moment - harvesting. You need to do this every day, let the plant grow new cucumbers and not waste energy on ripe ones. A lot of positive emotions await everyone who decides to grow cucumbers on the windowsill in winter!

Diseases and pests. Growing problems

Growing cucumbers at home is not a guarantee that the plant will not be attacked by various pests, and not following the rules of keeping can lead to disease.

With the stagnation of moisture in the soil, rotting of the root system can occur and, as a result, the death of the entire plant.

Falling under sudden changes in temperature or in a draft, the plant may begin to wither and drop leaves, the formation and development of ovaries will be slowed down, and over time the vine may die.

Leaves can be attacked by aphids, whiteflies or spider mites. At home, the use of insecticides is dangerous for the health of households. It is better to use folk remedies for the destruction of pests.

• Aphids and whiteflies die when plants are treated with a strong infusion of tobacco.
• To combat spider mites, use a tincture of garlic with the addition of antibacterial soap.

Why do cucumber leaves turn yellow on the windowsill?

Why do indoor cucumbers turn yellow, leaves dry?

In most cases, this is the occurrence of diseases or improper care.

One can envy those who have their own plot of land, even a small dacha! Owners of their own homes can always enjoy vitamins carefully grown in gardens.

But you also want to pamper yourself and your family with a salad of fresh cucumbers, your own, and not store-bought ones, even in a dank, cold time. Store-bought ones are expensive, and their taste is not at all the same.

There is an exit! We can grow cucumbers on the windowsill.

• In any apartment, you can create your own mini-garden from indoor cucumbers. To do this, you need quite a bit: suitable seeds, knowledge of the rules of planting and care, and, of course, desire.

The apartment garden on the windowsill requires very simple maintenance. Even inexperienced, novice amateur gardeners will cope with this.

Although cucumber crops are particularly demanding, it is quite possible to create suitable conditions for them on the windowsill.

Choosing the right variety

There are varieties of cucumbers specially created by breeders intended for breeding in apartments. Almost all of them are hybrids that can do without insect pollinators.

These are female-type cucumbers, parthenocarpic hybrids capable of setting fruit in the absence of pollination.

• The ideal varieties of cucumbers on the windowsill will be medium climbing and bush species. They have more than enough space even in small areas.

It is best to choose shade-tolerant varieties, those hybrids that do not care about winter weather and indoor lighting.

The best varieties of indoor cucumbers

♦ Shchedryk. Early ripening cucumbers (the first crop will ripen 40-45 days after sowing).

Cucumbers grow up to 12 cm and they grow in bunches of 6-8 pieces. Each of the home cucumber plants can bring the owner up to 20-25 fruits.

♦ Crunch. The harvest of small cucumbers will please the owner in 45-50 days. Small fruits grow in bunches of 5-7 pieces.

The harvest is plentiful, one cucumber bush can bring up to 40 cucumbers. Khrustik is vigorous, it can even be allowed to grow as a beautiful liana along the window.

♦ Bianca. Cucumber-gherkin is ideal for pickles and marinades. On each knot, they can form up to 6-7 fruits of a sweet taste.

Bianca is characterized by long fruiting and good resistance to stress and disease.

♦ Masha. This variety of cucumber on the windowsill has a powerful and strong stem. Small cucumbers ripen together, their flesh is devoid of bitterness and quite dense.

They ripen in groups of up to 5-6 pieces on one knot. The length of each fruit is up to 8 cm.

♦ Regatta. The variety is distinguished by high palatability, it is resistant to ailments and has an excellent yield (gives the owner up to 40 fruits weighing 150 g from each plant). This is the perfect species for indoor growing.

For a rich garden on the windowsill, other parthenocarpic varieties of cucumbers are also perfect: Photon, Marinda F1, Kukaracha, April, Zozulya, Claudia F1, Gribovchanka, Stella, Debut, Room, Home.

There are also home varieties that need pollination, the most delicious of them: Ladoga, Frigate, Manul, Marathon, Olympics, Northern Lights.

With them, it will be necessary to plant any male pollinator variety: Hercules, Ermine, Gladiator. If necessary, you can pollinate the plants yourself with a soft brush.

An important event - planting cucumbers

♦ Choose and prepare a place. Green home cucumber crumbs need warmth and good lighting, so it is better to create a cucumber garden on the south or east windows.

1. If the window sill is too cold, place pieces of isolon, foam plastic or boards on it (otherwise the seedling roots may freeze).
2. Cover the window with polyethylene (this will eliminate the appearance of drafts when airing our mini-garden). Be sure to close all the cracks in the windows.
3. You can stick reflective films on the glass, install mirrors or foil next to the pots. Such a coating will create more comfortable conditions for young plants.
4. Cucumbers also need good moisture. It can be provided by containers filled with water, trays of moistened gravel / pebbles, placed next to the seedling boxes. Well increase humidity and wet rags on batteries and special humidifiers.

Provide artificial additional lighting (our winter is characterized by short daylight hours). Cucumbers on the windowsill in winter should be illuminated for at least 10-12 hours, in early spring 4-6 hours additionally.

♦ Where to plant. Cucumbers grown on the windowsill can be placed in any container with a volume of at least 8 liters per plant. In containers, a couple of holes should be made at the bottom for free access of air and drainage of excess liquid.

On the bottom, place drainage from pieces of broken brick, tile, expanded clay, gravel or foam. The drainage layer should be about 3-4 cm, cover it with soil on top.

• Before filling the containers with the soil mixture, the cucumber boxes should be thoroughly washed with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and then doused with steam. This is necessary for additional disinfection.

♦ Soil for planting. How to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, what land do they need? Homemade cucumbers love loose and fertile soil.

For their cultivation, you can use the purchased ready-made soil (universal or mixture for pumpkin). The soil can be made with your own hands.

We need the following mixture:

• Compost 40%.
• Peat 30%.
• Soddy soil 20%.
• Wood sawdust 10%.

It is also necessary to add urea to the prepared soil (the volume of an incomplete matchbox per 10 liters of the finished soil mixture) and potassium sulfate with superphosphate (the volume of two matchboxes).

Cucumbers on the windowsill are also suitable for a mixture of soddy soil, manure humus, peat and sawdust (1 part each).

Add nitrophoska (1 tbsp), wood ash (1 cup) and urea (1 tsp) to a bucket of this mixture.

• Soil consumption is not less than 5-6 liters for each cucumber plant. Or follow this rule: 5-6 bushes are planted on one seedling box 60-70 cm long.

For prevention and disinfection, the soil should be poured with a weak (pale pink) solution of manganese and heated in the oven.

Then mix the soil thoroughly and pour it into the container, not reaching 5-7 cm to the edge of the containers. Before planting the seeds, water containers with soil with hot water at a temperature of + 60-70 ° C.

• On the advice of experienced gardeners, grease the edges of the container where cucumbers will grow with some ointment with a pungent odor (for example, Asterisk balm). A sharp aroma will scare away the appearance of one malicious cucumber pest - a sprout fly that can be brought with the ground.

♦ When to plant. If your plans are to see fresh cucumbers on the New Year's table, plant seeds at the end of October.

Seeds sown at the end of December will produce a crop around the end of February. If you need vitamins in the spring (in March), sow your garden in January.

And if you want to save on electricity and grow cucumbers without additional illumination, then it is best to sow the seeds on February 20-25.

Keep in mind that not much time passes from the time of sowing to the start of collecting vitamin fruits (30-50 days). It depends on the type of cucumber.

♦ Cooking seeds. Seeds for growing cucumbers on the windowsill are different. Their preparation for planting is carried out depending on the type of purchased seeds:

• hybrid seeds. The fact that the variety is hybrid can be understood by marking F1 in the name. These seeds are sold already fully prepared for sowing. Additional activities are not required.
• Instructed seeds. On sale you can find multi-colored cucumber seeds (blue, green, red). Their pretty color is the result of processing with polymers that form a reliable protective shell. Polymers stimulate plant growth and protect them. Such seeds also do not require pre-treatment.
• Dried seeds. These types of seeds are covered with a special peat-mineral mixture, which forms a protective shell. Pelleted seeds are more economical to sow, they rarely need to be thinned out, and they do not require additional preparation for sowing.

All other seeds of varietal cucumbers should be kept for 5-6 hours in a weak solution of immunocytophyte (tablet per 100 ml of water).

You can also use a light pink solution of manganese or wood ash (a teaspoon per 100 ml of water).

Before soaking, the seeds should be heated in a thermos for about 2-3 hours in hot water at a temperature of + 45-40 ° C.

♦ Seeding. Prepared cucumber seeds are best grown in small cups. Carefully place each seed in separate containers in a small recess, cover with a damp bandage or gauze on top.

Put the cups in boxes, cover the boxes themselves with glass or film. Place them in a warm place and keep at a temperature of + 23-25 ​​° C.

• After 2-3 days, the first cotyledons will unfold in the cucumbers. Immediately after the emergence of seedlings, we remove the coating and transfer the container with our seeds to the selected and prepared window sill.

Cucumbers at home must be placed on the windowsill so that their upper part faces the window.

The optimum temperature for young seedlings: during the day + 22-26 ° C, at night + 17-22 ° C.

After 20-25 days, young crops need to be moved to larger containers already on permanent habitats (for this event, choose cloudy days).

Before transplanting, pour the soil with warm water. Seedlings are transplanted with a clod of earth (take care of the leaves of young plants - they are still very fragile).

Let's take care of our cucumbers

♦ Garter. As soon as our cucumbers grow 5-6 leaves, we need to stick pegs next to the seedlings. Or you can pull twine or wire at a height of 1.5-1.8 m from the boxes. Growing cucumber tendrils should be tied to it.

• To stimulate the growth of young plants, cut off the top above the 10-11th leaf, also regularly pinch all side shoots as soon as they grow by 20-30 cm. Every week, young cucumbers need to be removed growing extra tendrils.

♦ Backlight. Daytime, phytolamps or energy-saving lamps for additional illumination of our garden should be placed at a height of at least 5 cm from the upper crown of plants.

As they grow, the lamps should be raised higher.

Illumination can be used from the first moment of germination. Turn it on during the day from 7-8 in the morning for 6-8 hours. Don't forget to turn off the lights at night.

♦ Watering. Cucumbers should be watered moderately, without waiting for the soil to dry completely. Without additional illumination, the frequency of watering is once a day, with additional illumination a couple of times.

Water must first be defended, and its temperature should not exceed + 23-25 ​​° C.

• Adult plants can be watered less often - weekly from 2-3 times. Watering cucumbers is best done in the morning.

♦ Top dressing. When growing homemade cucumbers on the windowsill, young seedlings (until they reach 20-25 days) should be fed twice:

1. 1.5-2 weeks after the first shoots. Use a solution of urea (a teaspoon per 2-3 liters of water). Consumption of a glass of solution for each bush.
2. A week after the first meal. Suitable nitrophoska (teaspoon) or wood ash (tablespoon) for 3 liters of water. Consumption: a glass for each plant.

Additionally, seedlings (especially in winter) can be flavored with an infusion of banana peel, diluting it in 10 parts of water.

Top dressing for adult cucumbers should be done depending on their well-being. If the bushes have a weak stem and stunted leaves, cucumbers need top dressing.

• On average, adult cucumber plantings should be fed once a week, as soon as they reach the age of 1.5-2 months.

You can arm yourself with purchased complex mineral supplements or liquid organics ("Epin", "Radogor", "Bucephalus").

Cucumbers should also be fed with natural fertilizer (especially during the formation of ovaries).

Wood ash is ideal for this (mix 100 g into a liter of hot water and leave for a day or two). Plants must be watered before fertilizing.

♦ Important nuances. In the process of growing cucumbers on the windowsill, learn a number of simple rules, their obligatory implementation guarantees a plentiful and friendly harvest of green vitamins:

1. Don't let the cucumber soil dry out!
2. If the roots of cucumbers appear on the surface of the soil, immediately sprinkle them with fresh soil.
3. In the case of the active appearance of female flowers, cut off some of them, otherwise the fruits will form very slowly.
4. Do not leave ripe cucumbers hanging on the bushes - they will continue to take nutrients and will not allow other fruits to fully ripen. The more often ripe cucumbers are removed, the more of them will be formed.

Subject to all the rules and careful care, your cucumber garden will show excellent yield results, on average, up to 30-35 strong, vitamin-filled cucumbers can be harvested from one plant.

♦ Harvest. Ripe cucumbers should be cut off at the age of 1-1.5 weeks. Do it every day.

Sick or deformed fruits should be harvested as soon as they form.

Harvesting a tiny crop will bring real pleasure to the owner of a cucumber mini-garden!

Instead of a window sill - a balcony!

A cucumber garden can be successfully placed on a covered balcony, terrace or loggia. Cucumbers on the balcony are best placed in the corners of the room or along the walls.

Thus, the plants will be more protected from possible drafts.

• For the successful cultivation of cucumbers in such conditions, it is better to select balconies / loggias in the south or southeast direction (as well as when arranging cucumbers on the windowsill). If the balcony faces north, it will be too dark for young cucumbers and they may not grow.

If your balcony is well insulated, you can grow cucumbers on it all year round. But cucumbers love not only heat, but also light.

If you have the means and opportunities, install additional lighting on the balconies (but be aware that you will need several lamps, and the energy consumption will increase - after all, there is much more space on the balcony than on the windowsills).

Or plant seeds for seedlings at the beginning of the spring period, so that you can harvest earlier (before the short day).

For the success of the intended event, adhere to the following rules:

1. Keep your garden regularly hydrated.
2. A balcony garden needs good protection against insects and drafts (cucumber varieties adapted specifically for home cultivation are very susceptible to diseases carried by various pests).
3. Although cucumbers love light, they should not be allowed to overheat and dry out the leaves. To do this, install protective translucent curtains on the glass of the balconies.
4. Since we will have more cucumbers on balconies / loggias, it is better to use a nylon mesh or a lattice of slats as a garter.

The preparation of the soil, seeds, their planting and care is carried out according to the same rules as in the case of arranging a garden on a windowsill.