How to grow cucumbers on a window sill or balcony

For cultivation at home, only certain types of cucumbers are suitable: early ripening and ultra-ripening. This, for example, Rytovsky, Champion, Regatta, Stella, Debut. They give the first fruits within 40-50 days after sowing. Since it is not possible to grow cucumbers on a windowsill without abundant watering, it is necessary to take a capacity of at least 5-6, or better, 8-10 liters. It can be not only large clay pots, but also tubs, buckets, cut plastic cans. In their day, one or more holes must be made. For the installation of containers, the sills, in most cases, will have to be expanded.

The answer to the question of how to grow cucumbers on a windowsill is as follows: you need to start by choosing a place for plants. Cucumbers love warmth and bright light, so grow them better in a room whose windows face south or southwest. It is necessary to prepare a land mixture from humus and peat with the addition of ordinary fertile soil and sand (4: 4: 2: 1). At the bottom is laid drainage from small pebbles with a layer of 2 cm. The tanks are filled with the mixture one day before the seeds are planted: it should be poured with a hot pale pink solution of potassium permanganate and let the liquid drain. The next day the land is ready for planting. Some experts recommend growing first cucumber seedlings in small containers or peat pots. With proper cultivation conditions, it will be ready for planting in a month.

Seeds of cucumbers should be soaked overnight in a damp cloth for swelling. The fabric is wrapped in a plastic bag and placed in a warm place (you can - on the radiator). Although they retain their germination capacity for at least five years, it is best to take 1-2 summer seeds. They are planted at a depth of 2 cm, immediately after planting are watered with warm water. On top, the container is covered with a plastic bag. If the temperature in the room is not lower than +20 degrees Celsius, the first shoots appear after a few days, then they are removed. Since it is very difficult to grow cucumbers on a window sill without sufficient sunlight, they should be illuminated by a daylight lamp at least four hours a day during the winter months. Otherwise, their growth will be very slow: so if you decided to grow seedlings first, it will be ready for transplantation not in 25-30 days, but only after a month and a half.

After two or three leaves appear on the plants, cucumbers are fed urea (1 tsp of fertilizer per 5 liters of water). For subsequent feeding, both mineral and organic fertilizers are used: water diluted with bird droppings (1:15) or Mullein (1:10). It is desirable to feed cucumbers every 10-14 days. When growing with seedlings, plants are transplanted into large containers with the appearance of four to five leaflets. The next important point in the answer to the question on how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill is regular watering: in sunny weather - twice a day, on cloudy day - in the morning, in the morning or in the evening. Water for irrigation should be warm, stable.

In the question of how to grow cucumbers on the windowsill, great importance is the correct formation of the plant. In varieties that require manual pollination, after the appearance of the third real leaf, the top should be pinched - thus stimulating the growth of lateral shoots, on which female flowers grow and, accordingly, fruit is tied. After the appearance of 5-6 present sheets, the tops are removed. Rinse the cucumbers by hand in the morning, in sunny weather - at this time, the pollen on male flowers is more. To distinguish them from women is quite simple: the latter have an ovary, and they blossom later. For pereopyleniya you need to break the male flower, cut off the petals and touch it with stamens to the pestle of the female plant. Collect the fruits can be in 10-12 days.

Periodically, spray plants with water from a spray gun, and also remove dry and yellow leaves. Sowing cucumbers in early January, by February 23 and March 8, you will get your own harvest. Plants will bear fruit throughout the month. The important point is how to grow cucumbers on the window, so that they constantly fructify: you need to calculate the timing so that you periodically replace plants with new ones. With each of them, with proper care, you can get up to 40-50 fruits.

On the question of how to grow cucumbers on the balcony, you can answer in the following way: for this, it is better to choose self-pollinating varieties. It will be more convenient if you put together a large wooden box for plants. Be sure to provide support or pull ropes, along which cucumber whips will be able to curl.