How and how to feed cucumbers at home on a balcony or windowsill

We all love wildlife, we are always waiting for summer to go to the country house and work in our garden, but what to do when this wonderful time ends? It is for this that an abundance of varieties of various vegetable crops was bred that can be grown at home, right on the windowsill, and today we will talk about what fertilizers are used for cucumbers on the balcony, how to grow them correctly, and so on.

Acceptable conditions for cucumbers

It is very important for cucumbers that they receive enough light and that the temperature around them is acceptable. Try to place containers with them on windows facing east or southeast. If there is not enough lighting, artificial lighting should be done by installing special phytolamps. Please note that this vegetable does not tolerate drafts.

For good growth of cucumbers, the temperature in the room during the day should be from 23 to 26 degrees. At night, it should be at least 15 degrees. Regarding watering, it should be regular, but pouring the bushes is highly discouraged, otherwise the rhizomes may start to rot.

The soil

If you choose the right soil, a good harvest is guaranteed. Often the best option is considered when the following types are mixed in equal proportions:

• sod soil;
• humus;
• sawdust;
• peat.

Approximately 5 kilograms of this mixture should be obtained. To it should be added 15 grams of nitrophoska, 100 grams of wood ash and 7 and a half grams of urea. Then all this needs to be mixed well. Then cucumbers are planted there, and from the very beginning they will grow strong and healthy.

The soil mixture needs to be scattered into containers. One plant should have about 5 liters of soil. Plastic pots or boxes are used as containers. Vegetables need to have room, so don't plant them close to each other.

The optimal distance between the bushes is 30 cm. In no case should one plant oppress another, otherwise everything will end badly. Containers with seeds should be placed where there is sufficient lighting, and the temperature is 22 degrees (lower is unacceptable). It is in such conditions and with good soil that it will be possible to get an excellent harvest at home. It is not so difficult to create such conditions at home, lighting can be added using lamps, and the temperature can be adjusted with heaters.

How to plant correctly

Before planting cucumber seeds, they should be prepared appropriately. It is necessary to make a solution of potassium permanganate and soak the seeds in it, literally for half an hour. After that, you need to put them on a damp cloth and wait for pecking.

When the seeds are ready, you need to plant them in the ground 2 cm. After that, cover the container with polyethylene and put it in a place where it is warm. After the first shoots, you can clean the greenhouse and put the plants in a bright place. Make sure there are no drafts there. Next, you need to harden the seedlings, for this the temperature drops to 19-20 degrees. After a month, the seedlings will grow up and can be transplanted. This must be done carefully, because cucumbers have a very complex root system and can be easily damaged. Now let's look at feeding cucumbers on the windowsill.

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How can you feed cucumbers at home

How to feed cucumbers? There are quite a few ways to feed cucumbers at home. However, there are some folk remedies that are most often used when growing cucumbers on the window:

• Ash. It is the most widely used fertilizer for organic farming. It contains two important components - phosphorus and potassium. Thanks to them, the fruits grow and bloom quickly. If containers with plants are located on the windowsill, you need to wrap the leaves and soil. This is done with a special solution that is very easy to prepare. One tablespoon of ash is stirred in a container with two liters of boiled water. Then you need to leave the top dressing so that it is infused and be sure to strain it.
• Banana peel. It contains potassium, and in large quantities, so you do not need to throw it away, use the peel so that the cucumbers grow better. As a top dressing, it is necessary dry, you can dry the peel on a battery. Next, you need to grind it, almost to a powdery state, and you can add it to the soil. In addition, they also make an infusion of banana peel, it is infused for two to three days.
• Egg shells. This is also a very useful fertilizer, as it contains a huge amount of trace elements. After the shell is soaked in water, it will begin to release a useful substance - hydrogen sulfide. It smells very unpleasant, however, thanks to it, cucumbers grow much better. The infusion is prepared simply, you need to take the shell of 4 eggs (crushed) and soak it in three liters of water. Then leave the whole thing, let it be infused for three days. Be sure to leave the cover slightly open. Fertilizer can be used when its color becomes cloudy, and the smell becomes specific. Fertilizer is applied every day, soil and leaves are treated with it.
• Coffee grounds. Not everyone knows that coffee can be used as fertilizer. Thanks to coffee beans, the soil becomes looser and its water permeability is significantly increased. They contain many trace elements that have a beneficial effect on growth cucumbers on the balcony... Note that only roasted coffee grounds are suitable; unroasted beans will spoil the soil.
• Onion peel. It is used by experienced gardeners when growing cucumbers on the balcony, since onion husks have a double effect. It not only promotes plant development, but also prevents unwanted microorganisms from developing. The infusion is prepared by adding 20 grams of husk to 5 liters of boiled water. Then all this needs to be infused for about 5 days, after which you need to strain the infusion.
• Potato peel. A considerable number of plants are capable of starch accumulation, and gardeners are well aware of this. Starch improves the growth of cucumbers, so you should use a fertilizing decoction from it. To cook it, you need to boil the potato skins.
• Sugar is also an excellent fertilizer for fruit growth. Houseplants get a lot of useful substances from it. Plants also love sweets, like people, so sometimes it is worth pampering seedlings. Sprinkle the soil with one teaspoon of sugar and pour warm water over the top.

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There are some more ways how cucumber seedlings are fed:

1. Manganese with wood ash. A solution is made of them and introduced into the soil every 10-14 days.
2. You can use clean wood ash (not mortar). It is poured under the root and watered. Gradually, the ash will enter the soil.
3. Chicken droppings. Another very good remedy for improving the growth of cucumber fruits when grown in a loggia. However, the dosage should be observed, since fresh manure is not recommended to be applied to the soil due to the fact that it contains harmful toxins, they can burn the roots. This can be avoided by making an infusion of 1 to 20. By the way, this fertilizer may contain helminths, be careful.
4. Horse dung. Fertilizer for cucumbers is also made from it, and cucumbers are fed on the windowsill.
5. You can use water, in which fresh meat was washed, as a top dressing for cucumber seedlings on the windowsill. It should be watered with plants.
6. Fresh frozen capelin. This is also a very good fertilizer for balcony cucumbers. The pieces of fish should be buried in the soil around the plant.

So we examined all the popular ways of feeding cucumbers at home.

Lack of nitrogen

Sometimes plants may lack nitrogen, they become frail, look bad, and their fruits are very small. To make up for the deficiency, fertilizers are needed based on urea.

It may be, on the contrary, that there is too much nitrogen, then the color of the foliage changes to dark green, and the old leaves bend. If there is too much nitrogen, the plant will die within a few days. The problem is eliminated by daily watering the plant and soil with calcium nitrate.

Lack of calcium

If the plant lacks calcium, its leaves will be yellowish. Then the cucumbers need to be treated with potassium sulfate - 1 tablespoon per 10 liters of water. Calcium deficiency often affects young leaves. By the way, the other side of the leaf will be slightly purple.

Features in the care of cucumbers

Now you know how to feed cucumbers. When growing cucumbers at home on a windowsill, some peculiarities should be taken into account in order to get the best result.

For example, it is highly recommended one and a half weeks after the seedlings are transplanted to tie the plant with twine to a rope or wire. Next, you should wait for the bush to grow to a rope, and then pinch the top of the main shoot.

To get an even stem, you should periodically break off the antennae and fertilize the cucumbers. Various secondary processes also need to be eliminated, otherwise they will worsen the fruiting of the plant.

Conclusion

This article is useful for everyone feeding cucumbers. Now you know how to feed cucumber seedlings, what means to use. The main thing is to do it regularly in order to get good results.