How to plant, pollinate and grow cucumbers on the balcony and windowsill
Quite a few vegetable growers have heard that some varieties of fruiting crops can be grown on windowsills. However, not everyone knows that cucumbers can be grown in the same way. Growing cucumbers on the balcony is a rather difficult process for which you need to prepare in advance.
Variety selection
In order to grow cucumbers at home on a windowsill to bring a good harvest, you need to choose varieties that can be grown in this way. There are several varieties of cucumbers that grow well in pots.
April
This variety is distinguished by compact low bushes. It is because of this that such cucumbers are most often grown on the window. April cucumbers are an early ripening vegetable, as they ripen 50 days after the first sprouts appear. The main advantage of the April cucumbers is their fruits. They are quite large and grow up to 25-30 cm in length. The weight of one cucumber reaches 300 grams.
Courage
For growing cucumbers on the balcony, the Courage variety is great. Such cucumbers are suitable for lovers of early ripening vegetables, since it will be possible to collect the first ripe fruits in 35-40 days after planting. The main advantage of Courage cucumbers is resistance to many diseases, from which most other varieties die. The plant has good resistance to:
- root rot;
- mosaic;
- spotting;
- powdery mildew.
Debut
When choosing cucumbers for growing on the balcony, you need to pay attention to the Debut. This is one of the most productive varieties that can be grown on a windowsill in an apartment. The first cucumbers begin to tie 45 days after the first bushes appear. The fruits of the Debut cannot be called too large. Their length is 10-15 cm, and their weight is 80 grams. The advantages of the variety include its resistance to powdery mildew and spotting.
Stresa
To grow cucumbers at home and get a good harvest, it is recommended to plant Stresa cucumbers. This variety was specially created for indoor cultivation.
The bushes near Stresa grow rapidly and therefore will have to be tied to special supports. Such a cucumber cannot be attributed to early ripening plants, since it begins to ripen only after 100-120 days.
Ginga
Such cucumbers were bred by domestic selectors relatively recently. They can only be grown in greenhouse conditions or on a loggia.If you create optimal growing conditions, then the first crop can be harvested 50 days after planting. Ripe fruits are cylindrical and slightly ribbed. The average length of one cucumber is 14 cm, and the weight is 80 grams.
How to grow cucumbers on the balcony
Before growing cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of this process.
Seed preparation
To grow healthy seedlings of cucumbers on the windowsill, it is necessary to prepare the planting material in advance. Quite often, balcony cucumbers die from various diseases. You can protect the plant from diseases by pre-disinfecting the seeds with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. For its preparation, 3 grams of the substance is added to a small glass of water. The finished mixture should turn a bright purple color. If the liquid has a purple or pink tint, then you will have to add another 2 grams of potassium permanganate.
During processing, cucumber seeds are placed in the solution for half an hour. Then they are taken out of there, washed with clean water and thoroughly dried.
Soil preparation
Before planting cucumbers at home, you need to learn how to properly prepare the soil mixture. If the seeds are planted in the wrong soil, the growing bushes will begin to wither due to a lack of nutrients.
In order for the seedlings to grow well, it is recommended to use sandy loam or loamy soils. They have a low level of acidity, which has a positive effect on yield. Fertilizer must be added before planting in the ground. First, the soil is mixed with fresh manure. After a few days, mineral fertilizers are added to it.
Choice of capacity
It is very important to choose the most suitable container in which to plant the cucumbers. You can grow cucumbers in boxes, flowerpots and pots. To a little accelerate the growth of indoor cucumbers, it is recommended to choose larger containers for cucumbers. In them, the root system will develop better and thanks to this, seedlings in a greenhouse or on a windowsill grow much faster. You should not use too small pots for planting, as the plants dry in them.
How to plant seeds
Planting cucumber seeds yourself is quite simple. First you need to slightly warm up the previously prepared soil mixture. Its temperature should be at least 20 degrees. Then the soil is distributed into the planting containers.
In each pot, 2-3 holes are made for planting seeds. The distance between the seeds should be about 5 cm and therefore the holes should not be too close to each other. We plant two seeds in each hole. When all the seeds are planted, the holes are sprinkled with soil and spilled with warm water.
Care
When the planting of cucumbers is completed, you should think about caring for the seedlings. Care for cucumbers on the balcony must be performed without fail, since the quality of the crop depends on this. Before you start caring for cucumbers on the windowsill, you need to study the features of growing cucumbers.
How to pinch cucumbers on a windowsill
Pinching and shaping cucumbers is a must, as this plant grows rather quickly. If the formation of the bush or its pinching is not carried out in a timely manner, then this will reduce the yield several times.
Pinching cucumbers on the balcony is pretty easy. To do this, it is enough to remove all unnecessary lateral shoots that begin to move away from the main stem of the plant. To simplify pinching, the plant should be tied to a support in advance. For the first time, pinching is carried out when the main stem grows to 50 cm. In this case, you will have to pinch all the lower inflorescences, ovaries and shoots.
Some are interested in do I need to tear off the mustache from cucumbers while pinching.It is recommended to prune them regularly, as sometimes the main stem of the plant begins to squeeze due to the mustache.
How often to water seedlings
For the fruits to grow large and juicy, it is necessary to regularly water the cucumbers. Watering cucumbers should be done correctly, as excessive dryness of the soil or waterlogging can adversely affect the condition of the soil and cultivated cucumbers. Before flowering, it is enough to moisten the soil once a week. During flowering and fruiting, the amount of watering is doubled. During this period, the plant needs moisture, and if the required amount of water is not consumed for seedlings, then it gradually withers and dies.
It is recommended to use warm and settled water for irrigation, as too cold water can damage the roots.
How to feed cucumbers
There are times when the bushes dry out from an insufficient amount of nutrients in the soil. Therefore, you need to take care of the grown bushes and feed them regularly.
Fertilization should be done in several stages. In the first weeks after planting, all the bushes are fed with nitrogen, since at the initial stage of the growing season this substance is not enough for the plants. When the first whips begin to appear on the plant, the cucumbers need potassium and therefore it must be added to the soil.
How to pollinate cucumbers
During the cultivation of seedlings on the balcony, artificial pollination of cucumbers... Therefore, in order to obtain fruits, you will have to study some of the features and secrets of hand pollination.
You can pollinate a plant yourself in several ways:
- With a brush. More often, indoor cucumbers are pollinated with a brush with natural bristles. To do this, you must first collect pollen from the flower. In this case, you need to make sure that it is firmly settled on the brush. After that, the pollinated female flowers are smeared with a brush.
- A flower. This method is used a little less often than the previous one. In this case, you will have to pick a male flower and touch it to the pistils.
Garter
Many are interested in why the cucumber seedlings are falling. This problem appears if the bushes are not tied to the supports.
To tie the bushes in each pot, a special support is installed. Most often, an ordinary wooden plank is used for this, to which bushes will stick. It is recommended to tie them to a support with wide fabric strips that will not squeeze the stem.
Conclusion
Many people who like to make salads with fresh cucumber in winter grow this vegetable on the balcony at any time of the year. To get a harvest from the bushes grown in this way, you need to familiarize yourself with the peculiarities of growing cucumbers on the windowsill and caring for them.
